Please help, need to downsize my 29gallon

[megatsea]

I have been reading here for 6 years now....but can never decide what to do without relying on everyones opinions here....sometimes to confusing. Thanks to all who have helped me be successful thus far in the hobby.
I have had a 29 gallon reef for 6 years now(40lbs rock). Inherited the hobby from my kids and the Eclipse 29 is aging, too much corraline algae (I have scraped and rotated tank to display each year)and only 1 nemo, 1 large sea serpent, 18 inch sinularia and assorted small polyps left.(shrimp died last year and my 4 year old nemo just died) Very established with pods , some clean up crew, and hair algae on 1/5 of the 40lbs of rock. Kept the system real simple.
Lights are only 36 watts actinic/marine glo....changed bulbs,water etc throughout the years on schedule.
I want to stay in the hobby, being realistic, money is tight, and I never will get the tank of my dreams....the 75 g. or the tang my son had etc....
A 40 gallon breeder was a thought....but would need someone to help me piece it to gether for lights, flow and least expensive way to get me there. Is an all in one cheaper than building a 40 gal breeder ? If I can not afford the above......20gal, maybe? Or,
I can use my empty 10 gallon with new lights if my Sinularia can be happy in the tank that small....what type of lights ? any ideas would be great.
M

[SugarFox03]

Hey there. I am actually moving my 26g bowfront to a 40g breeder here in about a month or so. If you look in the right spots, and keep your eyes open for deals, you can put together a sweet 40g breeder for pretty cheap.

I bought my tank & stand for $100. The tank is already painted blue and in great shape. I got a great deal on lights on here - Outer Orbit fixture with 456w MH + T5 for $225. You can get lights cheaper than this, but I want to keep clams & SPS so need the more light. I just need to pick up a sump...I may see about picking up a 29g tank and making that my sump. I can normally find those for sale pretty cheap. I already have a skimmer, but I may sell it to upgrade to a larger one as I want to overskim a bit. If I were to have bought these things brand new, I'd already be in the hole around $900.

You're in a good area for picking up quality used products. I suggest becoming a member of a local reefers club. There's always people selling, swapping equipment & tanks. That's where I have picked up my current tank and the new tank - both for pretty cheap. Also, check out Craigslist...always sweet deals there too. I picked up a 12g Nano Cube & stand for $50.

It all depends on much you want to spend, what you want to keep, etc...on which would be cheaper & what lights would be suitable.

It's hard, but see if you can decide what you want to keep and how big of a tank you want and then we can help you from there. Cost on equipment would not differ too much if you're buying used products, so you just need to decide what size tank you want. :)

[megatsea]

Thankyou. Been busy at work, luckily...sorry I did not reply sooner.. The 40 is best for me if things were normal.... but with economics and such, I need to keep a tight budget( I am a yacht broker, sell kayaks , too, and things are getting fairly slow these days!) so Murphy's Law is nudgung me to go slow and small.
I watch craigs list and reefers club for deals inthe past. Need to check in again..
DO you know how long a tanks seals last before we need to worry about possible decay and leaks? That is one reason I am bailing from my 29 gallon.It is 5 years old. We just put new floors in last February due to a pipe flooding our house with 1.5 inches of water(and at first I thought my tank burst when I came home....phew)So, I fear old seasl will be a problem down the road. A friend has a 55 g with pumps to give me for $60, but repaired leaks already. I will pass.
Thanks for the info!
M