Welcome to the forum, ZachBates. Nice to meet you.
You obviously need a tank. With a 30 gallon your stocking choices are limited, so you will not be able to keep a lot of Angels (some of the Dwarf Angels will be ok), and absolutely no Tangs, Triggers, abd most Puffers (you may be able to get away with a Valentini Saddleback Puffer).
Next I would get a heater. I like the
Aqueon heaters, but everyone has personal preferences. I have run the Aqueons on two twenty gallon tanks continuously with no issue whatsoever. For a 30, you will need a 100w (a 150w might be better if it has an auto-shut off. The Aqueons I recommended do.)
You will need Live Rock. I would put about 40 lbs in the tank, and start with 10 lbbs "Live" rock and 30 lbs "Dry" rock. The live rock will seed the dry rock.
You will need live sand. I myself prefer a Deep Sand Bed of 4-6", but you can also run a shallow sand bed of less than 1". The Deep Sand Bed will help with denitrification, as anaerobic bacteria turns nitrates into nitrogen gas, that leaves the system naturally. Here is an article on
Deep Sand Beds by Ron Shimek. Just give that a read if you do decide to go that route.
You will need a light. I think that a single strip T5HO will be fine with a 50/50 bulb if you are not doing coral.
You will need a skimmer. Right now I am using a modified Red Sea Prizm Skimmer, but have not used it long enough to give a product review on it. I can tell you that members here have had luck with the AquaC Remora (although I know one member had a problem with the design as it didn't work for his
specific situation) and Reef Octopus Skimmers. I have also heard of people modifying SeaClones and having success with them. It is all relative to your specific situation and sometimes how handy you are.
You will need test kits. I test for Nitrite, Ammonia, Nitrate, pH, Calcium and Alkalinity. The last two are the most important, as they are the buffering ions in your water and have a huge effect on pH and water quality. Make sure you also get some dosing chemicals, like a two part Alkalinity and Calcium. This will help keep your tank at the optimum levels.
Aside from that you will need salt mix (I use Instant Ocean, Brightwell Aquatics makes a better product), a thermometer, a couple of clean, never used before five gallon buckets and a source for RO/Di water. I wouldn't use tap water, as the little creatures in the rock that make it "Live" are invertebrates and sensitive to heavy metals, which can be found in tap water. Also, the minerals in tap water can throw off your Alkalinity readings and you can have pH, phosphate and nitrate problems with tap water.
Other than that, add fish and go! You should be able to add fish within a few weeks of starting up the tank.
Just keep us updated and post lots of pics!