The overflow pipes can be put in the side of the tank, near the top. The pipes sticking out the back or side and running down the outside. Otherwise just have the holes drilled in the bottom of the tank and the pipes glued in place. The drain pipe would go up to the surface of the water the water would simply drain over the edge of the pipe and down into the sump.
UV units help to limit the disease organisms in the tank. However, they don’t stop the fish getting sick. Good water quality and regular tank maintenance will prevent most diseases. Quarantining all new fish for a few weeks (2-4weeks) will help prevent disease outbreaks in the main tank.
You can run the T5 unit with all the globes but it might be cheaper to run 3 halides. 3x250w halides use 750watts, or 3 x 150w halides use 450watts. This is a bit less power than the T5s would use (700-800w). When it comes time to replace all the globes, (once a year) it might be cheaper to buy 3 halide globes rather than 8 T5 globes.
New halide units are much better than those of 10 years ago. They have electronic ballasts and work much more efficiently.
For a tank 72x18x22inches you would have 3 halides if possible. If you only had two units then the ends of the tank won’t get that much light.
If the T5 unit with 8 globes fits on top of your tank, it would probably be fine as well.
Do some research into how much it is going to cost to run the lights and replace the globes.
A sparky/ electrician should be able to fix your halides and if you have 175watt units they will be fine, they will probably need new globes. Get another unit to distribute the light more evenly across the tank.
Chemical filtration includes carbon, nitrate & phosphate removers. Carbon isn’t necessary unless you have lots of soft corals in a new tank. Then it helps to remove the chemicals they release. Nitrate & Phosphate removers are granules that absorb nitrate & phosphate. All three products sit in a filter where the tank water continuously passes over/ through them.
They all need replacing on a regular basis. Normal carbon should be replaced about once a month. Activated carbon can be replaced every 2 months. Ammonia & Phosphate removers need to be replaced when they are full. You have to monitor the nitrate & phosphate levels and replace the media when these go up.
Carbon will absorb some trace elements from the water but if you do regular water changes, or add supplements, this shouldn’t be a problem to the corals.
You can get de-nitrators, these are filter units that develop colonies of anaerobic bacteria that eats the nitrate and removes it from the water. Nitrates will also be consumed by bacteria living in live rock. If you use live rock in the tank it will often break down the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate without the need for a trickle or power filter.
A sump with 4-6inches of sand in, can also be used to break down nitrates. It is known as a deep sand bed and over time the sand becomes anaerobic (lacking oxygen) and starts to break down nitrates.
If you have a de-nitrating filter you will still have to monitor the phosphates.
). It depends on what kind of corals you plan on keeping, also how long is the tank?
