Question: Cost aside, is a smaller reef tank easier to care for than a larger tank?

[deepRED]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

I wasn't "answering". I was just "replying"

Anyway, I am not arguing about the stability. I have already written bigger tanks are "easier" to keep stable. And like you have said, the false sense of security of the famous quote "bigger is better" ( ) is something that cause problem. In the end, a well maintained tank is what matters, whether its big or small. You have time, money and dedication: go for a bigger tank. You have time and dedication: go for a small tank.

And regarding maintenance, in my previous 20 gallon, I would do 10gallon WC weekly and that wc had more impact on the overall health of the system than a 10 gallon weekly water change on my current 70 gallon system. Pro: I don't have to worry about pinpointing every parameter. Con: if things go wrong, that means pulling more buckets of water around.

And bigger tank brings more headache and I am pretty sure many will agree to that

Agreed.

For me, for someone just starting out I will suggest an all in one or else a 40 gallon breeder. I find it's a good balance with not being super tiny and not too big. Easy enough to do water changes and you don't need a garbage can sitting in your living room to mix water.. lol....

For someone who for sure is going to stick with it and not shut the tank down in half a year, I too prefer in the 75-125 gallon range. Seems to be a good balance of ease of maintenance and stability, and you can keep a larger range of fish, corals and inverts.

I've had 300+ gallon tanks and picos, and I can say each presents it's own challenges.

I'm currently running 800+ gallons of tanks, so I have a pretty good idea how long it takes to do stuff.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by deepRED

Agreed.

For me, for someone just starting out I will suggest an all in one or else a 40 gallon breeder. I find it's a good balance with not being super tiny and not too big. Easy enough to do water changes and you don't need a garbage can sitting in your living room to mix water.. lol....

For someone who for sure is going to stick with it and not shut the tank down in half a year, I too prefer in the 75-125 gallon range. Seems to be a good balance of ease of maintenance and stability, and you can keep a larger range of fish, corals and inverts.

I've had 300+ gallon tanks and picos, and I can say each presents it's own challenges.

I'm currently running 800+ gallons of tanks, so I have a pretty good idea how long it takes to do stuff.

That's a very strong point you have placed. Lots of people are tempted by "nemo" and "dory" other that sheer dedication and either ends up with a small tank getting bashed by tank police or ends up with big tank without knowing whether or not they can maintain the tank in the long run. I knew I was up for fun challenges when I started my 20 gallon (since nano = hard to keep is a very common notion in forums) but someone without idea of how to maintain a saltwater generally (since many forums which are not "nano friendly" makes it seem like big tanks don't need maintenance) and ends up getting a big tank depending on the notion of bigger the better and BAM!

Off topic: would love to see your 800 gallon tank A thread for it perhaps? One of the popular notions of this forum is: pic or it never happened

[deepRED]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

That's a very strong point you have placed. Lots of people are tempted by "nemo" and "dory" other that sheer dedication and either ends up with a small tank getting bashed by tank police or ends up with big tank without knowing whether or not they can maintain the tank in the long run. I knew I was up for fun challenges when I started my 20 gallon (since nano = hard to keep is a very common notion in forums) but someone without idea of how to maintain a saltwater generally (since many forums which are not "nano friendly" makes it seem like big tanks don't need maintenance) and ends up getting a big tank depending on the notion of bigger the better and BAM!

Off topic: would love to see your 800 gallon tank A thread for it perhaps? One of the popular notions of this forum is: pic or it never happened

I wish I had a single 800 gallon.. haha.... nope.

I have a 300 gallon, a 200 gallon, and 3x 100 gallon tanks. Only two are reefs and the rest are freshwater.

I have no clue where my old tank threads went but I used to have hundreds of posts when I was more active on the forum.
Got married, shut a bunch of tanks down and was MIA for a few years and when I came back all of a sudden I'm a newb again.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

If both tanks are properly maintained, the larger tank will always be more stable.

And that's all I was saying.