The smaller the system, the more need for precision, and the more chance that one little mistake can screw things up...because chemistry just IS: it doesn't 'scale' in need for precision; and you're constantly using math to divide doses into tiny fractions, and then have to eyeball it to see if that is really 1/16th teaspoon. And what do you do with one drop per 50 gallons, when your tank is a 20?
In a small tank it is particularly hard to provide enough oxygen, enough cycled bacteria to handle waste, and enough room for fish used to an ocean (because most are caught there) to adjust to a glass box.
A sump is an instant massive increase in processing power and (given you have a halfway decent skimmer) a massive increase in oxygenation. It can't help re swimming room, but it can improve water quality. It can also help in ease of water changes. And it is REAL useful in managing an autotopoff system.
The small system does have an advantage in water changes: it's a lot easier to pull out and replace one gallon of water than it is many gallons of water. And it's a lot easier to find a place for a smaller tank.
It's a good choice for a special-species tank, where the habit of the critter is to eat other tankmates, say. Or where other things eat IT.
And it's a good choice for a mobile lifestyle: put the critters in a bucket and transport the tank dry, in a box, re-set-up in an hour or so, give or take cycling needs.
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The larger the tank the more stable, the harder it is for a little mistake to make a big problem. It's a question of scale. And speaking of scale, you're multiplying teaspoons, not trying to divide one, which is much easier.
You also have more room for automations, more room for a sump, more room and more leeway for everything.
And you're more able to provide a large enough home for more species.
You also have less problem with having enough rock for processing power, unless you overcrowd the tank or get really messy species.
Again, a sump provides you a lot of advantages.
And if you are a fish-only, a larger filter system is just less fussy and handles things better.
If you are a reef, then you don't have a filter system, but more rock is a far better processor of the waste your crew produces.
Whether or not you have a controller, your larger system gives you the opportunity to have full-scale equipment that functions well.
And if you are having a problem, it will come on much more slowly than in a small system: the whole system is more stable and less prone to disastrous sudden changes.
Where you are at disadvantage is in water changes, which are a lot of gallons, and in mobility. A tank move is a real undertaking.
In a small tank it is particularly hard to provide enough oxygen, enough cycled bacteria to handle waste, and enough room for fish used to an ocean (because most are caught there) to adjust to a glass box.
A sump is an instant massive increase in processing power and (given you have a halfway decent skimmer) a massive increase in oxygenation. It can't help re swimming room, but it can improve water quality. It can also help in ease of water changes. And it is REAL useful in managing an autotopoff system.
The small system does have an advantage in water changes: it's a lot easier to pull out and replace one gallon of water than it is many gallons of water. And it's a lot easier to find a place for a smaller tank.
It's a good choice for a special-species tank, where the habit of the critter is to eat other tankmates, say. Or where other things eat IT.
And it's a good choice for a mobile lifestyle: put the critters in a bucket and transport the tank dry, in a box, re-set-up in an hour or so, give or take cycling needs.
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The larger the tank the more stable, the harder it is for a little mistake to make a big problem. It's a question of scale. And speaking of scale, you're multiplying teaspoons, not trying to divide one, which is much easier.
You also have more room for automations, more room for a sump, more room and more leeway for everything.
And you're more able to provide a large enough home for more species.
You also have less problem with having enough rock for processing power, unless you overcrowd the tank or get really messy species.
Again, a sump provides you a lot of advantages.
And if you are a fish-only, a larger filter system is just less fussy and handles things better.
If you are a reef, then you don't have a filter system, but more rock is a far better processor of the waste your crew produces.
Whether or not you have a controller, your larger system gives you the opportunity to have full-scale equipment that functions well.
And if you are having a problem, it will come on much more slowly than in a small system: the whole system is more stable and less prone to disastrous sudden changes.
Where you are at disadvantage is in water changes, which are a lot of gallons, and in mobility. A tank move is a real undertaking.
