# 40G Breeder vs 55G



## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

So I am thinking about upgrading my 29G acrylic tank to a bit bigger one :eyebrows:, utilizing the petco $1 per gallon sale. There seem to be some people that would recommend a 40 breeder over a 55 because of the dimensions. I wanted to get some opinions and thoughts :-k. I will be utilizing all existing equipment. It will have an eheim ecco 34 and a rena XP1, pressurized CO2, etc. The tank will be heavily planted with 2 medium sized angels, 3 blue rams, 5 otos, and a lonely neon. Please give me your opinion on which would be better in your opinion.

Here is a pic of the existing tank when it was about 2 months overdue on a trim.










Thanks
Josh


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

There are 50g and 65g aquariums that have the same footprint as the 40BR. These two have a top brace though. The 50g is just 2" taller. It's sweet too. The 65g is 24" tall. It may be too tall for some people.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

I'd stay away from a 55 if I had it to do over. They're a tad too slender, and a tad too tall at the same time. Makes for a weird combination once everything is in there. It can be worked, of course, just takes a little extra patience and effort.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Thanks for giving me some of your thoughts. It sounds like the 40 breeder is a great footprint, and the fact is that it would fit my existing t5 light exatcly. And its even $15 cheaper!!! I would still love more input, but this is definitely what I am leaning towards. Now I just have to decide whether to tell my wife or not. I have the cash and will be decomissioning the 29g (i.e. not adding another tank). And she gets annoyed when I talk about my hobby with her.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

I hate to double dip sometimes, but many of Amano's 'scapes are based on a size near the 40BR as you know. csmith's post about the 55g sums that size up very nicely.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

csmith and leftc - you're the best. I truly appreciate your input, its people like you that make this forum so rich and helpful. I really wanted the 40 because of its ideal footprint, but was being tempted by the allure of an extra 15 gallons. The funny thing is that I was measuring my existing stand last night (which is quite oversized for the 29g) and it is only 17" deep. So I think I will have to build a custom stand for the new tank. I may have enough lumber laying around to build it without buying anything!!!


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## killacross (Apr 29, 2010)

nah...build a new stand anyway!

we love DIY journals 'round here!!

but yea...40BR is a cool tank...i like the 4ft tank but its just not deep enough (front to back)


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

I currently have a 55 I posted about a while back. I DSMed some HC, got a "decent" look to it, but when it came time to fill I hated the look of it. There isn't enough width to it to do something great with, but it's so tall you can't really not do stems and make it look awesome. I've found two 55's that I like the look of, but they are far and few between. I'm sure more exist, these are just the only ones I've found.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/tank-journals-photo-album/79452-my-55-gallon-iwagumi-2-56k.html

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...dukes-55g-planted-community-need-scape-8.html


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

joshd said:


> csmith and leftc - you're the best. I truly appreciate your input, its people like you that make this forum so rich and helpful. I really wanted the 40 because of its ideal footprint, ...


You rascal Josh. You made me go pick up a 40BR today for $40. That's $70 off! Dang ... I love it.

I wouldn't of known about it if it wasn't for you. Thanks!!!


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## plamski (Oct 27, 2009)

40 breeder is better for planted tank for me. Better light distribution.55 Is to high-algae problems. Maybe most important thing is that with 40 breeder you can have nice and DEEP '3D' scape.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Left C said:


> You rascal Josh. You made me go pick up a 40BR today for $40. That's $70 off! Dang ... I love it.
> 
> I wouldn't of known about it if it wasn't for you. Thanks!!!


Guilty as charged. Left C, thanks for making me feel better about getting another tank!!! I'd love to see how it turns out when you get it set up.


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Always disliked the little depth (front to back) of my 55g tank... A 50g or 75g would be my personal choice in this size range. A 40b I feel looks very nice as an open-top tank with pendant lighting... otherwise it tends to look a little "short" overall.

Enjoy your new tank!
Giancarlo Podio


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

I picked up my 40g breeder today. Cant wait to swap tanks with the 29, but it will probably be a month. I need to build a stand and get the time to do it. Thanks for all you help and polling input!

Josh


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## albirdy (Jun 12, 2010)

In my opinion, it depends on what YOU want to do with it. I have a 40 gallon breeder, and I like it as a planted tank (sometimes I wish it was even DEEPER). However, when I started itching for discus, I did wish I had a 55 gallon, simply for space for them to swim around. 

But of course, since this is APC and not simplydiscus, I would recommend the 40. The ability to make the tank look like a 100+ gallons full of plants is just too much to pass up, is it not?


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

albirdy said:


> In my opinion, it depends on what YOU want to do with it. I have a 40 gallon breeder, and I like it as a planted tank (sometimes I wish it was even DEEPER). However, when I started itching for discus, I did wish I had a 55 gallon, simply for space for them to swim around.
> 
> But of course, since this is APC and not simplydiscus, I would recommend the 40. The ability to make the tank look like a 100+ gallons full of plants is just too much to pass up, is it not?


I totally agree with you. And I even agree about getting that itch for the discus. But every time I get that itch, I read about them and I can't imagine doing that many water changes. My wife would kick my butt :fish: for spending TOO much time with the fish (and I wouldn't blame her). And so I continue to do my best to keep it simple


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

I like my 55g but that is just me.. it gives more space for the fish to swim around but not much deapth. a longer tall tank is going to be better for angelfish... speaking of angelfish i have 2 of them.. I need to sell them or trade them for low light plants. because i'm about to go get power slayers guppies. pretty sure the guppies would be a snack. wait wait, I still have my 15g cube and did you get in to saltwater. i didn't know you still had a freshwater tank, or am I really just confused on which josh I'm thinking you are.


