Hi Everyone,
Its something I think it's very important to share.
I setup my tank little over a year ago. Bought it brand new, tank and cabinet. Yesterday, I notice some saw dust like particles around the sump area and tiny pin holes in the center support wood piece. At first I thought it's dust and I vaccumed it away. This morning I saw it again. Immediatly Termites flashed into my mind. I did some research and realized it's not termites but another type of wood boring insect.
POWDER POST BEETLES (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powderpost_beetle)
In general, wood boring pest degerates the wood structure..Now I cannot stress enough of the danger here. My tank is 4ft x 2ft x 2.5ft. Fill it with water, live rocks etc...it's going to weight a ton. I cannot imagine the horror of my tank literally crashing onto the floor when the cabinet gives way.
Because of the pest's life cycle, it is very hard to tell immediately if your cabninet is infested. It took mine over a year to emerge. It never occurs to me that the cabinet is something to take notice of, because we seems to concentrate all our attention in the tank itself. Do yourself a favour, when getting that cabinet, make sure your tank maker/ carpenter uses chemically treated wood, HIGHLIGHT THIS SHIT TO THEM! MAKE THEM AWARE OF IT. If not you will end up like me. I'll be contacting pest control tomorrow to inquire some options.
Will update here when I get some solutions.