Generally in terms of heating & lighting, the size of the tank is a directly proportional ( eg. 30 gallon tank is about $5/mth, so 300 gallon is $50/mth for light & heating, pumps, etc.). As for water changes, well one would change 10% new water every 1 - 2 weeks so again proportional. However, as the tank gets more stable, some people do not change water as frequent with the larger tanks as they do not stuff it with as much corals and fish. If you opt to have SPS corals, well, you'll have to watch the parameters even more and strongly consider better equipment like calcium reactors, larger protein skimmers and so forth. The biggest cost I think, will probably be the livestock (fish & corals, liverock) especially for larger tanks which you might opt to buy larger specimens as opposed to frags. You might consider other components like water top offs, dosers for the SPS tanks as well as special additives ( eg zeovit, ), best lighting, best wavemakers/waveboxes, backup heaters, chillers, etc.; if you want the fastest growth & prettiest growth, a 200 gallon setup can easily set you back several thousand in a wink....I have just a 34 gallon tank and buying used stuff & frags, I think over spent well over $2K.
And one more thing, coral reef tanks is a patient hobby... you will have a casualty rate of corals and fish as you learn what is compatible and what is not and have a constant battle with unwanted algae and potential pests...you might be stuck at home a while to maintain it; I dread taking a long extended vacation and leave the maintenace to someone.
msjboy
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