Quote Originally Posted by tangz
I have a nice little corner in the family room. The tank will fit with the back right corner in the corner of the room. The wall to the right is a closet that has access from the hallway. I plan to put all my stuff in here to kkeep down on the noise and heat factor. Now to convinve the wife I need one of her junk closets.
That sounds great! I did not have that luxury. There was really no wall that had unused space. It will be easy to convince your wife if you take her to a place where there is a big tank and the pumps and stuff are NOT in a separate room. Having said that, I would like to add to the chorus of people that say you should look at other people's tanks (especially big ones.) I wish I had done that. Man, I wish I had done that! If I had planned my plumbing better I could have saved lots of time and money. There are a billion options.

If you are going to get a glasscages' tank, please talk to me first about things to do and not do with them.

Oh yeah, forgot to add this in. Remember, the tank alone will weigh over 900 pounds. Add stand, hood, equipment, salt, and water (at about 8 lbs per gallon) and I think you see where that is going.

Not sure how your house is set up, but remember the weight. These big tanks do not do well on carpet, hope you have tile or the like. Not to mention the floods, and, oh yes, it will happen.

Quote Originally Posted by tangz
I do need to get with Dan Parks about a refugium. I have been talking with Jeremy @ Redmondreef. His design is the best I have seen to date. He is working with me to design a larg enough refuge for my system. Sadly he is no longer in business as redmondreef.com, but still does consulting work. So I do need to get in touch with Dan.
Don't know Jeremy. However, Dan can build you just about anything you want. Like I said before, he does SUPERLATIVE work and is a GREAT guy! Heck, his own sump(s) and refugium are bigger than 99% of the tanks in SA. Same goes for ~pete~, great guy, great work.

Quote Originally Posted by tangz
I have resisted adding up the equipment costs as I look for what I want.
Don't resist it, unless you have unlimited funds. Even if you do have unlimited funds, you need to list the stuff you need, find the best prices, compare products, and prioritize them. It is a great way to organize.

I kept a spreadsheet of everything I spent. It is a SCARY :unsure document for sure, but I know what I paid for everything, from whom I bought it, and when I bought it. This has come in handy many, many times. It helped me get the things I NEEDED, before the things I WANTED. I can share a list of things I bought if you would like it.

Quote Originally Posted by tangz
Thanks for the advice.
Your welcome. I will share my experiences and limited knowledge with you anytime. I have done some good things, made some really stupid mistakes, and made some ignorant mistakes. You can PM me if you want to keep the discussion private.

For me, this is what MAAST is all about, a community for comradarie, information, and assistance. I think you have already seen a sample of the pool of info and expertise that is present here.

When I needed help moving my 300 gal, tank, and stand, over a dozen people offered help and they actually SHOWED UP! Be sure to get the legendary "MAAST Cart", it was a real back saver.

Setting up a new, big tank is kind of like a new baby. Somedays it is the most fun you ever had, somedays you are so mad you want to cry, and somedays you just cry then laugh. There have even been days when I threatened to put it outside and plant petunias in it. However, in the end, the fun far out weighs the bad.

Take care, post pics, and have a great time,
John "still going to Lowe's" Wilkes