Welcome back mate!!
and G'day from down under
LOL
First off is do you want AIO, semi-AIO or a completely up-to-you tank?
As far as complete AIO tanks you can't beat the Red Sea tanks and there is a whole forum here dedicated to them with Red Sea reps on them too so it means no question about the tanks will go unanswered
Come down and say hi lol we're a friendly bunch
check out some of the tanks and see if it's something you'd go with
Semi-AIO and DIY tanks are great because they give you the choices and expansion that an AIO might otherwise lack (although the Red Sea tanks are great in this area!) For example I've gone semi-AIO with a CADE tank (not sure if they're available in the US
) and I love the tank, it cam pre-drilled with overflow, sump and all the plumbing required along with grating and some safety features for power outages so nothing overflows onto the floor! The great thing about it is that I can now install whatever gear I want and I'm only restricted by the physical size of things
same with a completely DIY setup.
That all being said here's what I'd be doing if money were no object I'd go down one of two paths (maybe even both
haha):
Tank AIO:
Red Sea Max-S650, 175 gallon tank capable of keeping the most sensitive sps corals
no extra bits would be needed straight up to get the tank running!
Extras:
Chiller (A strong 1/3HP chiller would be good)
An ATO (Tunze Osmolator 3155)
A reef controller which would be a GHL Profilux due to the shear capabilities of it!
Maybe a powerhead or two, Tunze again as they are controllable and completely silent even at max (my current 2 6045's at full and completely silent, you can hear the noise of the cable vibrating on the tank over the powerheads themselves that's how quiet they are and they are absolutely fool proof to set up!!)
Tank semi-AIO/DIY:
I'd go the CADE line of tanks due to their incredible build quality and stunning looks as a rimless tank :drooool:
Tank of choice would be the 6' CADE HL1800 with the 5' sump drilled into it
Skimmer: An RLSS or Deltec skimmer
Heater: Whatever you can get as suitable
Chiller: Once again a suitable 1/3HP chiller
ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
Powerheads: A Tunze system with controller
Return Pump: Eheim
Lighting: LED's most likely Vertex which are absolutely stunning
Controller: GHL Profilux once again!
I think these days while you still can get wicked colours from t5's or a MH/t5 combo LED's are the way to go! The colour spectrums are better and much closer to real light, you can have all kinds of simulations and light schedules and they are just as intense on far less electricity and heat