Looking for opinions on tank selection

[Vern]

Just to start off I'm new here and I'm looking at starting a reef tank. I have had salt water in past but mainly FOWLR with a couple softies here and there. I'm trying to make sure I set it up right so I won't have to change things/equipment down the road.

I'm trying to decide on tank size.
About all I ever hear/read is buy the largest you can afford. Well from what I see the tank isn't the expensive part if you find a nice used one.

The area I'm looking at putting the tank is @62" long so I was thinking 4 ft or less, that way I can get behind the aquarium if needed.

With that being said the tanks I can find that would fit would be a 40 gallon breeder,55,75,90,105,&120. Maybe even a 5 footer but that would be tight fitting.

1 Out of those standard sizes which makes the best reef setup?

2 Drilled or not drilled? Why do you prefer that option?

3 Refugium? If so which one hob or sump?

4 What's some good lights for lps and softies? I don't think I'm exp enough to venture down sps yet.

5 Skimmer? If so which one hob or sump?

6 How many power heads and what size would you choose for the tank you selected?

That's all I can think if right now.
TiA

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here's my two cents:


I like the 40B and 75....because they both have 18 inch width for nice rock work.


Don't like the 55 because it's only 12 inches wide....too narrow for doring rock work.




I'm not familar with the 105, so no comment.


My only concern about the 90 and 120 is that they are both 24 inches deep and it's hard to reach the bottom of the tank, unless you have baboon arms


I'd definitely go with an internal overflow with sump/refugium. However, I will never purchase a reef-ready tank because of the behemoth size of conventional overflows. I like Glass-Holes overflows....well designed and very small.

 

[NanaReefer]

Here's my two cents:


I like the 40B and 75....because they both have 18 inch width for nice rock work.


Don't like the 55 because it's only 12 inches wide....too narrow for doring rock work.




I'm not familar with the 105, so no comment.


My only concern about the 90 and 120 is that they are both 24 inches deep and it's hard to reach the bottom of the tank, unless you have baboon arms


I'd definitely go with an internal overflow with sump/refugium. However, I will never purchase a reef-ready tank because of the behemoth size of conventional overflows. I like Glass-Holes overflows....well designed and very small.

Agree 100% [emoji106]

 

[Vern]

I'm not sure about baboon arms but I'm 6'1" so I could easily reach bottom,I think.

Yeah I'm not big on those huge black over flows either.

 

[Trex]

I am 6'1" also, and don't have an issue reaching the bottom of my 65 , which is 24" deep. My 210 is 29", and that is pushing it.

While bigger tanks are nice, I really did like my 40 breeder.

Would go with a sump, and in-sump skimmer and 'fuge -- not a fan of HOBs, for both looks and usage.

Powerheads would depend on the final tank size. When I had the 40 breeder I used 2 MP10s, and same with my 75. Though, the MP40s might have worked better. For the last 6 years or so, those are the only powerheads I have used, so can't comment on the others.
For lights, I have only used MH+T5s or just T5s, have had success with both. Can't comment on LEDs. With softies, T5s would be more than enough.