A other thing is that while I started with a 40 I figured I would upgrade Anyway. So it isn't $ out the door. It's a redeployed asset that's now QT.
Another item to consider is that there are a lot of auxiliary eauipment and infrastructure to support all this. So for me a 40 allowed me to mix water in a 5 gal bucket and only haul one bucket. Water change done. And I did a fair amount of them.
Compare that to what I have now: 100 gal of water capacity in a water changing station with pumps, pipes and supporting equipment. 40 gal water change now is quite doable.
If you have a 180 tank and make a mistake how are you going to lug 40 gallons of water to do a change?
Building the "rest" of your infrastructure while you have a small tank allows you to get ready for the big tank in the mean time.
If I started with a 180 or my 175 bow I might have a different take on a reef tank today. It would have been a lot of work with not so much in supporting infrastructure.
I've chipped away at infrastructure for over a year now. Testing kits. Meds. Quarintine. Lights. Water changes supporting eauipment. Buckets. Uniseals. Holding tanks. Water stations. Etc etc etc.
I might have been a Bit overwhelmed with a 180. Water chemistry. What critter to get. Salinity. Water changes. Mixing salt. Alk. Dosing. Vodka. Biopellets. Phytoplankton. Floods. Filter changes. Feeding. Light schedule. Ato schedule. Pump maintenance.
But I have a job, other hobbies, business travel, a wife and 5 kids. So it isn't like I can check out for 3 days to tweak on something cause I want to.
Besides. I spent $100 to buy that used tank and I dropped some live rock and a fish in it. I was started.
I just could t have a 240 gallon tank sit empty for a year while I figured everything out. And there's no replacement for experience at some point. Reading is good, but doing is understanding.
Everybody can do it their own way for sure. Best of luck and like everything: ultimately you are don g this to make you happy. So have fun - however that is to you.
Another item to consider is that there are a lot of auxiliary eauipment and infrastructure to support all this. So for me a 40 allowed me to mix water in a 5 gal bucket and only haul one bucket. Water change done. And I did a fair amount of them.
Compare that to what I have now: 100 gal of water capacity in a water changing station with pumps, pipes and supporting equipment. 40 gal water change now is quite doable.
If you have a 180 tank and make a mistake how are you going to lug 40 gallons of water to do a change?
Building the "rest" of your infrastructure while you have a small tank allows you to get ready for the big tank in the mean time.
If I started with a 180 or my 175 bow I might have a different take on a reef tank today. It would have been a lot of work with not so much in supporting infrastructure.
I've chipped away at infrastructure for over a year now. Testing kits. Meds. Quarintine. Lights. Water changes supporting eauipment. Buckets. Uniseals. Holding tanks. Water stations. Etc etc etc.
I might have been a Bit overwhelmed with a 180. Water chemistry. What critter to get. Salinity. Water changes. Mixing salt. Alk. Dosing. Vodka. Biopellets. Phytoplankton. Floods. Filter changes. Feeding. Light schedule. Ato schedule. Pump maintenance.
But I have a job, other hobbies, business travel, a wife and 5 kids. So it isn't like I can check out for 3 days to tweak on something cause I want to.
Besides. I spent $100 to buy that used tank and I dropped some live rock and a fish in it. I was started.
I just could t have a 240 gallon tank sit empty for a year while I figured everything out. And there's no replacement for experience at some point. Reading is good, but doing is understanding.
Everybody can do it their own way for sure. Best of luck and like everything: ultimately you are don g this to make you happy. So have fun - however that is to you.
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