I cant completely speak from experience since my largest is a 75g, with a 90g in the basement waiting to replace it once I finish the sump and plumbing
I haven't cleaned my glass on the 75g in 3 years aside from windex on the exterior.
Ive found that larger tanks are much easier to keep. Water parameters and temp are more stable.
I have a 30 foot sink operated water changer. It doesnt take much longer to change 50% in the 75 than it does on one of my few 40b tanks.
Mechanical filtration is key. The biggest component to success in a large filtration system is the cost and ease of maintenance. If its cheap and easy to clean then your more likely to do it. Changing floss or poly pads in a trickle tower is less painless than throwing away proprietary filter pads inside a sealed canister or something of the like.
On large systems usually over 100g drip systems are widely used. The sump has an overflow similar to the display tank. It runs outside (if your upstairs) or to a sewer drain (if your in the basement). There is typically a small 1/4" or so hose that runs off the house's cold water pipe to a drip regulator which drips 1-4 gallons per hour of fresh water into the tank. The excess overflows and drains out the sump. Big tanks are stable enough that there normally arent complications of dripping small amounts of cold untreated water into the system. This eliminates water changes almost entirely.
My plan is to incorporate a very high flow rate in the tank w/ excellent circulation. The waste particles will stay suspended and make their way into an economical, accessible, mechanical filtration area where I can simply remove waste. Nitrates will go right down the drain as the water is continually changed even while I sleep.
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