My first build... before there are 2 or 3 more!

mwc · Oct 20, 2020

This is my first ever reef tank build. It all started last summer when the wife and I bought a 125 gallon Aqueon tank and stand at a local big box store. We originally gravitated toward African Cichlids, but I had kept them in the past and wanted to do something different. After looking around at several LFS in the area we decided we would try a reef tank... this quickly spiraled out of control.

I haven't had a fish tank in 9-10 years, and the amount of information and technological advances in the fish keeping hobby in general has come a long way. The next several months were spent researching anything I could possibly find on the reef keeping hobby. It was during this time I saw photos of peoples tanks that are/were incredible! One of the first things I noticed was the craftsmanship put into the stands and hoods on many tanks. While many tanks come with a very nice stand others were custom and extravagant. I have done a few woodworking projects of my own throughout my life (no expert at all), so i decided to give it a try. Enjoy and I look forward to any comments/suggestions/criticisms!

Doctorgori · Oct 20, 2020

impeccable workmanship!!!!

Sweet now have you SEALED that bad boy? and whats the finish on that thing anyway?
Edit add: I like to put plexiglass or a very glossy white near or by my sump. Even w/o splashes it seems the air leaves salt deposits underneath

mwc · Oct 20, 2020

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it. It's painted with killz primer, and sherwin williams pro classic. Extremely hard finish and durable. I also used it when i built our kitchen cabinets painted same to color match.

mwc · Oct 20, 2020

That's a solid idea. I usually end up using a mini shark vac and a clean wet rag to clean up salt creep. I never imagined how much of that gets everywhere in the stand.

Neuratox · Oct 20, 2020

It's really neat seeing how handy some people are and getting to watch the progression of a build including the stands. Thanks for sharing this!

mwc · Oct 21, 2020

Thank you, I appreciate it. I will continually update as I collect more corals and sort out my stocking list.

Edit: I still have a control cabinet that is half built I need to finish. It's kind of a crazy idea I came up with that may or may work. I have some airflow issues to tackle first before I complete it, but I will add those pictures and information here as well.

ajjw0828 · Oct 21, 2020

Looks great! Amazing work on the stand! Do you know what lighting you're going with / if you're doing a mixed reef, LPS or SPS?

mwc · Oct 21, 2020

Thank you! I decided on 3 Kessil a360x's, and I have a retrofit T5 setup that I will wire in after I put the final touches under the light hood. I probably need to take some pictures under the hood and in the stand that are current now that the tank is up and running. I've just been embarrassed by the amount of cord wrangling I need to do that I've put off until I finish the control cabinet. I'm going with a mixed reef with LPS annd SPS. I do have one small zoa frag though on its own island.

ajjw0828 · Oct 21, 2020

mwc said:
Thank you! I decided on 3 Kessil a360x's, and I have a retrofit T5 setup that I will wire in after I put the final touches under the light hood. I probably need to take some pictures under the hood and in the stand that are current now that the tank is up and running. I've just been embarrassed by the amount of cord wrangling I need to do that I've put off until I finish the control cabinet. I'm going with a mixed reef with LPS annd SPS. I do have one small zoa frag though on its own island.

Heck yeah, can't wait to see some more pics of the setup! I know what you mean about the cord management, I desperately need to do the same thing. I'll be following along, can't wait to see this tank develop!