Yggdrasil

Thought I'd throw some pics up, have been a bit hesitant as it looks pretty average at the moment with empty tanks and what not waiting on wood to frame and insulate the walls.
Got a refrigerated air con that will be set up for the 40+ days and can heat in winter (once shed's done ill see what is cheaper, the heater or heat the tanks).
I am also going to build stand for 3x4 2.5 foot tanks into the wall/shed so it gives that frame a clean look with the least amount of framing for it seen as possible.
It is run mostly by a big air pump, just serviced it but looking at getting a bigger one so it can run 100% of my filters as I'm using extra filters in my bigger tanks.
NOt many fish yet as i am waiting to get the walls done other wise i will just have more to move around.
Anyways here is what I got so far it is about $1100 for all that is seen + a small bunnings pond and a IBC.

Got about 25 FW tanks on the go in the fish shed/room thought I might give marine ago as a display tank in the house but making my own topic on is so I get it mostly right the first time.

I have been reading pretty much everything I can find regarding setting up a marine aquarium with a few things that are obvious I need and a few others I am seeking advice on. Money is an issue, well I’m not setting it up cheap but want to keep ongoing costs down. Power and water changes mainly as salt and kilowatts aren’t to cheap lately.

I am looking at a 6x2x2.5 or a 6x2x2 new, figure its not to big and not to small, building my own stand so I can achieve the look I really want it will probably be built overly strong for the aquarium more than any thing but once set it wont be moving so not fussed.
I live in a small town near Bunbury so I’ll be mixing my own salt in a sealed IBC.
I will run LED Lights with a hood on top installing a fan or 2 in the hood just to make sure it won’t get to hot.
I want to look at a coral based tank as well they are just so nice to look at =]
Fish will be chosen based on the coral I have but I will look at different stock a bit later as I got a lot more to do yet besides a lot of live rock and live sand.
I am not sure what sand to get but I do know I will go with sand.

Now comes what I have questions on, the sump.
The more I read the more lost I get but basically in my head I am going to use a 4x1.5x1.5 aquarium I have for the sump and I will glue some dividers in it, it will need to house return pump, a protein skimmer and heater.
These seem the basics but what else will I need in the sump?
Will 2 or 3 smaller pumps be better than one big one with multi outlets protecting me if a pump dies?
Power outages? Is it worth investing in a UPS or should I buy a gen set? My town is known for power outages lasting up to 3 or 4 hours probably 8 a year but not all that long tho and with the recent storms and no power for 3 days it is a big fear, I ran my filters of a 1000w car inverter to cycle my FW tanks during it tho.
Should I have live rock in the sump?
Can I get away with getting only 50% live rock and 50% normal rock to save a little money?
Once set up how much water will I need to change and how often? I would like to get the aquarium to need the least amount possible but at the same time not risking it by pushing it to the limits.
Drilling the aquarium drain to the sump, Where would be best? I like the idea of having the box in the middle of the aquarium so I can place rock and corals around it hiding it but this may not be the best option for filtration.

What is the best bang for buck/quiet equipment (return pumps, heaters, LED lights, skimmer and wave maker) I should get?
I use a lot of Aqua one product’s for my FW and most of it works fine besides their air pumps being a bit loud.

Thanks in advanced for the help

Does any one have or know of any one selling decent Koi in the bunbury area. Used to breed them but since giving that up years ago I have none and just cant brink myself the buy the crappy ones I see in LFS's around here.
So if any one knows of some decent Koi up for sale it would be great.

Livestock
Name: Koi
Size: around 5cm to 15cm
Number: 10+
Sex: Both
Shipping: Preferably around the Bunbury area.

Looking at buying 10 to 20 tanks about 1.5x1x1 or 2x1x1.

Just looking for the best way to do it.
Could just buy the glass from a glass shop pre cut to all the sizes I need and build them my self.
or would it not work out to cost much more to get them built for me and have the security that some one who did it for a living built it with warranty that they wont break/leak.
or should I keep collecting secondhand tanks...?
any one got a ball park on what the cost would run into and a good place to buy them from?

Took over a setup a while ago while I was living in the same town as my farther in Merredin (since moved down south to Bunbury)
But here is a few images of it all in hopes it might help some one in their adventures.

The pond


The Waterfall This normally flows a lot faster but in this image it turned down as the filter was getting a bit dirty.


They are friendly Walk past the pond and they come.


Closer view of some of them



One of my Favorites


Few pairs for breeding





The black ones are a nice look but hardest to catch


This shows how to pick the female (Fut gut when full of eggs)


And some day old fry


The setup (drawn in paint 3 mins ago)




Link to whole album with amny more images

Not sure what to say about it all but any question fire away