Keith's IM 100 INT
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crabgrass
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I only have 3 weeks experience with my melanurus, but he is a gentleman. I have about 100 snails, plus a conch and cleaner shrimp - and was a bit worried after adding him. No issues with my inverts yet. I feel like a feed pretty heavy (5x a day) and he is hungry all of the time, and greets my family when we get close to the tank. I am pretty pretty sure we could hand feed him if we wanted.
He loves Mysis, Blood worms, Pellets along with eating Nori with the Tangs and foxface
BubblesandSqueak
Valuable Member
That actually sounds like a lot. ;-)
To minimize having to alter the ATO, I marked off measurements on a few old 5 gallon water jugs so I can suck out exact amounts and replace. otherwise I'd just run the hose out the front door which is 8 feet away ;-)
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
15 minutes isn't bad. If i was manually pumping it out and moving jugs back and forth, it would be pretty annoying given the distances. Ironcially, where I mix my salt is about 5-7' from where my tank is (through a garage wall). If I wanted to spend enough time, I would send a water line into the garage, and have an RO Bin. Then hook it up to a salt water mixing bin, and then do micro water changes during the day. However, the volume of water I have doesn't really warrent it, and its still sort of fun at the moment.
I am also going to attempt to pulling back from weekly water changes over the next 3-12 months:
- Jan - March - Weekly 10%
- April - June - EOW 10% Water Changes (instead of weekly)
- July - Sep - Every 3 weeks - 10%-20% Water Changes (more frequently if required)
- Oct forward - Monthly 10-20% Water Change (or as needed)
BubblesandSqueak
Valuable Member
I’ve been making salt water and storing it since I have been unable to commit to a change schedule. Still haven’t attached the rodi unit up yet either. And all that I need to do is unhook the supply line, add the angle stop, hook the supply line back up and push in the 1/4” hose to the rodi but I did take the unit out of the box and placed it under the bathroom sink. Thinking to just place the fill container and waste line in the bath tub Incase of overflow forgetfulness.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
Added a few Carberry Anthias to the tank today. Found a local seller who has a couple of QT tanks setup and was getting rid of a bunch of Anthias. They are all female at the moment.
3 of the 4 are all “schooling” together. The 4th has attached itself to my pair of clowns that just sit in the top right corner.
Unlike when I added the foxface and Wrasse a few weeks ago - which turned into a short lived civil war - this introduction appears to have been met with mostly open arms. The other fish the don’t seem to care or immediately attempted to socialize (the Social ones at least - Yellow Tang, Wrasse, and Foxface).
Total fish count - 13 at the moment.
2x Clowns
1 Royal Gramma
1 Lawnmower blenny
1 Kole/Bristletooth Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Melanurus Wrasse
1 Foxface
1 Watchman Goby
4x Calberry Anthias
+115 or so inverts
Pretty decent bioload for a tank that has been up and running for 60 days (credit to precycle rock, bio bricks, live rock, and the stuff from ipcs).
3 of the 4 are all “schooling” together. The 4th has attached itself to my pair of clowns that just sit in the top right corner.
Unlike when I added the foxface and Wrasse a few weeks ago - which turned into a short lived civil war - this introduction appears to have been met with mostly open arms. The other fish the don’t seem to care or immediately attempted to socialize (the Social ones at least - Yellow Tang, Wrasse, and Foxface).
Total fish count - 13 at the moment.
2x Clowns
1 Royal Gramma
1 Lawnmower blenny
1 Kole/Bristletooth Tang
1 Yellow Tang
1 Melanurus Wrasse
1 Foxface
1 Watchman Goby
4x Calberry Anthias
+115 or so inverts
Pretty decent bioload for a tank that has been up and running for 60 days (credit to precycle rock, bio bricks, live rock, and the stuff from ipcs).
Last edited:
Gumbies R Us
Certified Noob
Your livestock list is looking great!
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
Have you Seen this Boy? Missing in Action
He goes by Rocky, and is my lawnmower blenny. I introduced a few Anthias over the weekend, and the Blenny started acting odd. He was perched up on a powerhead earlier this week for like a day, and now has been MIA for the last 2-3.
