Quote Originally Posted by matt
I'd consider getting a few more books; Shimek "The Coral Reef Aquarium" and the Calfo books come to mind. I'm with Gary on the calcium reactor instead of endless supplements, and you'll want to think about your entire plumbing circuit before starting, as it will affect your tank selection and drilling, stand construction, etc. For a tank of this size, you almost need a work room behind the tank for all the equipment. Some sort of reliable auto top-off is practically a must for a system this size, as is figuring out some way to deal with the moisture you'll be releasing into your house; at least 5 gallons/day, and realistically as much as 10.

...while it's nice to think about livestock this early one, plan on having your tank up and running for a while with just sand and rock, preferably a few months while the rock matures and you can build up a good population of sand bed animals. Then, you really have to plan you livestock as an eco-system and make sure you don't get animals that are not compatible. This is not as easy as it sounds.
I was looking up the books on google as I read your quote.

I have a large closet on an adjoining wall to the tank with the access from the hallway. I planned to put all the equipment here and vent it to the attic.

On an outo top off, can I use a RO/DI straight into the refuge for top off, or do I need to have a holding tank/mix area first?

I am going to be a good boy when dealing with livestock. I want the system up, running and stable before I even think about getting livestock. The only reason I listed the animals was for someone with experience to look at the list and see if I missed some compatibility issue with my choices. I also think I left the numbers low so a sI figure out what I am doing I can add more goodies.