A few questions

[jarrod]

After much thinking, we finally gave in and bought another tank. Couldn't pass up the deal. So since it's been a while for us, and we want to take our time on this tank as it is set up as a room divider which makes it a big center show piece in our house....blah,blah,blah....We would like suggestions from all of you to help us decided on equipment, lighting, ect.
Tank outside diminsions are 72x24x32..glass! Very heavy and not sure how just 2 of us manged to get it set up. They said it was 235 gallons, but we think it might be a little less than that.
What do you suggest for lighting, filtration, skimmer, ect. for a reef tank. All we have is the tank that has 2 overflows, so we are definitly customizing this tank and plan on building the refugium & sump ourselves.
Any suggestions to help us make our decisions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[mr_x]

your tank is 239 gallons.
i would suggest a 3 x 250 watt halide fixture with t-5 actinic supplement. does this tank have a canopy, or will you be looking for a fixture?
the filtration should be a couple hundred pounds of live rock, your skimmer, and your refugium.
i suggest a protein skimmer rated for much larger than your system volume. if you are to implement a 75 gallon sump, you would have a roughtly 300 gallon system.
i would search for something rated for 500 gallons or better.
euro-reef, ASM, octopus, bubble king. all these are decent skimmers. i've even heard some good things about "msx" skimmers.

 

[jarrod]

Thanks for the input.
The tank is set up on a big bar that seperates our living room from the kitchen. The plan is to build cabinets above and below and trim it all out to give it the built in look.
Surfing online has been very tiring. So many different brands and places to order from now that it get's overwhelming and we like to have others opinions and experiences with different brands, ect. to help narrow down the options. We've checked out our LFS and they really don't carry much for ones who are really serious about it nor do they know very much either. Kind of kicking ourselves in the butt for selling all of our stuff a few years ago

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Thanks again!