The new fish are the polar opposite of aggressive (all they do is school together or hide). Out of all of the fish in the tank above, the Gansters are the Blenny, Gramma (suprisingly) and the Kole tang. With the Blenny as the big (or little) boss of the squad.
Now he is MIA. I haven't seen a pack of snails or hermits working on a body, so I am going to assume he isn't dead - yet. However, I am concerned. The rest of the fish seem healthy, so I don't think its is disease. Possibly shock?
Anyway, the family is on high alert searching for him. While he is easily the ugliest fish in the tank, his personality made up for it as one of our favorites. He was full grown when I got him, so its also possible his time in the sea just ran out.
He goes by Rocky, and is my lawnmower blenny. I introduced a few Anthias over the weekend, and the Blenny started acting odd. He was perched up on a powerhead earlier this week for like a day, and now has been MIA for the last 2-3.
The new fish are the polar opposite of aggressive (all they do is school together or hide). Out of all of the fish in the tank above, the Gansters are the Blenny, Gramma (suprisingly) and the Kole tang. With the Blenny as the big (or little) boss of the squad.
Now he is MIA. I haven't seen a pack of snails or hermits working on a body, so I am going to assume he isn't dead - yet. However, I am concerned. The rest of the fish seem healthy, so I don't think its is disease. Possibly shock?
Anyway, the family is on high alert searching for him. While he is easily the ugliest fish in the tank, his personality made up for it as one of our favorites. He was full grown when I got him, so its also possible his time in the sea just ran out.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
Two Coins for the Ferryman
I was expecting to write this post for the Lanwmower (still MIA), but we had another casualty. One of the new Anthias jumped out of the tank. Which is pretty amazing because I have a lid fully covering it outside of the auto feeder. It was discovered on top of the lid about 12 inches from the feeder. 1 in a 1,000,000 chances, right?
3 of the 4 have been pretty social and calm. 1 has been hiding a lot and ultra skiddish (it also jumped out of the tank as I was putting it in and bellyflopped 5 feet onto the floor). Since I still see the 3 social ones in the tank I am taking a guess the skiddish one was the jumper
I was expecting to write this post for the Lanwmower (still MIA), but we had another casualty. One of the new Anthias jumped out of the tank. Which is pretty amazing because I have a lid fully covering it outside of the auto feeder. It was discovered on top of the lid about 12 inches from the feeder. 1 in a 1,000,000 chances, right?
3 of the 4 have been pretty social and calm. 1 has been hiding a lot and ultra skiddish (it also jumped out of the tank as I was putting it in and bellyflopped 5 feet onto the floor). Since I still see the 3 social ones in the tank I am taking a guess the skiddish one was the jumper
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crabgrass
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Have you Seen this Boy? Missing in Action
He goes by Rocky, and is my lawnmower blenny. I introduced a few Anthias over the weekend, and the Blenny started acting odd. He was perched up on a powerhead earlier this week for like a day, and now has been MIA for the last 2-3.
The new fish are the polar opposite of aggressive (all they do is school together or hide). Out of all of the fish in the tank above, the Gansters are the Blenny, Gramma (suprisingly) and the Kole tang. With the Blenny as the big (or little) boss of the squad.
Now he is MIA. I haven't seen a pack of snails or hermits working on a body, so I am going to assume he isn't dead - yet. However, I am concerned. The rest of the fish seem healthy, so I don't think its is disease. Possibly shock?
Anyway, the family is on high alert searching for him. While he is easily the ugliest fish in the tank, his personality made up for it as one of our favorites. He was full grown when I got him, so its also possible his time in the sea just ran out.
A little late, but sadly last weekend partial remains (spine and skin) of Rocky were recovered in the tank. Cause of death is unknown, however we suspect one of two things:
- After moving to the new tank, his diet switched almost completely to Mysis shrimp. Which could not have been good for him (we fed lots of other food, but only seemed to eat shrimp). He appeared to have become morbidly obese and possibly died of diet and/or other health complications
- He was the ring leader for the bullies in the tank. Always getting in other fishes faces. Its possible one of them had enough of the attitude and decided to put a stop to his oppression..
