Cureing live rock does not have to be that bad. You can put it in a trash can or rubber tub and cycle it somewhere else if need be. You could also look for a club around and maybe find some live rock someone has already had and used. Just make sure if you get used live rock they never used copper to treat their tank. I have around 50 pounds I'd like to get rid of for $2.50/pound and I'm sure there are people in your area with extra too.
As for tanks though a 40 breeder I feel would be a better option than a 55. I had a 55 and the front to back depth made it hard to make the rock look like anything but a wall. I'd probably also go with a 34 over the 40 though. A draw back to a all in one 34 is that if you ever decided to upgrade you'd basically have to get a whole new system and not really be able to use much from the 34.
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