vebas in O'Connor is the biggest and they should be able to help you out. 

Marine Im presuming, Vebas are great, normally have decent stock, and not so hit and miss with quality info that some of the bigger pet shop chains are prone too.. Aquarium Gallery in Wangara is a brilliant store to go and get stuff from.. plus a bunch of us private swappers

Ive also been running for over 12 months and happy to help with any questions(and prices!!!!!) PM me if your getting into it and Ill put you onto some great people

 perth chichlid society forum has wicked info mate

fresh tropical or salt?

 You looking at salt or fresh?

Cheers for the info fellas, looking at marine but need to speak to some experts first. Vebas sounds the goods and is only 10 mins away.

 Masa is a good Salt water forum if you want to do some reading

Vebas over errthang 

saves a lot of time, setup and money.

I bought this

and just over time and swapping a few fish, adding a coral off gumtree here and there quickly became this a few months later

and looks somthing like this most of the time now.

I dabbled with filters, chillers, metal halide lights, but trimmed it all down and just have some ebay LED lights and filter through a stocking with charcoal and just move the water around. I only change the water once every 3 weeks or so and feel an icecube of food and some sushi seaweed daily. I don't worry about testing etc just top up fresh water for evaporation and put a few teaspoons of an allrounder reef supplement. Only thing in there that cost over $30 is two of the fish. Not having too many fish reduces waste and whenver you add new stuff you introduce risk of disease/ pests, so less is often best, and it just grows. You can read what the experts suggest, and they are definitely more knowledgable, but I don't want to base my life around a room decoration. I find I look at the tank much more than TV and runs pretty efficiently. You can add a few trophy pieces if you like. I love this guy, he takes no care or even feeding, 

but my favourite was this fella, but he didn't eat and didn't make it, which was very very sad.

 no experience with marine but plenty with freshwater and plants. 

However, the start up I presume will be the same once you've decided. I have listed some rough points that I think is quite important to know beforehand.  

1. Deciding if you want to have a high tech setup Vs low tech. 

2. Deciding on the size of the tank. Small sized tanks are newbie friendly but nanos and large tanks can be tricky.

3. The equipment required.

Lights. Depending your budget as per point 1. The range is huge from cheap fluros to LED/metal halides.

Chiller/heater. Again depending on your budget. 

Co2 only if you're going freshwater 

Protein skimmer - salt water. I don't have much experience with marine. 

Filter - deciding on what kind of filter you would like. Cannister is ideal for both marine and fresh. Try to avoid undergravel filters. Reputable brands range from Eheim to cheap Chinese ones. 

Gravel - what kind of plants you would like if you're going fresh. Coral chips for marine I think. 

4. Finally water into the tank +/-plants/corals 

5. Fauna - only after a months worth of cycling the tank at least to establish the ammonia cycle. 

6. Patience and maintenance comes last when it has been established. I.e. Regular pruning of plants, algae, water conditions (pH, temperature, electrolyte balance)  water changes. 

Hope it's helpful and good luck with what you decide! 

I use Gosnells Aquariums and Ponds and find them good enough to drive from Bunbury to get my gear. Thang Pham is the man there, very knowlegable.

thanks for all the info fellas its much appreciated. after spending some time with the guys at verbas today I have decided to start with a tropical F/W and learn before moving on to a marine tank. Will be asking for help no doubt..... cheers