Between work and multiple moves I haven't had a reef tank in a good bit. Well the time has come to finally bite the bullet again! Out of the 8 or so different reef tanks I've have over the years I've never kept a SPS dominated tank before and have always wanted to, so I decided It was time to go all out for once . I actually manage a local LFS so sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and clean my own tank.. On that note I've got just about everything there is to add to my Apex on order. Mainly for control and piece of mind, but I really want to automate as much as I can; even down to water changes once the tanks established.
So far I've drilled the tank and installed a custom overflow I had built to my specs by Modular Marine. Defiantly check him out on eBay! His work is top notch and it was much nicer than I had expected when I received it! Its all cut via cnc, so not your typical router job. I had him make covers for the inner and outer box was well. Both of which fit absolutely perfect and actually snap into place. Very modestly priced for the quality as well!
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Even though our shop has a guy who does amazing cabinetry work, I decided I wanted to give building my own stand a go again. This time I purchased a pocket hole jig to make it much cleaner. I must say its one of the best tools I've purchased over the years and I'm kicking myself for not getting one sooner!
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I'm building the entire thing out of poplar and some various pine trim pieces and plan on giving it a nice stain. Haven't decided how I want the doors just yet, but truly that can even wait until the tanks plumed up and going.
Even though I'm lucky enough to have double doors to my exterior of my current residence, I wanted to be able to fit the stand though your typical 29" door frame later down the road. So that's one reason it sits so low, the other.. I actually love the height! Will be super easy for maintenance, perfect view when sitting on my couch or multiple chairs I have in the room, as well as the lower it is, the lower the light will be so its less likely to blind you while sitting down .
The stand measures 32"x 32"x 27". It will have three doors. Two that you can access the sump area, and the third will be nothing but a wall of all the fun apex modules and other electronic gadgets.
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I just threw an old shelf on top of the frame to get a feel for the look here. Also I'm sitting down on my couch about 10 feet away. I think its going to be perfect!
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So far I've drilled the tank and installed a custom overflow I had built to my specs by Modular Marine. Defiantly check him out on eBay! His work is top notch and it was much nicer than I had expected when I received it! Its all cut via cnc, so not your typical router job. I had him make covers for the inner and outer box was well. Both of which fit absolutely perfect and actually snap into place. Very modestly priced for the quality as well!
Even though our shop has a guy who does amazing cabinetry work, I decided I wanted to give building my own stand a go again. This time I purchased a pocket hole jig to make it much cleaner. I must say its one of the best tools I've purchased over the years and I'm kicking myself for not getting one sooner!
I'm building the entire thing out of poplar and some various pine trim pieces and plan on giving it a nice stain. Haven't decided how I want the doors just yet, but truly that can even wait until the tanks plumed up and going.
Even though I'm lucky enough to have double doors to my exterior of my current residence, I wanted to be able to fit the stand though your typical 29" door frame later down the road. So that's one reason it sits so low, the other.. I actually love the height! Will be super easy for maintenance, perfect view when sitting on my couch or multiple chairs I have in the room, as well as the lower it is, the lower the light will be so its less likely to blind you while sitting down .
The stand measures 32"x 32"x 27". It will have three doors. Two that you can access the sump area, and the third will be nothing but a wall of all the fun apex modules and other electronic gadgets.
I just threw an old shelf on top of the frame to get a feel for the look here. Also I'm sitting down on my couch about 10 feet away. I think its going to be perfect!
. Hoarding tanks and equipment turned into a hobby to fill my void for awhile 
