Minimum stand width to house all equipment?

[robodude666]

R2R,

I'm curious what the minimum stand width would be in order to house all of your reef equipment, including:

• Sump,
• ATO Container,
• Power bricks, strips, and cord management,
• Controller (Apex, etc.),
• Manifolds,
• Pump/Wavemaker controllers,
• Skimmer/Reactors, etc.

without having to mount anything externally but still keeping things neatly organized and easily accessible (i.e. being able to remove a component without taking anything else out).

I've seen several builds in 120 gallon (48" wide) aquariums still use external equipment cabinets. Only builds I've seen that have everything self-contained are 60" wide tanks. Pretty much exclusively any 24-36" wide systems always have some external equipment, unless they are running a minimum setup with no controller, have a tiny ATO, and no a small reactor.

Is there any point to moving up from a 24"-wide to 36"-wide tank, for the sole purpose of having more space under the stand? Or is it better to stick with the smaller tank and have an equipment cabinet?

Thanks,
-robodude666

 

[Idoc]

I don't think there is a minimum stand size... no matter what you have, you'll outgrow it's dimensions!

 

[ryeguyy84]

External is usually better since there's more room to move around. A lot of people house the electronics externally because salty mist is bad for them. I have a 90G and house most of my stuff in the stand with the exception of my ATO container (20G brute) which I keep in the basement. I got lucky and was able to jam the RO tubing through a hole in the floor where a cable wire comes up from the basement.

 

[jtl]

My stand id 48 x 24 x 38(H). Older pic and I have reconfigured the sump of late but everything except the ato is in there.

 

[robodude666]

John, any particular reason you're keeping the ATO out of the tank? I'm guessing people would prefer to maximize the size of the sump.

 

[jtl]

John, any particular reason you're keeping the ATO out of the tank? I'm guessing people would prefer to maximize the size of the sump.

I was able to punch a hole in the wall behind the tank to run a line to the sump. This allowed me to employ a 10 gallon ato in my laundry room which is a good size for me since I can have up to a gallon per day evaporation. A smaller vessel could have been put somewhere in the cabinet. I also have a semi enclosed shelf in the stand that holds the various power supplies to keep the moisture away from them.

 

[Huff747]

I have a 6 ft tank/stand and my ATO tank is still outside the stand. I could have fit a smaller ATO in there but I wanted to fill it less and in the end it's a lot easier to fill the ATO without having to try and pour or pump water inside the stand. I found it so much easier that on my other thank I moved the ATO tank outside the stand despite it fitting perfectly fine. It's much easier to fill without having to try and do it under the stand.