Tracy G June 30, 2012 Share June 30, 2012 What is better to do a smaller tank right or a bigger tank cheaper? Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.eclipse June 30, 2012 Share June 30, 2012 i would say go with the 40, but i like smaller tanks over bigger ones. i like how my 40 has turned out and i went higher end on with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amay121 June 30, 2012 Share June 30, 2012 Bigger. Easier to go big and have less limitations, especially when deciding on what approach you're looking for. Corals in a 40 would be alright, but can also fill out quickly given the proper environment. Fish types could be limited as wee with the smaller tank. Plan on what you'd like to have in terms of livestock and "try" to plan accordingly if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga June 30, 2012 Share June 30, 2012 I will paraphrase the wise words of dschfflier - 'get the right equipment the first time and rely on it for a long time, instead of getting the cheap stuff and replacing it multiple times with a high degree of effort, stress and risk to livestock/investment.' the cost of the components isnt the limiting factor - the quality is. if you can find high quality components for a cheap price, awesome. Don't buy the crappy cheap stuff though or you'll just end up replacing it (probably with the high end part once you learn your lesson). what's your plan? what kind of equipment are you planning on running? 40b is a really nice tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motti June 30, 2012 Share June 30, 2012 I would go with the 40 gallon, I had larger tanks, and it's a lot of work - also more money to keep. You can do really nice things in a nicer tank. I kind of went from one extreme to the other, I replaced my 150g display tank with a 12gallon nano now i am looking for a little bigger tank, maybe 25-35 gallon so i can have couple more fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G July 1, 2012 Author Share July 1, 2012 I will paraphrase the wise words of dschfflier - 'get the right equipment the first time and rely on it for a long time, instead of getting the cheap stuff and replacing it multiple times with a high degree of effort, stress and risk to livestock/investment.' the cost of the components isnt the limiting factor - the quality is. if you can find high quality components for a cheap price, awesome. Don't buy the crappy cheap stuff though or you'll just end up replacing it (probably with the high end part once you learn your lesson). what's your plan? what kind of equipment are you planning on running? 40b is a really nice tank... Well right now I have a 72gallon Bowfront with a Proflex series 3 sump, 6 light T5 48", EuroUSA skimmer rated for 150 gallon, refugium already setup and tank is running fine for now. The tank itself is a POS..... Picked it up before I really understood what I was getting and the center brace is broken, the sump barley fits, and has scratches. I was going to drill the brand new 40 gallon breeder I have, pick up a decent stand, get an MP10 instead of the 3 Korilla's 1050's I have now and the fake wave maker they make. Tank is already cycled and doing great I just dont trust the tank. I dont have to start from scratch and I really like the look of the 40 gallon. The mount I have I can use my T5 for a little while (month or 2) and then pick up some LED's to replace (I love the look that LED's give off). Then I would get a controller next. I have a few corals and I think I like the softies better I have a few frags of SPS but I cant say I love them. I have a 6 line wrasse, a Royal Blue Tang, Yellow Tang, Yellow watchman Goby/Pistol Shrimp, a pretty strong clean up crew. This would be the first time That I really built other than just replaced some plumbing on the 72 bowfront. The 72 looked good from a distance then when you get up close is in pretty bad shape. The wife purchased it and had it delivered while I was at work lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 well, aside from recommending that you not keep two tangs in a 40 gallon tank, i would say everything else sounds fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpallas July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 40g with quality, worthwhile equipment. With the right stuff it's easier to keep parameters in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G July 1, 2012 Author Share July 1, 2012 <br />well, aside from recommending that you not keep two tangs in a 40 gallon tank, i would say everything else sounds fine.<br /><br /><br /><br />would 1 tang work? Also why not 2? They are like best buddies always together lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 I would do a deep sea 57 or 75 rimless or something similar. U could reuse pretty much all your equipment and just need a new tank and stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 (edited) Well, firstly, you're asking someone who is biased (from a biological background). Personally i'm of the mindset that lower level organisms are logarithmically more important than any fish (look up loss of mass through trophic levels). Also, i'm of the mindset that smaller fish are almost always better to keep than larger ones. That out of the way... It's a matter of space and food. Making the fish think it's not in a tank is my whole goal when keeping a fish. Simulate the natural environment as best as possible. Don't make a uniculture 'display', make a habitat - ***edit - more precisely, provide the building blocks and allow a habitat to develop organically. You're not going to find tangs in the wild inhabiting an area that small (not by their own will anyway). You're not likely to support natural algal growth in quantities that will subsist 2 tangs (for long) in a 40g tank. They're also probably not going to have too many places to hide and feel safe. Stressed fish are