tunicate

What happened to its original pump?

Maybe either tank too small, or not enough LR to stake territory.

Installing ball valves on both big & small drain pipe will help fine tune your return flow. They will also help you shut off the water in case of emergency happening to your sump. 4x2x2.5 gives you about 149gal volume. Marine tank typically requires 10 to 20x circulation per hour. Hence, we're looking at 1490gal/hr to 2980gal/hr. This can be the combination of return flow + wavemaker.

Are your clown fish in there yet? Beware of the 3 spot Domino damsel. It's got a aggressive reputation.

With regards to filter comb, below are some suggestions from fellow reefers for those who like to DIY. Otherwise, you can also engage a tank maker to come do one for you. BTW, remember to leave enough room in the last compartment for a chiller coil, or chiller pump.

It's a good plan. Some minor considerations: (1) Flood Prevention Sump should have extra capacity to cater for water displacement from main tank during power failure(even if you're planning for 1-way valve.) During normal operation, water will fill up both left compartments up to the height of the baffle left of your new return pump location. Water will also fill up refugium up to the height of its left baffle. Water level in return pump compartment will fluctuate due to evaporation & water top up. Top up should max out at height of refugium left baffle. Below blue boxes is your safety capacity which you need to measure & figure out its volume. Let's call this volume A. The volume of water entering your sump during power outage would be the layer of water from your overflow to the base of your return pipe nozzle. Similarly, you need to measure & figure out its volume. Let's call this volume B. To prevent flood, A needs to be greater than B. (2) Pre-filter You generally have 2 choices: filter sock, or filter wool. For filter wool, you need to position it very high, otherwise it'll be immersed in water, loosing its effectiveness. I'm also not sure if the 1st baffle has sufficient room for overflow over the top when the filter wool gets clogged up. Filter sock with bracket looks like a safer implementation in this case. (3) Protein Skimmer The 2nd compartment is suitable for skimmer deployment & other equipment, but you'll need to see if they will fit in there. (4) Refugium You need to install a filter comb on the top of your refugium baffle to keep the chaeto in.

Sand will get disturbed & end up in there unless your glass baffle is at least 6" above your sand bed. Worst, your shrimps & crabs may fall over & trapped in there.

Firstly, I like your floor tiles. They're nice. Question: Would this new tank by any chance been designed originally for fresh water aquarium? Secondly, you'll definitely have to seal the underflow grill if you want sand bed. Thirdly, you're right about having to work on the sump. The return pump compartment should ideally be directly under the overflow compartment in the main tank. So you may have to turn the sump tank around. P.S. Need to drill holes on cabinet for chiller pipes or chiller coil access?

FYI, anemone is not a must for clown fish. Plus, there's risk if anemone couldn't find a spot to settle down & climbs to your wavemaker or overflow.

Hey Vinc, it's been a few days. Still chasing around?

I wonder what's the SG reading like in the marina bay. Will die offs contribute to high nitrate level in the bay, or will the ecosystem slowly accommodate to the salinity changes & evolve over time?

Isn't the water there turning into fresh water as a result of the Marina Barrage? I don't think the fish will make it despite Mr. Chua's good intention.

These are some small fishes you can pick from.(There are also other suitable ones not listed in there.) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124

For 1.5 footer, just make sure everything you put in has to be small...in fact the smaller the better. It's a nano tank. I've seen mistakes like...."Wah!this leather coral nice, & that maxima clam super nice". Before you know it, no space liao...full house.

Another one..

I Google "maxspect review" & some of these links appeared. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1817995 http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=216951 Similar for "eco lamp review" http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=199287 http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/5/aafeature2

pmed you.

With that kind of price tag, I suspect factoring in air freight cost is peanut. With such exclusive product, one cannot expect much business if limiting customers to within country border.

Yes, I know. Just playing with you bro.

How about a rock wall? This way, you can have as many monti as you like on it. Plus, it'll look more natural. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1804186

Yes, as long as water is flowing thru' the upper intake grill, you are surface skimming. The surface scum you mentioned could be due to oil residue from machine manufacturing of new pump equipment & tank parts. It should go away after subsequent water changes.

Water circulation for typical reef tank is 10 to 20X its volume. Your 1ft cube works out to about 7.1gal. i.e. 71 to 142gal/hr. That's why I said your current 260gal/hr pump is more than sufficient. I wouldn't be able to sleep well if I suspect there's something not right with my tank. Actually, temporarily removing the sand & rock is not too bad since you've not started deploying LS.

Since you asked, I'd like to point you to below article which one will not be too far off calling it "The mother of all wall mounted aquarium". 65 million year old credential http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/page/index.html/_/reefing-news/most-expensive-aquarium-in-the-world-r35

In that case, I suspect there is a leak between the glass & your black color rear plastic baffle. Your filtration effectiveness will be compromised. Dry out the tank & re-silicon, taking the opportunity to seal off the lower intake.