setting up a 55g tank

Being new the the hobby i dont want to waste my money on unneeded stuff. At the moment i have 60lbs of live sand, 75lbs of live rock, and a canister filter rated for a 70g tank. I dont have a protien skimmer cause ive read in other threads its not needed to start and no powerheads yet cause not sure what to really buy. I had lfs tell me i need some sorta filter so i can put carbon in it to keep water clean. Now is this a good setup or do i need to fix it and how to fix it.

 

depending how u stock it is gonna depend if u need a skimmer.. if u keep a few fish and do water changes then you will be fine without a skimmer..powerheads are gonna be determined also by what u wanna keep in it..sps like high flow..lps, softies, zoas, leathers like medium flow, 30ish x turnover.. its good to have something that you can run some carbon in and some gfo..some people use reactors, some use canister filters, some use hang on back filters, and some just put some in their sump with a little flow going through them..

 

I agree but i ll add some things. I have a 55g and they are prolly one of the hardest tanks to aquascape so ill wish you a good luck. For your powerheads i like koralia. You will want some powerheads even if you dont keep coral bc they will blow the waste into your filters. The skimmer i would get one. Dont buy a cheap one though you will pay if you do. Lol. Good luck and post pics when you can.