Hello all. I had a few tanks for several years, and had to sell most everything when I graduated from Texas State (I met several of you in San Antonio with livestock) a few years ago. I've been bouncing around and ended up in Panama City. I'm about to buy a house in Naples, and plan to be there for a while, so it's time to get another tank! I want a large tank (at least 150 gal--up to 300 gal), and I want it to be incredibly nice and as "maintenance free" as possible. Yes, I will keep up with my water changes and so forth, but hope that it is not a major hassle all the time like they have been in the past. The difference will be from having a 55gal with inadequate filtration, no sump, and barely adequate lighting (all HOB filtration, lights, in tank powerheads) to having a large tank (leaning towards 250-300 gal) with at least a 75 gallon fuge tank/sump tank with alternate lighting and macro-algae underneath (with a drilled tank and little to nothing of the filtration and powerheads visible) and the best equipment that is available to make this a well-balanced ecosystem that is eye-sore free! I know how everyone on here likes a new build-in-progress, and since I've been out of the game for a while, I need some updates on the latest technology. It will be a couple of months before I move, and a couple of months after that before I get too serious about it, but want to start tossing around build ideas and parts so that I can come up with a comprehensive list and start acquiring equipment as soon as I get down there and drawing schematics now. The plan was to have it against a wall that I could run the plumbing through and have a sump/fuge room. THis may or may not happen. If so, I'll likely have a 100-150 gallon fuge. If not, I'll have to put it underneath the show tank, so I'll be limited to a 75-100gal fuge. I want an oversized amazing skimmer (I can always turn it down), lighting on the fuge (probably HO t5's--whatever is best for macro-algae), maybe a canister off the fuge (just to make sure!), amazing water flow, a lot of live rock, the best sand (to DSB or not to DSB, that is the question!), and the best lighting. I've never had LED's. They hit the market about the time I was getting out. I'm pretty sure that's what I need, but yall know better than me at this point! I'll likely have mostly LPS (duncans, acans, brains, candy canes, etc) and softies (a couple of leathers, maybe colt or kenya, NICE shrooms, palys, jumbo palys), and a few nice SPS. I will have a couple of small wrasses (6-line, maybe a fairy or cleaner), a small angel (flame, coral beauty, or similar), a flame hawk, several tangs (purple, yellows, hippo, achilles--enough that they school and don't fight, also something I'm not up to speed on, will need recommendations on species and numbers), gobies, clowns, etc. May do fewer tangs and more other types of fish. Will figure that out once I decide on tank size. Want nice shrimps, crabs, n such. It needs to be a full, amazing reef tank with lots of life. The large fuge will help to expand the system so that I don't have to worry about having a few too many fish in the tank, as long as they're not stressed from overcrowding. So toss up some ideas. Pretend like money is no option. I may have to downgrade some stuff if I can't afford it, but would rather save to buy the best stuff even if it takes longer to get it all together.
Recommendations that I'm looking for:
1. Specific tank.
2. Lighting.
3. Sand bed--none, deep, or shallow, and type of sand.
4. RO/DI system and holding reservoir.
5. Place to find all the best plumbing for the tank/fuge/through-wall/RODI system.
6. Powerheads to pump the water back into the tank (tired of BS powerheads going out--want some that will last).
7. Ideas for the fuge.
8. Any other opinions.
9. Foreseen problems from those of you with experience plumbing tanks. I've never had a drilled tank. I assume that I need an overflow box and that gravity will take the water to the fuge. I want the skimmer in/on the fuge (intake or output side?). Yall get the idea. Let's get this going. I've been excited about this for a while. It's finally close enough to time to figure it out!

Thanks in advance!