My 55 gallon build im 14

Hey welcome to 3 reef.
I would advise you to concentrate on the set up for now and fish later.
You need a protein skimmer. If you plan on going reef, one T5 in a 55g is certainly not enough light.
The best advise I could give you is to do lots of reading and research before rushing into things.
You said that you have a 40g up and running already? Do you have a skimmer on this set up?
Try searching this forum for your some of your answers.
Here's a link on Protein Skimming: What Is Protein Skimming, and How Does It Work

 

I highly suggest a sump and protein skimmer. I find both of those to make keeping a saltwater aquarium much easier. Having natural filtration, as well as some mechanical to remove the poop and gunk, is the best way to go at it. Live rock, a sand bed, and a refugium if possible would make things so much easier for you.

I find a protein skimmer to be one of the most important pieces of equipment you could buy. You can try and get away cheap with alot of stuff, but DON'T go cheap on a skimmer and your lights (if you are going to have corals). Those are two of your most important pieces of equipment right there.

What kind of tank are you looking for? Just a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) or a reef with corals? Check out our build thread in my signature to know what we did with our tank, and we've had great success with it. Nothing fancy, but everything works and the tank is over six months and beautiful. There are plenty of articles in Google and other areas that you should read.

The best suggestion now is research and plan your tank out. It will make things go alot smoother. Once you have a filtration plan put together, it's best to buy the basics and let the tank cycle while you plan more and get the wallet filled up some more.

 

Thanks a lot would you recomend any for my tank

 

Well i dont have a protein skimmer in my 40g im thinking about getting 1 more t5 light jus to be on the safe side with my anemone srry for spelling lol.

 

Also i dont fully get wat it does

 

Every time i walk in my room i sit stare at my fish for hours theyre so amazing. Thats why ive decided to be a marine biologist

 

As i said b4 im only 14 so ive only saved 2000$ from my job so im budgeting. Plz if u know of any rlly cheap websites tell me thx for the support ill try2 get pics of my 40g

 

Holy post a lot. I would recomend a skimmer before adding to lights but that is just me.

 

do as much diy as you can. try this. i am thinking about making it to see how it works.

DIY Protein Skimmer

 

A little concern, how long have you had your 40 up for? A snowflake eel, tang and angel are a lot of livestock for that sized tank and they produce a lot of waste. Not having a skimmer can really negatively affect the water quality. A skimmer take out dissolved organic compounds, mainly proteins. This helps to greatly improve the water quality and allows healthier livestock.

I too have a 55. If you are going for a reef, you will need at least a 4 bulb T5 fixture, IMO, if T5s are what you want to go with. That way you will be able to grow a large selection of different corals. I also highly recommend a sump. I didn't start with one, but added one later. $2000 is a great amount of money to setup your tank. Don't go cheap on lighting or skimmer. You will regret it later. Plus, you will end up spending more money later when you want to upgrade or it breaks. Good luck.