newbie help on filter/protein skimmer slections

[falonchristie]

Hello,
I am starting a 55gal reef tank. I have the tank with 40lbs live rock and sand. as far as equiptment goes i only have a topfin60 hang over the back filter i am using. other than that there is no equiptment hooked up to my tank. I'm on a limited budget right now starting out and was wondering if my filter is adequate or should i buy another filter. I wont be using a sump so i dont know what all equiptment such as filter, skimmer, powerheads i really need right now. I plan on starting frags soon. Also i have dual t5 ho fixture with 1 10k and 1 420 actinic bulb. any suggestion on what i need and what is required would help

[ski360]

What kind of coral are you planning on keeping?

[Higgy2010]

I recently set up my 40G breeder initially planned to be a FOWLR tank, so I purchased second-hand HOB refugium and HOB protein skimmer, both by CPR, with a couple of Koralia powerheads from fellow reefers on RC. I used the Fluval canister prior to this setup on this tank, but didn't like it. Since the tank looked rather bare without corals, I moved some of the softies from my nano cubes into this one to add colors and interests. So far so good. Polyps are opened and colored up. I'd highly recommend a similar setup if you don't want to drill the tank or add a sump.

[falonchristie]

What kind of coral are you planning on keeping?

im going to start out with some mushrooms and zoes

[falonchristie]

I recently set up my 40G breeder initially planned to be a FOWLR tank, so I purchased second-hand HOB refugium and HOB protein skimmer, both by CPR, with a couple of Koralia powerheads from fellow reefers on RC. I used the Fluval canister prior to this setup on this tank, but didn't like it. Since the tank looked rather bare without corals, I moved some of the softies from my nano cubes into this one to add colors and interests. So far so good. Polyps are opened and colored up. I'd highly recommend a similar setup if you don't want to drill the tank or add a sump.

okay so i checked out the hob refugium by cpr. this is awsome looking. quick question though. with a 55gal. what size should i order?
large is Dimensions: 25.5" L x 4.5" W x 12" H
medium is Dimensions: 19" L x 4.5" W x 12" H
and small is Dimensions: 13" L x 4.5" W x 12" H

also is there anything you have to add to it once ordered. like parts. and does your protein skimmer go into on of the compartments on the back or just next to it. im still confussed on exactly what this does but to me it looks like a hob sump kinda. do you need to have the bottom of it secury sitting on a stand of some sorts or is it safe for all of the weight of the water and refugium to just hang? sorry for so many questions