# 40 gallon breeder or 40 gallon long advice



## jeffh129 (Jan 24, 2004)

Would either of these make a good low tech plant tank? I am sort of leaning toward the 40 long , but am unsure. Comments and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have the chance to do a 55 gallon also. Wish would be best for plants ?


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

A lot of people will tell you that a tank that measures 48x12 is not good for aquascaping. It does IMO give a lot of room for the fish to swim back and forth however. Depth is a good thing too, but I like to have more room for them side to side.

I would go with the 40 long. I do have a 55 and I love it though.


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## jarvitron (Aug 6, 2012)

I also have a planted 55 (that I got for free plus resealing) and like it a lot. Depth is a problem (front to back), but I do see my fish a lot. I can't keep anything that's gonna go too crazy because it'll dominate the whole end of the tank. I keep it low tech because it's hard to drive light down through 22 inches of water. Honestly go look at them at the store, they're very different shapes and one might appeal to you more than the other when you see it in person. If I had it to do again I'd have gotten the 40B I wanted back when I started. It seemed so big back then.


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## d33pVI (Oct 28, 2015)

If floor space isn't an issue I would go with something with more depth front to back, and not too tall. 40B is a great size for a planted tank.


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## Immortal1 (Feb 18, 2015)

Given both tanks are the same height (17"), either would work about the same from a lighting perspective (low tech). Your 36" light might be a bit cheaper than a 48" light of same quality. Depth, imo, would be the biggest determining factor. For a planted tank, I would go with more depth and less length.


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## CDCate (Nov 10, 2015)

If you can find a 40 long, please let me know... I've been trying to locate one for months.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I'd go with a 40B for most planted tanks. I like the 55g for a tank dominated by jungle vals and manzanita drift wood. The depth gives you minor issues with lighting in my opinion. I struggled with a 12" deep tank for a long time, but now I've come to enjoy them.


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## Timmy!! (Jun 26, 2014)

You can do alot with a 40b, it's definitely one of my favorite sizes.

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## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

A 40L is a short 55G. 

If you can even find a 40L, you can probably buy 3 55G's for the price you'll end up paying. The Petco sale should be coming around again in January. If you prefer the shorter profile, added depth of a 40B is something you'll come to appreciate. It just makes so many more things possible that a 12" wide tank can't achieve visually. And at $40 it's one of the last true bargains you'll find in this hobby.

I forgot to add that the 40L I have has a center brace; most likely because of the 4' length. Center braces are evil.


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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

Luckily here I can find a Marineland branded 40 long for 130 dollars brand new from my LFS.


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

Blackheart said:


> Luckily here I can find a Marineland branded 40 long for 130 dollars brand new from my LFS.


Too much, might as well get the 55g for 55 at petco, the 40 breeder is a much better choice

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## Blackheart (Jul 5, 2011)

I know. That's what I would do too. I'm not looking to purchase a 40 long anyways, but if I was in the specific mindset to have one or wanted one for certain needs, at least I know I can find one.


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## jeffh129 (Jan 24, 2004)

So I decided on the 40 breeder. I picked one up off of CL , 110.00 for a never used tank and also a brand new wrought iron stand. I am pretty sure I'm going to buy a Finnex Planted + 24/7 light for it


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

:S 40b are 40 bucks new at petco.


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## jeffh129 (Jan 24, 2004)

True, but the stand was over a hundred bucks so I think I made out ok.


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