I'm not sure man. I'm a big fan of running closed loops on dedicated pumps. Not that I *have* before but I'd run lower flow through my return (and manifold off it) but with a seperate pump. Hammerhead to do the 4-way on it's own...

I have a closed loop now in the 165 & don't like it as it has caused me more grief then it's worth.

running it off your return means you need to deal with whatever flow you want out of the 4-way as a bare minimum through the sump too.

Well I have the glass panels for the tank now & I must say 96" x 30" x 3/4" glass looks heavier then it is.

you sir must be a beast :)
Im 290lbs and the go to guy at work when anyone needs something straightned with a sledge..... and that sucker was my last glass tank LOL Cant wait to see the pics.... Dont do internal overflows.... the one thing I overlooked getting mine built

Are you putting the tank together yourself?

Oh hell no, a whole 300 gal 8'er is EXTREMELY HEAVY! But one pane of glass really is not as heavy as I thought it would be. I am doing a coast to coast 6" x 6" overflow with my drains going out the back of the tank.


You bet, this is going to be a complete DIY build. The only parts I am missing is a doser & LED's ATM.

You looking at a Profilux doser?

Yep, I have a Profilux 2Ex controller so I am going with the Profilux doser. I had one lined up at a great price but have not been able to get a hold of the fellow. Might have to buy one new.

So I have finally made up my mind as to what I am going to do for LED's. With the help of Martin ( Modular LED ) we have come up with this:

4 - 12" x 12" LED pods all with 68 LED's each

20 - Cool White XP-E / 45 degree optics
16 - Royal Blue XP-E / 60 degree optics
16 - Blue XP-E / 60 degree optics
4 - Red XP-E / 60 degree optics?
4 - Green XP-E 60 degree optics?
8 - Natural White XP-G (high noon kit) / 45 degree optics

All the CW, RB & B will be run off 1 - 200w driver each, the red's and green's will be run off a 38w driver each & the NW will be run with 1 - 75w driver.

Also adding 2 EVG-AP-2F Dimmable Ballast Driver card's to enable all the LED's to be controlled by my Profilux 2EX controller.

Going to build my own heatsinks out of some 1/4" plate aluminum & 1/8" x 1" aluminum flatbar.