And we’re off, IM 40

[Brandon.helvie]

Well after years of wanting to get into feeding it finally happened. I’ve twice collected the items to only have to sell it or part with it before set up. My son, who is 9, took a liking to reef tanks on YouTube after we set him up a betta tanks. And, wouldn’t you know it, three weeks later we have the beginning of a reef tank. Guess all it took was a cute kid to push the wife over the edge to agreeing to this.

So, after collecting everything over a few weeks it was assembled and filled last night. Dumped a good sized bottle of fritz 9 in have let it just sit for 18 hours now.Here’s what we’re running.

IM NUVO 40
AI 32
Sinse 20
Ghost skimmer (not currently
Dussette ato
And for now just some filter floss

Won’t be running lights but was able to get it for a great price early on.Will be updating as I go, asking a ton of questions and looking forward to the experience!

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Well after years of wanting to get into feeding it finally happened. I’ve twice collected the items to only have to sell it or part with it before set up. My son, who is 9, took a liking to reef tanks on YouTube after we set him up a betta tanks. And, wouldn’t you know it, three weeks later we have the beginning of a reef tank. Guess all it took was a cute kid to push the wife over the edge to agreeing to this.

So, after collecting everything over a few weeks it was assembled and filled last night. Dumped a good sized bottle of fritz 9 in have let it just sit for 18 hours now.Here’s what we’re running.

IM NUVO 40
AI 32
Sinse 20
Ghost skimmer (not currently
Dussette ato
And for now just some filter floss

Won’t be running lights but was able to get it for a great price early on.Will be updating as I go, asking a ton of questions and looking forward to the experience!

I was initially worried about two things with the scape. First being that there are a ton of caves, which is great for the fish, but I’m concerned that those caves aren’t going to see a lot of flow and will build up junk over time. Secondly, there isn’t much of a slope on the right hand side which I’m concerned will limit coral selection and placement as the elevation increase isn’t gradual at all. Thoughts?

 

[Richard Newman]

Congrats! Welcome to the obsession!
I have the same tank, check out my build thread for aquascape ideas. I probably rearranged 6 or 7 times before I started adding corals, lol. This is a great forum for getting ideas and getting questions answered.

I also have several caves in my scape, but I find that my cleanup crew tend to keep those areas pretty clean. Especially since they have all decided to not come out anymore...bunch of scaredy cats.

Again welcome!

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Congrats! Welcome to the obsession!
I have the same tank, check out my build thread for aquascape ideas. I probably rearranged 6 or 7 times before I started adding corals, lol. This is a great forum for getting ideas and getting questions answered.

I also have several caves in my scape, but I find that my cleanup crew tend to keep those areas pretty clean. Especially since they have all decided to not come out anymore...bunch of scaredy cats.

Again welcome!

I’ll a society check out your build! I’ve spent numerous hours on the great website over the years, lurking and learning.
I really like the scale, minus the cliche’ arch. But, it’s mine and I like the arch so it is what it is. We took several hours to arrange it the way we’d want it and then reconstructed it in the tank. Good to know the crew addressed these caves. Was hoping for that!

 

[CuseCorals]

You can slowly adjust your rock scape a little at a time until you like the final result. There are plenty of options early on before you have established corals and fish to worry about. Take your time, do research, and ask lots of questions. If you want to see examples of anything come over and take a look.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Did some testing tonight. Not rushing things by any means, just wanted to try out the testing kit and get a feel for it. Decided to buy API. I know it’s not the best but for cycling figured it would be alright based off from what I’ve read here. Plan on going with salifert after the cycle is complete. Here’s what’s I came out with

ph...8.0
Ammonia... .25
Nitrite...... 2ppm
Nitrate.....10ppm.

Used dry rock and live sand. Threw in a bottle of fritz 9 a few days ago and have ghost fed a bit since then.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

You can slowly adjust your rock scape a little at a time until you like the final result. There are plenty of options early on before you have established corals and fish to worry about. Take your time, do research, and ask lots of questions. If you want to see examples of anything come over and take a look.

I had this same tank for 2 years and frequently adjusted my scape. Took like a year before I had one I loved.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Been a bit since posting. Things have been going well. Tank has been rolling smooth for about two weeks with no concerns to date. Haven’t done a water change or even changed my filter floss due to concerns of removing the bacteria I’m tying to build up. Today I noticed the beginning of the wonderful diatom bloom. Well, let’s see how this goes!

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Well, the diatoms were short lived..however I may not want to say that too many times. I have read and seen horror stories of this coming in quickly and taking over (I know they go away with time and are harmless). Mine to date have been some spotting which at time got heavy, but never blanketed, and dirty diatom glass for a few days and it has receded quickly. It might be worth noting that I got a few piece of rubble rock and some ceramic media from a well established tank earlier this week which may have helped tremendously. This almost sounds too good to be true, which is why I hold my breath. Did testing tonight. PH 8.0, Ammonia 0..Nitrite 0...Nitrate 0. I still have the original filter floss that I placed on both sides of the intake (one side actually has 3 pads in the caddy). I was/am hesitant to take them out or change them due to concern of removing a significant amount of established bacteria. I have not done any water changes to date either. But, the tank has only been wet for two and a half weeks.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Diatom blooms came hard again. Pretty significant coverage on the glass, sand and rocks. Tested the other day and was zero across the board. So, added some flew up crew tonight. Added 10 red legged hermit and 4 bumble bee snails. I was originally looking for nescrith but didn’t have any available. Also for the first time rinsed my filter floss. I had two considerable sized pieces in the floss holder and 4 stuffed into the caddy. The above picture is the water after it was rinsed, which was pretty nasty. Started the skimmer up tonight as well.

hoping to add fish in the near future but still trying to take things as slow as possible, which has worked out this far.