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## Grathum (Jul 13, 2010)

A 55 would be a good tank to do an emersed setup. You need that extra height to really grow stems ect emersed. 12" is just too thin of a width though. Your amazons ect would look crunched up in that space. I would go with the 40B. I think the perfect overall size foot print has got to be the 75 gallon.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

fishyjoe24 said:


> i didn't know you still had a freshwater tank, or am I really just confused on which josh I'm thinking you are.


I think you may have me confused with another Josh. I've never kept saltwater. I always say why be salty when you can be green 

I think the 55 is a good size, but being as narrow as my current 30, I think I would still have the problem of the tank filling front to back and not giving much room for the fish. Hopefully with the 40 breeder I will be able to have more foreground.

Grathum - I would love to get a 75. I agree that its a great footprint, but its not in the cards for now.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

joshd said:


> I picked up my 40g breeder today. Cant wait to swap tanks with the 29, but it will probably be a month. I need to build a stand and get the time to do it. Thanks for all you help and polling input!
> 
> Josh


I'm glad that you got the 40g breeder. Check out what I lucked out with.

FROM: http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php/6663-Great-Deal!


Left C said:


> I got a great deal on a 36" Current Nova Extreme 4x39w T5HO fixture. One online store had a typo on the price. It was listed at $59.99 and the real price was $200 more at $259.99. Counting shipping I got it for $69.98. They honored my order and shipped it. I was really surprised. This is the best deal that I've gotten in a long time. It comes with Actinic and 10,000K bulbs. It does have single lamp reflectors. Tom told me to just use the two outside bulbs. That's all I need. It has two ballasts. I ordered Giesemann's Midday and Aquaflora bulbs for it since I got it so cheap.
> http://current-usa.com/node/27
> http://www.giesemann.de/61,2,,.html


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Left C said:


> I'm glad that you got the 40g breeder. Check out what I lucked out with.


Congrats on that. Sounds like the start to a very cheap setup. Who gets a 40g breeder and 4x39w T5HO for just over $100 new!!! :first:I'd be curious to see just how cheap you could do a stellar setup for. Good luck, and stop making the rest of us jealous. :wink:


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

joshd said:


> Congrats on that. Sounds like the start to a very cheap setup. Who gets a 40g breeder and 4x39w T5HO for just over $100 new!!! :first:I'd be curious to see just how cheap you could do a stellar setup for. Good luck, and stop making the rest of us jealous. :wink:
> 
> I picked up my 40g breeder today. Cant wait to swap tanks with the 29, but it will probably be a month. I need to build a stand and get the time to do it. Thanks for all you help and polling input!
> 
> Josh


How is your stand coming? I found a place on ebay that has unfinished 36x18 oak stands for $225 shipped. They have 5 different designs for the doors: cathedral, classic, country French, oval flat panel and square flat panel:
http://stores.ebay.com/Dayton-Cabin...69862018&_sid=646320218&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

They have 36x18 canopies too. I'm not interested in one: http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Canopy...400?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5193d85970

I have three bags of Amazonia and I collected a bunch of rocks. I even have some Manzanita, plus a "bush." See below

my bush


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Ok LeftC, now you are just making me look like a slouch.

I have been thinking and planning, but no movement yet. I am trying to decide if I want to use 4x4 lumber for my stand or make a 2x4 frame a cover is with a nice plywood. I am leaning towards the 4x4 structure. I am hoping to build it this weekend and possibly set up the tank next weekend. 

I am mostly using the existing florite in my 29g for substrate. I don't know what to add to it to give me enough volume. The flourite is the Seachem original color (i.e. orangie, yellow, red, brown). I would love to darken it up, but I am not sure that it will give a very good look. 

The plants in my 29g are ready for some more space. I have an amazon sword that has put up a flower over 12" off the water.

Thanks for the links. And I agree with you. I am definitely keeping my tank open on top.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

joshd said:


> Ok LeftC, now you are just making me look like a slouch.


It'll turn out that I'm the slouch. I've been buying computers with Windows 7 Ultimate and adding a good graphics card and maxing out the RAM. This is were my aquarium money is going. LOL


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## Vietguy357 (Sep 20, 2010)

I would recommend the 40gal because it's not as deep as the 55gal. Light will have an easier time to reach the bottom plants. It might be just me but i like the look of longer tanks and i think the fishes like it better too.


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## joshd (Oct 16, 2009)

Left C said:


> It'll turn out that I'm the slouch. I've been buying computers with Windows 7 Ultimate and adding a good graphics card and maxing out the RAM. This is were my aquarium money is going. LOL


Ok Left C, here is my 40G breeder. I am not sure about the layout, but it is up and running. And the fuana are very pleased.










What do you guys think?


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## SumTinsFishy (Nov 27, 2009)

Looks great!


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## SumTinsFishy (Nov 27, 2009)

Also I like the 40b or 50 b or even the 65. I really like the 36 x 18 foot print.


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## Left C (Jun 14, 2005)

That's really nice, Josh!!!


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