Unpopular opinion: smaller tanks are better for beginners

[Reefing_addiction]

my question is….. where is @brandon429 build thread or tank photos?

 

[Reefer Matt]

I think it depends on which livestock are kept, and the habits of the Reefer. Some people have large tanks that are a mess because they don’t have the time, money, or motivation to maintain them. But given an apples to apples comparison of the same Reefer with the same coral, the larger tank has a better chance of success overall, imo. But someone with the right motivation and attitude can certainly have success with a small tank. I don’t think either is better, as it is subjective to each Reefer and their lifestyle.

 

[saltienewb]

I think the idea is mostly for people who will be in it long term. I have an 80 gal and I’m already eyeing an upgrade after a year, but mostly just wishing haha. If I had a smaller tank I would be chomping at the bit.

Besides the return pump, I can repurpose most of the equipment if I do decide to go larger. Buy once, cry once and all that.

 

[fish farmer]

That is what an ATO is for.


I think you are being a bit obtuse to make a point.

It is easier to foul a bathtub peeing in it than it is the local YMCA pool. Likewise, larger bodies of water are much slower reacting to temperature changes, death of animals, oxygen depletion due to a misbehaving piece of equipment, skimmer malfunction, algal blooms, the cleaning lady spraying glade all over the house, etc.

We can "what if" all day long about what can happen with broken automation or poor planning but reality is what typically happens.

All things being relative, the larger volume of water is going to be more stable and therefore more forgiving to small mistake and environmental changes. Is it more work physical work, more expensive and does it take up more space with larger equipment... sure you can make that argument.

I agree on temperature stability being more stable as the size goes up.

My point regarding the stability of big vs small is based on biomass stocking.

I'll take your pool comparison and use aquariums for my argument. A 10 gallon tank with one clownfish produces x amount of waste, in the pool sized tank (100 gallon) with the one fish it would be negligible, which I agree with.

I feel comparing one clownfish in a 10 gallon tank should be compared to 10 clownfish in a 100 gallon tank, they will both be producing the same percentage of waste and both need to be addressed in whatever manner the reefer sees fit whether it is equipment/filtration or daily/weekly water changes.

 

[cilyjr]

The problem with this discussion is my opinion, is we have not defined "easier".

 

[brandon429]

We don’t see dinos wrecked pico reefs, or pico reefs with aiptasia problems/at least not in the thousands of examples on daily trend posts. Accessibility is the key difference imo

Pico reefers don’t have to put up with that stuff, they learned that at the onset

but large tankers do

Teaching people that larger tanks are more stable and easier to run than small reefs keeps invasion assistance work threaders very busy over the years we appreciate the well intentioned misguidance

It’s a true a seven year old with a tiny nerfball can kill my reef but it’s not going to die biologically that’s for sure heh

 

[cilyjr]

Wouldn't a lot of what is being discussed a automation discussion?

Could we agree that larger tanks TEND to be more automated?

The person who buys a 200 gallon tank has probably been in for a while and will probably spend more money on the automation parts...

 

[jayala12]

My two cents….

I have had a 75, 28 biocube and now a nuvo 20 and think the small ones are easier. Water change every two weeks and an ato and I’m done. I do 3 gallon water changes and everything is good to go. I don’t chase numbers ever. And honestly other than salinity being checked when I do my water changes I let it all cook and watch everything grow and flourish. My approach is hands out the tank and never chase numbers and feel it’s a lot easier on a 3 gallon water change every two weeks than 10-15 gallons .

 

[Reefing_addiction]

Well now it’s time to unwatch this thread.

 

[Create New]

I feel like I'm in the minority here but I started with a 10 gallon ultra low tech (single on/off bulb, HOB filter, no skimmer, no dosing, etc) and it was the easiest, most thriving tank I've owned.

Small tanks also look mature way faster because they need fewer coral and less growth to fill out

Yeah, my 120 litre (30 gallon) aquarium was by far the easiest and best tank I ever owned.

 

[GARRIGA]

Nice part about pint size being that a 50% WC good enough and easy enough. Just adjust replacement water to be reasonably near tank such as temp, alkalinity and pH. However, I still think going as large as affordable in space and money is easier long term as one could hookup controllers and automate much of the daily tasks including testing and I'm not talking about those who have separate rooms for equipment. At least that's not the path I'll be taking with my main and in addition still going simple with my upcoming desktop replacing what I had running since late 2021. Fact is I'm dismantlement as we speak. Not a single WC, therefore, realistically speaking. Anything can be kept depending what one wants thriving. Not all of us need sticks and having sticks shouldn't the the definition of having a successful reef tank. Different strokes and means

 

[krollins]

Well now it’s time to unwatch this thread.

Same

 

[braaap]

TL;DR: yes, a smaller tank requires more oversight and closer monitoring than a bigger tank does.

Not even remotely true. 20+ years of this and mainly all tanks in the 20-30 gal range. I rarely monitored anything and have massive success in growth and survival. Smaller thanks take more thought when setting up and selecting livestock. Maintenance/monitoring aren't changed.

 

[braaap]

Wouldn't a lot of what is being discussed a automation discussion?

Could we agree that larger tanks TEND to be more automated?

The person who buys a 200 gallon tank has probably been in for a while and will probably spend more money on the automation parts...

