Question: Keep current 40g or swap to a 20g?

Zandycheeks235

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First off thanks in advance for any help and sorry if this should be in a different section. First post here and still getting everything figured out lol.

Right now I have a 40 breeder that was my first ever saltwater tank. It has been running for over 3 years and now with more experience and knowledge of saltwater there are a lot of things that I would’ve done different when building this setup.

Livestock:
2- ocellaris clowns
1- spotted watchmen goby
1- purple firefish
1- six line wrasse
1- splendid dottyback
1- cleaner shrimp

Equipment:
40 breeder display tank
20 long sump
1- AI prime hd
1- hydor koralia powerhead
1- generic 1000gph powerhead
1- sicce 1.5 return pump
1- eschopps x-120 skimmer
1- finnex 100w? Heater

Lately me and my girlfriend purchased a Waterbox 20g cube aio with the intentions of putting together an entirely new tank.

My question is, should I decide to transfer the contents of the 40g to the 20g would there be any issues with livestock or equipment? Or would I be better off rebuilding the 40g setup and holding off on setting up the 20g?

I have been wanting to make improvements on the 40g for a long time now and it would be a lot more cost and space efficient to just swap the contents to the 20g.

Sorry for the long post, any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated
 
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Saltyreef

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Dont buy an all in one and then drill it.
That kinda defeats the purpose and theyre generally more money.

A good plan for your all in one is to scape it with some of your 3 year old liverocks.
You wont have any cycling stages or ugly stages if you do it this way.
 
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Zandycheeks235

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Dont buy an all in one and then drill it.
That kinda defeats the purpose and theyre generally more money.

A good plan for your all in one is to scape it with some of your 3 year old liverocks.
You wont have any cycling stages or ugly stages if you do it this way.
I didn’t really plan on drilling it but it crossed my mind when I was thinking about downsizing the 40 to the 20 lol
 

TriggersAmuck

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My 2 cents' worth: The 20 gallon Waterbox will feel cramped if you transfer 100% of your livestock over. (I have the Waterbox Clear Mini 20, which actually has a bit more space than the AIO since it is just the glass box, no filter section).

I would use the 20 gallon for a specific purpose (species or coral specific) and keep the 40g going since you have put all that time into getting it where it is. Maybe eventually move a few of the fish over to the 20g, add some additional lighting to the 40g if you are wanting to explore reef corals more. Or turn the 40g into a "bigger fish" tank, not that you are going to want to keep triggers or angels in a tank that size. I'm thinking more like Dwarf Lion, Dwarf Angels, etc.

Taking this approach (starting the 20g brand new rather than transferring) will certainly present much less risk, because anytime you move an entire tank's contents either up in size or down there is always a giant question mark as to whether there will be micro or full cycles. (Ask me how I know!). :)
 
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Zandycheeks235

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My 2 cents' worth: The 20 gallon Waterbox will feel cramped if you transfer 100% of your livestock over. (I have the Waterbox Clear Mini 20, which actually has a bit more space than the AIO since it is just the glass box, no filter section).

I would use the 20 gallon for a specific purpose (species or coral specific) and keep the 40g going since you have put all that time into getting it where it is. Maybe eventually move a few of the fish over to the 20g, add some additional lighting to the 40g if you are wanting to explore reef corals more. Or turn the 40g into a "bigger fish" tank, not that you are going to want to keep triggers or angels in a tank that size. I'm thinking more like Dwarf Lion, Dwarf Angels, etc.

Taking this approach (starting the 20g brand new rather than transferring) will certainly present much less risk, because anytime you move an entire tank's contents either up in size or down there is always a giant question mark as to whether there will be micro or full cycles. (Ask me how I know!). :)
That was my biggest worry, not having enough room for the fish. In my opinion I consider my 40g to be full stocked with the exception of corals( I only have small colony’s of zoas, palys, and a small piece of montiopora). I definitely need more lighting but the only coral I have is very small and placed very shallow in the water column so it’s sufficient for now. I appreciate the advice, I’ll probably improve on the 40g as needed and start fresh with the 20g. It’s hard to pass up an opportunity to buy new fish .
 

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