Is 55gal a bad sized tank?

[rideit6578]

Hey guys, I'm thinking about converting my 55 gallon into my reef and I'm wondering if its not a good idea because its only 12" deep. Would a 75 be better? Similar foot print but deeper. But I already have the 55...
also would 2 AI sol blues be enough for a standard 75?

Thanks

 

[motortrendz]

personally i hate 55s, theyre not deep enough(front to back) it makes it look like a wall of rock.. no character to the tank.. a 75 or 90 is the way to go for a 48in wide tank.

and i believe 2 led panems is perfect for a 75

 

[thirty6]

It's a matter of preference i guess. It's a hard tank to scape IMO. If ave room for 55, same length as a few other tanks. 75 90 120 standard sizes. If used is n option there is several 75 to 90 in mp Here. Was even a steal of. 55 from kkaz

Pick what's best for you, if footprints a prob the cube tnks are nice and provide some more options for scaping

 

[OOtzie]

why not a 50gal breeder?

 

[FlyTekk]

If you can go bigger 75 is ALOT better. You can also go smaller believe it or not. The 40 breeder is an excellent tank. 36"x18"x16"

It not as high as 55 which is good for lighting and cleaning tank. And it gives you those 6 extra inches of width. Its not as long but that can be a good thing depending on space and fish.

Right now Petco has a sale of $1 a gallon. Sale ends jan 21st.

I would not do a 12" tank at all. Especially not that tall. A small rock could be 10". Which means you'll have to put it against the back wall which is not good. And even like that you can barely reach in the front. Let alone fish left with 2" to work with in the front. Its almost asking them not to swim in the front.

75 or 40.

 

[FlyTekk]

50g is good too. Same as 40 only 19" tall as opposed to 16" But i dont like tall, diminishes light penetration and harder to reach in. Also 50 not on sale. If you wann get a 75, petco doesnt do the $1 a gallon on a 75 but petland does.

 

[Imbarrie]

But they don't have reef ready.

If you plan on placing live rock in a 55 then you won't have much room left for coral to grow.
You would be fine if you use branching tonga rock but Fiji rocks would take up too much of the 12" depth.
If it were me, I would use the 55 for a healthy sump and fuge under a 75 or 90.

 

[thirty6]

Can alwas order glass holes kit

 

[thirty6]

75 nice tank, get a rimless?

 

[smoq]

75g is 10000000x better than 55g. I hate that size, fish can barely turn around in it. 12" will definitely be hard to aquascape as some rocks won't even fit in it. Go with 75g or even 90, you won't regret it.

 

[FlyTekk]

For some reason if he already has a 55 but has doubts its good for a reef, i figured his 55 wasnt reef ready and he's willing to go as is. Like a hob skimmer and or fuge etc.

 

[liverup]

Yes

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[Imbarrie]

Drilling and installing a glass holes kit will be cost effective on larger tanks. You can get a new Deep Blue 75 RR for under 150. Drilling and installing a glass holes kit will be 100+.
Add to that, drilling a used tank is risky at best and disastrous at worst.

Could go with all HOB but it's not clean looking.

 

[FlyTekk]

a 75rr deep blue for 150. Im assuming you mean non rimless. :0) Cause if its rimless.... i may dive back in head first!!!!