There is no Center post, It is attached to one of the doors. The stands are solid 3/4 inch plywood mortised, glued and pocket screwed. There is a door on each side of the cabinet so you can see through it when both are open. The overflow is dead center, drain only. The returns (2) are on each side. I liked the center overflow so I can place frags all the way around it. The power will come through the floor for everything except the lights, the powere from the lights will come down from the ceiling. I bought a double 150 Sunpod that has internal ballast. Hopefully there will be no cords between the light and the tank.