Rocky was our family's favorite fish, however I don't think the inhabitants of the tank liked him very much. His disappearance triggered a sharp contrast in attitude with the entire reef population. The Royal Gramma came out of hiding and now is active in the tank for the first time in months. The Foxface and Bristletooth have put down their differences and are able to share a meal together peacefully. Anthias are now able to school passively in the tank. Even the Clowns have ventured a few inches from where they host the drainage filter.
BubblesandSqueak
Valuable Member
Just like a Soap Opera.
BubblesandSqueak
Valuable Member
Mines EXT. but would think it’s the same. Turn it up then keep tweaking it lower till just below the 2nd drain or reverse and keep raising till there. Will take a couple hours maybe but you don’t need to tweak much afterwards.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
A little trial and error but overall I was able to get it mostly silent. When adjusting the settings, you want to move the wheel like an 1/4 - 1/8 of a turn and wait 2 minutes before adjusting further
LiquidSpace
Active Member
I was able to get it dialed in the next day. Now I’m just waiting for the aquarium to completely clear up. I thought I did a good enough job cleaning the sand, ha.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
So so much overdue updates…. 5 months worth.
I will start with the Fish:
- Anthias all died one at a time. Appeared to have jumped, injured themself and ended up with broken back.
- 1 clownfish down. I had the pair for a few years and the male appeared to have morphed into a female and that caused some problems
- Kole Tang?? He was the tank boss. We aren’t sure completly but one day he went missing and Foxface and Yellow tang were immediately in his spot. My wife suspects foul play
Based on my experience, anthias won’t be replaced. I have introduced a very small clown to replace the male. The two are swimming together 80% of the time.
Everyone else seems to be doing well. Yellow tang is growing like a weed. The gramma is out all the time. The clown that was “widowed” actually started exploring more than 3% of the tank now.
I will start with the Fish:
- Anthias all died one at a time. Appeared to have jumped, injured themself and ended up with broken back.
- 1 clownfish down. I had the pair for a few years and the male appeared to have morphed into a female and that caused some problems
- Kole Tang?? He was the tank boss. We aren’t sure completly but one day he went missing and Foxface and Yellow tang were immediately in his spot. My wife suspects foul play
Based on my experience, anthias won’t be replaced. I have introduced a very small clown to replace the male. The two are swimming together 80% of the time.
Everyone else seems to be doing well. Yellow tang is growing like a weed. The gramma is out all the time. The clown that was “widowed” actually started exploring more than 3% of the tank now.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
Other updates:
In April I started seeing a touch of the uglies - some GHA. I also wanted to bump my ph a bit
I made the cardinal mistake of trying to change too much at once.
1) switched from a fuge that was healthy to a ATS
2) stopped using AFR and went to 2 part + kalk to bump ph
None of this was fundamentally bad, but a lot of changes.
My corals suffered a bunch trying to dial in the 2 part and kalk. I eventually ditched the kale and just went with 2 part.
I had to travel for two weeks at the end of April/Beginning of May, and GHA had exploded in the tank when I came back. It started to smother coral, etc. unfortuantly even thigh I had 2 tangs and a foxface that ate nori, they barely touched the GHA.
I don’t now if this was wise, but my solution was to basically keep dosing FluxRx every two weeks for two months. In between a few treatments i did a heavy manual removal and a large water change or two.
This seemed to have no ill effect on the coral that were smothered out of by the GHA. I actually look like someone responded positively to it, but idk. I did not run skimmer or UV while I was treating with FluxRx.
As a side effect of the GHA death, N somehow got closer to 0, but phosphates climbed to .5. I don’t know the science, but I was carbon dosing and it’s possible it drove N down.
I have added some N to tank to get numbers back to 10.
In April I started seeing a touch of the uglies - some GHA. I also wanted to bump my ph a bit
I made the cardinal mistake of trying to change too much at once.
