Having the refugium upstairs is definitely a good idea, and something I'll keep in mind. My wife's still not a fan of anything being anywhere except directly under the tank... actually, she's not really a fan of anything about the tank at all right now. I'll do my best to tread lightly and maybe I can broach the idea after I butter her up with a dinner or something. If I do do that, it'll be easy to incorporate into the plans.

Here's the revised diagram. The sump return has been moved to the opposite end of the tank, and the 3/4" bulkhead was changed to a 1". Everything else is basically the same.





I didn't draw in the RO/DI or auto-topoff system, but it would be placed elsewhere and the plumbing and electric would come in through the wall, similar to the chiller.

I have the same questions this time...

  • Should the size or positions of the bulkhead be changed?
  • Should I add more bulkheads? Would there be any downside to that?
  • I just thought of this now: The electrical outlets are on the bottom, and there's no good way to run the wires from the bottom to the top for the lights. Should I somehow create a path that the wires could travel up through the tank, perhaps in the overflow? Or is it better to just drill into and out of the drywall and put the wires through there?


Again, thank you for your hepl! I'll take a week or so before ordering the tank. Sort of like the waiting period for buying a gun.