Lost on where to start upgrading

[vegaslbr]

I really need to make some major upgrades to my equipment but I’m REALLY lost on where to start.
I got into saltwater through a program at my school and afterwards started a tank at home. I haven’t had any major problems but I feel like I went into this way over my head and regret some of my decisions. I bought a 45-50g tank second-hand that came with a canopy lid and a HOB SeaChem filter. It is a corner pentagon tank so it has odd proportions & a small stand.

There are three front panels that are 13inches long and two back panels that are 22in long and it is around 25inches tall. The stand is only 15in deep, 13 in wide and 27in tall. It has a shelf inside that doesn’t reach the back all the way and is removable.

I don’t think it’s feasible to fit a sump under my stand, let alone adding ATO as well. Do I upgrade to a canister? Canister and skimmer? Just a skimmer? UV sterilizer? If I can’t do a sump then I would have to find some that work stand-alone or connect to a canister. I primarily want to focus on improving my filtration but would love to add ATO or remote dosing/monitoring systems but on top of these spatial issues, I don’t have a high budget either.

I have an AI Prime and only soft corals. I would like to have LPS eventually but am okay with just keeping soft coral if that’s only what my setup can allow for.

Should I even bother trying to work on this tank or would it be better to buy a standard rectangle tank with a larger stand?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would get a skimmer, a skimmer plus a hob will provide good overall filtration.

Get a couple of powerheads in the tank for flow.

Upgrade your light, one AI Prime on a 45 gallon tank is like a candle, you won't be able to grow anything. You would need about 3 of them to be effective, but honestly better for you to get a 200 watt nicrew, or any led light of 200 watts will work (AI Prime is only 55 watts in comparison).

Any tank should definitely have an ATO, no matter what size the tank is, it just makes life much easier.

A pic of the tank will surely get more comments, but sounds like there is a lot to upgrade on this system. Good luck.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I really need to make some major upgrades to my equipment but I’m REALLY lost on where to start.
I got into saltwater through a program at my school and afterwards started a tank at home. I haven’t had any major problems but I feel like I went into this way over my head and regret some of my decisions. I bought a 45-50g tank second-hand that came with a canopy lid and a HOB SeaChem filter. It is a corner pentagon tank so it has odd proportions & a small stand.

There are three front panels that are 13inches long and two back panels that are 22in long and it is around 25inches tall. The stand is only 15in deep, 13 in wide and 27in tall. It has a shelf inside that doesn’t reach the back all the way and is removable.

I don’t think it’s feasible to fit a sump under my stand, let alone adding ATO as well. Do I upgrade to a canister? Canister and skimmer? Just a skimmer? UV sterilizer? If I can’t do a sump then I would have to find some that work stand-alone or connect to a canister. I primarily want to focus on improving my filtration but would love to add ATO or remote dosing/monitoring systems but on top of these spatial issues, I don’t have a high budget either.

I have an AI Prime and only soft corals. I would like to have LPS eventually but am okay with just keeping soft coral if that’s only what my setup can allow for.

Should I even bother trying to work on this tank or would it be better to buy a standard rectangle tank with a larger stand?

Do you have pictures of your current setup?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I really need to make some major upgrades to my equipment but I’m REALLY lost on where to start.
I got into saltwater through a program at my school and afterwards started a tank at home. I haven’t had any major problems but I feel like I went into this way over my head and regret some of my decisions. I bought a 45-50g tank second-hand that came with a canopy lid and a HOB SeaChem filter. It is a corner pentagon tank so it has odd proportions & a small stand.

There are three front panels that are 13inches long and two back panels that are 22in long and it is around 25inches tall. The stand is only 15in deep, 13 in wide and 27in tall. It has a shelf inside that doesn’t reach the back all the way and is removable.

I don’t think it’s feasible to fit a sump under my stand, let alone adding ATO as well. Do I upgrade to a canister? Canister and skimmer? Just a skimmer? UV sterilizer? If I can’t do a sump then I would have to find some that work stand-alone or connect to a canister. I primarily want to focus on improving my filtration but would love to add ATO or remote dosing/monitoring systems but on top of these spatial issues, I don’t have a high budget either.

I have an AI Prime and only soft corals. I would like to have LPS eventually but am okay with just keeping soft coral if that’s only what my setup can allow for.

Should I even bother trying to work on this tank or would it be better to buy a standard rectangle tank with a larger stand?

A hang on skimmer and even a hang on refugium will do wonders for support of the tank. IceCap K1-100 is a great unit and is external

 

[alton]

If your going to upgrade, upgrade to a new tank and stand with everything posted above. If your going to keep this setup and you're not having any issues then just keep doing what your doing, save up for a new system in the future and transfer everything over

 

[vegaslbr]

Do you have pictures of your current setup?

the first picture is within the last month or two during a water change & last two pictures are from when it was cycling so you can see the dimensions a bit better

 

[vegaslbr]

I would get a skimmer, a skimmer plus a hob will provide good overall filtration.

Get a couple of powerheads in the tank for flow.

Upgrade your light, one AI Prime on a 45 gallon tank is like a candle, you won't be able to grow anything. You would need about 3 of them to be effective, but honestly better for you to get a 200 watt nicrew, or any led light of 200 watts will work (AI Prime is only 55 watts in comparison).

Any tank should definitely have an ATO, no matter what size the tank is, it just makes life much easier.

A pic of the tank will surely get more comments, but sounds like there is a lot to upgrade on this system. Good luck.

I only have soft corals and the guy I bought it from said one would be sufficient enough but I will definitely start looking into another light now! Thank you

 

[vegaslbr]

A hang on skimmer and even a hang on refugium will do wonders for support of the tank. IceCap K1-100 is a great unit and is external

I’ve seen those and sump-less ATO but I think I would have to take the lid off to add anything else. Are these things I can run long-term? Or just temporary measures to supplement filtration in the meantime? If so, would it be worth buying a HOB skimmer, ATO and refugium if I need to upgrade to a sump anyways?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve seen those and sump-less ATO but I think I would have to take the lid off to add anything else. Are these things I can run long-term? Or just temporary measures to supplement filtration in the meantime? If so, would it be worth buying a HOB skimmer, ATO and refugium if I need to upgrade to a sump anyways?

Both long term - yes

 

[pooootiqe]

There might be some option more budget-friendly than others.

ATO is very useful; cheap ones on Amazon.

The Tidal HOB can be converted into a chaeto refugium with a small led light on top.

Mechanical filtration - GlennF’s powerfilter is cheap to make and VERY effective: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-powerfilter.743895/ (Maxjet powerhead is a good option)

Chaeto and powerfilter may even allow you to skip the skimmer.

Light is difficult to get very for very cheap - a few 6500k flood lights might keep corals alive and growing, but won’t look too pretty. Maybe combining with “Black lights” like these could improve fluorescence (Amazon product) and some marine led bars to handle the blues (Amazon product)

 

[vegaslbr]

I was looking at this and it says sump-installation only?

A hang on skimmer and even a hang on refugium will do wonders for support of the tank. IceCap K1-100 is a great unit and is external