New to the hobby

Bluechromis96 · Apr 14, 2016

Hi I am new to the hobby seeking some equipment advice I have a 55 gallon tank with a cheap light and a canister filter looking to upgrade not 100% sure what the best quality equipment is and I have soft coral and want to know what the best light would be for them as well as upgrading filtration.

Salty1962 · Apr 14, 2016

Welcome to R2R! Do you have a sump? Many good lights out there. Look on site for deals.

steelheader.262 · Apr 14, 2016

Welcome, just do some research.
You will find alot of great products.

Justice4u2 · Apr 14, 2016

I would spend some time thinking about what you want in your tank. Is soft coral as far as you want to go, or do you think that in the future you may want to expand to LPS, SPS, or maybe even an anemone.

I have spent a ton of money on constantly upgrading instead of just buying (the first time) something that is somewhat future-proof.

ScottMyers123 · Apr 14, 2016

Be patient and think long and hard about what you want to keep in the future. I have spent money on things only to find out I would and did have to upgrade later. Best advise I can give is save your money and buy premium equipment.

JPSika08 · Apr 14, 2016

Welcome to R2R, when I started in this hobby my greatest help was watching all build threads, you can learn a lot from them.

BoneXriffic · Apr 14, 2016

Hey and welcome.

What exactly is a cheap light and what softies do you currently have?

Some people use canistet with success, lots of cleaning i hear and you would want a hob skimmer. This stuffs out of my brain power.

I would personally start with filtration... aquiring a sump and skimmer. Tons of options out there but dont skimp. Buy right the first time imo. Good luck!