What would you do? - looking for inspiration

[StradicCi4]

Hypothetically speaking of course - What would you do in this situation?

Background!

Lets say you're a seasoned reefer with a couple years of success under your belt. You have a great understanding of the nitrogen cycle, the importance of bio-diversity. You've dealt with and beat Dinos (2 species!), cyano, GHA. Your husbandry, while not spot on is pretty regular with water changes and proper cleaning etc.

You have grown all types of corals, SPS, Eyuphilla, Softies etc.
You have accumulated a PILE of mid to high end reefing equipment with a bunch of DFC stuff mixed in.
You have cultured your own pods and phyto in the past
You have a full controller running your existing tank
You have watched/listened to all the 52SE, the OG 52 weeks, ALL of Reef Rookies with Logans' videos and livestreams, ALL of SR Pods, All the BRS videos and shorts (ADHD hyper focus helps)
Your kid (7yrs old) Is SUPER attached to your watchman goby, clowns, blue tang and mandarin goby.


Problem -

You have met the love of your life, (round 2, better and more informed this time!), and you have decided to blend your families. You house shop and pull the trigger on a much smaller house than you'd like but unfortunately the market locally just doesn't allow you to get what you really want, and you have zero choice but to downsize your reef to 50% of what you have now.

The equipment you have is well suited for a tank twice the size of what you're running now, so you have flexibility and the ability to build WHATEVER you want reef wise. The caveat being it cant be in anything bigger than a 40g.

The equipment you have is as follows

2x Radion G2 PRO
1x ATI Straton x
Reef Octopus Classic 1000 HOB skimmer
1x MP40
1x Hygger large Gyre
1x DFC knockoff Nero
1x KLiR 4 v2 filter roller
Full Hydros system with PH/ORP/SG monitoring
Jebao 6000 Return pump
Jebao 50W UV sterilizer
AutoAqua 4 head smart doser


Getting a bigger tank/house/new wife is not an option...
What would you build?

 

[Evil1]

I think you already know the answer! Downsize use what equipment you already have and can use. Take whatever livestock that will comfortably fit in new tank along with corals and re-home everything else.

 

[StradicCi4]

As of right now thats the plan, but do I go full SPS? Mixed reef? Meat corals? Floating aquascape?

 

[exnisstech]

As of right now thats the plan, but do I go full SPS? Mixed reef? Meat corals? Floating aquascape?

That sounds like something only you can decide since it's your tank.

 

[AviR]

I’d keep it simple. Do a 40g cube with sump. Sump add water volume. Put the Straton on top, klir on bottom. Trade out the reef octo hanging for an in sump skimmer. Aquascape would be a branching elevated sps focused aquascape that gives a good look from all three viewing sides. I would put some mangroves at the back of the scape to add some diversity and nutrient export. Easily just put the mp40 or trade down to mp20 and position on the back wall. You have control and dosing already so you’d be set

 

[lukegroundrunner]

This is very similar to what I am doing following a cross country move. I went down from a 125 to a custom 40 breeder. I am focusing on building the best "closest to perfect" reef I ever have. Trying to take all lessons learned in tank and stand design to create a miniature "jewel"of a tank. The exciting part is it will be less to clean and maintain. One bummer is less coral, not that big a deal just focus on your favorites. The biggest bummer is no tangs or larger fish. I've kept my kole tang which is working out so far. My dream fish "regal angel" will have to remain a dream for now. My biggest tip is it will be difficult to fit your current equipment in the stand but if you can I still would. Cooling also becomes more difficult but it's still possible without a chiller. In my mind a small tank needs to look perfect while large tanks can get away with some unsightly plumbing, powerheads, and rockwork.

 

[vlangel]

I would also go 40g breeder. Maybe keep some equipment in storage like the skimmer, gyre, rollermat and UV sterilizer for a future upgrade tank. Then set up a tank that makes sense with other equipment that you already have. A 40g breeder will let you keep all your fish except the tang. Keep your favorite coral. You might be surprised how a new upgrade tank might be possible in several years.

 

[keagan]

I agree with whats said above but another option is to talk about how nice in wall tanks look. Keep showing her the nicest looking in wall tanks. Then eventually she may give you permission to get a larger tank because of her idea to put it in the wall.... not speaking from experience...

 

[flashsmith]

I would go with an AIO on the larger size 50 gallons or a little bigger. I just went through this and downsized from a 180 gallon system to a RS max nano xxl. I know Red Sea. I trust their smaller tanks and the footprint was what I was looking for. I wanted plug and play with everything on the same platform for ease of operation and less maintenance. I tried to find something from another brand but couldn’t find the size I wanted. I’m actually enjoying the hobby a lot more now. A whole lot less maintenance and more time actually enjoying my tank instead of thinking about what I need to do next. I can still keep the fish I want minus tangs and have plenty of space for coral.