150 gallon Tall

Ok I took the plunge and I am upgrading from my old 55 with a hang on the back filter and skimmer to a 150. Here is what my set up is going to be,

150 gallon tall tank (48” long 24” deep and 30” tall). I will use my old power compact light (2 65w antic and 2 65w white) and I will be supplementing it with 2 150 metal halide pendants. I will have a 10 gallon refugium under the tank and I purchased a 1/3 hp chiller for it. I plan on building my own skimmer.

My Questions,

I have read different things about filtration. Should I build a wet dry filter to go in my sump or should I just rely on the skimmer? Does anyone have any filtration advice?

I plan on building a reef with a few fish in it.

Thanks for any help!

 

Looks like the same sized tank that I have. I also bought the stand at Petsmart. I'll answer your questions as soon as I get back from lunch.

Edit:
Now that my tummy is full...
I have the same dimension tank that you have. I used a CPR overflow that works really well. Knowing now what I didn't know back then, I would strongly suggest drilling an overflow box into the tank instead of using a siphon box. I have used Glass-holes products and recommend them for any sump/fuge system. If my tank wasn't full now, I would retro fit one into it now. I would not use a wet/dry though, it leds to nitrate problems. Mine had nitrates into the 100's from it. I would go with a regular sump fuge. If you can bump the size of your subsystem, I would strongly suggest it. I have a converted wet/dry (now sump) that is about 30G. I'm going to build onto that to add a fuge that will drain into the sump. I already have the plumbing in place for that.
Basically I will have is one display tank drain line feeding the fuge. The output of the fuge will gravity drain into one end of the sump. Then I have another display tank drain line going into the sump. The sump will contain the skimmer and return pump that will feed the chiller (back into the DT), UV filter, and PO4/carbon reactor. The UV and PO4 reactor will drain back into the sump. I hope this helps.

 

I think the skimmer is the most important part of a filtration system. i would by the best one you can get and try to make sure its rated for more then your tank size.

Bioballs arent really necessary with reef tanks in my opinion since they are more lightly stocked and have more liverock then FO.

a fuge is always a welcome addition but you probably wont need it with soft corals.

 

Check to see if the bottom of the tank is tempered. Mine has a sticker on it that says "Tempered Glass". Check with a local glass shop that has a good reputation and an experienced "glass man" can tap it and tell by the way it sounds whether or not it is tempered. If its not tempered a glass shop can drill, or you can drill it yourself, and you will have a Reef Ready tank by adding the overflow pieces and the bulkheads.

 

I have a 20 gallon long under the tank that will hold the equipment. It’s not that big but it is what I have and a 10 gallon for the fuge. I am gathering that the wet/dry will keep up my nitrates. Has anyone had any luck building the skimmer? I think I could build a much better skimmer for my $$ than paying for one.

tigermike74 - Do you have any pic's of your 150? I am trying to figure out how to aqua cape it and I am looking for similar dimension tanks to get idea's from.