I find all this talk of starting bigger scaring people away from the hobby because it costs too much surprizing.
When I said if I have a "do-over" I would have started bigger, it was on the basis of "
if I knew then what I know now". For me the question "what would you do different?" suggested just that. Otherwise how would we know what we would do different?
I did some research before I entered the hobby but never guessed I would have outgrown my 130 gal tank in a couple of years.