I have been planning on setting up a 6' or 7' tank sometime in the future, and we all know that even small tanks can be pricey to fill with coral, and anyone with a big tank knows that frags don't do much to fill them for a while. I know I'd be doing a QT, so I decided to set up a grow-out tank that'll eventually be my QT. Also my wife has never had a tank (I used to have a 125 mixed reef) so doing a small tank now is a strategic play to get her excited about doing a bigger tank that she may normally be cool with. Although I do realize that could backfire on me....
I had space constraints in that it would be going into a small & already cramped garage in this space...
I knew that mix & RODI tanks would be on this counter as well and I wanted a sump for added water volume, a fuge & to hold some rock, so I needed to get creative. I was intrigued with the aluminum t-slot material that Vertex used in their booth at Denver's MACNA, so after designing a tank & sump and having them built by Precision Aquariums, I built the structure for the system. Each of the corner has a 1.5" gusset plus there's a corner plate wherever I could put them. It's really sturdy. And I need to point out that Precision did an AMAZING job on these tanks! These guys are top notch!
This is where things get different - the sump is on top, tucked away under the upper cabinet. It's on a frame that's on bearings so it will slide out if I need to access it. You'll have to trust me on this one - it slides out fairly easy - even with filled with ~15g of water.
I also added lots of support to the cabinet itself. The right end is two 3/4" panels, there's another two 3/4" panels where the drawers meet, plus additional support across the back and extra in the front on the left side, all going down to the bottom of the cabinets which are set on a 2x4 frame.
I had space constraints in that it would be going into a small & already cramped garage in this space...
I knew that mix & RODI tanks would be on this counter as well and I wanted a sump for added water volume, a fuge & to hold some rock, so I needed to get creative. I was intrigued with the aluminum t-slot material that Vertex used in their booth at Denver's MACNA, so after designing a tank & sump and having them built by Precision Aquariums, I built the structure for the system. Each of the corner has a 1.5" gusset plus there's a corner plate wherever I could put them. It's really sturdy. And I need to point out that Precision did an AMAZING job on these tanks! These guys are top notch!
This is where things get different - the sump is on top, tucked away under the upper cabinet. It's on a frame that's on bearings so it will slide out if I need to access it. You'll have to trust me on this one - it slides out fairly easy - even with filled with ~15g of water.
I also added lots of support to the cabinet itself. The right end is two 3/4" panels, there's another two 3/4" panels where the drawers meet, plus additional support across the back and extra in the front on the left side, all going down to the bottom of the cabinets which are set on a 2x4 frame.