I don't know of many people that have a color choice in the sump area,"very cool"
Getting closer bud! Looks awesome.

The sump cabinet lighting looks cool.... As for lights you can't go wrong with T5, and later on if you're feeling frisky add a couple led strips to get that pop and shimmer.

What are your coral stocking plans?

I almost caved and bought a radion for my 38g but decided to try some T5 fixtures I had laying around and couldn't be happier with the colouration. Then I had some led strips laying around aswell so I tried them out and the combo is spectacular. Lucky I have so much equiptment laying around lol.

You are more than welcome to stop by and see what it looks like if you want.... Let me know!

kien, your tank is awesome sauce. Definitely one of the premier set-ups here on Canreef. It's been an inspiration to me!

Laurie, I'm actually looking forward to the next party we throw so I can put the lights on 'disco disco' mode!

Chris, as a salty noob I may be aiming a little high with the stocking plans but I'm planning SPS dominant. I have decades of experience with fresh water so I'm confident I can adapt my husbandry skills accordingly.
Very interested in Chalices, palys and zoas as well. Just need to experiment with proper placement in the tank once it's up and running. Not too keen on softies, but I'm sure I will acquire some.
All in all it will be a mixed reef, with the emphasis on SPS and zoas. You can view a video of my proposed aquascape that Eli made here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPie...iTyeOHxntsrufQ and here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtRq...iTyeOHxntsrufQ
The challenge will be proper placement for all non-SPS corals as I am planning wicked flow across the top half of the structure.

Thanks for the invite, I'd love to stop by your place some time, check out your set up and talk shop. I'll text you buds.

System leak test underway. I don't think I could be any more nervous. Almost 2 years of preparation riding on what happens in the next little bit.
Tank slightly off the wall for access to unions and such.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7525/...5ed0f538_b.jpg

Leak test passed with flying colours. Bulkheads good, PVC glue good, unions good, floor and stand survived.
Took about half an hour to get the Herbie dialed in. Stupid quiet. Plugged in the heater and will probably add some vinegar once it heats up.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7525/...585989ff_b.jpg

Here is the power failure test, water level only rises about 3 inches.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8140/...5f0ab8c6_b.jpg

One slight problem. The vibration from the Eheim compact+ 5000 is transferring to the stand through the plumbing and is being amplified.
The wife pretty much told me to fix it or move out, lol.
The clear tubing off the return is only 5 and a 1/4" long before joining the PVC and I think is too rigid.
The pump has suction cup feet and is sitting on a OXO silicone sink mat.
I'm going to try to find some 1" ID silicone tubing and perhaps shorten the PVC on the return riser by several inches.
Anyone else had this problem? Any advice?
Thanks for looking.

:thumb:What can I say a fitter did the piping, everything looks so tidy & new.
The silicone tubing and shorten the return riser should help a lot with the vibration issue.

I have sourced some medical tubing here: http://www.new-line.com/hose/tubing/...medical-tubing, hoping this reduces the transfer of vibration to the plumbing.
I'm a little disappointed it's taken me 2 weeks to find the time to get out to Langley to pick it up. Every little hiccup pushes this build behind. It's like 2 steps forward, 1 step back.
Ram3500 graciously invited me to see his Kessil A360's in action. I've pretty much decided those are the fixtures I'm going with. Thanks Ian!
I have 3 1/2 weeks off from work at Christmas (thank-you baby Jesus). If I can pry myself away from the wifey and I playing Lego Hobbit, I'm sure this build can get finished!
Hopefully more updates this week and rock sculpting next weekend.

Love the planning going into this build, really inspires me to not just have ass my plumbing on my 200 gallon build over Christmas. I've gotten 3 of the Eheim Compact+ 5000 and hope the Latex tubing solves your vibration issues, as with 3 of them and a Waterblaster HY7000 I'm really trying to keep vibrations to a minimum

Nice and clean build, bravo brotha! Hope mine turns out as nice (although I doubt it as I'm not using pretty coloured piping :( )

Thanks daplatapus! The only reason for the coloured piping is because all the equipment is in the stand. If I had a fish room downstairs I'd be using white sched40 as well. The extra cost would not be justified IMO. Plus, the fittings have really been a nightmare to find locally. Probably won't go that route again.

No updates on your build lately, what's going on?

theokie, the tweaking I did today has solved all the issues I had... and when I say 'I', that really means my wife, Lol.

Replaced the OXO silicone mat with an inch of foam filter media. Shortened the PVC riser (had to use a coupling), and replaced the vinyl tubing with latex medical tubing from New Line Hose & Fittings: http://www.new-line.com/hose/tubing/...medical-tubing
It looks ugly as hell, IMO, but has made it completely silent! I would highly recommend it.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7564/...54089e47_b.jpg

Now that the plumbing is all sorted I can focus my attention on the rockwork. Might be PM'ing a few of you guys for some tips!

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8593/...4fcc2ee3_b.jpg

Thanks for looking.