I just moved into a new house and am going to be setting up either my 90 or 125 gallon tank as a reef. I want to do something a little "different" on this and had the bright idea of cantilevering the stand out of the wall.
I had a structural engineer come in and he told me it's doable by putting I-beams vertically into the wall then having additional I-beams cantilevered from them out into the room.
The good news is that I've got a closet behind the wall (that my fiancee has let me have half of
so I don't need the stand to house equipment. Additionally, behind the closet wall is the drain/water end of a bath tub so I can plumb in water for an RO/DI unit as well as have a drain for water changes.
See diagram:
Considerations:
- Metal in the stand - been there, done that (with stainless), said I'd never do it again with salt water. Though engineer assures me that we can coat the I-beams in polyeurathane to ensure no corrosion.
- Piping under the tank will be hidden by a wooden facade that is about 8 inches or so high.
- How many nights sleep will I lose dreaming of a tank smashing to the floor?
- I don't want a standard canopy top. We've got a little bit of an older house and I'm considering mounting metal halides in antique-looking aluminum housings. Anyone seen anything applicable?
- Maintenance should be a breeze with easy access to equipment in the closet.
- How many nights sleep will I lose with my fiancee's voice in my head complaining of losing half of the guest room's closet?
Anyone ever see a setup resembling this? If so, what are your experiences?
