Thanks for the compliment re: the stand. I went out this morning to inpsect the pain and can now declare it complete! (except for painting side B of the doors - that will be complete later today.

We are going to put the RO/DI in the laundry room at a place where there used to be an old sink. The line will be run off the old water supply - we are getting an adaptor and valve to go from the orignal line to the 1/4". The drain will go directly into the exsiting drain.

Today I am hoping to pick up a few items to begin replumbing the tank. The previous work on this used tank was really ugly.

The challenge that we are now facing is that Deborah is suggesting that we switch around the family room and living room - which means moving (again) the freshwater tank, moving a piano :cry: and all the other furniture.

I'm voting for keeping things as they are!:biggrin:

Completed Stand
 

Well, after about 3 or 4 weeks I have finally completed the stand have it in the house. The original stand was a manufactured stand that was made of MDF - I was a bit nervous, so took on task of building a new stand. The new stand is 10" taller and another 1 1/2" deeper to give more room for equipment. The middle panel is held in place with magnets and can be removed for full access.
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1336790241

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1336790241

This afternoon I was able to install a GFCI for the electrical. I am hoping that tomorrow I will be able to start the plumbing - but I'm not counting on making progress :sad:

It's very nice. Good job guys!

Glad to see Nemo is still kickin' :mrgreen:.

Yes, Nemo is doing just fine - as you will have noticed I decided to add some dry rock for the dry fish!

Stand looks great! love the removable middle section. Whats supporting the span if that middle section is just for looks?

Thank to both Reefgirl189 and Subman for the compliments on the stand.

Regarding what is supporting the span since the front panel is just for looks - the upper rail is in essence a 2x4 header. At a 4' span it has adequate strength to support the load and the load is transfered to the legs which the rail sits on top of. I did most of the planning in advance (my first hobby is furniture making). That being said I wasn't convinced I was right until I was forwarded the following link. It is a very close design to what I had come up with. Just to be safe I adjusted my plans and went with the recommended plan in the link.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

Hi again - further to your question - which, by the way, is a great question. Because of the design of the legs, which is 2 2x4s which form an "L" shape, the span is 38" rather than 48". That puts much less stress on the upper rail.
Thanks for the question.

A Bit of Progress
 

Despite it being spring and the need to get lawn work done, we have been able to get a little bit done on the tank. On the weeked we did some shopping and picked up an Elos ATO, two Radions, and a RLSS R8-u skimmer http://www.rlss.ca/#!protein-skimmer/vstc2=r8-u http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...by-h2o-systems Thanks Dave for your help with all this.

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1337141227

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1337141236

http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1337141239

I have also been working on the sump. The system we purchased was a used one and the original design was for the drain from the tank to splash onto the hloder for the filter socks. Thinking that this wasn't a great idea I decided to add a baffle and extend the drain pipe so that the water will drain directly into the water, flow up and then through the filter socks. This makes the main compartment a few inches smaller but still large enough to hold the necessary equipment.
http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/...ley1/sump2.jpg
We have started getting serious about thinking through the aquascaping and will be having a few conversations with some local people to get tips and ideas. We are also trying to think through what we want for livestock and are a bit overwhelmed yet learning about different fish, LPS, SPS etc.

The next task will be to finish gathering the needed material for plumbing and get serious about doing that. I hope that will take place in the next week.

So, on with the yard work for today!

Nice work on the sump. That is personally my favorite type of mechanical filtration setup. Only difference is I prefer a filter floss as apposed to filter socks....maybe becuase i'm too lazy to constantly change the socks out lol.

That is a very clean and sharp looking tank and stand, it will be gorgeous once complete. The equipment list is also looking like most of our wish lists. :)

Things will come together quickly and will be well worth all the planning that had evidently been done. Can't wait to see it!