Nice job so far. My 77 is a Hagen as well, purchased used a number of years ago. No idea how old it is, but it's pretty robust that's for sure, no center brace needed apparently. Interesting that you mention your stand is solid plywood. I've peeled a little of the black vinyl off the bottom piece of mine & it looks like very high density presswood. Not sure about any of the other parts, doors etc, haven't peeled any vinyl off those to check. Perhaps mine is a bit newer than 1992 & they went from plywood to presswood to increase the profit margin in later years.
Mine is not drilled, running sumpless but also have plans for a new tank with basement sump. Aquascaping is a bit of a challenge as you mention with the narrow 16 inch side dimension. I have two groups of rock more or less running down the center so I'm able to clean most of the glass, although there are a couple of spots I can't get with the magfloat where one rock & a coral are too close to the glass. C'est la vie. My livestock seems relatively content with the way things are arranged, but I guess they don't have a choice, they're stuck with where they are for the moment.
Your RODI system looks bomber. Might even be overkill for your area. Not sure about Victoria, but I know from reading various threads here that the Vancouver folks have very low TDS water to start with. Some of them could probably run DI only to get pure water & the DI media would still last a long time. You've got a TDS meter built on to yours, might be an idea to see what your tap water TDS is and tune your RODI rig for better efficiency. If TDS is really low, you may be able to run one or more of your housings empty & save money on filter media plus increase production with less waste water. Looks like it also includes a booster pump, which may or may not be required depending on incoming water pressure. If you're on a well, the booster pump will definitely help production.
Looking forward to seeing more. I started SW with no experience either (not even a freshwater tank) and aside from the odd newb mistake, haven't had any major set backs.
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