more prone to disease. I think that pretty much covers the bulletpoints on tangs in a 40, but the size of the fish is a factor too. It's not as big a deal with young fish, but when the fish grows out, it will become necessary to move it into a larger tank. We're not the only animal who benefit from having/are hurt by not having a stable growing environment... Besides, aside from being 'pretty' I think tangs are boring. What is their behavior? They 'swim around' and 'look pretty'. I'm at the point now where i've seen so many brightly colored, odd looking, unusual things living in tanks that i just don't really care how it looks anymore. It's all about behavior (some of us may call it personality) - creating the most natural environment is the way to see the best of it. Consider the analogy of a deer (tang) vs a barnswallow (6-line): The deer moves to find more grass to graze on and, when necessary, avoid predation. Aside from mating behavior, you're not going to see too much of a high level of interest (unless you're a hunter) being exhibited. The barnswallow, on the other hand, MUST keep moving. Its tiny prey (flying insects) force it to dart eratically through the air, constantly providing a scintillating airshow. I know this is apples to oranges, but, well, that's kind of what we're doing. My 100% unsolicited advice? give your tangs to one of the users here who lost all their fish in the outage. Get a group of firefish, a royal gramma and a midas or bicolor blenny (not both) and keep all that in the 40 along with your 6 line and goby/shrimp. Take my words with a grain of salt, though. Most people do. Edited July 1, 2012 by wogga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G July 1, 2012 Author Share July 1, 2012 That was the best explanation lol. Great info! I can't get rid of Dori It is small (for now) because it is my 4 years old's fish lol. As for the yellow that is a great idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 (edited) Glad to help. Glad i didn't OVERexplain. I have a tendency to do so (always have had a penchant for details), as i will now demonstrate:laugh: How big is 'dori' (snout to end of tail)? You might be able to keep her in there for a couple years, then when your youngin is a bit bigger, start a 100+ gal FOWLR that can be 'her tank' and move 'dori' into there... small fish in the reef is the way to go though. the balanced health of our reef inhabitants is controlled more than anything else, by the stability of populations of primary producers (algae, zooxanthellae, macro, plants), decomposers (denitrifying bacteria and some detritivores) and LASTLY your primary/secondary consumers (herbivorous/carnivorous fish and inverts). Here's the thing though - a primary consumer is not inherently going to have less of an effect on lower-level-trophic-organisms than a secondary consumer.... A tang (primary consumer) is likely going to consume a much higher biomass/year of primary producers, than a SMALL secondary consumer (6 line) will of primary consumers like copepods. Is it confusing yet? I really think that striving for a broad understanding of the complex ecology of the reef (which, as I mentioned, is primarily dependent on decomposers and primary producers) and making sure that the higher level organisms don't biologically outweigh (to speak figuratively) the lower level organisms is the best way to build a 'bulletproof' system. Control the morphology as a function of the ecology, rather than vice versa. Does that make sense? Most importantly, remember that mass-flow through the trophic system suffers logarithmic losses. This is primarily a function of the costs of metabolism. For each gram of herbivorous fish mass, 10 grams of vegetation has to be consumed. for each gram of carnivorous fish mass, 10 grams of food organism have to be consumed [note - this is not an exact number, but pretty darn close as far as mathematically formulable biological phenomena go]. So... this means that one carnivorous fish requires roughly 100 times its body weight worth of its food's food [really sorry i can't express this in less of a run-on fashion] JUST to support its bodyweight, not to mention GROWTH! That 'food's food' is what keeps the ecosystem balanced. Too much consumption + not enough production = non-thriving, imbalanced ecosystem. This doesn't inherently mean the ecosystem will crash, but that it will not run at full potential. All an ecosystem really is (on a chemical level) is a complex network of energy transferral points. You can think of the organisms within the system like chemical catalysts. A balanced chemical equation/reaction will yield predictable products/byproducts. An imbalanced one will yield UNpredictable byproducts, which are INVISIBLE[!!!] until they are evidenced symptomatically in your fish's behavior (sickness). Testing for nitrates and such isn't always going to clue you in on what's going on, either. Remember - complex network - one catalyst can't explain the imbalance - only the complex ratio of catalysts (which often can NOT be monitored chemically). Long story short, get a midas blenny. They're awesome. Edited July 1, 2012 by wogga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 I'll keep mine shorter then wogga. I would go bigger for the additional swimming space and more stable water quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 Get a 120gal. Perfect size imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wogga July 1, 2012 Share July 1, 2012 I'll keep mine shorter then wogga. not too hard to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy G July 1, 2012 Author Share July 1, 2012 Yeah I want to get one from NAGA but I think I want to do the 40 to get more comfortable. Then go nutz on a big one lol. Most of the items I would be getting can be used for a larger setup. The advice is really grey guys thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now