Does anybody regret downgrading?

[THS]

Has anybody here started out with a larger tank and then downsized to a nano?

It looks like I will have to be doing this in 2 years when I move. I will regret having to give up my flame hawkfish, but I would love to keep a nano reef.

Can anyone share their pros/cons of downgrading?

Thanks

[reefsahoy]

absolutely, without a doubt, glad i down sized! PRO's, let's see, ummm. easy to maintain, cheap to fill with corals, less mess, quick to clean, can afford to buy quality equipment, can afford to buy high priced corals, not stresssfull to leave when going on vacation, way lower electric bill, if done right, can absolutely blow anyone's mind, other than large reef keepers :spin2: , when they come through the front door, all this and still be able to save for retirement :hmm3::hmm3:!

CON's limited live stock selction, coral growth will let you run out of room fast.

[AJReefKeeper]

No regrets here! Started in 1993 with a 50 or 55 and eventually moved up to a 150 gallon reef. Three metal halides, big reflectors, VHO supplemental actinics, big protein skimmer, large sump, big ATO reservoir, dosing pumps, massive water changes, etc. etc.

Picked up a 12DX and a 24DX nano cube in 2006, and still running these today. Still run MH on these nanos and drip kalk, but no skimmer...just a modest refugium. Very happy I downgraded. I will probably consolidate these two nanos in the future to a 40 breeder, but no regrets on the downgrade.

[TundraGuy]

1. +1 to everything reefsahoy just posted. I think if you get the correct nano for you then your good to go. For instance my buddy bought the nuvo 8 after me pleading with him to get the 16. Guess what now he’s looking at the 16. It comes down to you must be honest with yourself and what your trying to do with the tank. I love the idea of over filtering everything and having redundancies for my redundancies and with a nano you’re able to do this without taking out a lone on your house to pay for it all. Ok well some people will still need to take out a loan (MP10es $300 x 2, Radion Leds $700, Octopus Lx2000S skimmer $350, ext ext ext) lol.

[KafudaFish]

No matter what size tank you own there are some limitations due to it.

Pros: for me more enjoyment and I get to look at my tank vs. just another thing to take care of each and every day. I have become better at the hobby (I think) because I focus on the livestock too.
Details that would normally be lost in a large tank are seen in a smaller one.
Also with a smaller tank one should be more selective in livestock vs. kid-in-the-candystore way. If you have room for 5 or 7 sps then get the must haves vs. yeah that will work.

[wabooth555]

A few years ago I had a 180 + Sump + Refugium + Prop Tank that was all connected = Approx 300 gallons. Now I have a 29 Gallon Biocube and I love it. I could see myself slowly growing bigger one day, but I like costs of the 29 Gallon vs larger tanks.

The more tank = the more $$

[THS]

Thanks for the responses guys. At one time, my 29 was a freshwater planted tank, and it took so much light, supplements, and TIME to fill out. After frustration, I put my plants in a 5g and it instantly looked great.

My plan is to use my 10g sump as the DT and my 29g DT as the sump with a big fuge. I have already designed the stand and plumbing, and one day in the future I'll start a build thread.