Upgrading - 40g breeder or 55g standard

[brymack]

I'm still a relative newby, just a few years with a frewshwater tank, but with a "dollar per gallon" sale going on at a store near me Im going to upgrade my 29gal to something larger. I'm just not sure which I should go with so any advice is much appreciated. The two primary reasons for my upgrade are:

1] I have a common pleco, had no clue they grew as large as they do, salesperson was also obviously clueless. He's about 6" long now and needs more room (before I get hit with the "you need at least 100gal please know that I do not have the space in my house to upgrade to anything larger than this right now, maybe someday I will).

2] I want to put in a few more plants in the tank with a dirt substrate, more of a true "planted tank" look. I'm planning on adding a CO2 bubbler, the whole works.

The 55gal is only about 12.8" wide but is around 48" long.
The 40gal breeder is about 18.5" wide but only around 36" long.

Current residents in the tank other than my pleco are 4 sharpie tetras, and one flame gourami. I might add another small fish or two but that's probably it. All fish get along great.

Should I go for the 55gal with the extra length or the 40gal breeder that's about 6" wider?

 

[Laser]

I have both sizes of tanks. The 40b gives you more surface area and more horizontal swimming room, while the 55 gives you a taller and longer tank. Both tanks are a nice size, but I prefer the 40b. The 40b may be the better choice for a pleco that will grow large.

 

[dragonfisher33]

40B because of the larger surface area. 55gal IMO has very limited space and not a whole lot of options when it comes to aquascaping for beginners. it just look very narrow and confined. but obviously any seasoned hobbyist will do great with any tank by doing depth distortion through the use of different plants. since you're a beginner i would recommend 40B so that you can have more wiggle room front to back.

 

[dragonfisher33]

if you think 40B is small but still like the surface area that it has, i would recommend getting a 65gal. a 65gal has the same surface area as a 40gal and the height of a 55gal, if not taller

 

[aquandrew]

that pleco will get huge and produce an enormous amount of waste i think you should just rehome it and get a bristlenose/rubberpip. even in a 55 gallon common plecos growth can get stunted and lead to the fish living a painful, miserable life

 

[aquandrew]

it shouldnt be about how much room you have it should be whats in the best interest of the fish

 

[bud29]

With plecos being the poop machines they are, IMO a 55 would be better to keep them in as opposed to a 40b. The increased water volume means that parameters would be easier to keep in check. However, I fully agree that rehoming the pleco would be by far the best option.

 

[Fishperson]

I would rehome the pleco and add more fish! Just 4 tetras and a dg in a 29 gallon??!! If I was allowed to have a 29 gallon, or a 40 or a 55...
Anyway, yeah, a 40B would be best for the fish and for you probably. But they are both good.

 

[brymack]

Thanks for all the tips. After much deliberation and to the dismay of my wife I have opted on a 75g and I'm getting it this weekend. It's around 48"x20"x20" so essentially the depth of the 40g breeder I was looking at but about a foot or so longer and a tad taller. Since I'm going to go with a well planted tank I'll get it set up and wait about a month before I move my fish to their new home. I ordered an Eheim 2217 canister filter today. I hope it will work well, I have never had a canister before but from the research I've done (online) it seems this is the way to go. As for my pleco... it's my favorite fish but I can see why he would do better in a much larger space. I'm not ready to put him up for adoption quite yet though so I hope the 75g will make him at least a little happier for the time being. Yeah, I will be interested in adding just a few more fish in the 75g but I'm leaning towards a school of about 20 neons or something like that, haven't decided quite yet.

 

[PockX]

I really love my 40B..but a 75 is even better! Lol

 

[dragonfisher33]

oh yes you can definitely depend on the eheim. in fact, i have eheim 2217 as well in my 65gal. runs smoothly and steadily

 

[Mebbid]

I can just see the thought process on the tank choice..

Hrmm good width on 40b and good length / height on 55. Screw em both get bigger!

 

[brymack]

Ha! I cant tell you how right you are on my thought process. Do I have room for a 75g... hmmm, no. Well I guess I'll just have to make room. lol.

 

[ktomminello]

Do you know that it's a common pleco? If it's a clown, bristlenosed or rubber lipped would do fine in a 55g or a 40b, heck if you driftwood scaped well enough you could house 2 of them and 2 or 3 small peaceful schools... Check your lfs- you might be able to trade yours for a different type that fits in with your life better this from me sounds horribly odd considering I have a house full of tanks ranging from .3g to 150g... I started small too-I think all of us aqua kooks did, it's highly addictive, lol, just watch out or you'll wind up with multiple biotope tanks that grow based on obsession.... Wow, I'm chatty today.

 

[brymack]

I would love to know what kind of pleco I have, I'll take a pic in the next day or two and I guess post it here as Im not sure if I am allowed to pm as a very new member yet. I don't mean to highjack my own thread. I did get my 75g tank today and I'm very happy I bit the bullet and opted for this size. I've got to get under the house and put some reinforcement up under where the tank is before I water test it for leaks (I've got a conventional foundation but luckily there's about a 3ft crawl space under this area of my house) and I figure I'm probably looking at around 800 lbs once it is fully set up. I don't want to come home to a hole in my den floor ; ) Again thanks for all the advice Im glad I found this site. Im thinking of keeping a pic journal on my progress, not sure where I would post it here - any suggestions? It's going to be planted so maybe in the planted tank section?

 

[brymack]

Here's my pleco, he had his dorsal fin up just seconds before I took the pic but I wasn't able to snap the shot quick enough. It's about 6" long tip to tail. I thought maybe it was a sailfin pleco. Not good picture quality I know.

 

[ktomminello]

It does kind of look like a sailfin, but I am far from a pleco expert- I only have had albino bristlenosed plecs, rubberlipped and royal- I don't find most plecs to be worth the stress and mess- when they get large they can turn predatory.

Congrats on the 75g- lots of room!!! I'll do some research and see if I can id that pleco.

 

[ktomminello]

I would post under member showcase... I know what you mean, in order to set up my 150g and I had to have my hubby level the center of our 1830s colonial and fill in our crawl space with rebar and concrete and reinforce the beams with industrial jacks. I also have him securing the floor under my 55g upstairs... I'm so glad I don't have a landlord, lol... It's so bad now I'm rebuilding my house around my tanks right down to the wiring and plumbing... It needs to be done anyway to be up to code so why not?

 

[Mebbid]

I would post under member showcase... I know what you mean, in order to set up my 150g and I had to have my hubby level the center of our 1830s colonial and fill in our crawl space with rebar and concrete and reinforce the beams with industrial jacks. I also have him securing the floor under my 55g upstairs... I'm so glad I don't have a landlord, lol... It's so bad now I'm rebuilding my house around my tanks right down to the wiring and plumbing... It needs to be done anyway to be up to code so why not?

It's really bad when you start seriously considering getting a second job just so you can finance you fish tank addiciton... Like I am doing right now