New setup/new to the hobby

[Tooboot]

It is a tad loud, but no leaks. I guess that's something I can fix, have a coupler on my down pipe

[tang daddy]

Instant ocean seems to be the most common salt used by hobbyist here, becareful with those LEDs while they don't seem bright they will burn and bleach your Lps, if you get some wide angled lenses it will help spread the light abit better.

[Tooboot]

I have a few lenses on the way, not enough for all but will test them with a few. I thought that if I didn't have any lenses I the light would be spread out, and the lenses would focus the light better.
And as of yesterday I got some Red Sea coral pro salt mix (along with a Hanna calcium checker and red sea marine test kit)
Thanks for the advice, keep it coming as I welcome different views

[Tooboot]

Also forgot to mention that with the LEDs I'll be hooking up some auto dimming feature for 4 channels of lights, this should help controll intensity of the lights (along with the aquascaping that provides some shady areas). I will be looking for a par meter before putting coral in to get a sense of the various levels, and it will help me adjust the lighting controller for various intensities based on time of the day) I wasn't sure what I was going to keep at first but am now leaning to a mixed tank (to many options can't decide), although I will be starting with some beginner coral. First fish I am considering are clown, wrasse, pinata cardinal

[babnika]

[IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]having only one drain.you may want to get a strainer for your down pipe or at least some sort of cover for your overflow box. one urchin , snail or fish could impede your flow to the point you'll have your sump water on the floor & your pump run dry. if you're not ok with the noise & can't drill a second hole you may be able to get away with a 2 inch tee a reducer on one end down to 1 inch on the inflow side of your drain pipe & run a smaller hose just under one inch with a gate valve on the end where it comes out into the sump to regulate the flow to be just a tad bit less then your pumps return

[Tooboot]

Thanks, looking for a way to add a screen or some sort of filter. Not overly worried about it clogging, it's a 2" pipe so would need to be a big snail (urchin I can understand). As for overflow, it's a simple design and I bought hardware that meets the need; my return pump has an auto shut off when it goes dry, also the room in the return is fairly limited so should not cause a leak or too much of a leak, Imperiale word here being should.

I like the setup you proposed, thanks for the pics makes things clear. I am thinking for my first saltwater tank I'll live with the bit of noise (all other gear is dead silent), but depending on my success and from what I've been reading I can expect to add more tanks in the future and will give more attention to the overflow and plumbing.

I bought the tank used and the hole was already drilled and bulkhead installed (for 80$ on kijiji with custom stand I couldn't complain for a starter tank)