I debated for several months on choice of materials, starphire glass or acrylic. I decided on acrylic due to its clarity, flexibility with design and the drilling of holes, and probably most notably because of the great local fabricator we have here in town. All in all, he's buidling me this custom cube for less than most glass manufacturers would for just plain old iron glass! Also, with the extra thickness of the acrylic, I knew I could get the complete open top I desired.
Initially, I was a little apprehensive about the floor mounted bulkheads, but several members here on RC have done it and it works well. The priority was having flow directed back towards the overflow box, yet being able to hide the plumbing. So, underneath it went.
Having bulkheads in the floor or low in the tank walls really isn't any different. If the bulkheads are tight, and the plumbing secure, it won't leak. All bulkheads that are below water level will be hooked up to closed loop systems, so they can't drain anywhere and cause a flood. The only bad thing that could happen is if a pump seal starts to fail. With ball valves directly before and after each pump, stopping the water to that pump will be easy and I've heard that pump seals, if they go bad, start to leak very slowly and I should notice long before there is any real issue with water loss. I am hoping that this decision doesn't come back to haunt me.
I'm still looking for the right sump. It will be simple, basically just an older glass or acrylic aquarium, say a 40 or 60 gallon breeder, with enough room for the skimmer and some macro. With the design of the overflow box and the durso standpipes, if power goes out, this tank should only drain about 2 gallons of water down into the sump. I'll make sure the sump can handle that extra volume.
I'll be running Sequence Darts (3600gph each) on the closed loops and a GenX 35 (990 gph) for the return pump. I chose these pumps due to their decent water volume turnover AND their low wattage consumption. Getting around 8000 gph turnover for only 400 watts usage is pretty good.
Still making last minute decisions on the lighting and what to use for random flow.
Still looking for the right skimmer. Probably going to get an ASM G4 or 5 once I've saved up enough.
I already have a calcium reactor.
I think that's about it. What did I miss?
