Taking the leap- 210 gallon set up

Just an update.  We've been very busy trying to get this together and everything takes longer than you think it will. 
Mike has paneled the basement wall (with insulation board), installed bunches of outlets both in the basement and under the cabinet and has built the stand for the stock tank.  The base cabinet is finished and sitting in the living room.  He thinks that we will be filling it Saturday..........yea!!!!!!!!!  I guess I'll be busy building rockpiles and making water.

 

No doubt it will take quite awhile to construct the new aquascape and my plan is to drill and fit it with acrylic rods so there won't be much room for change once it's done. I have it all on paper but of course the shapes of some of the rocks will dictate the ultimate design.  
 

 

I haven't decided on the Zeo yet Bill.  I did think that I could use some of the additives to get the cycle off to a good start regardless if I go the whole route.  Don't get me wrong, some of the pics of the Zeo tanks are the prettiest I've ever seen.

 

After three days of plumbing, I now have water in my tank.  It's only 2/3rd's full mind you, but it takes awhile to make that much water.  My husband did a fantastic job on the plumbing and there wasn't a single leak when we fired up that Barracuda for the first time.  I hope to finish filling it tomorrow and then I'll get to see the skimmer in action.  I've been told that they take awhile to break in so I'm not expecting much right off the bat.  Here are some pics after I finished assembling it but without the collection cup on.


My husbands handiwork.  It only took about 7 trips to the store not including what I bought online (flex spa, true union bulkheads, etc.)

I wish I'd taken pictures of all new piping and bulkheads in both overflows.  Remember, this tank was originally a peninsula tank so both overflows are on the right side. 
The doors aren't on the base yet nor is the flooring in but I'm sooo excited to be getting water in it!!   I love my painted back and I think it will be sweet with the halides.  Do you think I'm going to have enough plugins?  (They came with the stand, so we went ahead and used them.  They are all hard wired to two separate cords.

It feels so good to get this far.  I had no idea this project would require this much time and so much money.  The one thing I will say is that I did alot of research and bought the best equipment that I could possibly get and for that I am glad. 

 

Thanks for the kind words.  As much as I'd like to hurry this along, I am not going to skip any steps.  We are finding that the return pump (Sequence Barracuda) is one powerful pump and so it is throttled back quite a lot for the time being to keep the overflows from "glub glubbing" trying to keep up with the inflow.  With the valves we are able to control how much is going into the skimmer and also returning to the sump.  The plumbing "schematic" was made on the suggestion of Mike at Reef Specialty who is a fantastic person for helping with all aspects of a reefing project.  I bought all of my equipment from him because of his reputation for customer service and he went over and above with his phone calls etc to help us get everything right.  Plus, everything was shipped for free!! 
I love my skimmer and I'm patiently waiting for it to break in.  The Dart Gold pump on it is almost silent.....and it has a 5 year guarantee so how can you beat that??   Yes it was expensive but it will be the last one I intend to buy and it really wasn't that much more than the Oct pro.
I got a great deal on 3 Tunze 6100's on RC so I think I'll have good flow in the tank, especially if I can find a nice, open aquascape.  I've been working on that but I won't be able to finish it until I can take some of the LR from my 90 gallon.  No doubt, I will have extra rock and it will go to the sump.  
I am super happy with the Rubbermaid stock tank.  The plan, down the road, is to use it for a propagation tank and it's going to be perfect.  No equipment will go in it other than two 300 W titanium heaters with separate controllers.  I will also have one in the overflow in the main tank.
Great idea Travis to keep them on separate circuts.