I bought my 150 gal glass tank in 1987 had it running 24/7 until 2015, only off when I moved it twice to different houses myself, and when I left for Panama over 5 years ago, gave it to a friend who still has it running. It has never leaked, and back in 87 was made without a center brace.
In theory I would prefer the largest tank, but in the same way small tanks are restrictive for the large size species you can put in them, one large tank may also have restrictions.
Certain small fish you want may need separate quarters.
Or fish from totally different water parameters may be your interest e.g. you may want some hard water species from Central America, but also some soft water species, such Amazonian soft water species, or.....
You may want northern South American species of Geophagines that require temps in the 80s, but also want southern South American Gymnogeophagines that need a seasonal cool down in the 60s, so having only one large tank could be just as restrictive as a small one.
Of course if you have a certain theme in mind then those restrictions may not apply, if all your fish are of a certain persuasion.
I had very diverse tastes when in the US and needed to keep around 20 tanks to fit my obsession, cool water tanks for Gymnos in an unheated room or basement, tanks with soft water fish that I used tap water blended with rain water and peat easily accessed from my rain water catchment system, and Central Americans that were fine in straight hard tap water.
