I thought many people say or flame people who start with sizes they can manage (usually on the smaller side) with a very common saying: The bigger, the better ;)

Yes, and sometimes that is true, too. A small system, <30g can also be hard to manage with rapidly fluctuating parameters, esp if you don't have a sump or skimmer.

I think a good starting size for a 1st tank is around 50g with a sump and skimmer. That still allows for fast reaction to mistakes (water changes, etc), and provides all the necessary elements for learning. Plus you have some room for fish and corals. And if you do decide to get out of the hobby, your lost investment is not as bad.

But if you do get past all the learning and inevitable frustrations after the 1st year or so, then you will be in a much better position to properly plan and move to a larger system.

True that. I always say that a manageable tank is always better than a bigger tank (but who cares, I am a noob after all and my words are of no value :) ). When I moved from 20gallon to 70gallon, it was bit of a shock, esp with burning pumps (hence gave up on 2nd hand things), buying new salt bucket every 2-3 months (and I have been using non-IO salts), dosing a LOT, not to mention it takes a lot of corals/fishes/time to fill up a big tank :razz: One just have to know what it takes to have a saltwater tank; surprise is the biggest enemy in this hobby :) Having money is not the solution like many thinks; its all about dedication :)

One thing that has kept me in rather than giving up is the amount of money invested is too much just to walk away. The first year I think is the most challenging and if anyone was like me when I started - zero research. Wasn't until AFTER we had set ours up and things weren't going well did we start researching (5 months after set up). I also think people don't realize how much this hobby actually costs to set up and maintain especially when most newbies as some point make mistakes that are costly to fix or suffer substantial livestock losses. Easy to give up and throw in the towel. Thank goodness for forums (esp Canreef) with good people always willing to offer advice and help!!

Interestingly though, the poll shows a lot of long timers here, not a lot of newbs....

Yes, poll shows only 9 people with less than 1 year in the hobby. You would think the 1st year would be higher. Maybe it is because some newbies still haven't discovered Canreef?

It would have been interesting, too, to see the yearly poll increments extend beyond 5 years. I think at some point, people do get bored (or life gets too busy) and get out of the hobby, at least for a while. Unfortunately, the poll doesn't capture all the people that drop out, since they are also not likely to be on Canreef and participate in this poll.

If I was an LFS, I would pay attention to this as well, with what advice and support I provide to newbies. I think the temptation to make sales can backfire in the long run, if the newbie drops out of the hobby.