Thanks for all your words of encouragement; we are very excited with how it's coming along
... now on to some answers. It's only fitting that I explain what I did, as I've tagged along on Canreef (and Reef Central) getting lots of good ideas for this project.
Tarolisol: The 4-way will be powered by an Amp Master 3000. I picked up the pump this week, it'll create some kick-ass circulation. The entire system will be heated by two 300-watt heaters, one placed in the refugium, the other in the sump. These will be connected to a Medusa controller. Targeting 77F.
Muck, Willow: I love the look of clear pvc as well. After much searching I located some by mail order at savko.com. And, further to a recent message thread, I also steer clear of UPS and their monster brokerage fees
I always request USPS myself.
Danny: The tank is from Envision Acrylics out of Portland, and measures 96x30x30, 3/4 inch acrylic. The nominal volume is 375 gallons, but closer to 330 once the wall thickness is taken into account. It has an external overflow box of 10 gal, so no space is wasted inside the tank.
Since we're starting the tank out as FOWLR, the lighting is 520W PC (2 x Coralife 48" Aqualight). The addition of MH lighting, calcium reactor and a chiller would be the route to upgrade to a reef, but we're in no hurry for now (tank will have angels, tangs, butterflys, mandarins, neon gobies)
The skimmer is attached to the 100 gal refugium (good ol' Rubbermaid stock tub), which has been running since August. It's a Bullet-XL One, powered by a Mak-4, and I'm very pleased with its performance. Here's a shot of it pulled out on its platform ... top lid removed. This is located in what I call my fish room, a closet space under a staircase.
Chin_lee: Good suggestion for an open house, but it's not ready yet (the surrounding area is a mess, and my wife wouldn't approve until it's cleaned up)
Re: the under-sand plumbing, this was desired since the tank is set on a brick bar for three-sided viewing. To keep inside clutter to a minimum, the idea
for the plumbing was born. The alternative would have been through the bottom. Here's a shot from the opposite end.
And while that shot looks fairly orderly, here's a shot of the external plumbing at the other end (eight bulkheads and lots of other fittings), still incomplete.
As you can see, I've got myself some plumbing to do this weekend ... hoping to get the closed-loop finished and running (probably a little too aggressive though as I have other "honey-do" items for the weekend
)