Tank size diminishing returns?

[Pittenger5]

I'm already planning my next SW tank, and planning on going Somewhere in the 2-300 gallon range. Obviously, if I'm going to do it, I'd rather just go as big as I can afford, but is there a point where big becomes too big? Obviously live rock and sand will be fairly proportional, but looking at everything else you need, lights, skimmers, pumps, is there a point where you need to make a massive jump in cost, or will that be a somewhat proportional move as well?

 

[Andy Sager]

I'm already planning my next SW tank, and planning on going Somewhere in the 2-300 gallon range. Obviously, if I'm going to do it, I'd rather just go as big as I can afford, but is there a point where big becomes too big? Obviously live rock and sand will be fairly proportional, but looking at everything else you need, lights, skimmers, pumps, is there a point where you need to make a massive jump in cost, or will that be a somewhat proportional move as well?

For me, the question is for what kind of fish or inhabitants you want in the tank and then how much you can afford. To have a huge tank for just damsels and gobies for example, might be considered overkill HOWEVER, if your goal is to have a grand live reef and the fish are just accent pieces, then it's necessary. Just keep in mind that a properly set up 50 gal tank is a much better situation than a poorly set up 300 gal HOWEVER, if your goal is to keep fish species such as larger Tangs and Angels, then a properly set up 50 gal is not a good option and you need to have that larger tank. See how what you want in the tank plays the main part of your answer?

Hope this helps

 

[Delapool]

I can't imagine a tank more than 2 and a half feet deep. I don't know how people work with deeper tanks without a lifeguard

 

[Pittenger5]

I know its a bit of a loaded question. I'm thinking of a predator type tank, I haven't looked into compatibility, but I just don't want the size of the tank to limit my choices. I just don't want to buy a 300 gallon tank which would require 3x of everything, where I bought a 250, it would only take 1x (I cant imagine that's the case, but such is why Im asking).
Oh, and I was a lifeguard in high school, so Ive been trained in the past. I should be good!

 

[Andy Sager]

I know its a bit of a loaded question. I'm thinking of a predator type tank, I haven't looked into compatibility, but I just don't want the size of the tank to limit my choices. I just don't want to buy a 300 gallon tank which would require 3x of everything, where I bought a 250, it would only take 1x (I cant imagine that's the case, but such is why Im asking).
Oh, and I was a lifeguard in high school, so Ive been trained in the past. I should be good!

I don't really think that is the case anytime. You need appropriate filtration for the appropriate size of the aquarium and inhabitants. You wouldn't use a smaller filter for a 300 gal because you were keeping one type of fish over another however, you might need to use larger or extra equipment for some types. In this case, I prefer to keep predators in as large a tank as possible with heavier filtration because these types of fish generally grow larger, eat more protein based foods and crap a whole lot more than the "usual" fish do.
( side story )I had a customer years ago who bought a 975 gal tank and just had groupers. Every week he would come in to buy fish to feed them, which I loved because he would describe the fish by the pound not by the inch. It goes to show just how big some of these little fish do get to.

Hope this helps