Equipment List

For the project for the 400+l tank I've decided to try the following setup.

A custom made 48"x24"x24" (122x61x61 cm) tank and cabinet.  60" was an option but feel it would be total overkill for my house.  The selected tank will have 10mm Pilkington float glass, OptiWhite front and sides, and a vinyl background (not sure if black or blue yet).  The main tank volume will be around 400 l.

It will have a 43″x18″x17″ (109x46x43 cm) sump tank that will be used as a filter and possibly a refugium.  The added system water will be around 120 l.  The first section of the sump will be filled with filter cotton, sponge, and ceramic filter.  The first section has a volume of around 40 l which should be plenty of filtration.  The middle part of the sump will maybe be used as a densely planted refugium on a reverse light cycle to the main tank to minimise potential water parameter fluctuations caused by night/day cycle in the main tank.  The reason I went for a sump is that the Fluval Fx6 external I was looking at would have been around the same price as a sump and return pump.  It'll give me the option to go marine in many years if I want to (although at the moment I have no interest in marine).

The sump return pump I'm looking at is the Eheim Compact 3000.  This should be overpowered for my main tank size but it'll be good if some performance is lost to have the option to turn it up a bit.  It also takes away the need for an additional circulation pump in the main tank. 

In the pump return section I also plan on putting a Eheim Jager Heaterstat 300w heater.  Again it's oversized for the setup but I don't want it working too hard.  I have two thermometers I'll place at different ends of the main tank.

Looks like Eheim are equipping the tank!  I also have a Eheim Air Pump 400 to add extra oxygen though I'm not sure it'll be necessary but could be deployed if I find a dead spot in the tank or just for the fish to play with.

The lighting system I'm looking at is the E Shine Nemo 72 Tropical Planted LED lighting system.  I was initially looking at T5's but with a new tank you may as well go for LED's as they don't need yearly replacement and are cheaper to run.  This particular lighting system is nice as it's channel adjustable and has some fun modes.

And finally, or firstly, I've already purchased the recommended API master kit.

Hopefully the plants will stop a widespread outbreak of algae so I've counted out a UV clarifier for now.  If I've missed anything or you have some tips please let me know.

I'm not familiar with sumps, so I can't comment on that bit. But a 300w heater would be suitable for the tank alone. Add in the volume of the sump and you do need more, as Matt has already said.

My 180 litre is custom built, 10mm Pilkington glass and front panel in opti-white. I must admit I do like the 10 mm glass as my last tank had 6 mm glass and started to bow when the bracer bar became unattached. Thicker glass just gives so much more reassurance 

@marquismirage I'm just catching up in this thread. You can of course use two small heaters instead of one whopper and this will give some redundancy/backup if you have a failure. I use a separate temperature controller with just the sensing element in the tank - this isn't affected by the heaters own local temperature so its more accurate and is measuring temperature where you need it. You can then set the heaters thermostat a couple of degrees above the tank control temperature and this again gives more redundancy to the system if a thermostat welds in the closed (on) position

Wow this is an exciting project! Please keep us updated (with pictures where you can  ).

The tank, cabinet, and sump will be £1224 inc. delivery from ndaquatics.  Of the companies I contacted they had the best communications.  Some of the other companies didn't seem to read what I had asked.  They do pallet drop so I'm going to have to find a team of strapping young men to help me out.

Electronics such as the sump pump, heaters, lighting, etc. will be around £465.  There'll be some DIY elements as I want to create a rain bar for the sump return, a distributer at the sump in end to even out filtration, and some kind of net/cover on the weir to stop fishes getting in.  I already have 7 square metres of filter sponge and 10 kgs of ceramics.

I've factored in £300 for hardscaping.  Rocks will be dragonstone, redmoor for wood, and some driftwood for plecos.  There'll be pipes and things to create caves for fishes to hide in.

It'll be a month or two more before I even get the tank.  Though with my wife talking about moving it's best to wait until I know where it's going. :/  This is helping spread the cost as I'm buying bits and pieces as I go along.

When I was looking for some larger tanks Sue mentioned ND Aquatics, so I visited them (approx. an hour drive). They were a very nice crowd, happy to chat, had a lot of information, samples of cabinet wood to take away to see if it was the correct colour, and they gave me a tour of their manufacturing facilities. Their prices were also very reasonable for the amount of work that went into their tanks & cabinets.
I couldn't get the set up that I wanted because the landlord had concerns about the weight, so I've ended up with the Aqua Oak tanks, rather than the custom made tanks.

... had concerns about the weight...

Me too.  I'm thinking of thick wood and polystyrene below the cabinet to spread the weight a bit but I need to look into it more.

use the correct diameter pipe and FIT VALVES AND CONNECTIONS they are big items but believe me they are so useful when you need to tweak or maintain.

Tell me about it.  I'm very worried about a potential snail problem and them getting stuck in the in/out pipes.  For the rain bar I was thinking a one way valve before a connector.  Not sure how to snail proof the weir.  Maybe filter foam in front of the slits with thin knife cuts.  But that leaves a concern of slowing the water leaving the main tank and flooding.  If you have tips I'd welcome them.

@marquismirage
 Snails shouldn't be a problem, unless they are huge and or in massive numbers. I use 2" pipe for the feed to the sump and that will take some blocking. Initially I was concerned about the tank overflowing but later realised that even if I managed to get all of the water out of the sump and into the tank it still wouldn't overflow. You will see marine guys going to great lengths to protect against overflow but they often have a whole room for the 'sump' and massive water volumes. I fear the sump overflows more, but the most likely cause for this is power failure and overflow is prevented by correct height of the weir and allowing sufficient sump capacity when you fill the system to accommodate the drain back from the tank.
I do protect the overflow box after I had a nasty incident with the fish getting into it (it's a long story) I used tapestry mat above the weir teeth and as Matt mentioned any blockage just flows over it.
I'm not sure about the need for a one way valve on the rain bar - presumably it will be above the water level and the holes quite small?

@marquismirage
Okay then snails are going to be an issue. If the one way valve is to prevent a syphon back to the sump then its risky, even a grain of sand would prevent a seal and allow a slow flow downwards. Maybe it will take half an hour, but it will still fill the sump. If the sump can cope with this then no problem - but then the valve is not really needed either
A solution if part of the pipe is above the waterline is to drill a syphon break. Start small and increase the size until it easily breaks the syphon. If however the flow out of the hole with the pump is on is useful then just size the hole for the circulation you need.

The matting would do the job, make sure to support it adequately so it doesn't slip onto the down pipe, a head of water is surprisingly powerful. It will clog so make sure to add it to the list of routine maintenance items

Certainly @marquismirage , unless the evil snails start co-operating....
I have several in my pipework because I use them to create surface movement for aeration and ripple effects in the lighting.