Bigger is better right?

[matt_C]

A bubble magus curve 7 would work out perfectly for you.
as for a return pump yo would want something in the 700-900 gallon an hour range even high if you plan on running reactors and such off of it.
Depend on the noise level mag drives last forever but are a little bit louder, eheim 1262 is a great pump but still loud compared to a DC pump
There arew many different options when picking out a pump. just figure out what one is quiet enough for you.
For the sump just make sure you have a steady skimmer section to make your skimmer perform at the best for you.

[helimech]

Well I guess I will have to keep my eye out for a good deal on a skimmer that i like. I just wish I could make one they seem simple enough. (JK)
you want pics, well Here you go!

So I turns out that the sump was a little tighter than i anticipated

As for what I like, I am still finding that out. Colour of course is always a bonus!

[helimech]

Well got the far end of the tank painted, picked up some great Live rock and a DC pump rated up to 1300 gal/hour, but controllable, so I can run it at lower power and hopefully get some good life out of it
(thanks Laurie!)
Been working on the plumbing, and trying to plan a bit for the future
Also picked up a 300w inline heater.
gonna pick up a skimmer (vertex in-80) and a doser tomorrow, as...well after some advice I decided that I will likely end up with hard corals too.
Gotta get working on the sump!

[mike31154]

Things definitely tight with the tall sump under the stand. Fitting & maintaining skimmer down there will be a nasty chore. In fact, working on anything down there will be a hassle. Might consider something a little shorter.

Sumps are great & I'd love to have one myself, but I've been running without for years. Not saying you should, but the reason I mention this is that because I don't have a sump, my skimmer is external, mounted on a little stand next to the display. It's a diy wooden air diffuser skimmer that came with the tank when I purchased it years ago. I realize you've already purchased a skimmer but figured you may want some additional info, perhaps for the future.

There has been much discussion, some research & plenty of new developments regarding skimmer technology over the years, but the bottom line is, most of them end up being roughly equal in performance. Even my old tech air diffuser rig does a fine job of pulling organics out of the water. The main factors determining skimmer efficiency (aside from physical size) are bubble size (smaller=better) & contact time between the water passing thru skimmer & bubbles (longer contact time=better). Wooden air diffusers need to be changed out periodically, but they produce some of the finest bubbles I've seen. A small power head in a skimming box in my display moves water slowly through my skimmer. I can regulate the height of the water column by either throttling the power head, the air pump output or adjusting a valve on the skimmer return line. Low power consumption & quiet operation are a couple of other pros to using this old school method. Cons are that the thing is sitting there next to my display & I wish it was a little taller to lengthen contact time.

Here are some photos, a few years old, but should give you an idea of how an air driven skimmer works






A search on air driven, counter current skimmers should bring up plenty of additional info for your reading pleasure. Some day I will have a basement sump which will feature a 6 foot air driven skimmer!

[gobytron]

There are quite a few really nice skimmerless tanks out there.

I have always found that unless you are keeping sps, A skimmer can be left out of a successful reef.

You just need to be consistent and generous with your water changes.

You state you are primarily interested in softies.

If that's the case, you can definitely skip getting a pricey skimmer at first and get one down the line if you start to add more demanding coral or if you start to get lazy on your water changes.

[reefwithareefer]

If you are more interested in softies, I have three you can have for free...

[helimech]

Well once I am up and running, I'll take you up on that!

[helimech]

Yeah, I need to think about my sump, I realised that it was tight when I started looking at the plumbing. Being in a rental suite, I wanted one mainly for backup in case any equipment leaked. There will be some redundancies built in
I think I am going to try and drop the lower section (advantage of building it yourself) I have the height on sump I do because it was free