# 40 gallon tank?



## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Is 40 gallons (36x18x16) beyond the realm of a 'nano'?


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

thats border line nano, it is a great size tank though. Enough water for stable conditions and a nice size. Its a perfect size to start with. TAKE THE PLUNGE. COME TO THE DARK SIDE.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Yeah, I was looking at doing it with a 40 gallon breeder (36x18x15). Maybe not RIGHT NOW but I was thinking about accumulating the parts and what not for it... I wanted something a bit bigger than, say, a 20 gallon. But nothing huge.

I was also looking at some lighting kits. Would 2x96w cf be an okay amount of light for the tank? I figure it's almost 5wpg and since the tank is fairly shallow and the kit comes with highly polished reflectors it would be alright.

Also - how important are actinics? And should I make room in the hood for an actinic bulb as well? I figure I have room for 3x96w in a custom hood over the 40 gallon.


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

actinics are really just used to achieve a dawn to dusk effect, and provide the right color spectrum to make the colors in the tank pop. I'm a big fan of metal halide lighting but they produce a lot of heat. I had 2-150w metal halides of my 40 breeder. PCs would work but lack the shimmer effect that MH have. T-5 lighting is very nice I have never used it, Jasert has though. WPG isn't a good way to look at it. You should be looking at PAR readings for different kinds of light. hellolights.com is a good place to order retro kits from.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Keep in mind I'm in Canada.


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

Hmmm.. I don't know if they will ship to you. You could always ask.

Just looked they don't ship internationaly


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

What type of equipment would I be looking at other than the lighting?

I might set it up as a FOWLR at the beginning until I can afford lighting or find a good deal on some mh lighting. (We have some real sw freaks in this city and sometimes really good stuff goes for really cheap when they upgrade.)

I'm probably looking at powerheads, I know that. Is a skimmer suggested? I feel like such a noob, lol.


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## mike0404 (Apr 5, 2006)

1-2lbs of LR for 1g of water, skimmer is a must. then refugiums and powerheads. I dont think you need metal halides for FOWLR tank.


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

All you need is some liverock, a couple powerheads, heater, salt mix, refracometer or something to measure salinity and a skimmer then you are good to go. Do you plan on running this tank with a sump or no? I recommend hydor koralias for powerheads. they produce a nice wide flow, don't produce a lot of heat, and use very little energy. On my 40g I ran cpr bakpak2 protien skimmer until I bought a coralife super skimmer 125. Tunze makes some great skimmers that are small and will work in the tank or in the sump. I liked my cpr bakpak 2, but I only had 2 clown fish and a royal gramma. I don't know how it will work on a tank with a high bio load. Protein skimmers are things you want to buy big because you will upgrade. In a small reef tank they aren't needed but i think in your case sine you are starting with a fowlr I would suggest one. If you can find items used you will save a ton of money. You can buy like 15-20lbs. of good liverock and then order some dry base rock. That will save a lot of money but it will take some time for the base rock to look like liverock.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Would this be a good skimmer for a 40 gallon tank?

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/BigAlsCA/ctl366...lewheel65gallon


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

its not a bad skimmer, but I would look for something better.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Do you have any suggestions for skimmers?


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Mettle,
A 40g breeder tank would be a nice tank for FOWLR or a Reef. Technocially, Nano tanks are up to 30 gallons, but who is counting? Nonetheless, since a breeder tank is wider and longer vs a taller tank you could really benefit from using PC or T-5's. However, I am also a huge halide fan with the dapal effect, plus the overall power of MH's. Any other form of lighting will limit what type of corals you can keep, but if you go MH then you can keep anything (just an FYI).

For a FOWLR you can put some LR in the tank for bio-filtration. Just a little tip to save you some money, start with base rock (BR), then add some nice pieces of LR on top. The LR will quickly populate the BR, and you will quickly have aquaquatured LR in no time. Plus, that will save you tons. LR goes for anything like $6.99 - $8.99 a pound depending on the quality of the LR, and BR goes for $2.99 - $3.99 a pound. As stated above I would aim for 2 pound of rock per gallon. Thus, around 80 pound would be perfect for a 40g tank. The text book states go add 1.5-1.75 pounds per gallon, but IMO over doing the LR is the best way to go.

A skimmer is the best piece of equipment besides lighting that you can add. Euroreef, Tunze, Aqua-C all make some of the top of the line skimmers. Depending on the style skimmer you are looking for (e.g. HOB or in-sump models), can dictate which brand you should look into. For example, if you are going the HOB route, the take a look at Aqua-C's Remora, or on of Tunze's new HOB models. If you are looking for an in-sump style, look for Euroreef or Tunze. You can find other skimmers out there for a good price, but they constintely need "tunning" to pull a nice green skimmate.

