After having decided not to buy a house in the current city I live in (which doesn't have any saltwater market at all) I had concluded that as a renter, I will not be setting up my 500 gallon system.
In light of this decision, I decided to build (on a budget) a 75 gallon system with a 55 gallon sump.
I'd purchased the display tank from a local shut down and used an old 55 gallon that had been sitting in my closet for a couple of years.
Because both these tanks were used and rather old, I elected to reseal them with some new silicone.
View attachment 20180516_193947.jpg
And of course I had to add the baffles to the sump, I did all three tasks at once while I was on a Netflix binge streak.
Now that the messy jobs were done, I could begin working on building a nice custom stand that would give me ample amounts of room to do what work I needed to do and still keep the unsightly components concealed.
I planned for the stand to accept a 5' tank in the future if I decided to upgrade the display. The frame was way overbuilt and would likely support my 390 gallon tank.
Skinning the rough stand was next on my to-do list and it was difficult to decide on which type of hard wood I would prefer. After a week of shopping, I landed on some birch that I liked the grain of.
View attachment 20180427_212655.jpg
Everything from here on was pretty straightforward, a lot of sanding, staining, and sealing.
I added a false wall all over the inside of the stand to route my wiring and keep everything neat and organised.
In light of this decision, I decided to build (on a budget) a 75 gallon system with a 55 gallon sump.
I'd purchased the display tank from a local shut down and used an old 55 gallon that had been sitting in my closet for a couple of years.
Because both these tanks were used and rather old, I elected to reseal them with some new silicone.
View attachment 20180516_193947.jpg
And of course I had to add the baffles to the sump, I did all three tasks at once while I was on a Netflix binge streak.
Now that the messy jobs were done, I could begin working on building a nice custom stand that would give me ample amounts of room to do what work I needed to do and still keep the unsightly components concealed.
I planned for the stand to accept a 5' tank in the future if I decided to upgrade the display. The frame was way overbuilt and would likely support my 390 gallon tank.
Skinning the rough stand was next on my to-do list and it was difficult to decide on which type of hard wood I would prefer. After a week of shopping, I landed on some birch that I liked the grain of.
View attachment 20180427_212655.jpg
Everything from here on was pretty straightforward, a lot of sanding, staining, and sealing.
I added a false wall all over the inside of the stand to route my wiring and keep everything neat and organised.
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