wow i have to jog my memory on how a closed system works. But i thought a tank with a sump would be a closed system? Id like to not use an underground filter system but those are like never heard of with marine system these days. When i was an aquarist at OKC zoo we used alot of pool canister sand filters and 1/2hp to 3/4hp pumps and i gotta tell ya they are a nightmare to change out and super scarey to work with cause of them being hardwired in. We always had switches to turn them off and whatnot and im super glad we had somone else work on the electrical part lol! When we did waterchanges with the canister filers we would set them to backwash and it worked awesomly. Now we did have some huge protien skimmers but it may be cheaper to build my own like you said, however then we tried to make our own on a 14,000 gallon artifical reef it never worked properly. But that was like an 8/9ft tall structure! Way bigger then id want on my tank lol. As for the premade saltwater barrels, i will have them already in the workarea of the tank. We had these big square blue transport containers at the zoo that we used when we collected fish. I dont remember the exact amount of water they held but it was an easy 500gals and that would be perfect for a saltwater vat. Um i havent decided on my aquascape for this tank cause i kinda feel its a bit early BUT certain key species of what id like house in that tank will infuence how i will do it. One of the species id like to have in this tank is the flying gurnard so i will need lots of open sand space. So the theme of the tank will not only be based on color BUT also an edge of the reef look or i could have mostof my rock suspended above the sand bed. I will keep liverock in the sump but ill also have bioballs in the sump too.
Right now im working on a new aquascape for my present fish only tank. Im using seashells to make the background,side walls, pillars, and tons of other structures. Ill have a few pieces of live rock to help make the seashells into "liverock". Its crazy sounding i know BUT im burned out of the traditional rockwall or basic rock arches that you see all the time in aquariums. And if this works how i want it to and the fish enjoy it then thats probably what ill do with this monster set up. What i like about seashells is the are inexpensive,superlight weight, and porous(i have also made sure im not using dyed or purfumed shells!)
Thanks for the direction to go into for equipment. Ill have to look up that aquarium. When i told my husband last night i was trying to get an idea of what all we would need for such a setup his response was "ah we will just get the guys from tanked to do it!" Ha! Would be less stressful but man he would have a heart attack if he saw the bill i bet!
