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Thank you all very much.

Ok sorry what is DT? looked in the acronyms guide but did not see that one.

Origami, I could maybe cut out the first baffle and move it over but its a Trigger systems 36s sump that is really nice and that would kill me. I may have to try to sell it and buy a larger sump. The sump looks brand new right now.

the actual filter is inside the house and would not get cold

Dave that's my issue the RO barrel (40g). Would a submersible aquarium heater (say 200w) work or would it burn itself out. 12oz water bottles will sometimes freeze in my garage. If I can somehow free up the guest bathroom shower and make the wife happy I can probably buy another aquarium toy...LoL.

That's what I was wondering is if I use a heater though is that going to be to stressful on the heater as it would run constantly I would think.

Ok I have a SKIMZ 143 in sump skimmer on my 55g, but I am setting up a new 180g. I have a Trigger 36s sump. I obviously need to upgrade skimmers but only have about 12" by 7" of space in the first sump section after the filter sock holder takes its space. I can not find anything reasonably priced that will fit and have looked at some external skimmers because of that. But I am not a plumping/electrical wiz and would like to know, is there a difference between the external and internal as far as performance wise and are the external ones hard to get plumbed and set up? In internal one was just drop in and plug cord in. I got sticker shock looking at the prices of the things. ($380-$680) Any help is appreciated.

I (which means my wife) would like to move my two 40g RO/DI and mixed water barrels from a guest shower to my garage. My question is that my garage which is attached to my house and obviously enclosed is not heated which in summer is no problem but in Virginia it gets freezing, so has anyone else had success in putting something in the garage with a small heater or would this just burn the heater up? Any other suggestions are also appreciated.

I live in Culpeper. But as I posted it will not be empty for 1 to 2 months as I transition to the new tank. But if you send me a note to remind me in a while it is yours. (I have a ton of things on my mind).

Thank you. I have a Sicce 4.0 951gph on my 55g I will just reuse that then and save some money. Just didn't think it was going to be enough for a 180.

Ok just got my used tank and am trying to decide on a return pump to purchase. I always read that the return should be 10x the tank volume. So my 180g should be an 1800 gph pump correct? But looking on line at the specs for the Marineland 180 it shows recommended max gph as 700. Is the 700 per corner for a total of 1400 gph? And if so this is still below the 10x tank volume. Am I over thinking this? One other thing (I always find new questions as my mind wanders) the specs say the corner holes are drilled at 1.75 so if I order 1" bulkheads from BRS those should be the right flange size? Thank you from a total new one.

Origami thank you for the info. In my ATO tank I do have a white powder on the bottom so I have suspended my ATO pump a few inches above the bottom so it does not suck it up. I will read up on the DIY doser in a minute. Ok I just read the DIY article and in it he says his tanks are 10 gallons and he drips one drip a second.....for a larger tank say 180 gallons the drip/pour rate seems that it would be horrendous. Forgive my ignorance as I am still learning about this hobby every hour.

Uh Oh, I feel trouble for myself. I mix the kalkwasser and just put it in my ATO tank. Should I not be doing it this way?

Since So many people have already been soooooo nice to me here I will ask Aquamom a question. First are you in the Virginia area. I ask Because I have a stand that my 55g tank it on that is 52" long and 20" wide that I custom built. I have a 35g self built sump under it. I am upgrading to a 180g and this stand I have will not work for that. I you are interested I would be willing to give you the stand (free). I just cant drive long distances. If this may work and you are interested let me know. Only thing is I will not be ready to move it until I have my new tank set up and running which may be one to one and a half months. I will try to figure out how to post a pic of it here. Also if I don't answer for a day or two its because I work long hours and may not see this post for a bit. People here have been helping me so I want to pass it on to others.

WOW- Thanks to AWSOME members I will pick up my new (used) 180g RR this weekend. I am going to start a new thread on some equipment questions I have soon. This is the best club/society I have ever joined as far as helpful people.

Wow I love the doors. Any inside photos?

I know I'm new but the overflow box was the worst decision I ever made. It takes up 5.5 inches off the back of the tank sits 4" above the rim and has already failed me once (and it has the siphon pump). That's why I'm already searching for a RR tank after only 6 months. This is just my feeling , not trying to push you.

DBL, I looked at that setup just not sure I can house a 75g sump. I do not have the option to plumb to the basement from where the tank will set. AND that size tank seems a tad overwhelming. Also I would need to buy A LOT of new equipment (probably all) for that size. I would like to try to reuse as much of my current gear as possible. But other than those things I would probably buy that set up in a heart beat.

First hello, I love this site. I started in the hobby about 6 months ago with a 55g non-RR tank and overflow box. I built my own stand and sump and things were going great untill I realized this hobby is very calming for me (I have a super high stress job) and I should have spent the extra money on a larger Reef Ready tank. I have had two overflows onto the floor already and want to move up to a RR 120 or larger tank so I have been watching the for sale forum as I found after pricing new tanks they may be a bit more than I can spend at this time. A question I have is buying used, have many people had trouble getting "bad tanks" meaning that they get them home and find they have a leak etc? Thank you for this site Iam sure I will be pestering you all for a long time to come. Ed.