210g "Things with Stings" Tank

Totally your call. But I don't see either as a problem. All you need is trim. Then you just push the panel up into the corners. I don't really see that as a big deal. The panel should "fit" in. You can either do this externally or internally. But either way trim will fix this.

I suppose putting the panels somewhere might be an issue. I'd just hang it on the wall. There's nails and stuff in your walls. You can literally hang the panel on the wall.

 

The magnet/velcro idea works really well if you have something to line the door up with. In your case, you could outline each door with a small piece of trim. I have 1/4" plywood panels with wood trim on all of my tanks. They pull right off and go right back on with no problems. Very light weight and easy to handle.

I'm at work and could only find a few pictures. The first two are a little old, but they show the panels. The last is a recent panorama I tried to work out. All three have removable panels with either velcro or magnets, and no center supports, completely open. 180 on the left and the other two are 125's.

 

But why change a design already in progress to fix something that isn't a problem or broken? I can climb into my stand through the hole, that's more than alot of people can say. My main concern was the arrangement of the doors as far as looks go.

 

Man I love that cabinet design! Magnets are a cool idea.

Wow that Queen Trigger is awesome! I had one many years ago and she was the coolest fish. I remember I was cleaning the overflow and the Queen came up and laid in my hand. I freaked out afterwards because I never had a fish do that but the darn thing liked me.

 

I wasn't suggesting to change your whole design, just showing that the magnets can work very well. As far as your door layout goes, I would tend to complement the pattern of your existing kitchen cabinets for consistency. Although, if they were different, nobody would ever notice.

 

There was enough room on the sides to make the outer doors functional. The one is showing some leg, but that's okay. I can crawl in and out of the center hole quite easily. The stand was my job, the plumbing is my husband's.... let's hope HE can get in and out of the hole easily. I bet it'll end up being that he designs it, I place the stuff inside of the stand and then he takes over outside.

We picked out one of those outside storage/sitting thingies. The things with the same type material as a cooler. We are going to cut small holes in the wall and inject insulating spray inside. Then we'll have 2 fans, one blowing in and the other out. It doesn't get very hot around here, even in summer, but the sun beats down in the back yard. Eventually this will be shaded by the patio we are putting in above it off of the master bedroom.

 

Just officially ordered the tank. 84.5L x 24"W x 24"T. 18" x 12" right corner overflow. 3/4" acrylic.

Tomorrow we get the moulding and the container to hold the outdoor sump.

I'm researching staining ATM.

Looking at track lighting and pool table lights for lighting, to hold some LED bulbs.

Need to find the coins for the doorknobs. Still packed, no doubt, like the rest of my life.

 

Maybe I misunderstood. Are you putting the sump outside? If so why not under the stand? With it being outside even in some type of little building it will not be climate controlled, has more potential for something to go wrong. JMPO.

 

Outside tanks are not an oddity here in California where I live. It rarely gets hot, it rarely gets cold, it's always JUST right

4 of my friends have outdoor sumps. I promise you, where I live, it works perfectly.

It eliminates noise and leaves the mess outside. The easy access is WONDERFUL.

 

I can't decide on lights. I was originally looking at the PAR38 bulbs, but the coverage wouldn't be great for this tank.

Large DIY LEDs with a gutted pool table tiffany light fixture? The tank is 24" deep. No light lovin' corals... just macro and maybe a couple of leathers for the anthias to swim through.