Choosing aquarium size & brand-40 breeder? 29g?

[r_e_g]

I'm having the darndest time trying to choose my next tank & stand for a heavily planted platy tank (& hopefully cherry barbs as well). I have a spare Imagitarium Brooklyn 40 breeder stand & I LOVE the footprint so I thought I'd finally decided to get another 40 breeder-however, I've read that the quality of Aqueon tanks has gone downhill & that they leak!! I'm terrified of that!! 

From what I can see, these are my options:

1) Buy another Aqueon 40B, assuming a tiny majority leak. (Definitely the cheapest & easiest option!) But I know some people have concerns about the Brooklyn stands only supporting the corners of tanks, so maybe I'd need to find a new stand, too 😞

2) Find a 40 breeder from a different manufacturer (maybe someone local sells Seapora?) The LFS today had Visio and the silicone was bad so that's out.

3) Splurge on a Landen/UNS 75P (30x17x17) or 90P (36x17x17) & UNS stand. Definitely high quality & beautiful but they're $$$ and heavy. I live on the 2nd floor & will be moving in a couple years most likely, & I worry about moving a big rimless tank!!! I adore these tanks & stands; I'm just worried that this isn't the right time for one. Or maybe moving it wouldn't be that bad!

3) Get a 20 long or 29 gallon (Aqueon or otherwise) & an undetermined stand-I worry the platys are going to outgrow it quickly though! I COULD go with the 22 gallon UNS 90L (36x12x12) which would give me a lot of surface area, just half the volume of the 40 breeder/90P. Water changes are definitely easier on the smaller tanks but I worry about maintaining water quality. The downside of this is I have a spare Fluval Plant 3.0 that's 36 in long, so I'd need to buy a light if I went with one of the 30 in tanks. 

What would you do? Frankly worrying about leaks is making all of this so stressful. Maybe a rimless 22 long (36x12) is a good compromise between the Aqueon 40B & the high quality rimless 44 gallon tanks, though I don't know if having a tank that's only 12 in deep & 12 in high will limit me in terms of plants/mean I need to trim a ton, which I know I won't do. 

Any insight is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

[MWilk]

You own a car, right? You ever google your make and model +”problems”? You’ll never want to drive it again if you read all that. If you like an aqueon 40b, get another! If you can find a marineland, even better. 
 

Now just comparing like for like, I’d rather have the 29 for platies. They do a lot of up and down swimming. 

[Lynaea]

It sounds like the 40B would be your best choice, you already have a stand and light for it and it could potentially be only $40 oN sale. It will also be easy enough to move when the time comes. 
Just check them out in the store, get the one with the best silicone and leak test it before adding fish. 

[MWilk]

On 9/9/2024 at 8:45 AM, Lynaea said:

It sounds like the 40B would be your best choice, you already have a stand and light for it and it could potentially be only $40 oN sale. It will also be easy enough to move when the time comes. 
Just check them out in the store, get the one with the best silicone and leak test it before adding fish. 

I don’t think they do the $1/gal sale anymore. They mark them down pretty steep, but not that low. Inflation hits hard. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 9/9/2024 at 7:10 PM, MWilk said:

I don’t think they do the $1/gal sale anymore. They mark them down pretty steep, but not that low. Inflation hits hard.

Yup. It’s now 50% off. Which is still a banger of a deal for 2024. I think it might be going on right now at PetCo 

[r_e_g]

On 9/8/2024 at 10:10 PM, MWilk said:

You own a car, right? You ever google your make and model +”problems”? You’ll never want to drive it again if you read all that. If you like an aqueon 40b, get another! If you can find a marineland, even better. 
 

Now just comparing like for like, I’d rather have the 29 for platies. They do a lot of up and down swimming. 

Oh yeah definitely-there will always be a few bad reviews of everything! The part that alarms me is they seem to be increasing with these specific tanks, & I've read that the manufacturer has said they did have to change materials due to pandemic shortages (from non tempered to tempered glass I've heard). I think it really comes down to risk tolerance & I'm extremely risk adverse. The vast majority of the tanks are fine but I know I'll worry.

Good to know the platys will appreciate some height in the aquarium! That's very helpful.

 

[r_e_g]

On 9/9/2024 at 6:45 AM, Lynaea said:

It sounds like the 40B would be your best choice, you already have a stand and light for it and it could potentially be only $40 oN sale. It will also be easy enough to move when the time comes. 
Just check them out in the store, get the one with the best silicone and leak test it before adding fish. 

Ha I didn't mention this in my original post but I actually have an empty 40 breeder sitting here as well! However, even though I used it previously and it did just fine, I'm afraid to do so again since it then had a lizard with a high output UV bulb in it going 12 hours/day for a year, which I've heard can weaken the silicone. Said lizard also scratched at the glass a bunch of times & I've heard these can collect algae, even if you can't see them when the tank is dry. A family member is going to tank that tank for a future terrarium & I may very well give them the stand as well. 

I'm definitely still considering going with one of the Aqueon 40 breeders but the more I think about it, the more I want to spring for a nice 40 gallon rimless tank & stand. It's definitely not the cheapest option but I know I'll love it, and I absolutely love emersed growth & I think it looks a lot better in rimless tanks. 

Typing this all out last night really helped & I really appreciate the input!

On 9/9/2024 at 7:28 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Yup. It’s now 50% off. Which is still a banger of a deal for 2024. I think it might be going on right now at PetCo 

Yes alas, the DPG sales of my youth are no more (but 50% off is still great!!!).

The July sale is actually the reason why I'm setting up a new tank-I've always wanted a 20 long and finally bought one the last night of the sale, only to discover the silicone job was really bad (there were huge spider web-like bubbles in it!). I was going to exchange it but then I went down the rabbit hole looking at other options, & now I have a momma platy living with my mystery snails & I want to make sure I have plenty of space for future babies in the forthcoming tank.