Big Tanks vs. Small Tanks: The Epic Showdown

[Sandy Andy]

This is the epic showdown between large and small tanks! I'm taking into account the costs, maintenance/care requirements, whether they can suit beginners, and fish selections. However, it's important to keep in mind that this doesn't apply to freshwater tanks and that it depends grealty on your lifestyle. Let's start off with considering that mulah. Small (10-30 gallons) tanks are much cheaper. You need to buy more sand, more rock, more water, and perhaps more fish to stock your larger tank. Large tanks are much more expensive which is almost self-explanatory. Small tanks: one, large tanks: zero. Next, maintenance requirements. The nice thing about larger tanks is you typically don't need to perform water changes as often, but you do have more substrate to clean and you might have to reach deep down to feed those non-synthetic corals at the bottom of your tank, but this is only a minor problem. It is also said that things can more easily spiral out of control in a small tank. I think the large tanks deserve this one. Now it's tied. Fish selection. The size of your tank can open doors to allow you to keep large fish like angelfish, but can restrict from getting that mandarin. It's hard to give a fish a tank that's too large for it.  Dwarf seahorses can live in a tank as small as 3 gallons, but unfortunately, most of those cool oddball fish are either too big for your tank or too hard to care for. I think large tanks deserve the point, but small tanks deserve another point for being easy for hobbyists of all levels, especially beginners. What do you think? Drop your thoughts below.

[RedCrow]

I think small tanks being cheaper than large tanks only applies down to about 10-20 gallons. Once you drop below that, equipment becomes more specialized and things start to get expensive again. In terms of maintenance my old 55 was the easiest reef tank I ever owned. For that reason 40-60 gallons is always the size I recommend for beginners. There’s a lot of affordable equipment available for this size range too so it can be the most affordable bracket. I guess that’s where my vote goes. 
 

All that being said, I only have two tanks running right now: a 4.5 gallon and a 2 gallon 

[mcarroll]

There's a lot to like in a reef tank of any size.   Seems like that ought to preface any vote.  😉

 

IMO if you're really into marine fish in any general way you have to be into bigger tanks.  While there are some great small fish available, there just aren't that many small fish to choose from overall.

 

Is that a vote, or more like a rule of thumb though?

[Sandy Andy]

I think 10-35 gallons is just right. Not too big or too small, for me personally. 

[dling]

I have a 10 and a 50. The 50 is drilled and has a sump with skimmer. The 10 is just a small reef.  2 small clowns and some sps corals. I feel the 50 is much easier

to maintain and has so much room for a broader range of livestock . If I were to get rid of one of the tanks it would be the 10.

[This guy is extra salty]

I don’t really have a preference to size of an aquarium. Everything has its pros and cons. 
but I have come to like ultra low maintenance builds 

i have multiple tank syndrome 

Rs750xxl,80g frag, 160g, 20g contest tank

[1000rrstunna]

My 180 is pretty epic but I will say the way it’s setup makes it easy..... basement fish room with water station that pumps right in after I drain the sump for 30 gal water changes every week. Takes about 10 minutes. Mixing the salt takes longer 

[This guy is extra salty]

16 minutes ago, 1000rrstunna said:

 

You can hardly see the Corals! 🧐lol

[Sandy Andy]

Of course, if you're a person who just wants a small desktop desk, something like a 10 gallon tank is for you. If you want your tank to be the centerpiece of your home, you might want a 100+ gallon tank.  It depends on your preferances and lifestlye.

[pokerdobe]

Large tanks pros:

• Stability
• Stocking variety
• Stocking volume
• Space
• Scape room

Large tank cons:

• Cost
• Space

Also, you can't really achieve this with small tanks. My next tank will be at least an 8' long. Too many limitations in a small tank to be feasible for me. 

 

 

[Sandy Andy]

That's a good point.

[Sandy Andy]

The only reason I would say a 10-35 gallon tank works best is because I'm very new to the saltwater world and only 12.

[Sandy Andy]

Let me make it more clear. You are voting based more on what fits you than what people in general.

[dling]

4 hours ago, pokerdobe said:

Large tanks pros:

• Stability
• Stocking variety
• Stocking volume
• Space
• Scape room

Large tank cons:

• Cost
• Space

Also, you can't really achieve this with small tanks. My next tank will be at least an 8' long. Too many limitations in a small tank to be feasible for me. 

 

 

Beautiful .

[1000rrstunna]

13 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

You can hardly see the Corals! 🧐lol

Just moved to a new house it’s only 6 months old lol. They need to growwwwww

[dling]

On 3/24/2020 at 10:54 PM, Sandy Andy said:

The only reason I would say a 10-35 gallon tank works best is because I'm very new to the saltwater world and only 12.

That size range may be best for you but a larger tanks are generally more stable then smaller ones.

