database size ?

Hello,

I've updated a forum version base 7.9 access and towards the version 8.04 base sql
server. Everything works with no problems but the base has become enormous. It is a
private forum for a fishing association with 59 members, 11701 messages in 37 subjects
with 6 forums. Altogether the base is 40 mo and the transaction log of the same size.
Questions
Is this a normal size for a small forum?

How can I slim down the base?

    
My host gives me a maximum of 50MO for the base including the transaction log . How do you manage a forum of this size with sqlexpress?

Thank