Hey thanks @EverAquarium, it's great to get some love for the build! The cabinet needs no reinforcement as it is technically a kitchen cabinet that is rated for more weight than the 20 gallon tank fully stocked (each leg supports up to 250 lbs, and I have 6 which translates to 1500 lbs and a fully stocked 20 gallon would be maximum 200-250 lbs ). Additionally, I choose to go with a split cabinet so there would be a middle divider to provide additional support from bowing for the top. The cabinet also cost about 1/2 the price of the innovative marine branded stand. The best part about this is that Ikea cabinets have many different configurations that could support a variety of tanks and desired layouts, however, my personal recommendation would to go with OEM cabinets for anything larger than a 40 gallon tank as they are built specifically for larger weight capacity tanks and engineered to those specific needs.
And it looks like even better price for you since the Sektion is less expensive! Everything on your list looks correct. I also used the following for my Auto Top Off Container and it works great and fits on the left side of the cabinet: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hallbar-bin-with-lid-light-gray-80398058/Yeah based on your information this is what I had in my cart
Definitely much more price effective than the APS stand
Also, you'll need about 6 short screws to attach the two Sektion cabinets together just FYI. I don't remember off the top of my head if they are included or not (I think they are) but if they aren't just pick some up from your local hardware store.Yeah based on your information this is what I had in my cart
Definitely much more price effective than the APS stand
I would say that's all accurate! I was able to cut a 2' x 2' piece of MDF which they sell at Home Depot. Unless you want some scrap MDF for other reasons (might cut the cost down a bit).
