Most of us mix are own. Over all its cheaper. Choice is yours tho. Again how much sand personal choice. I do about a pound per gallon. I like a deep sand bed tho. Helps with sand sifting fish and alot of wrasse sleep in the sand.
Yes dry sand no don't let it redry after rinse. Rinse it and put it in the tank. Base/ dry rock. Majority yes, u do want some live rock to start tho. Maybe a 5-8lb peice. This will help seed your base rock
A sump is the Cadillac of the sw world. However it would mean drilling your 55. You can buy pre drilled tanks but you pay more for them.
The hob is instead of a canister. A canister is fine you just need to clean it often.
Dry sand is just that dry sand. You have too options dry sand or live...
Hob= hang on back filter. Hangs on the back of the tank.
S.g. specific gravity essentially the amount of salt dissolved in the water.
It probably seems sooo overwhelming but honestly its not that bad
Saltwater aquariums for dummies is the book.
Bigger is better yes, but big by sw standards is huge for fw lol. Honestly a 55 is just narrow. A 75 is a better tank to start with. You have a 55 tho so well go with that. A canister is fine if you clean it religiously. Otherwise they become...
Hi. Welcome to sw lol.
First off a 55 isn't an ideal size but will work.
What type of equipment are you thinking you want to use? Lights, filter, power heads, skimmer , ect.
Give me an idea of what your thinking and well go from there.