BIG TANKS versus smaller tanks...Which do you prefer and why?

[AJsReef]

I love Tangs, so bigger for me. Currently at 6' but wanting to go to 8' next home... That said I regret it when I have to clean the glass lol

 

[billandwende]

I have had all manner of tanks from a 3g Pico up to a 300g. While I love a well stocked big tank, There was about $40k invested in the 300 and it still was not fully stocked. It also felt like I was CONSTANTLY working on/in the tank to keep it clean/maintained. I never really had time to just enjoy the tank. I had a similar experience with my 180. My most enjoyable systems were my 3g pico and my 40b, but I will likely upgrade to a 75g. A 4' 120 is about as big as I will go in the future.

OMG I feel the pain. I'm currently hating my 350 gallon. More stable my bleep. I still love my smaller tanks.

Thank you for saying it.

 

[Greybeard]

I see these 'if money were no object' threads... If money were truly no object, I wouldn't have a tank.

I'd be sailing around the coral triangle in one of these:

Big reef tank? Why bother, when you can dive from your back porch anytime you want. That's a Seawind 1600, in case anyone wants to take a closer look... and you may one day wake up to find that old Greybeard has swapped his home in the country for a 50' blue water catamaran and a slip in Penang

Now, back to the original question...

There is such a thing as 'right size'. It's a personal thing, and each of us are different.
What do you want to put in a tank?
How much time and effort do you want to put into maintaining it?
All of us have space and money restrictions... refer to above

For me, my 60"x30" tank is plenty 'big enough'. It's 18" height and low stand, open peninsula mount, and 'sump closet' provide easy maintenance and keep me from ever needing to work from my knees.

It's my 'right size'. I'm quite happy with it, for now...

 

[ca1ore]

Stability of a bigger tank is something of an oxymoron. Yes, more water means that a problem can take longer to manifest; but more water means that correcting the problem is much harder. Doing a 50% water change on a 20 gallon AIO means 10 gallons; doing a 50% water change on my sytem means 350 gallons. Logistically problematic.

I personally view any tank over the standard 6' 180 as a large tank; anything below is medium. Large tanks open up stocking options considerably.

 

[FishyFishFish]

Small.

One of my friends had a big tank made and he was very excited so I went to visit. I'm not sure if it was glass or acrylic but the sides were so thick that looking through it made me dizzy. To see anything that wasn't distorted you had to look perpendicularly into the tank; looking at an angle was just horrible. I much prefer the thinner glass on smaller tanks.

I also find maintenance of small tanks easier; little and often suits me better than spending a whole day trying to clean it.

I'm living away from home for a couple of years so I can't go mad at the moment, but when I do eventually go home I'm considering getting 3 Nano (10-20 gallon) tanks; one for softies, one for LPS and one for SPS. There is no way I could do that with bigger tanks.

 

[DaddyFish]

I love tangs and puffers. The puffers get their own apartments. The big, by my standards (215-gal) tank hopefully arrives intact on Monday. 6' for tangs is all the space I can spare. If ease of care and lower operational costs took precedence I would have stayed with freshwater long ago.

 

[PanchoG]

I started my trip to insanity with a 29 BioCube that I loved. Then I lost my mind (perhaps licking toads is a bad idea) and followed some bad advise (for me) and bought the "BIGGEST TANK YOU CAN AFFORD". I have a lovely 350 gallon tank taking up a huge amount of space in my living room. I've been fighting this thing since day one. I've changed so much, so many times and I can never get it dialed in. I've killed more frags than most people would ever buy. Different lights, re designs on the sump, skimmers, reactors, on and on. Watched every video on YouTube. I still go from cayano bacteria that covers everything to rock covered in algae and back again. I've given up on ever having a nice reef tank. I'm sticking to fish only and live rock. Though I do have a very large bubble tip that seems happy, and a Bubble coral that's easily the size of 2 grapefruits side by side. I have cleaner shrimp, hermits, snails (sometime a few some time hundreds) urchins, a brittle star That all do fine but always cayano or algae. All told I'm in 30k and wish I'd never gone this big. Perhaps I should give up and raise the for mentioned Psychedelic toads. (for medicinal use only not for resale) If you want big do a 180. Much easier to maintain or remove later.

Oh yes the biggest tank you can afford and/or does not causes a divorce. ;Bucktooth

 

[G Santana]

When I started back In the 80s everyone said bigger is better because the water volume is more forgiving, well that was until i met Julien Sprung and saw pics of his small tank and the sick growth he had it a very small tank.

