Setting Up First Reef Tank

[Thalasstronaut]

Also going to second 75 over 55

The 55 really doesn’t leave much room in it for rockwork and so on. The extra width of a 75 gives you much more flexibility.

IMO the standard 75g rimmed tank is a great first tank, and large enough to be many peoples last talk also. Nice water volume, lots of fish options, lots of space, but not so deep it’s difficult to access the rear/base, lots of sump options, and lots of economical equipment options.

I am in full agreement on the relative pointlessness of 55s for all but a few applications. The only reason I mention the 55 and 40 is because that’s what I have on hand. I have a 75 that is currently in use, or I’d just go for that. I’m a bit hesitant to spend the money on a tank that I know I’m not planning to use for that long. And a 75 isn’t easy to accommodate space wise so I think I’d be less likely to keep that one up and running vs a 40.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I'd advise you to use ocean live rock...as much as you can reasonably afford.

 

[Thalasstronaut]

I'd advise you to use ocean live rock...as much as you can reasonably afford.

Is there a point where you have “too much” from a filtration standpoint, or is it more a factor of the rock taking up too much space in the tank?

 

[19Mateo83]

A 40 breeder has a greater square footage and theoretically a greater swimming area for fish, except those that really make use of the height of their tank. So wouldn’t a 40 breeder make more sense? My preference is to use the 40b just because of the ease of placement (I have a specific area in our front room picked out), the shallowness of the tank, and the better aquascaping opportunities.

I had the same thoughts on a 40B’s size as you do, I did a little looking around and found a 50gal that has the same footprint as a 40B but 18” tall, the best of both worlds. It was manufactured by aquarium masters and sold under the seapora brand.

Build Thread - Mateo’s Seapora 50 build

I am planning on upgrading my 14g AIO cube to a Seapora 50g (36x18x18) This will be a 100% diy stand, sump and canopy system. I plan to reuse as much of the old components and rock I have in storage and as many of the new ones i can from the 14g. I made some to scale rough drawings to figure...

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