I haven't had a tank in almost 20 years. My first tank was a 49 Bowfront corner tank with a Euroreef skimmer. A friend had gotten a 70 gallon tank after quitting his job at Petco and going to work at a local fish store. This store was the largest and best one in San Diego at the time. They had ordered the bowfront for a customer who backed out of the deal last minute and So I got it for $500 with the stand. I want to say it was 2002 or 2003. I got hooked bad and ended up working at the LFS myself to support my habit. By today's standards, both fish and corals were cheap. A rock the size of your fist full of zooanthids was about $29. Hammers were $20 a head or less to give you an idea. I ended up moving somewhere the tank couldn't go and I parted everything out in 2005.
. Sixteen years later I am pretty successful and my girlfriend and I moved into a nice apartment with a decent sized dining area. I knew I wanted another reef tank so I took her to the LFS and showed her where I used to work. She was amazed by everything she saw there. The shop subcontracts out custom tank builds so I got a couple quotes. Problem was the 6-8 week wait and price tag. I found a company in Los Angeles that makes tanks they sell online. They had inventory available If I was willing to make some concessions.
I really wanted a 72" wide x18 deep by 24" high tank. The closest thing they had was a 60" wide x 24" high x 18" deep with built in center overflow. I placed the order for the tank intending to build my own 44" high stand.
I work 6-7 days a week. The stand building was making slow but steady progress but my girlfriend wasn't happy about the glass coffin sitting I our apartment empty. I figgured out that in order to complete the stand and make it look professional, I woul need an 18 gauge nailer, a mini air compressor, a spray gun for the paint and then I would have to sell or store all the tools in my storage unit when I was done. Plus at the rate I was going, it was going to take at least another month.
So I called up the tank manufacturer to see if they had stands in stock. They did and not only did they have a stand, it came with a hood and they had an optional 5 chamber sump with a 50 gallon capacity. I was going to make a sump out of a 29 so a 50 sounded like a great upgrade to my plan. It was about twice what just the tools were going to cost me to complete my stand. Not to mention my time and the wait for another month so I ordered the stand with the hood in black and the optional sump.
When the stand, hood and sump arrived they all had some issues. The quality of construction would get about a C+ from my Middle School wood shop teacher. The quality of the paint job was not great either. I was pretty disappointed. The quality of the tank construction was an A- and I had hoped the stand, hood and sump would be at least as good. The five chambered sump looked pretty good except the last chamber was supposed to be an ATO reservoir. The glass panel between the fourth and fifth chamber was siliconed in on both sides but sat an inch from the bottom. 
I of course discovered this after the tank was already filled and plumbed.
Time for bed... I will add more to my build thread tomorrow.
. Sixteen years later I am pretty successful and my girlfriend and I moved into a nice apartment with a decent sized dining area. I knew I wanted another reef tank so I took her to the LFS and showed her where I used to work. She was amazed by everything she saw there. The shop subcontracts out custom tank builds so I got a couple quotes. Problem was the 6-8 week wait and price tag. I found a company in Los Angeles that makes tanks they sell online. They had inventory available If I was willing to make some concessions.
I really wanted a 72" wide x18 deep by 24" high tank. The closest thing they had was a 60" wide x 24" high x 18" deep with built in center overflow. I placed the order for the tank intending to build my own 44" high stand.
I work 6-7 days a week. The stand building was making slow but steady progress but my girlfriend wasn't happy about the glass coffin sitting I our apartment empty. I figgured out that in order to complete the stand and make it look professional, I woul need an 18 gauge nailer, a mini air compressor, a spray gun for the paint and then I would have to sell or store all the tools in my storage unit when I was done. Plus at the rate I was going, it was going to take at least another month.
So I called up the tank manufacturer to see if they had stands in stock. They did and not only did they have a stand, it came with a hood and they had an optional 5 chamber sump with a 50 gallon capacity. I was going to make a sump out of a 29 so a 50 sounded like a great upgrade to my plan. It was about twice what just the tools were going to cost me to complete my stand. Not to mention my time and the wait for another month so I ordered the stand with the hood in black and the optional sump.
When the stand, hood and sump arrived they all had some issues. The quality of construction would get about a C+ from my Middle School wood shop teacher. The quality of the paint job was not great either. I was pretty disappointed. The quality of the tank construction was an A- and I had hoped the stand, hood and sump would be at least as good. The five chambered sump looked pretty good except the last chamber was supposed to be an ATO reservoir. The glass panel between the fourth and fifth chamber was siliconed in on both sides but sat an inch from the bottom.
I of course discovered this after the tank was already filled and plumbed. Time for bed... I will add more to my build thread tomorrow.
