Need some brainstorming help on a new tank

[Stephen]

So im thinking about upgrading here in the soon future and i was thinking about doing a 60 cube. The thing is i would also like to have to 30 gallon "turtle tanks"(24x24x12) on either side of the 60 cube. Now what i was wondering is should i make a stand that is all one level or should i have it staggered? I was thinking of having the 60 cube on a 40" pedastal and then the two 30 cubes on either side but 12" lower than the main tank. Sorry if this is all a bit hard to follow. Basically what i am looking for is having a display tank, a frag tank, and a display refugium all on one stand but seperate tanks. Not sure if i will be able to do this but i would like to gets everyones thoughts on it

[LotsaFishies]

It is certainly possible to do it all in one stand. You will have to make sure it is braced sufficiently but definitely doable.

I think staggered some would look better than having them all of equal height.

[Stephen]

My original thought was to have the two 30 gallon sides to be 30" tall then the middle 60 gallon section to be 42". Im just not sure how it is going to look. And as for the stand i was thinking about making it out of steel so i was hoping that would be strong enough to support all of it.

[LotsaFishies]

I would say have the tops of the two sides tanks 6-8" shorter than the central tank.

[Stephen]

Im going to try and post a picture of the idea that i made in paint. See what everyone thinks and how doable it will be

[Stephen]

[Stephen]

That is an awful rendering but it somewhat gets what i want to do across

[bpro32]

Keep in mind that the two 30g tanks are only 12" tall so if the frag tank stands are 30" and the display stand is 42" then the top of the frag tanks will be at the bottom of the 60g which in my opinion will look a little weird.

[Stephen]

This is the build that inspired me http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1904659

I know that i will most likely never have anything as nice as that but i like the idea of how they have the full cabinet around it

[bpro32]

I personally like the idea of having the stand all at the same height...

[Stephen]

My issue with having it this style is that it would be rather hard to clean the outside of the glass between the aquariums and also the light spill from the fixtures on the side tanks in to the middle tank. Maybe i could have the middle one only viewable from the front and pain the three other sides black. Seems like there are a lot of problems that would have to be worked through

[Jarederaj]

maybe since the other tanks are shorter you should make those stands taller. So the stands are different sizes but the tanks are all the same height. That way you can have one bigger light hanging over the tank then a lot of random lights.

[zfan4life]

I think it is a very creative drawing, it looks good like that however, it will also look good on one stand at same level, and i believe that it will prolly be more functional for you to have one level stand, however if that is not an issue, either way will look fantastic maybe even make it so that the center cube overflows into the two side cubes would be an awesome idea as well!