UPGRADE!!.. questions 180gal! :)

[shawnts106]

HEYYY everyone, hows everybody today?... Me oh Im good just sitting around looking at my 75 gallon reef thinking to myself WOW I need a 180 gallon because my 75 is getting cramped with all the stuff I want in it!...
so heres some questions, Ive got a 75 gallon reef ready system with the overflows, is there a way I can stop the overflow holes up and use the 75 as a sump for a 180 gallon?
the sump would acctually be another tank under the stand for growing macros, culturing LR and filtering water through a deep sand bed and it would also have a chamber for carbon and such.
Also, how long would it be before I could start adding corals and my fish if I used all my LR and put LIVE SAND in the tank... I would say I have at least.... ... 200lbs of LR in my tank now... give or take 25 to 30... I would say about 2 to 3 weeks?... if I used a good bit of live sand ... like 80lbs of it and the rest just argonite reef sand mixtures?
I would put MH and VHOS on this tank and could I use 2 65 watt actinic compacts for moon lights?
I think thats all the questions I have for now!...
thanks for your help everyone, and ALSO does anyone know where online I can get some super cheap good quality MH's... email me Shawnts106@yahoo.com make sure the topic says MH or something so I notice it, with an average of 100 emails a day its hard to pay attention LOL!!!

 

[shawnts106]

Bump!

 

[the claw]

I wouldn't see why not, or if you really want to get fancy, use your 75 with overflows as a refugium and have it flow into a sump that goes back to your main tank, and have the overflows from the main tank come down into your sump. With the return pump back to your tank being in the sump, you can have a t- line coming off of it with minimal water going to your refugium. This keeps the current liight with no pumps in the refugium. You lose a few pods in the return pump, but not bad. You should have plenty of room for this under your 180. Just a thought.

 

[shawnts106]

Yeah thats what I had planned on doing, sounds good to me, I would just make a little extra "box" in the sump just for the pumps so that I wont have to worry about any sand getting up in them!
Ive got to call a glass shop!
I am probably going to make my own tank, how thick would the glass need to be?
Would it need to be tempered? probably!
and how would I support it?... with glass across the top?
thanks for your help everyone so far!!!!

 

[the claw]

No idea there. I just worked a couple extra shifts and bought one. I figured my living room floor would be safer.