Large Vs. Small

[buck27]

I started out with a 55 gallon tank and moved quickly to a 100 gallon then a 225 and finally a 340 gallon in my wall. I have been out of the hobby now for almost 12 months due to a divorce. could some of you give me some input as to the best possible pros and cons of large vs. small. Other than mass water quantity that is.

 

[extremecoral]

I hope everything is well for you.
Large pros
-have tons of selection on fish, choose whatever tangs you like No tang police around your tank.
-more corals to put in your display.
-SPS growing/space is not a problem.
-have a paranoma view.
Large cons
-large amount of $$$$$ spend every month including salt, water bill, electricity bill, chemicals.
-have to put a lot of show size piece corals.
-take longer time to build a complete tank as your desire.
-space/moving considerations (pain in the butt)

Small pros
-saving you $$$$$ on coral, salt, chemicals, fish.
-easy to manage/take care.
-water change is not a pain in the butt chore.
Small cons
-every coral must be a show piece due to space
-no big fish
-SPS growing is a problem later on.

Hope that helps you.

 

[Reefing Madness]

I agree with the above statment. Bigger is more expensive to run and operate monthly, small is less expensive, and you can put all the toots and whisltes in it for half the cost of a large system. But I like the types of fish you can put in a large system, so that one gets my vote. To me the scaping is much better looking also in a larger system, way easier to get the look your going after.

 

[eliramos]

I hope everything is well for you.
Large pros
-have tons of selection on fish, choose whatever tangs you like No tang police around your tank.
-more corals to put in your display.
-SPS growing/space is not a problem.
-have a paranoma view.
Large cons
-large amount of $$$$$ spend every month including salt, water bill, electricity bill, chemicals.
-have to put a lot of show size piece corals.
-take longer time to build a complete tank as your desire.
-space/moving considerations (pain in the butt)

Small pros
-saving you $$$$$ on coral, salt, chemicals, fish.
-easy to manage/take care.
-water change is not a pain in the butt chore.
Small cons
-every coral must be a show piece due to space
-no big fish
-SPS growing is a problem later on.

Hope that helps you.

+ 1

 

[oscarinw]

I truly believe that the 'sweet spot' on this hobby is right about at the 100-120 gallon mark. At that point your equipment still doesn't have to be commercial grade and you are not severely limited on your livestock due to space. More than that means more electricity, more expensive start setup, more water change expenses and so forth.

 

[NanaReefer]

I'm a small tanker myself so I'm partial But do agree with the above pros/cons
Another pro for the small-every coral has to be fragged at one time or another. Which quickly pays for itself
This year I fragged a blue tipped hammer that paid for my salt for a year!


Sent from my iPhone 4s via Tapatalk.

 

[Velodog2]

I've done big and now prefer small. The cost of electricity, the problems with humidity, the risk of big spills, the cost of equipment and livestock all work agains the big tank. I have found I am getting 90% of the satisfaction from my 18 gallon with only about 10% of the above mentioned problems as I had with the 340 total gallons I had at one time. Maybe better as my corals are actually growing better in the nano because I can keep the water pristine and levels good with only weekly water changes and no supplements or reactors.