Ya the curve was sharp a few times, quarantine tank etc...lack of.

I do use RO/DI water. Again sump will come, I have found some online calculators for sump capacities and what is needed for back flow when power goes off, matching drain size to return pump capacity etc. Will leave that for when the 77 becomes the "well done all I can do with this one" tank and start looking at a "real" tank as far as size in concerned.

The 77 is going to be a FOWLR tank so water quality won't be a huge issue.

When I first got into saltwater, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and just took the advice of the guy from the store. I ended up with a sumpless tank and although things were good for a while, there were just too many pollutants settling in the tank. It ran for over a year with no serious problems and no major fluctuations in water quality. I woke up one day (new year's day last year) and noticed the water had become murky. I still don't know what happened to cause this but noticed almost all of the fish gasping for a breath. It was actually quite upsetting because I had went to sleep watching them swim merrily around the tank. I did a huge water change and thankfully, there was only one casuality. I decided on that day to go for a sump system. I was also worried about flooding but once you figure out the levels, it's foolproof.

I've been running a 180 with a sump now with no concerns. The tank is a lot clearer/cleaner and the rocks do not have that fuzzy garbage settling all over them. Use some filter socks. Besides, you can hide your skimmer and CA reactor in the sump which will give it a much cleaner look.

I hear ya, one thing for certain in this hobby is nothing is full proof. Just look at some on the posts lately, there are people with WAY more experience with much better systems and equipment than I have and they still have issues..I'm not saying this in a negative way against them but that we can do the very best possible and still end up frustrated. I look at the tank that is running now and know that with better lighting a bigger skimmer and a sump things would look better but ca sa ra sa ra....

I'm trying to control this/my obsession... not have it control me lol ....On that note I need to think where I'm going to put the two LPS that are coming in tommorrow... Did you see Bayside Corals post on Saskreef of his latest shipment? Unbelievable if you are a LPS fan........ a red carpet lol are you serious!!