Tunze Skimmers:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...no_classic.html
EuroReef:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...s_rc_sedra.html
or
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...ro-reef_rs.html

Aqua-C Remora:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...remora_pro.html
Aqua-C Nano Skimmers:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...ano_remora.html
Aqua-C in-sump skimmers:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage...s_aquac_ev.html

With the use of a solid skimmer and LR, that will really be all you need at first. After the tank has been up and running for a while you can add a refug to grow some macro-algae. Again, with refurgiums there are sump models, in-sump models, or HOB's.

If you are looking into adding a marco-algae go for Chaetomorpha. 
Chaetomorpha Algae:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=2401
Chaetomorpha Algae, also known as Spaghetti Algae or Green Hair Algae, is an excellent macro algae for refugiums. Each cell grows end to end, creating long, stiff strands. It grows in filamentous clumps, resembling a ball of fishing line. This algae is fast growing and is not palatable to many herbivorous species. 
Chaetomorpha Algae removes both phosphates and nitrates from the water. To increase the amount of nutrients this algae exports, use moderate to high lighting and keep it in an area of high water flow. It should ideally be tumbled in an algae filter.
That should get you started, but if you have any further questions feel free to post them. I


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

The Tunze definitely look to be the best. Unfortunately they also carry the largest price tag.







From what I'm reading those can be used either as hang-ons or in-sumps, right? That's kind of appealing because if I decide to add a sump then I'd have the right skimmer off the bat but for the time being I'd still be good to go.

I really like the Aqua C Remora Pro skimmers though. They're flat profile makes it so easy to hang it on the tank. And I think that would be nice. To see less equipment. (Always a battle from what I hear.)

As far as live rock goes... There's actually an abundance of it in my area and sometimes people sell it off for CHEAP. There's a guy right now selling 80lbs. at $2/lb. Would be perfect if I had the money or had the tank already set up... Oh well. More good deals will come along. Same thing with the live sand. A lot of people sell that off too. The luck of being in an area with a ton of sw guys, I guess. So when the time comes for this stuff I won't have to go to Big Al's or anything.

I'm going to be picky about some of my live rock though when the time does come. I want it to look really nice and really cool. There's an importer in my area that does some interesting stuff and he's actually started making his own custom pieces too, which could be interesting as well.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Yeah, if you can get a good deal on LR in the area go for it!! That was just an idea to help save you some money if you could not find great deals like $2/pound.

Oh, if you are going to be picky, then let me chime in my two cents. Get larger pieces of LR. I started off getting a bunch of smaller pieces, and it is a pain in the azz to stack the smaller rocks. Get larger rocks, and they stack right up.

Yes, most of those Tunze skimmer can do both HOB or in-sump. I have an Aqua-C Remora and they work well, FYI. I would definitely recommend them. Yes, unfortunitely the skimmer and lighting both carry a heavy price tag.


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

I would jump on that LR deal. you could buy a Rubbermade Brute trashcan and fill saltwater add a couple powerheads and it could sit in there until you need it. I agree with coldfire you should start with the larger pieces and then buy the smaller pieces to fill in. Aqua C HOB skimmer are good skimmers, and they offer a lot of different sizes. With saltwater take your time, nothing happens fast. Also read and read and read. there many different way to run sw tanks pick one that fits you. And of course keep us updated.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

I am going to go about this at a snail's pace. Funds are almost non-existant right now due to some personal funds being tied up. (Long story that I won't get into - but let's say I have a grand less than I thought I would at this point in addition to $5k for school, heh...) Plus the tank I want t use for SW still has a turtle in it, haha.

I've been doing a lot of reading and definitely intend to do more.

On the note of 'a lot of different ways' to do things. I know a guy who has gone 'old school' and runs a reef tank with nothing more than a skylight, some polished metal and a few good airpumps/powerheads. It's not the nicest thing you've ever seen. But it works and it's uncanny. He's spent all of about $200 on the tank, haha.

I like the prospect of it being an ongoing project though. A little here, a little there, and ever evolving. It just seems like a really cool idea.

I also want to build my own stand/canopy to go with the tank to make it something showy for the home. So that works into the budget/project as well.

At this point I'm having fun just reading, trying to figure out how different equipment works, etc. I don't even have any salt yet, heh.


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