Are Smaller Tanks Easier to Maintain than Larger tanks?

[AlecFish]

Hello all.

I currently have a 75 gallon planted. Housing about 40 or so RCS a few amano shrimp. 6 dwarf neon rainbows and 11 espei rasboras. It's pretty lightly stocked considering its a 75.

I'll give you a little information about myself. I'm a high school senior this year and will be going off to college next fall. I am hugely into fish/plant keeping and am actually thinking about going into an ecological/environmental field. Nonetheless, I'm going off to college pretty soon. I have a large fish tank, I'm the only one in the family that's really into it. I'm not sure if the tank will be properly taken care of when I'm gone.

Another thing to think about is that I've invested pretty much my entire high school career into this tank. I've spent long hours mowing lawns and working to get to where I am now. I've probably spent close to $1000 total on everything which is crazy to think about. Thinking how much I could do with that money now, it's incredible. I have 2 canister filters. One isn't operational atm but it's fixable. 2 48" light fixtures. One of which is a dual T5HO, costed me $120. What a waste. I found out it was too high of lighting for a non-co2 tank. Anyways you get the point. I have a ton invested in the hobby.

Do you think its a good idea to downgrade to something like a 40 or 50 gallon tank (3 footer)?

Are there really any big differences in maintenance besides smaller water changes?




Thanks for the help.

 

[dalto]

I don't think you are going to see much difference between a 4ft and a 3ft tank. There is certainly a difference between a 75g and 10g tank though. That would severely limit your options though.

 

[treemanone2003]

To answer your thread question, IMO smaller tanks are not harder or easier to a degree. Smaller tanks have a tendency to "crash" easier if that's what you're looking for. It really depends on the time you can commit to it.

As for going off to school and debating what to do, only you would be able to answer that best as none of us live with you and would care for it (or completely change it all around, lol) while you're gone. If it were me, I'd take the whole dang thing with me and never leave my dorm.


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[Fishfur]

Do you mean so someone else can care for it, or so you might take it with you ? If you don't have anyone to care for it, chances are downsizing won't help much. Even a 29G needs regular water changes of at least five gallons, out and then back in. Is anyone going to lug those buckets ? If you have a Python type water changer, that may help with that. Is anyone going to regularly maintain those filters ?

If it's lightly stocked, in theory at least, larger tanks should be less effort, as the greater water volume will be less likely to become way off balance if neglected for a time. But they still need water changes and filter maintenance. Feeding can be a huge issue because if it is neglected, fish may eventually die, and if it's done carelessly, the water will suffer and the fish may die anyway. It may be better to rehome the livestock and start over when you are available to do the work. It's a tough decision many students have to deal with if they go to school away from home.

I had to rehome my turtles when I went to school, as I did not have time to care for them properly and no way was my Mom going to care for them. I did manage to keep a 29G fish tank but once I started work, it had to go too.

If you decide to try and keep the tank, be very sure whoever is caring for it really understands what is needed and is willing. And be prepared, because things can change suddenly. Someone may get hurt or sick, or some other life emergency may get in the way of a promise made in good faith at the time.

 

[pyro9097]

Just some food for thought and something to look into. If you will be living on campus, there is likely a size limit on any fish tank you want to bring in. For example at my school the guidebook said no tank larger than 25 gallons, however it never said how many 25 gallon tanks you could have!


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[sealife]

The only thing harder about smaller tanks for me, is that nitrates go up quicker (especially if you overstock the tank) So lots of water changes are needed.

Saying that, the tank is so small, water changes are so quick and easy to do. Actually all maintenance is easier and quicker from memory...

 

[trennamw]

I keep seeing students say dorms restrict it to 10 gallons ... I was told often that 29 is where water quality gets easier to control, and I do find my 10 and 3 need far more water changes. However now that I have more experience they aren't any "harder". Water changes in the 3 are easy.

If you find you can't bring it with you, maybe you will find someone who loves it and will give everything a good home ... And you can use the money to get into nano tanks!


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[Fishfur]

If you pick the right stock and plant heavily, even a 10G can hold a surprising number of interesting creatures to make being away from home and the old tank less trying. And the water changes are a bit less onerous, only a couple gallons at a time.

 

[aqua_holic]

I haven't seen any difference between large and small tanks, with regards to water quality. It takes a great deal of neglect before the problems begin to manifest. I think it's easier for people to overstock their small tanks though. Certainly easier on the wallet. As far as time is concerned, yes water changes and filter cleanings take longer for big tanks because they are larger.

 

[bigdaddymagnum]

really in theory small tanks spike quicker than large ones, but thats where hardware comes into place to help, with the right filter, airation, inhabitants, subtrate and feeding schedule any tank can succeed

 

[aqua_holic]

In theory small tanks shouldn't "spike" any faster than large ones because they should be stocked proportionally to their size.

I feel that people who say small tanks are harder to maintain water quality with either don't have experience with large tanks or their large tanks are very lightly stocked.

Overstocked is overstocked, no matter how big your tank is.

 

[bigdaddymagnum]

theres always 1 person who tries to re invent the wheel... for years veteran tank owners have said small tanks water chemistry can change quicker due to smaller water volume.. that goes for tempeture as well... right away you jump to overstocking issues to try and proove something.. theres more to water than ammonia...btw not one part of my statement mentioned overstocking....

 

[Delapool]

I think your going to have to turn it around and say how much time will you or others now have. Then set it up for that. You could always still have a large tank but very light stocking, etc.

 

[Ricky 1]

Your much better with a bigger tank, they are more stable, the question here is, have you left instructions on what you require them to do, a tank as big as that won't need as much prepping as a smaller one, leave a list for whoever is looking after it...........

 

[aqua_holic]

theres always 1 person who tries to re invent the wheel... for years veteran tank owners have said small tanks water chemistry can change quicker due to smaller water volume.. that goes for tempeture as weel... right away you jump to overstocking issues to try and proove something.. theres more to water than ammonia... not to mention i didnt mention even mention overstocking....

Cool your jets for a minute there. I read your post; I know that you didn't mention overstocking. If you had read and understood my first post you would understand why I am mentioning it, completely independent of anything you said. Me mentioning overstocking predated what you said; it has absolutely nothing to do with you, and everything to do with mathematics. It's all about proportions.

The fact that you are even mentioning ammonia and "spikes" indicates that you don't understand what I'm talking about... as if ammonia is something with which any of us with cycled tanks are concerned.

Reinventing the wheel? Nope, just measuring it. The only difference between a big wheel and a little wheel is the size of the wheel. They both roll downhill.

 

[bigdaddymagnum]

again... i didnt mention ammonia .. nor did me saying "spikes" pertain to ammonia... theres temp spikes if a heater fails, ph spikes with water changes... your right they both roll downhill however 1 rolls down quicker... size matters in every aspect of life and aquariums are no different...

 

[aqua_holic]

"There's more to water than ammonia" - post #12

What determines how fast the wheels roll downhill is how much weight is riding on them....

Temperature spikes from a heater?? Again, that's a matter of proportion. You're really reaching here and I'm done.

 

[bigdaddymagnum]

dude argue with yourself... as for your wheel analogy... no not just weight... size, slope, weight, material, inner diameter, all have an impact since you want to display such intellectual rebuttals... have a good one

 

[aqua_holic]

You do understand what proportional means, yeah?

 

[Ricky 1]

Your confusing the issue guy's, he is here for advice not bickering..........