Good evening.
I'm chiming in again as I have removed several tit for tat posts. The point of these threads is to help the OP with his issue at hand, which going back and forth doesn't help.
That aside, you're right Desperado, not everyone can have a massive system. That doesn't change that larger water columns can be easier to maintain as all of that water dilutes possible issues, be it a small ammonia spike or a child throwing a drink into the sump. Unfortunate things happen, but diluting the issue is always best. Not just in total water amount in the system, but also via weekly and emergency water changes.
OP, I hope that this information is of help for you. If you have any other questions about getting things started up feel free to ask. Myself and many others have had many different setups over the years.