The one thing I would do differently is?

[Brent F]

Rob,

Totally agree. That's why I switched for 170 display tank to a system totaling 80 gal.

I find the "glad I didn't start big because the cost would have scared me off" type comments funny. I came to the opposite conclusion after thinking about the cost and decided to stay small this time.

How much do you want to bet that in a year I’ll post pictures of a new 250 gal tank proving I didn’t learn from the past?

[untamed]

I wish I had put a liftable subfloor into my fish room to make it easier to put things into spots they weren't planned for. I'm now realizing that my plan wasn't "perfect" (ha...there's a surprise!!), but it is really hard to modify things after the fact.

I didn't plan for a refugium and managed to squeeze that in. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to install a larger skimmer....ozone...UV...

I suppose there just wasn't enough flexibility in the plan... Now that it is running, every mod is much harder.