Now there is no difference, it's just a matter of the care and husbandry you are willing to dedicate.
Today, size does not matter!!!

I envy both small and large tanks alike lol

 

[RobGold]

I have to go with other, because although I love a big tank as much as the next person I have to balance what I can afford and have room for.

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

I would like a tank larger than my 20 gallon but my parents wont let me have one so I have no experience with a large tank to say that it is better

 

[salty150]

Bigger - for several reasons.

1. Easier to keep parameters in check with larger amount of water.
2. More room for the fish and inhabitants - we are taking these pets out of the ocean, we should at the very least give them as much room as possible to live.
3. Larger choice of fish and inhabitants for larger tanks.
4. Buyer's remorse - you will always, eventually, want to go, or wished you went, bigger.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I have zero preference as long as it’s saltwater. My smallest is my daughters 10 gallon and biggest is my 210 have had a 29 bio cube and a 54 corner. They all had things I liked and disliked. Top off on small tanks is a pain without ato. Cleaning a large tank tanks more time. I feel if I went much bigger than 210 I would lose motivation to clean as often as I should.

Good point thats what is overlooked! could you imaging the work that goes into a 1200gallon tank on the daily, no thank you sea world!

 

[southerntnreefer]

Smaller. Ice had big. 125 and 220, and a 90. I have a 72 now, and it brings me the most joy. It does not cost me a ton to run, and plenty of room for fish and coral for my liking.... dosing isn't super expensive, and water changes are not taxing...works for me I guess...

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Small.

One of my friends had a big tank made and he was very excited so I went to visit. I'm not sure if it was glass or acrylic but the sides were so thick that looking through it made me dizzy. To see anything that wasn't distorted you had to look perpendicularly into the tank; looking at an angle was just horrible. I much prefer the thinner glass on smaller tanks.

I also find maintenance of small tanks easier; little and often suits me better than spending a whole day trying to clean it.

I'm living away from home for a couple of years so I can't go mad at the moment, but when I do eventually go home I'm considering getting 3 Nano (10-20 gallon) tanks; one for softies, one for LPS and one for SPS. There is no way I could do that with bigger tanks.

Mixed reef? Yes you can

 

[DeniseAndy]

I also voted other, because I love both. I have a 210g display in my main living area and in my fish room I have a 40g and a 20g. Then, beginning again very soon, I will have a 6g (traveling tank taken down during Covid) again. Maybe two.

I love the ease of the smaller tanks, but love the look of the large 7' by 24" in my main room.

 

[Proteus Meep]

1. How many gallons do you consider a "BIG" tank?

40 imperial gallons and over (love how peoples perceptions of big wildly differ)

2. BIG TANKS versus smaller tanks...Which do you prefer and why?

Smaller Reefs only for me....easier to keep and more intimate

 

[vlangel]

I have had several tanks ranging from 10 gallon up to 150 gallons. My current tank is 56 gallon column and for my stage of life (early 60s) this is perfect. Its big enough for me to house 15 + fish, have a nice variety of coral and macro algae but small enough to manage maintenance. I have had this tank since 2016 and have no plans of any up or down grades.

 

[Blknovass]

So I answered small tank. Not sure I have had any that would be considered big largest is my current 60 gal. I like the small tanks cause I can have all of the little inverts that in a big tank would get lost.

 

[JLynn]

There are some specific purposes smaller reefs are better for: for example, if you want to feature a lot of small fish like gobies and dragonets, you're better off putting them in a smaller tank, because it will be easier to observe them. Also, for something like an NPS tank, it's easier (and cheaper) to flood a smaller tank with suspended food like they need.

But in general, I prefer a larger tank, because that lets me include more of the spectacular large fish we have in the hobby (like angelfish and tangs). There are limits to that, though. I would never want a tank I had to dive into to do maintenance; 3 ft is probably the widest I would ever want any aquarium of mine to be, and 2-3 ft is the tallest I would want. But a 3000g tank that's super long and 3 ft wide and deep? Sign me up!

 

[Bruce Burnett]

Tank size is what you have room for and if it is an addition to a room or the main piece in the room. Any tank that requires a brute trash can or more for a weekly water change is big. Bigger not only cost more to setup and maintain it also cost more to stock. Things change in life when you are young with 6 kids you want a big house but when you are retired and only you and a spouse you want smaller, same is true with a tank for most people. Last tank was 72x30x30 new tank coming is 36x24x24. I figure having to buy everything new I will have less start up cost than the old bigger one where I even built the stand to save money. Just think about lighting cost one vs the other.