40 gallon breeder reef with fish

[YaBaBo]

I just bought the 40 gallon breeder upgrading from a 20 long. I'm thinking of using the same powerhead but double this time (oceanic 250gph) it is rated up to 30 gallons and so I'm using 2 of them. I have one more but I'm not to sure if I should put it in... The filter I'm using aquaclear 70 or 110. ( which one is better?) I will get a sump when I have the money for it. I have about 40lbs of live sand and I'm ordering 50lbs of Florida rock. I want to place frogspawn, hammer, zoa, poly, tube coral, mushroom.. Clover.. And many other soft corals. I also want to get a birdnest as well... Which light system is good for all that? Oh and I also have 2 anemone... I have 3 clown fish a damsel, tons of hermit and snails. I also have a horseshoe crab and a peppermint shrimp. I don't want to burn the star poly and the dragon eye polyp i have with any wrong light... As of now i have a 96 watt 36 inch I bought earlier.. But it's not going to do for 40breeder.. So which light should I get? Should I place the 3rd power head? And which aquaclear filter? 110 or 70? There is this MR member who offered 2 150 watt (with led light for show) for a 150 dollars.. Should I get that? I think that will burn all my soft corals.. What do you guys think?

 

[nanoreefer22]

Personally, I think that flow is going to be no where near enough in a 40breeder, regardless of what corals you're going to be keeping.

Go with the halides, just take your time acclimating your corals to the light. That light should allow you to keep most things alive, given that your water params at spot on.

Why not drill and have a sump? Any plans for a skimmer? Is the rock you're ordering going to be given some time to cycle before you move over your livestock?

 

[YaBaBo]

How about a tek 36" 4 lamp fixture? And so what powerhead should I get?

 

[nanoreefer22]

A 4 lamp tek would take you a long way and have a lot less heat.

Just to give you an idea in my 40 breeder i was running a korolia 1400, tunze 6045, and a mp10. I went a bit over board, but the tunze and korolia 1400 would have been enough for most things.

 

[skene]

Depending on what you want to keep, I would say the 6 bulb tek would be a better fit. Especially if you are looking to do SPS.

 

[YaBaBo]

What do you guys think? How about a 4 x 39 watt? 156 watt in total? Tek quad lighting?

 

[YaBaBo]

How about 2 750gph powerhead? Will that be good?

 

[dannyny]

i am running one 750 pump and two 425 pumps along with a return locline at 1050 GPH turn 1/4 the way down so about 750 GPH? not sure of the math is right one that. i would go with 1 mp10 if i can do it all over again.

the lighting i went with LED's i didnt want to change my bulbs 2 times a year...

same dimensions as yours 36x18x16" but waterline is at 14"

 

[YaBaBo]

Will the Fluval 305 better than the Aquaclear 110? I will be getting 2 koralia 1s. They go for 400gph each, so that will be 800gph, and than if I have the filter running... that will be good enough current.. no?

 

[jaa1456]

Two 1's should be fine. Maybe a 1 and a 2. A 4 bulb will be good with just about anything. The tank isnt that deep and keep any sps at the top. As for filters i havent used any of those for awhile but i was always a fan of the ehiem canister filters.

 

[YaBaBo]

What kind of ehiem canister filters? Size? power?

 

[shmibly]

Just warning you if you dont drill for a sump now you will want one further down the line when you learn more about reefing and the versatility of a sump. I would go for the sump now to avoid just throwing things on the back of your tank as you find you need them. It really leads to a cluttered and mismatched setup. Believe me if you dont do this now you will have a rough time changing it when you want one. I literally made all these mistakes.

 

[dannyny]

Please drill ur tank.