40 gallon tank build

socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
So my old neighbor moved to San Fransisco and left me with his new 40 gallon breeder tank. (Still in the packaging). Its 18"x18"x3 feet long. It will fit on the current tank stand for my nano24.
I'm thinking about transferring the contents of my 24 nano over to it, or splitting what I have between the two tanks. So I'm in the process of determining what my build will consist of. This is what I'm considering:
45 lbs of live rock. (currently have 28 for my 24, probably would split it)
40 lbs of live sand (probably take at least 5 from my 24 tank)
140 watts of PC lighting. (3 foot tubes)
Built in sump corner to contain the filter, media bags and heater(probably would be a DIY project, using bent acrylic plastic with overflow teeth cut into it and silicone connection.
CPR Backpack skimmer hang on(possibly through Danky)
Try to get multiple types of macroalgae other than just chaeto, but definitley have majoriy chaeto
I think it would need a minimum of 2 possibly 3 koralia 2's
Otherwise up for opinions on filtration options.....
Is my concept of having a sump area, and refugium area enough for a 40 gallon? I do not have a cabinet set up for an outside sump/refugium set up currently.
I'll take a picture of hte tank tonight, and keep you guys posted on the progress. I'm hoping to have it set up and running by December.
See ya along the way
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
oh yeah, if anyone has any old equipment that could use a new home, let me know :) The quicker I get the raw materials, the faster the tank build will go LOL.
Oh yeah and it may be a slight budget build. Gonna have to do it before 600 preferably.
Fixed costs I've determine thus far:
around $290 for lighting
around $90 for Koralias
Sand probably $50-$60,
Base rock and live rock $100? even if I use base rock and fijian live rock
Otherwise I dunno what the cost of adequate filter would be
I already have an extra heater as well, I htink its a 75 watt.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
I love these long low tank builds. Your corner "AIO" section is totally a good alternative to sumps and HOB's and has been done successfully many times by others. Consider a flat pc. of acrylic put into a corner on the diagonal also. No bending needed.
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
Well had a bit of a set back on my nano tank. So I've been focusing on getting that stable again. I'll find out if I'm staying in my current apartment in the next few weeks, then I'll be able to figure out if I can start the set up earlier than December.
I was considering getting the tank in position with water, some live rock and a powerhead going (before I purchase the lighting, make the tank lid and buy all the other components), just to get the cycle started, and do a nice long waiting period before inhabitants.
Just need to look into making the corner built in sump.... my gf is gone this weekend so maybe a good time for that.
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
Ok so I'm back on track with this build. I've started to look into lighting. I'm thinking t5's and I'll probably hang them. I'm going to draw up some schematics for my in tank sump and post em on here for input. Anybody have any recomendations for a good filter pump?
 
jigga w00t

jigga w00t

Member
I did the exact same thing last June - transferring a 24g nano cube to a 40g breeder. I went with nova extreme t5's (39Wx4). The lights are great. The derasa clam I put in there has grown nearly an inch since July. I didn't do the sump though, put a HOB octopus skimmer instead...
I would definitely recommend those t5's! They fit on the tank real well, and you won't have to deal with hanging them...
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
Ok sweet, thanx jigger. I haven't really heard of many people using a breeder tank. How is it coming along? It'll be good to have someone in a similar boat as mine develops. I'll check out those T5's
Working on a sump design currently
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by jigga w00t
http:///forum/post/3173332
I did the exact same thing last June - transferring a 24g nano cube to a 40g breeder. I went with nova extreme t5's (39Wx4). The lights are great. The derasa clam I put in there has grown nearly an inch since July. I didn't do the sump though, put a HOB octopus skimmer instead...
I would definitely recommend those t5's! They fit on the tank real well, and you won't have to deal with hanging them...
I used these exact lights on my 40G, loved them. The stock bulbs suck though, replace them with WavePoints, best bang for the buck, or spend the extra $30 and get the WavePoint 36" T5 fixture that is comparable. I kind of wish I had went with them, it would have saved me money on bulbs in the long run. I now have two sets of the Nova lights on my 155G.
Good luck w/ the transfer. I had a 14G that I transferred into the 40G.
I did not use ANY power heads in my 40G. I had a PondMaster Mag 7 pump though.
Good luck
 
jigga w00t

jigga w00t

Member
Originally Posted by SocalNano24
http:///forum/post/3173518
Ok sweet, thanx jigger. I haven't really heard of many people using a breeder tank. How is it coming along? It'll be good to have someone in a similar boat as mine develops. I'll check out those T5's
Working on a sump design currently
Any luck researching lights? The specific ones I got were from an online auction, they happened to be refurbished. But they work great. By "refurbished" I think they replaced the cooling fan, because the fan in there now is loud, I mean like hair-dryer loud. But it was hard to pass up since it was half the retail price.
Good luck with the sump, any updates? I'm thinking of going that way too...
 
tang4me

tang4me

Member
Originally Posted by jigga w00t
http:///forum/post/3183377
Any luck researching lights? The specific ones I got were from an online auction, they happened to be refurbished. But they work great. By "refurbished" I think they replaced the cooling fan, because the fan in there now is loud, I mean like hair-dryer loud. But it was hard to pass up since it was half the retail price.
Good luck with the sump, any updates? I'm thinking of going that way too...
I got this fixture new. The fan is noisy, but I think most of them are. Have you replaced your stock bulbs yet? I have a 40 breeder as well. 156W seems to work well on this size tank.
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
No updates other than I've talked my Lfs into giving me a good bulk rate if I buy most of the build through him so that's a bonus. I was originaly looking at pc jbj 30" fixtures but I think it was only 120 ish watts. Maybe I'll bump it up. What types of corals have you had luck with for that lighting (the t5s) in your 40s?
 
socalnano24

socalnano24

Active Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3183542
Why don't you look into T5HO's....then you can keep anything....
you know I was expecting the T5HO's to be out of my price range, but the dr. has em for like 240 for the 36" wavepoint T5HO's, (and thats cheaper than the 30" JBJ PC lighting I'd been looking at by comparison , coming in at 240 on sale!)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top