Back from a long hiatus

Retro Heat

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So, it seems like I'm back from a long hiatus. I had 3 reef tanks during college all the way up to about 10 years ago. What happened 10 years ago? I got married, had 2 kids, moved 2 times, etc. And, somewhere along the way, I gave up the reefing hobby. But, recently I've had the itch to start up a tank. So, about 2 weeks ago I bought the Aqueon 14 gal cube during the sale at Petco. Since then... I bought a 20-pound bag of live sand, and 40 pounds of base rock (planning to build my aquascape with 15-20 pounds and I'll keep the rest in storage) and started building my stand (see attached pic). I still need to build a door and possibly a drawer for the stand, pick up an RO-DI unit, some salt, a lighting setup (possibly noopsyche K7 mini), maybe a skimmer (not too sure), and some other stuff along the way when needed. Just wanted to say hi to the R2R community.

PS: The stand is built out of 1/2 baltic birch and the top is the exact dimensions of the 14 gal cube. I left the inside the raw birch color and I stained the outside in espresso. Waiting on the stain to dry then I'll put about 5 layers of poly.

PPS: Does anyone know how heavy a fully loaded 14 gal cube will weigh? I tested my build with 200 pounds overnight and it was rock solid. Just wanted to make sure this would be enough.

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vetteguy53081

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Retro Heat

Retro Heat

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Welcome to R2R. I think the Bulk Reef Supply (BRS) web site has some calculators that would help you get close.
thanks... checked it out and there isn't a weight calculator. I checked another site and it said about 150 pounds with water. I think I'm going to test it at 250 for a week just to be sure. I'm pretty confident that it can support way more since the weight transfer goes from the top to bottom on 3 sides and I braced it from racking with a whole bunch of glue, screws, and 5 cross braces. But, can never be too careful. And, I might as well test it since the tank isn't up and running yet. =)
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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