Upgrade to 40L or 55g?

I have a 20L right now and I'm looking to upgrade soon since Christmas time will be here in no time and I want to be ready by then. By looking at the dimensions it looks like the 40 and 55 offer the same length and the only major difference is the height. Any opinions on saving money and getting a 40 or spending more for the added room?

 

I've always been a fan of shallower tanks, so I would go with the 40. I think it makes stacking rock a little easier when you don't have to stack it high to get corals near the light.

 

being the owner of a super stocked 55g reef, I would have to say get the biggest tank you can afford. I thought 55g would be fine, but once I started dabbling in corals, I quickly ran out of space. The larger water capacity will also help buffer swings in water params a bit too. Best.

 

I would suggest neither of them. I have a 55 and the width sucks. It's very hard to aquascape and make it look nice. I would go with a 40 breeder or standard 75.

 

+ 1 on 40B or a 75 if you can afford it.

 

beat me to it guys! as soon as i seen this thread title i was gonna say a 40 breeder or better yet a 75 or 90!

75 has same foot print as a 55 its just deeper by i believe 6 inches

90 is same as a 75 but taller

 

Hey I take offense to that it is possible to make a 55g look "nice" IMO:

 

The only problem I have is that my stand would only be able to fit the dimensions of a 40 long or 55. Oh and I'm a poor college boy so upgrading past that would kill my wallet.

 

I'd go with the 55 then since you have the stand. I doubt it's much more expensive than a 40L, which I've never even seen in a store (or on craigslist) before. I bet you could find a used one for fairly cheap.

Also, I'd go with the 55 because a 40L is going to look awkwardly short compared to how wide it is imo.