What should I do with 47 gallon aquarium?

[HereFishyFishy3]

Sorry kind of a long post. I need some help deciding what to do with my 47 gallon bow front aquarium. It has dual marine orbit lights along with a sump and a compartment for a refugium. It does not have a working protein skimmer at this time. The tank has been running for months now with nothing in it but a few pieces of Xenia I tossed in the sump from my other tank. I was thinking of doing something other than a reef tank, like a seahorse aquarium or a predator tank. I know that seahorses can be a lot of work and if I were to go that route I would need to add a lot of macro algae and a hefty pod source. I was also toying with the idea of a grow out predator tank since I wouldn’t be able to keep many predators long term. Possibly puffers, eels, lion fish, anglers ect. Pros and cons to each? Would there be another tank idea that is be better? Which one would be better long term? Thanks!

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Eels will be in your floor unless you have a lid

lion fish..given irresponsible owners of these invasive fish, I recommend them to no one

always wanted a puffer tank but I want a reef tank so not on the cards

 

[HereFishyFishy3]

Eels will be in your floor unless you have a lid

lion fish..given irresponsible owners of these invasive fish, I recommend them to no one

always wanted a puffer tank but I want a reef tank so not on the cards

If I do go the predator route then there would be a screen lid that would cover the top as well as the overflow. Why wouldn’t you recommend lion fish to anyone other than the fact that they are invasive and should not be released into the wild?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

If I do go the predator route then there would be a screen lid that would cover the top as well as the overflow. Why wouldn’t you recommend lion fish to anyone other than the fact that they are invasive and should not be released into the wild?

Because they are an invasive fish and should not be released into the wild.....and yet people release these into the wild. I am sure you are a responsible keeper; however, the fact that these fish are making it into the florida reefs and doing some real damage means not everyone is. As such, i am very much against them simply for the fact that not everyone is.