The biggest downsides to larger tanks is space and up front cost .If you have the room and money to do a larger tank

the amount of diversity they allow with corals and fish is fantastic. If I had both the space and money to do larger I would.

My tank size is based on both of those.

 

[KMitch]

Another consideration -- big tanks weigh more and you have to be more mindful about placement than in small tanks. Depending on your living situation, there are also considerations for big tanks like having a larger space to mix RO water, mix salt water, etc. If you are tight on space, a nano tank is a good option to reduce some of those limitations. 

 

My first tank in college was a 10 gallon tank. Loved it. But I always thought bigger tanks were better, and kept upgrading and getting bigger and bigger. At some point I felt like that big tank was harder to enjoy, because I had to do more to tend to it. I had to make more RO water, which meant I had to change the RO unit filters more often. I had to buy more salt. I had to dose more calc/alk every day. It became more of a chore. And yes, I had that sucker automated and simplified with as many systems as possible, but that also added to the complexity. Everything become more cumbersome -- I needed a step stool to upright that frag and a long wand scrapper to clean the back glass because I couldn't reach it all. 

 

So when I restarted my most recent tank, I went back down in size to 20 gallons.

 

It's small enough that I can do everything I need in a 5 gallon bucket, I can put it anywhere I want without concern for weight distribution, electricity draw, etc. I don't need a ladder to get into the tank, and the small size means I really get to know every nook and cranny of the tank. And I think I'll end up enjoying it more in the long term.

 

So which is better ultimately comes down to a lot of decisions about how much time you want to put into maintaining it vs looking at it, cost, living situation limitations (weight, size, etc), and personal preference. 

[Tired]

I had a 65gal freshwater tank for awhile, starting when I was about 13. I had to stand on a step stool to reach into it, and couldn't physically reach the bottom because my arm was too short. It's about the largest tank I'd suggest for a beginner, in either fresh or saltwater. 

I have a 4gal reef tank right now. I wish I could go a bit larger. This is cute, but I'd really like more like 8-10 gallons. Still tiny and easily manageable, but room for slightly more fish options, and more physical questions in general. 

 

Different sizes are good for different things. If I'm talking to someone who's never kept an aquarium before, I tend to suggest about 20-40 gallons, and IMO that's a pretty good size for anyone. You've got a reasonable amount of fish options, decent bit of space, but it's still small enough to work with easily. A larger tank has more space for fish numbers and types, there's no substitute for that, but it gets inconvenient. I don't know that I'd want a saltwater tank much over, maybe, 55gal. Now, freshwater's easier- that, I could go larger. 

[jbb]

I am by no means recommending this to anyone but my mini complete tank is by far the easiest tank I have ever owned as far as overall maintenance and care. 

 

The only reason for that is the addition of the ato. For not having that, the tank would be an absolute nightmare to keep up with.  Problem is the ato setup cost more than the tank.  

[Tired]

Yeah, but that's less an aquarium and more of a long water glass. 

 

I can't imagine what a pain it must have been to get the ATO sensor wired in for such a slight difference in water levels as would make a difference in this tank.

[pokerdobe]

Curious as to what everyone's maintenance schedule is. I would estimate that I spend about 10-15 minutes a day scraping the glass and checking my dosing liquids... but that's about all I do. 

 

It could be that I'm just really lazy - but I think the level of maintenance is marginal from when I owned nano tanks. 

[jbb]

48 minutes ago, Tired said:

Yeah, but that's less an aquarium and more of a long water glass. 

 

I can't imagine what a pain it must have been to get the ATO sensor wired in for such a slight difference in water levels as would make a difference in this tank.

Honestly it's not as bad as you would think.  (If you were talking to me) 

 

The ato only turns on every 12hrs and most of the time it only fills once per day , the second time it reads good. 

 

The tank is covered pretty well which helps reduce evap. 

[RedCrow]

1 hour ago, pokerdobe said:

Curious as to what everyone's maintenance schedule is. I would estimate that I spend about 10-15 minutes a day scraping the glass and checking my dosing liquids... but that's about all I do. 

 

It could be that I'm just really lazy - but I think the level of maintenance is marginal from when I owned nano tanks. 

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m willing to spend money on automation to avoid maintenance. I spend 15 minutes a week to scrape glass, change water, check ATOs. I can spend more time enjoying that way. 

[KMitch]

Not all maintenance is bad. I spend ~1min /day putting drops of ZeoVit into my tank. I could put them on a doser, but there's something satisfying about having a task that forces me to slow down and admire the tank for a few mins

[Aquatic Spendthrift]

Im running a 7 gallon nano. Its good on the wallet. Dont need and rodi, just buy distilled and run a hamster bottle ato with kalk. An advantage of small tanks is if anything goes south u can do a 100% water change ez.+ There are many cool inverts that you can appreciate more in a nano. To be fair tho it is my first reef tank so i have no idea what its like to have a larger reef system.