YOUR VOTE WANTED: Deep or Shallow Acropora Reef Slope Nano?

[VR28man]

So for the next few months the only tank I'll be able to keep is a nano. Based on my defunct tank (sold the tank, kept a lot of the equipment), I've come up with two plans which interest me. After maybe six months or so i will get a bigger tank, and either keep the nano or use the nano as the base for a bigger tank.

Your thoughts on which model, as well as potential fish I can stock, welcome.

Tank: aqueon 10 (40L) gallon with AIO insert, making it peninsula style
Skimmer: Tunze 6040
Filtration media: seachem matrix,~5-10lbs kpaquatics aquacultured rock
flow: 2x MP40s (I have these pumps but I'm still a bit ambivalent on how i'd keep them going anti-sync in a 10g AIO)
Return pump for AIO section: Sicce Minimouse
barebottom
supplemental Lighting: either a Kessil A80 or 2x Reefbrite actinic lumi lite 12 hours a day (low settings)
Neptune ATK (might swap this for a smaller auto top off system)
Spectrapure Litermeter doing automatic water changes (400ml/day, maybe 17ml/hour?) as well as TropicMarin All-for-Reef
two 10L containers below tank for RODI and salt water storage, another ~10Lish container for wastewater

Option 1: Acro Reef from an approximately 5m deep reef crest
main lighting: 150w (6500k Odyssey or 10k hamilton HQI) Halide 8-10 hours a day
MP40s run in TSM, sometimes at a very high rate (though nowhere near 100%!!!!)

Cornerstone Livestock:
Acropora tenuis (Walt Disney) - I've grown this very well in the past - grown on the rock, in the forward/center of the tank
Acropora hyacinthus (Red Planet) - grown on the AIO box wall from a magnetic frag rack, maybe about 5 inches deep
(maybe another coral? I would like a favia of some sort, but I'm thinking two acros are enough)

Fish Options (thinking of a combination of these, but not all at once since they're too much for a 10g):

Regular firefish
2x neon gobies
Court jester goby

I also very much would like to keep a mated pair of yellow headed jawfish - I've had them before and based on previous experience it seems I could keep them in a planter of about 10x5x5 inches loaded with sand, but of course that'll take a lot of space and I'm no so sure about this.



Option 2: Acro Reef at approximately 20m depth
main lighting: 150w (20k hamilon HQI) Halide 6-8 hours a day
MP40s run in lagoon random mode, at a relatively low rate (no more than 30-40%, based on my previous experience)

Cornerstone livestock:
Acropora enchinata (ORA Hawkins or Ice and Fire - will go with Ice and Fire unless I hear that the Hawkins enchinata is much easier to grow)
A second deep water (suharsoni, several other potential candidates, ETA: like a Tricolor valida or this Green Tip Red Dragon in the post below)
Antillogorgia elizebethae gorgonian

Fish:
helfrichi firefish
swissguard basslet?
Masked gobies?
Possum Wrasse?

Anyway, thanks for reading this far, and looking forward to your thoughts.

 

[ReefReadyYouTube]

I think a shallow tank would just look better.

 

[VR28man]

Thanks for the votes and replies so far. I am split 50/50, but I'm surprised about the lack of deep acro love!!! (maybe if I put this on the SPS subforum this would have been different)

I've looked at some other "Deep acros" and will add as the second coral either a tricolor valida (a local reefer grows it well) or a green tip dragon. For the deep option of course.

Ice and Fire (will go with this if I go deep)

Tricolor Acropora Valida:

Green tip red dragon available right now on Ebay from SoCal Aquafarms

And to give the gorgonians their fair shake, Antillogorgia elisabethae:

Not to short change the shallow option........

Red Planet Acropora hyacinthus growing from a rock stuck to the AIO box:

Walt Disney Acropora tenuis

 

[VR28man]

Bump one last time...... appreciate any more votes or thoughts.