I had water in my 90G for 9 months.  There was livestock(other than snails and crabs) in it for only 5 months when the "Large Tank Syndrome" hit me.  My wonderful wife went with me to look for a new tank on a Saturday in Oct. '05.  Well in Nov. '05, we had a custom tank (72"L x 30"W x 24"H) and stand/canopy sitting in the garage.  Needless to say it sat there for a few months while I sold off everything for the 90G because the new tank was going in the same spot.  I also had to save up some money to buy all of the equipment that I was going to need for the new setup.  So here we are in Mar. '06 and with the help of 4 other DFWMAS club members, I finally got the new tank in the house.  The wife was so happy to get her parking spot in the garage back.   The move into the house was interesting to say the least.  The garage entry way and front door both came off their hinges.  Two holes were cut in the entry way to the kitchen/den area because the stand trim wouldn't fit.

Here is the tank in it's final resting place

Here is a list of equipment I plan on having for it:

• 66G acrylic sump/refugium (Thanks Marc)
• Sequence Hammerhead Pump for the Closed Loop
• Oceansmotions 8way for the Closed Loop
• Panworld 50PX-X Return Pump
• ASM G4x skimmer (with recirc mod)
• MRC CR-2 Ca+ reactor
• Aquacontroller Jr.
• 3 SLS Reef Optix III Pendants on Blue Wave Ballasts with 250W 10k bulbs
• 320W of T5 lighting (retrofit)
• 320W of VHO Actinic (retrofit)

Plus all the small stuff.  Heaters, Phosban Reactors, etc.

Here's what I have in hand so far.  I just need some plumbing fittings and I'll be able to get started

Well I had some time today and while the wife and I went shopping.  I picked up the chain links and eye bolts that I needed to hang my MH Reef Optix III pendants.  The wife also picked out some shelves that I was able to mount to one of the stand doors to hold all of my test kits plus a few other odds and ends.

Well, Rhonda had some free time and I thought that I needed something to do, so we ran 2 20A drops behind the fish tank.  In the next day or so, I'll terminate them in the breaker box.

Ok, I know I haven't posted in awhile.  There has been a little progress though!  I have another 88lbs of Kaleini rock curing in the vat in the garage.  I setup the skimmer to help cure the rock.  It's making mad skimmate  

I started on the plumbing while I was waiting for the sump to be finished.

The 8way is going to be a monster to plumb.  Looks intimidating with all those unions on there. 

I had a friend come over and we were able to finish wiring in the 2 20A circuits for the tank.  Not how I wanted them wired in the breaker box, but it was the only way it was going to work.

The sump arrived last week!  It took a bit longer than I expected, but it does look good.  And yes Steve, It fit through the doorway!

After a day of waiting to find the correct tool so I could take out the removable back center brace I was able to get it under the stand.  The brace was in there tight, but after getting in the stand and lifting up on the top of the stand with my back I was able to tap it out with a hammer and scrap piece of wood.

I've been told the sump looks small under there, but keep in mind that it's 48"L x 20"W x 16"H.  Now I just have to finish the plumbing.  I've been mulling over the placement of the pumps, ballasts, Ca+ reactor, etc. for the last couple of days and I still haven't worked out where I want everything to end up.

I was able to work on the return plumbing and started the closed loop plumbing.

Ok.. Robert and I finished the plumbing.  We filled the tank up and turned the pumps on and there are NO leaks!!!!   I'm stoked.  I love this 8way.  We turned on the pump for it when the water was deep enough to cover the intakes and the flow is nuts.  It should work out great.  Here are a few pics.  Don't mind the return out puts and the lopsided pipes.  I still have to put on the final return pieces and strap the pipe to the canopy to keep it level so the joints aren't stressed.

Ok.. I did a bit of work today.  I added the heaters and skimmer to the sump.  I placed the Ca+ reactor, CO2 tank, and 3 phosban reactors in their final places, but I still need to plumb them.  I spent some time with Scott discussing my electrical panel.  The water has salt in it(1.025) and I added the sand.  All of this on top of fixing a leak at the adapter that threads into the CL pump return. 

(Ignore the clamp I was fixing the plastic handle on the CO2 tank)

Ok.. I worked on my T5s yesterday.  I couldn't ever find any 60" 2 bulb fixtures so I made my own.  Here are some pics of the first one. 

Late last night I finally finished the 2nd frame and got both fixtures hung in the caonpy.  I'm hoping to get them wired up in the next couple of days.

Ok.. bear with the pics.. I'm still talking the wife into a new camera.  Hard to do after dumping all my funds into the tank

Well it's finally finished.  The tank has only been running 7 months    I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Scott(Ashlar) for doing all the woodworking and assiting with some of the inital wiring, and to Lisa(TXvoodoo) for allowing Scott to be away for so long.

Here's a before picture.  It looks messy, but that was just the beginning.  There were about 6 other devices hooked up back there before was all said and done.  Getting behind the tank was like walking through a minefield.

Scott and I started Sunday afternoon and I finished up tonight(Tuesday 19th).  All that is left is to do some wire management behind the tank.  I was beat and just wanted to get everything plugged in.  I was going to cover all the wiring in PVC, but a 2" diameter bundle of 14G romex doesn't bend very easy.

Each outlet corresponds to a switch on a DJ station.  16 switches and 32 total plugs.

Well the whole hindsight thing let me know there are a few things I could have done different, but you know how that goes.

I don't think I've seen pics of the room your tanks are in or of your entire setup..

Hey Scott,

I waited a couple days to answer this question to give me some time to think about it.  No, I can't really think of anything I would have done different.  Apparently all the planning I put into it paid off.

I can see your planning paid off 10 fold.
Beautiful work!

Are you going to place something to protect the outlets from splash in the stand (perhaps a sheet of acrylic)?

Also, did you make/design the box to hold your DJ equipment yourself... very neat work!
Finally, was the installation and design of the new breaker box/wiring difficult? Would you recommend someone doing that them self, or hire someone?
Thanks.