My 20 drop off has a full apex and trident. It is the first tank I have added this much controller stuff to. Normally I just had an apex with temp probe.

I did it because I got it all for a great price and it is fun. It has allowed me to automate virtually everything which is nice. But it isn't necessary at all.

 

[Quietman]

I think it's a valid point but quite a bit more nuanced that just "small tanks are easier overall". I think a lot of reefers say big tanks are easier because the big tank is their second or third tank. Once you've gone through a build from start to 2-3 years on a 30 to 40 gallon, anything is going to be easier just from what's been learned. I don't think there's any shortcut on getting through that first tank large or small, there's so much to learn, how to respond to test results, what to ignore, what to jump on, etc.

Most early success depends type of tank you want to run. I will always recommend a new reefer start with soft and very easy LPS corals and few fish (keep under max fish load by 50% or more) for the first year or two. If they can delay any fish a few months and get used to water management without nutrient producers even better. Doesn't matter method of tank; Berlin, No sump AIO, DSB, whatever. Eliminating the more sensitive corals and limiting maintenance due to nutrient producers is going to help anyone starting. Forgetting a water change or putting off testing or even incorrect dosing (moderate) for a week or two or three when you only have 1 or 2 fish and softies isn't going to crash most tanks. Same with mis-adjusting a heater controller. Going above 82-83 or wake up and finding your tank below 73-74 also isn't going to wreck everything (or anything really). I've done it with no effect. Don't have the exact right light spectrum or intensity no worries, it'll be fine. Try any of that with SPS and full bio load and it's not going to matter if it's 120 gallon or 25 gallon - there'll be losses. Build success and experience before moving up the difficulty, sensitivity, maximizing tank load.

There is a low limit I think...I would go with 20-40 as a minimum (again, 2-3 small fish and softies). Anything smaller will be at the limit by default and won't be forgiving enough for new reef keepers.

Basically the farther you stay away from the maximum limits of what a tank can support, the easier and more forgiving that tank will be and more enjoyable. I've had those weeks where something is dying every day. It's miserable and I don't wish that feeling on anyone wanting to start a fun new hobby.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I think the issue isnt really bigger or smaller, I believe it its the tanks around 20ish to 40ish. Smaller tanks water changes take care of just about all issuez and you can do a larger percent. Larger tanks usually have a sump and are plumbed. Skimmers, reactors, dosers, scrubbers, and all sorts of equipment are usually added. The tanks between these are harder to add these and have space but you can do some but not all. You can drill a sump but now your adding more water volume and moving into larger water volume size. Big tanks and small tanks can be easier I think the issue is the nanos in between. I have a 7 gallon and it is almost to big for me maintenance wise. But i couldnt do a pico due to size limitations.

But a good example of what people are talking about with issues is picos is you mix up salt and RO. Salinity drops slightly. In a pico you have a dead tank. There was an issu I had with salt and freshwater. I ended up doing a 100 percent water change with RO/DI. Needless to say nothing survived. If I had a 90 gallon and did 10 gallon or 5 gallon water change, salinity would drop and possibly less death. But I also may not have figured it out as fast lol

I have not tested anything on 7g since day one except salinity of the water im adding to verify its salt lol.

 

[Project]

Just want to share that having nano tank is definitely enjoyable.

I had 120G with total of 200G system before getting out.

Returned after about 5yrs of break. And decided to go small. This tank will eventually be upgraded to 40-50Gal tank.

As of this morning (24G) -1.9yrs old. Recently added 14 more SPS frags.

Hospital/Frag tank (15aio)- 2 month old
no livestocks other than few snails. No testing, 3 g WC every two week. -Water comes from the 24Gal used. Dosing oyster feast and some reef roids once a week.

 

[Troylee]

A 50 gallon tank isn't going to evaporate in those weeks?

My 29 gallon needed daily attention. That daily attention comes from an ATO and kalk additions which in turn creates the stability.

It is just a volume of water with many ways to manage the stability either through manual or automatic. Also appropriate stocking densities play a role in how stable a system is.

If people truly think a bigger tank is more stable.... invite me over, I'll initiate a kalk ATO failure and dump a gallon or two of saturated kalk into your system.

Come on over.. I forgot to shut my top off one time when I was changing water and dumped 8 gallons of kalk in and nothing happened but a super cloudy tank lol… ph spiked and I had some precipitate but didn’t lose a single thing.

 

[Troylee]

We don’t see dinos wrecked pico reefs, or pico reefs with aiptasia problems/at least not in the thousands of examples on daily trend posts. Accessibility is the key difference imo

Pico reefers don’t have to put up with that stuff, they learned that at the onset

but large tankers do

Teaching people that larger tanks are more stable and easier to run than small reefs keeps invasion assistance work threaders very busy over the years we appreciate the well intentioned misguidance

It’s a true a seven year old with a tiny nerfball can kill my reef but it’s not going to die biologically that’s for sure heh

Gonna take a lot more than a nerf gun to kill this..

 

[brandon429]

That's the perfect degree of light, to have occasional darker spots + that color temp

That's ideal for invasion prevention across several strains of tank wreckers great bio balance there

It's not ideal to have 110% of the reef scape lit brightly. That's a rare balance in lighting above.