Stocking a 40 Breeder

[If_Only]

1 minute ago, Donny41 said:

You could go for a 65 which I believe is the same footprint as the 40 just taller 

I prefer shallower tanks, which is why I love the 40 breeder, but at the same time I also like the IM lagoon tanks, but I have a 65 freshwater planted and I hate hight, if my fish didn't need it I would have a 40 breeder.

 

18 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

Hmm I think 75g is the starter noob size on other sites that arnt nano dedicated. 

 

That is a weird thing to be banned from. If I tried to ban my husband from anything he would laugh at me....it goes both ways though... If I can't ban him...he can't ban me!

 

I liked my 40 breeder but I am just as happy with small fish so it's easier for me. 😛

 

 

And the drilling thing is that she had a sibling who drilled a tank, this was a before a lot of our good technology and he sprung a leak and wrecked her parents house. So I feel banning drill from her perspective has a little more warrant... and I would love to see some old pictures of your old 40 breeder maybe some of you new tanks?

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, If_Only said:

I prefer shallower tanks, which is why I love the 40 breeder, but at the same time I also like the IM lagoon tanks, but I have a 65 freshwater planted and I hate hight, if my fish didn't need it I would have a 40 breeder.

 

And the drilling thing is that she had a sibling who drilled a tank, this was a before a lot of our good technology and he sprung a leak and wrecked her parents house. So I feel banning drill from her perspective has a little more warrant... and I would love to see some old pictures of your old 40 breeder maybe some of you new tanks?

Ya I hated my 75g, too deep. Thats why I ditched it. Other people don't complain, idk whats wrong with them.

 

Sounds like you should be using this 'no-drill' clause to get a reef-ready tank "made by the professionals", specifically a reef-ready Deep Blue 60g shallow. If my apt wasn't so old I thought the tank might fall through, I would have the 80g version. The 60g is still a 4 ft tank and only 20g more than a 40 😉

 

If you literally can't make your budget stretch to a tank that fits some of the fish you want, I say screw the fish and go smaller than a 40 and get actual good lighting and coverage. I feel like this 40B is a halfway house, still not big enough to get what you really want in fish.... and still too big that you are making sacrifices on equipment. 

 

 

Oh, forgot you asked, these are my current tanks. Most my good pics from my old tanks are lost. 

 

 

 

[If_Only]

2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Ya I hated my 75g, too deep. Thats why I ditched it. Other people don't complain, idk whats wrong with them.

 

Sounds like you should be using this 'no-drill' clause to get a reef-ready tank "made by the professionals", specifically a reef-ready Deep Blue 60g shallow. If my apt wasn't so old I thought the tank might fall through, I would have the 80g version. The 60g is still a 4 ft tank and only 20g more than a 40 😉

 

If you literally can't make your budget stretch to a tank that fits some of the fish you want, I say screw the fish and go smaller than a 40 and get actual good lighting and coverage. I feel like this 40B is a halfway house, still not big enough to get what you really want in fish.... and still too big that you are making sacrifices on equipment. 

 

 

Oh, forgot you asked, these are my current tanks. Most my good pics from my old tanks are lost. 

 

 

 

Thanks for all the help, I think I might do a smaller tank and might go with a waterbed, I really like there tanks, do you (or anybody) know anything about them.

[Tamberav]

1 hour ago, If_Only said:

Thanks for all the help, I think I might do a smaller tank and might go with a waterbed, I really like there tanks, do you (or anybody) know anything about them.

 

Don't know much about them except they are sold on alibaba 😛

 

https://guide.alibaba.com/shop/waterbox-aquariums-007275-cube-10-gallon-nano-aquarium-starter-kit_1010506641.html

 

I saw on reef2reef one of the 90g seam came apart and flooded but... I haven't heard of any issues with the small ones (way less water pressure). The bad part is they sent him a replacement tank and same issue...  due to sloppy silicone I guess

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/waterbox-dream-turned-nightmare.500306/page-3

 

They look really nice though, appearance wise, just check your silicone well I guess. 

 

 

[If_Only]

1 hour ago, Tamberav said:

 

Don't know much about them except they are sold on alibaba 😛

 

https://guide.alibaba.com/shop/waterbox-aquariums-007275-cube-10-gallon-nano-aquarium-starter-kit_1010506641.html

 

I saw on reef2reef one of the 90g seam came apart and flooded but... I haven't heard of any issues with the small ones (way less water pressure). The bad part is they sent him a replacement tank and same issue...  due to sloppy silicone I guess

 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/waterbox-dream-turned-nightmare.500306/page-3

 

They look really nice though, appearance wise, just check your silicone well I guess. 

 

 

Yeah im having a hard time choosing what tank to get... I also like the Red Sea max series aquariums because all you need are the powerhead, sand and rock then you have everything but there PRICY, I might just do a IM 25 lagoon...

[mcarroll]

On 12/8/2018 at 1:14 PM, If_Only said:

The boss of the house has banned me from drilling... kinda sucks but I feel that like a 75 gallon reef would be pricey and be a tough first reef tank... but the fish are cool, I also want to provide optimal conditions for  my coral and doing that on a large scale is expensive... so I have no clue what to do...

It's a generalization, but folks don't usually like tanks they can't easily reach to the far back-bottom corner when needed.  So if you're on the short side, this makes for a "hard limit" on how big a tank you're "willing to enjoy".  :)

 

Some folks don't mind working on a tall tank and they'll just drain down enough water (or something else) to let them get the work done.

 

But a 75 Gallon is one of the more ideal reef tank sizes IMO.  Tall enough to grow many corals to a nice size, but still small enough that I can get to everything. 