 

[Alarmguy66]

I got my IM40 the day before you. We started at a much different place though, as I had rock to move from my other tank over into the 40, a few hardy corals as well as a fish. I had diatoms in 3 days and have green algae coming in now. Just do what you are doing, add things slow, dont throw too much at it at a time or you will get the balance off. I still havent added a fish, but I did add 40 snails, 4 hermits and a mithrax yesterday. I'll wait another couple weeks before I add a fish, which is what comes next. The only filtration I am using so far is the filter sock and filter floss on the other side. Change the floss every 3 days, clean the sock every 4. Dont get too wrapped up in the science of it yet, its easy to drive yourself nuts trying to get the perfect chemistry. Oh yeah, the stock pump isnt enough flow, add a powerhead. I placed mine right between the return nozzles. Have fun!

 

[Brandon.helvie]

I got my IM40 the day before you. We started at a much different place though, as I had rock to move from my other tank over into the 40, a few hardy corals as well as a fish. I had diatoms in 3 days and have green algae coming in now. Just do what you are doing, add things slow, dont throw too much at it at a time or you will get the balance off. I still havent added a fish, but I did add 40 snails, 4 hermits and a mithrax yesterday. I'll wait another couple weeks before I add a fish, which is what comes next. The only filtration I am using so far is the filter sock and filter floss on the other side. Change the floss every 3 days, clean the sock every 4. Dont get too wrapped up in the science of it yet, its easy to drive yourself nuts trying to get the perfect chemistry. Oh yeah, the stock pump isnt enough flow, add a powerhead. I placed mine right between the return nozzles. Have fun!

Sounds good! I didn’t list it but I am running a SLW20 along with the mighty jet pump. At some point I’ll add another to the opposite side for additional flow coverage but for now it seems to be doing well. Anticipate the green stuff coming sooner or later, it is what it is. Glad to hear things are progressing for you so far! And yes, the slow go on this will continue, although it’s hard to stick to but it’s cheaper time wise then watching a tank fail due to overwhelming it.

I haven’t changed the floss for fear of wiping out the bacteria that’s been established, which is why I just rinsed it. Not too concerned with chemistry as of right now. But I do like research and learning, which this hobby allows!

 

[Mjl714]

Nice start, I’ve got an IM 30L and it is a fantastic setup.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Nice start, I’ve got an IM 30L and it is a fantastic setup.

Beautiful set up! Really like the rock work and the separation.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Speaking of separation. When I did my rock work I allowed for an few inches between the glass and rock. But, the current scrubber I have can’t fit between the rock and the glass so I have spots that I haven’t been able to clean. A magfloat definitely isn’t going to fit either. Any suggestion on a low profile scrub tool?

Also, how does everyone get the glass so clean so close to the sand? I’m scared that I’m going to pick up sand and scratch the glass.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

Picture for reference.

 

[Mjl714]

Speaking of separation. When I did my rock work I allowed for an few inches between the glass and rock. But, the current scrubber I have can’t fit between the rock and the glass so I have spots that I haven’t been able to clean. A magfloat definitely isn’t going to fit either. Any suggestion on a low profile scrub tool?

Also, how does everyone get the glass so clean so close to the sand? I’m scared that I’m going to pick up sand and scratch the glass.

As far as glass clean down by the sand, very carefully and by hand. I try to keep magnet glass cleaner out of sand.

 

[Brandon.helvie]

As far as glass clean down by the sand, very carefully and by hand. I try to keep magnet glass cleaner out of sand.

Right, completely understand. I currently have a hand held want of sorts but it's a fat one. While it works well for the rest of the tank it just cant get into tight spots. Curious to see if others use a specific product that offers a reusable/replaceable cleaning surface. Perhaps interchangeable with a blade for late removing coraline.

But yes, I agree that it has to be done carefully. Currently because of this big fat wand I have I have just stayed away and left the last 1/4 to 1/2 inch untouched. And, as noted, some areas because of the rocks proximity to the glass i just cant get to.

 

[Tahoe61]

I wonder if one of those tiny nano mag floats, Two little fishies brand, would fit between the rock and panel.
Drives me nuts when rock is too close to glass and I can not clean the glass.
Sounds like your tank is proceeding normally.
What type of fish are you going to get?

 

[Brandon.helvie]

this guy has been great so far. Eating well, getting more adventurous. No need to worry, I didn’t cycle with him.No ammonia present before he was added.Currently we are waiting to purchase two clowns. My son was the driving force behind getting the tank and he wants a pair, but not a typical pair. I have told him while we wait he has to do research on the different types and come to me with the information and decision and a reason why he made the decision. He’s 9.It’s a great learning opportunity and a lesson in not making impulsive decisions.

After the clowns he hasn’t given it much thought. I’m more interested in the corals myself.