I AM doing it all over again, so I am deep into doing things differently.
1. Larger tank. Old: 70, New: 210. Corals were growing out of the top of the tank and into the glass. Not enough room for fish, especially tangs.
2. No sandbed in tank. Sand/mud bed will be in sump, where I can replace sections of it over time.
3. Better lighting. Old: VHO, New: 250w HQI pendants and VHO.
4. Better circulation. Old: 3 MJ 1200, New: 2 Tunze 6100 Streams.
5. Better automation and redundancy. Old: Radio Shack X-10 controller. New: AquaController II. Had several heater problems that were noticed AFTER damage was done.
6. Need a chiller. Summers were stressful for the tank, even with VHO.
7. Separate equipment room. Having everything in the stand made maintenance difficult and made the family room too noisy.
8. Calcium reactor. Dosing
B-Ionic worked great, but is expensive over the long haul. Also harder for my fishsitter to deal with during vacations.
9. Less rock. I like a more open look.
10. Adequate power. I am running 2 20 amp lines to the garage for the tank.
We'll see how this all works out over the next six months or so.