Large tank to start with. I wouldn't attempt 20 gal and the like. Marine newbies tend to make mistakes (over feeding, over stocking, etc) and the larger the tank the less incredibly harsh impact a mistake will make. Small tanks crash easily in inexperienced hands and are very discouraging for the marine newbie.
A 55 is a common starter size and allows for some "cushion" in the tank for the inevitable boo-boos that first time marine folks make. 55 is easy to find, relatively cheap, and is capable of holding some interesting fish in relative comfort.
Filtration is really a matter of personal preference. To sump or not to sump? Refugium or none? Canisters (eheim or fluval are some of the better brands IMO), wet/dry... the choices are many/varied and people have their individual preferences. Asking about filtration in the marine world is like asking a group of people what their favorite meal is. You're going to get as many different answers as the number of people you ask.
There is no one "right" answer. What's right is what works well for you and your system. On a FOWLR system, I have great results with a HOT refugium stocked with LR and macroalgae (good pod growth too), a high quality canister, live rock and more macro in the main tank, live sand bed, and a high quality skimmer (skimming is a must).
The only hard and fast rule I have with filtration is redundancy (bio and mech). In other words, I don't put my eggs in one basket. A few different forms of filtration working together insure that the water is clean and if one fails the other forms remain stable and working. Your water needs to be clean and high quality at all times. Some fish (angels for example) need very high water quality or they swiftly decline.
2x Common clowns
1 or 2x chalk bass
1x species of blenny or goby (can you recommend one)
1x Royal gramma
and/or firefish
By "common clowns" do you mean Ocellaris (false Perc)? Good starter fish. Hardy and colorful with lots of personality. Very endearing. I have a pair myself.
The Firefish is a goby. Family Microdesmidae, Subfamily Ptereleotrinae. Do a search on genus Nemateleotris.
Gramma Loreto (Royal Gramma) is a peaceful guy. They can be a bit sensitive to water conditions though.
and for inverts:
Snails
hermit crabs
and cleaner and fire shrimps.
Snails are great and part of the "clean up crew". Some Turbos in a tank are very helpful IMO.
Shrimp (inverts in general really) are sensitive and should be intro'd very slowly (long bag acclimation). Not uncommon for shrimps to kind of keel over and decline fast if they haven't been acclimated very slowly to the water in your tank. They'll also need a constant level of minerals in the water to shed. As shrimp grow they shed out of their exterior. Supplementing the minerals into the water may be needed. Terribly sad to have a little shrimpy caught in his own shed dying.
I guess I would suggest starting with Peppermint shrimp. They're useful little cleaners, pretty easy to come by at an LFS and you can have more than one.
The best thing I can tell you is that in marine tanks, an ounce of prevention is worth the proverbial pound of cure. Cycle the tank properly, monitor the water religiously, and QT all fish. Read, read, read. There are some great books out there. I'll even point you in the direction of a worthwhile one IMO, The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner is a good place to start.
Let us know how it goes!
Not once have I done so. 8) And I'm not going to either what pain in the &@^
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