Tank

[Intranick]

I originally was thinking of getting a 40 gallon breeder tank for my aquarium, but then I saw the 24 gallon aquapod kit on drsfostersmith.com. I am having a hard time deciding which one to get, but I'm not sure really what the advantage of either of them are, other than cost -- but I don't think price is a huge concern, but its something I'm conscious of.

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The -other- thing I was thinking, is maybe I could get the 12 gallon aquapod for my bedroom or office room, and a 40 gallon for my living room -- is it bad to try to start two tanks at once?

[Dentoid]

It's not bad, just double the work.

[Intranick]

the work isn't a problem, especially on weekdays I find myself twiddling around for an hour or two every day I think having a smaller tank near my desk would be great -- i just dont know about keeping small (12 gallon) reefs, i heard its harder to maintain

[AQTCJAK]

you are correct the smaller the harder.

[Intranick]

i'm not sure what to do about a hood/lighting for the 40 though.. what about 2 x 96 watt power compacts?

[DrHank]

Your lighting will depend largely on the types of corals that you would like to keep. PCs tend to provide the least amount of light. They are fine for zoas, shrooms, and many softies. I would recommend looking at T5s or MH. They will allow you to keep many corals that you couldn't with PCs. Always consider the requirements of the items first and buy accordingly.

[BigAl07]

I have a 12g Nano Cube here on my desk at work and it's pretty cool but it's very distracting! I love it and wouldn't want to be without it but it's a "conversation" starter that usually turns into at least 30 minutes of Oooo and Wow and ahhh!! But at the same time it's always here and I find myself just looking into it and admiring it instead of working. Then add in the fact that SW is just messy (factor in office equipment etc) and you really have to wonder how feasible IS a tank on your desk?


The smaller the water volume the quicker the crash.

Allen

[Intranick]

Well, my last setup was 29 gallons and I had 2 65 watt power compact bulbs on it.. I had an open brain coral in there that flourished, The only reason I was thinking PC bulbs was that they're relatively inexpensive to begin with, maybe after all was said and done I could switch to MH or something. I dont know.

On the other hand of things, I just got back from the local fish shop (i refuse to use the acronym LFS -- because it means something else to me (linux from scratch)) and put in an order for the aquarium and stand.

40 breeder looks like a good size to me.

[Intranick]

Actually i have another question.

My old man just informed me that it might be possible for me to use the 55 gallon tank they have at work. I dont care for the stand, but I could replace that pretty easily.

I heard that the 55 gallon tank isn't a very good size, but I wanna know how accurate that is -- think: free tank

[lcstorc]

Free tank sounds good to me as long as copper has never been used in it.

[bluespotjawfish]

With the breeder tank, you will want to think about the types of corals you want. There isn't as much depth in these tanks, so if you have a deep sand bed and live rock you are pretty much at the top of the tank. Just something to consider. On the other hand, you are at the top of the tank, therefore everything is close to your lights and will grow better The depth of the tank should also be considered. I know with my 50 gallon tank, it is hard to get the rocks stacked before I run out of room.

I'd go big myself. I run out of room much to quickly!

[Intranick]

Originally Posted by lcstorc

Free tank sounds good to me as long as copper has never been used in it.

See, thats something I dont know. He acquired it from a company that went bankrupt and their assets were liquidated. I think it has always been a freshwater tank.

Is there any way to "clean" it well enough just to be sure?

[lcstorc]

No way to remove it once it has been used. It accumulates in the seals and is slowly released. You can get a copper test but I am not sure how accurate they are.

[Intranick]

I know that in the couple years we had it set up, we never used anything that contained copper.

What exactly would it do if something in its distant history contained copper?

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I also am not so sure about the stand.. Imean its made of cheap looking particle board and is an ugly white color, but it seems to be holding up ok.. maybe i could reinforce it by nailing a couple pieces of 2x4 to the inside? is that necessary? imean it is an actual stand for a 55 gallon tank it just seems like a cheap "walmart" type stand

[lcstorc]

I don't know about the stand but the copper would kill inverts and some coral.