 

It's also large enough to support a full range of medium sized fish, or even just one or two large fish if you have that kind of willpower. 😉 

 

With few exceptions, I would not keep "large tank" fish like tangs, anthias or even chromis though.

 

It's still more expensive than some sensible alternatives being proposed because you have 8 square feet of surface area to light and almost twice as many gallons to flow (vs just 4.5 sq ft on a 40B) 

 

You have to look at this as worth it though, or simply keep a smaller tank.  😉

 

On the flip side, a 75 Gallon does not have to be more expensive to stock.   

 

The number of frags and fish and amount of live rock that most folks stuff into their small and nano tanks would grow out as-or-more beautiful in a larger tank like a 75G, and in the case of fish they would grow out more healthy as well, all things considered.  I think of it as "donating" all the extra space to the fewer inhabitants....instead of thinking of it like more space that I have to fill up with X or Y just because "that's what you do with extra space".

 

So setup, light and flow a 75 Gallon, but stock it as if it was a 20 Gallon or 40 Gallon.  It can cost exactly what you want it to.  :)   You could also use that savings as "virtual leverage" to afford better quality live rock too.

[mcarroll]

An excellent way to "filter" a tank like a 75 Gallon without drilling or having any risk from external plumbing is this:

Spoiler

Reefpack 500

Comline^® DOC Skimmer 9012: Designed for mixed aquariums or soft coral aquariums with 200 to 1,200 ... mehr

0500.000

 

608.40 USD

It mounts inside your tank via magnets.  They don't take up any more space in the tank than the drain assembly of most pre-drilled "reef ready" tanks, plus they allow you a place to hide the automatic top-off system's sensors.   Media filter, protein skimmer and ATO are included in the package.

[If_Only]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

An excellent way to "filter" a tank like a 75 Gallon without drilling or having any risk from external plumbing is this:

  Hide contents

Reefpack 500

Comline^® DOC Skimmer 9012: Designed for mixed aquariums or soft coral aquariums with 200 to 1,200 ... mehr

0500.000

 

608.40 USD

It mounts inside your tank via magnets.  They don't take up any more space in the tank than the drain assembly of most pre-drilled "reef ready" tanks, plus they allow you a place to hide the automatic top-off system's sensors.   Media filter, protein skimmer and ATO are included in the package.

Wow that seems like a good deal, The main attraction I have to a 75 is have a bristle tooth tang, at the store I help at they have a 90g mixed reef with a bristle tooth tang and he's so funny, But I'll look into that package.

[mcarroll]

A bristletooth is the best option for smaller tanks, if you're gonna have a tang.

[If_Only]

2 hours ago, mcarroll said:

A bristletooth is the best option for smaller tanks, if you're gonna have a tang.

Yeah, but after looking into the 75 more, I realized that I would need 2 AI primes, and two of. them with goosenecks would be $460 which is quite pricey, I might do the reef pack but I am thinking of just buying the skimmer, and get a separate ATO, but I don't know if I want a Tunze skimmer or the Reef octopus hang on back, I can't choose...

[Tamberav]

2 Ai primes on a 75g sounds terrible to me lol If you going to drop $460 bucks you might as well pick up a used ATI fixture and really enjoy life 😜

 

I have a reefpack I use intermittently on QT tanks and frag tanks, it blends in well with a black background but will say it is a pain to clean and the magnet mounts break easily so I just glued the magnets on. Performance isn't bad. If you want them, I could let them go for a good price. 

 

 

 

[If_Only]

38 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

2 Ai primes on a 75g sounds terrible to me lol If you going to drop $460 bucks you might as well pick up a used ATI fixture and really enjoy life 😜

 

I have a reefpack I use intermittently on QT tanks and frag tanks, it blends in well with a black background but will say it is a pain to clean and the magnet mounts break easily so I just glued the magnets on. Performance isn't bad. If you want them, I could let them go for a good price. 

 

 

 

Alright, I might do a 75 or I might go with a 40 nuvo... can't choose

[Jesterrace]

On 12/8/2018 at 11:43 AM, Donny41 said:

You could go for a 65 which I believe is the same footprint as the 40 just taller 

As a guy with a taller tank (25 inch tall 90 gallon), I can say that once you get over about 18-20 inches the height just makes it more of a pain to clean and even the active fish don't spend much time in the top of the tank overall.  The point is that the extra height is nothing more than wasted space and more work for the person maintaining it. If you are going to go bigger focus on gains in the length and width department.  

[Jesterrace]

On 12/9/2018 at 5:42 PM, If_Only said:

Alright, I might do a 75 or I might go with a 40 nuvo... can't choose

75 will open up some stocking options for you (ie better suited for a Dwarf Angel, Small Anthias, possibly a One Spot Foxface, some of the larger and more active wrasses).  

[If_Only]

6 hours ago, Jesterrace said:

75 will open up some stocking options for you (ie better suited for a Dwarf Angel, Small Anthias, possibly a One Spot Foxface, some of the larger and more active wrasses).  

Yeah, I just found a great, great deal on a NEW JBJ 45 so I might go with that tank, I would love a bigger fish but I just don't think its in the budget right now...

[Jesterrace]

That is a good sized tank to start with and still gives you some options that wouldn't work in a smaller tank.  Flasher Wrasses, Pygmy Angel and maybe even a Lubbock's Wrasse (they can be somewhat aggressive, but are generally well behaved).   I can't stress enough the value of having a Wrasse in your tank as they add so much in terms of personality, color and visibility.  The Tang is out, but still plenty of good options for that sized tank.  Make sure you have a cover on your tank though, ALL FISH JUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!