40 Gallon Breeder?

kribbz · 05/21/2020, 11:27 AM

Hey guys, its been WAY TOO MANY YEARS since I posted on here. I've been away from the hobby for over 10 years. My last tank was a 75 gallon with a Deep Sand Bed and 2 sumps that comprised of over 300 gallons of water. We lost power in the dead of winter due to a storm and it took out most of my stuff. I had had enough. Well I'm now in Houston TX and my kids are 8 and 12 and they want a reef tank. I'm thinking of something small, 20-40 gallons. I was thinking a 40 gallon breeder would be a nice size. I want to do a couple clowns, anemone, few hard corals but mostly soft. I'm going to take my time to buy everything, so realistically I won't be starting a tank cycle until the end of August. I want plenty of time to plan this thing out. So here goes the questions:

1. For the tank size I'm looking at is there a manufacturer that makes them with an overflow?
2. Are deep sand beds still a thing? Is there a better system?
3. Are people still using sumps or is this a thing of the past?
4. Lighting... I see everyone using LED which is WAYYYY different than my 2 400 Watt MH lamps and compact florescent blues.... How do you know how much LED light to use over your reef with LED's?

I'm sure there is a post on this somewhere so if y'all have a link to that, i will start reading up. Appreciate the help guys, looking forward to getting back in.

05/21/2020, 11:27 AM	#1
kribbz Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Highland, IL Posts: 219	40 Gallon Breeder? Hey guys, its been WAY TOO MANY YEARS since I posted on here. I've been away from the hobby for over 10 years. My last tank was a 75 gallon with a Deep Sand Bed and 2 sumps that comprised of over 300 gallons of water. We lost power in the dead of winter due to a storm and it took out most of my stuff. I had had enough. Well I'm now in Houston TX and my kids are 8 and 12 and they want a reef tank. I'm thinking of something small, 20-40 gallons. I was thinking a 40 gallon breeder would be a nice size. I want to do a couple clowns, anemone, few hard corals but mostly soft. I'm going to take my time to buy everything, so realistically I won't be starting a tank cycle until the end of August. I want plenty of time to plan this thing out. So here goes the questions: 1. For the tank size I'm looking at is there a manufacturer that makes them with an overflow? 2. Are deep sand beds still a thing? Is there a better system? 3. Are people still using sumps or is this a thing of the past? 4. Lighting... I see everyone using LED which is WAYYYY different than my 2 400 Watt MH lamps and compact florescent blues.... How do you know how much LED light to use over your reef with LED's? I'm sure there is a post on this somewhere so if y'all have a link to that, i will start reading up. Appreciate the help guys, looking forward to getting back in.