Change in plans some advice would be great.

[eodmike]

I was planning for a while to return to saltwater with a 50-75 gallon tank. Well when I got around to finally going in and starting my equipment grab the lfs I deal with had a used 125 gallon with some extras. I had a couple pieces left over from my exit that I had never gotten rid of so here is what I have and the questions I have will come after.

Current Equipment:

-125 gallon AGA Reef Ready with 2x MegaOverflows hood and stand.
-1 IceCap 430. Works and has 2 VHO hooked up right now.
-1 IceCap 660. Works and has 3 VHO hooked up right now.
-1 IceCap 660. Dead. I have 1 or 2 pieces I need to replace. Long story short old stock of mine. bad cap blew up VAR 1 on the board. Easy fix.
-1 Reef Octopus NWB-150. New.
-1 3/4hp Titanium Chiller. Not sure brand but I have a temp controller and it has one of the submersible tube ends. Old stock but when I hooked it up to a 40 gallon and didn't set a turn of temp I forgot about it for a bit and when I came back the top of the water was icing over. So I know it gets the job done.
-1 AquaticLifeSystems Berlin BSM-200. Used but seems to be ok.
-1 BlueLine 70 HD External Pump. Plan on using it as a return from sump.
-2 fans to cool the hood.

Ok so now for my questions:

-I included a pic of the plumbing as I have it now. Did I guess right? I am worried about the modified overflow box's and wether I set it up right.
-The used I bought was set-up with 2 660's but the lfs replaced one with the 430. He said the one he replaced was bad and thus he through something that worked in. Is it worth me fixing the 660 I have and replacing the 430? What would I be able to keep under 6 VHO's vs 5 VHO's? Basically if anyone could give me with 6 VHO's on that tank I wouldn't keep .... with 5 those or these... Thanks.
-Is it worth me pulling the VHO's and replacing them with T5's? From what I understand (and excuse me I got out a while ago) the T5's can be ran with the IceCaps and they may be better than the VHO's if I use SLR's? If you could add to the last question by adding what benefits I'd gain by running 6 T5's vs 6 VHO's.
-From when I exited I know that a skimmer rated for 150 gallons put on a 125 gallon is pushing it especially when I figure in the sump's volume. Is it dire that I upgrade soon. I don't know much about reef octopus. Will it hold for a while?
-I can't seem to find out much about my sump. Anyone know how many gallons it adds to my total volume?
-I don't remeber the chiller brand but well I added pics maybe someone could help me identify it. This should be ok with my tank? I may be off on size but when I pulled it out of my parents basement my dad said he thought that was what it was.
-Finally the last of existing questions is the return pump I have ok? I read it returns 1750 max but am guessing with head loss I'll end up around 1200 which is the max my returns can do from what I read.

Now questions for things I don't own yet:
-I would prefer to do all my tank flow with the return and a closed loop system. I figure 1200 gallons per hour with the return. So that is almos 10x turn over. I hear all sorts of things about flow rate but want your opinion. If what I know is right I need at least 20 to 30x an hour. So what would you suggest for the closed loop?
-I plan on using an ocean's motion on the closed loop. Any thoughts? Which barrel would you suggest? Basically I'm thinking the constant returns of the sump. Then splitting the rest of the tank into 4 zones. Front of tank with pvc returns on top and bottom. Back of tank same as front. Side of tank with top returns. Other side same.
-I want to do an ATO. Figure it wouldn't be a bad idea. Any prefered DIY's out there?
-I need heaters. Old thinking maybe but 2 are better than 1. Probably would never use them as my house is warm and the heat added by lights but what would be proper for this setup? 2 300w? Any great ones for the sump?
-I want to use mostly base rock. I'd love to say it is only because I'd hate to see the rock taken from natural reefs but although that is true I also would like to save cash there. I'm thinking BRS "Reef Saver" any experiences? Good or bad? With my size tank how many lbs? I would like to seed it with a few pieces of live rock. What would you guys think as a good start point? I'm thinking 100lbs "Reef Saver" 25lbs Live Rock. Any thoughts?
-The LFS currently has me thinking of going with CaribSea sand of some sort or another. I'm thinking of around 200lbs of it. I will have some PVC running across the bottom to feed my closed loop returns on the bottom front of the tank. So this should yield 2 or 3" of sand bead. No Plenum I remeber these being bad. Or am I wrong? Any suggestions on this? Am I off with the sand or no? What type of CaribSea would you go for?
-Any thoughts on type of salt?
-Final question for now. Any thoughts on stock? I want to do a full blown reef. I'm thinking mostly zoo's and mushrooms and some other soft corals. Maybe a few stony corals as a center piece sort of thing. Would love to do an anenomea and clown pair. Full clean-up crew and what not. But fish wise what would you guys go with in my setup?

Sorry for all the questions. It'll probably be another month before I buy the rest of my parts and finally get salt and water in my tank. I have another work trip. Back to Australia for a week then to Qatar. Once that is done I'll finish up but I might order some parts while I'm gone. Anyways help me out with my questions. I want to make as few mistakes as possible.

Here are the pics I promised.
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3875.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3878.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3882.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3883.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3884.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3889.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3890.JPG
http://www.grandrapidsgeek.com/Tank/DSCF3862.JPG

[thegrun]

Welcome to Reef Central Mike! You'll get more and better answers if you try to limit your questions to one or two per post, just split the questions into several threads. I'll try to pick-off a few of your questions.
Plumbing looks correct. It's always a good idea to set the tank up outside and test it with tap water before moving things inside where spills become disasters.
If you want to make this a reef tank, I would replace the lights with either T-5's, Metal Halide or LEDs. Each has advantages and limitations, but you will only be able to keep low light corals under VHO lighting.
The Reef Octopus skimmer will be fine to start with, and perhaps good well into the future. If it proves to be undersized (hard to determine without knowing what your final bio-load will be), more frequent water changes will help maintain water quality until you upgrade the skimmer.
I'm not familiar with the chiller, but you should think about using a controller to turn it on and off if there are any doubts about the condition of its current controller.
1200 GPH is a lot of flow through the sump. Somewhere in the 500 to 800 GPH range would be better (5 to 8 times the DT total volume). Additional water flow in the tank is typically added with powerheads or a closed loop system.
I use JBJ ATOs, but there are several good brands of ATOs on the market and quality DIY parts available. I would plan on an ATO, regardless of brand.
Depending on how cold your house gets in the winter, you will need somewhere between 350 and 600 watts of heating. Definitely split the total wattage between two or even three separate heaters. I like to use titanium heaters and have had great luck over the past 4 years with ViaAqua titanium heaters. They are a low cost heater, but they seem to work well. It sounds like you keep your house relatively warm, so I think two 200 watt heaters would be fine.
125 pounds of rock minimum is fine, 150-175 would be even better, but a lot depends on the look you want for the tank. I've never used BRS rock myself, but I've seen several tanks that did and they look great. Your overall plan with the rock is good.
CaribSea sand is fine, I like sugar sized sand, but it does tend to blow around some in high flow areas. I would limit the depth of the sand to 1" (2" tops) unless you go with a deep sand bed (4"-6").
Good luck with the new tank.

[eodmike]

Thanks for the advice. I appriciated it. Sorry for such a long thread I just thought it would be better than polluting the forums with 15 posts. But judging on the lack of replies you apear to be right.

Well I guess my questions I'm still not sure on is after doing the head loss calcs my sump return will be around 8.5x the volume of the tank. I hear that is a bit high but I can always dial it down with the gate valve. So with a closed loop what pump would you guys suggest with the Ocean Motion?

RO/DI what are the feelings on the good units.