Combining tanks

[Rita]

Hey guys! Recently I have been thinking about the possibility of combining my two community tanks (20 long and 14 cube) into one tank. Something like a 30 or 40 gallon.

My question is would that actually save time in maintenance? Or would I spend just as long as the two tanks since it’s a larger tank; more water volume to change, larger filters, more surface area to gravel vac etc. 

This is mostly a hypothetical question since I’m not sure I would want any tank larger than 20 gallons on the second floor of my rented townhome 😬😂
 

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[T. Payne]

With adequate filtration and an appropriate stocking level, in my opinion it would be less maintenance.

[Flumpweesel]

Once established a large tank can be very stable and low maintenance, but obviously many factors come into play on how that will be for you.

More water is less prone to crashes as there is more capacity for it to resolve situations itself. Yes moving bigger volumes of water to complete changes obviously takes longer but I can do 25 % on my 60 us gal in approx an hour so it's not a major issue (bucket carrying is a factor to be considered.) I use a hose to refill.

I think it's more about what you'll enjoy watching my big tank is the focal point in my living room so gives a lot of pleasure.