Yet another starter queston...

[waterbury guy]

Hello!
New to this hobby and new to this board. I have been keeping tropical aquariums for the past 15 years, and have just jumped into the marine realm. I have a 55 gal. tank with CC, UGF, penguin over the back, 2 powerheads, about 35 Lbs of live rock, and am cycling with 4 damsel fish right now. Eventually, I want to get into inverts (not neccesarily corals) does this mean I wil have a reef tank? Sorry if this is a stupid questions, but like I said I'm new. Also I currently have a 40W flourescent light. Will this be sufficeint for now and when I introduce inverts, or will an upgrade need to be made. Any insights would be appreciated.

 

[salisbury a d]

Welcome to the Hobby.
You got a good size tank to start with but you should switch the cc to sand now while the tank is still cycling. It will be a lot easier than after.
Also the cc does not benefit the tank where as the ls will act as a biological filter.
If you ever decide to keep corals anemones and clams you need A LOT more lighting. At least 3 watts per gallon. And for the clams you most definetly need Metal Halide lights if you get any of them.
You should get one more powerhead for good circulation, get rid of the UGF. They are a pain in the butt. They become nitrate factories and you have to clean them forcing yoiu to tear down the tank and that will cause a lot of stress.
And if you switch to sand it does not need it.
Also protein skimmers are needed to have a successfull tank.
Right now get as many books as possible and read read read. Also ask questions. Knowledgs is the key to a succesfull tank.
Adam