1) switched from a fuge that was healthy to a ATS
2) stopped using AFR and went to 2 part + kalk to bump ph
None of this was fundamentally bad, but a lot of changes.
My corals suffered a bunch trying to dial in the 2 part and kalk. I eventually ditched the kale and just went with 2 part.
I had to travel for two weeks at the end of April/Beginning of May, and GHA had exploded in the tank when I came back. It started to smother coral, etc. unfortuantly even thigh I had 2 tangs and a foxface that ate nori, they barely touched the GHA.
I don’t now if this was wise, but my solution was to basically keep dosing FluxRx every two weeks for two months. In between a few treatments i did a heavy manual removal and a large water change or two.
This seemed to have no ill effect on the coral that were smothered out of by the GHA. I actually look like someone responded positively to it, but idk. I did not run skimmer or UV while I was treating with FluxRx.
As a side effect of the GHA death, N somehow got closer to 0, but phosphates climbed to .5. I don’t know the science, but I was carbon dosing and it’s possible it drove N down.
I have added some N to tank to get numbers back to 10.
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
So what is next?
1). Tank is mostly algae free. Skimmer, UV are back online. I thought in some carbon to pull out the residual FluxRX.
2). Nutrients are back in balance, or at least outside of the extremes
3). I am going to restock some of the fish and coral.
Fish wise going to start with some Bengali cardinals and maybe 1-2 hardier fish.
4) I tend to make things really over complicated and want to get back to simple.
AFR worked well in the beginning and really no really to complicate dosing on this size of tank. Time to move back.
- evaluate if I am better off with ATS vs Chaeto
- scap the carbon reactor for stuff in the sump (one less point of failure)
1). Tank is mostly algae free. Skimmer, UV are back online. I thought in some carbon to pull out the residual FluxRX.
2). Nutrients are back in balance, or at least outside of the extremes
3). I am going to restock some of the fish and coral.
Fish wise going to start with some Bengali cardinals and maybe 1-2 hardier fish.
4) I tend to make things really over complicated and want to get back to simple.
AFR worked well in the beginning and really no really to complicate dosing on this size of tank. Time to move back.
- evaluate if I am better off with ATS vs Chaeto
- scap the carbon reactor for stuff in the sump (one less point of failure)
TeeSquared1214
Community Member
Great thread! I have an IM INT100 that I just recently set up. I saw you also had anthias and a yellow tang. These are two fish I was considering. However, I wasn't sure if the size of the tank would be enough with it being a INT instead of an EXT. What are your thoughts/experiences with this? I don't want to have to rehome a fish as this is a stressor on them, as well as me to try to find a LFS or someone to take them, which is why I'm being more cautious.
I plan to keep fish, mainly soft coral, and venture into LPS/SPS if I can keep the softies thriving and have the right params for it.
How do you like your Ecotech lights? I'm trying to decide on the best lighting and can't decide between Ecotech Radions, Kessil AP9X or 2x A500x (although this is more $$ than the AP9X), or maybe AI/Orphek.
For additional flow I saw the Nero 5/7s, and also the Orbit 4. Unsure if I even need additional flow, but can't imagine it being out of the question. Thoughts?
I plan to keep fish, mainly soft coral, and venture into LPS/SPS if I can keep the softies thriving and have the right params for it.
How do you like your Ecotech lights? I'm trying to decide on the best lighting and can't decide between Ecotech Radions, Kessil AP9X or 2x A500x (although this is more $$ than the AP9X), or maybe AI/Orphek.
For additional flow I saw the Nero 5/7s, and also the Orbit 4. Unsure if I even need additional flow, but can't imagine it being out of the question. Thoughts?
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crabgrass
Well-Known Member
hey - sorry for late reply.
The Anthias didn't make it. All of them seemed to want to jump out of the tank (I had a lid, but that maybe caused even more problems). They were fun fish while they lasted i guess.
Tang wise - I have a Juvenile tang (got it as a baby, 9 months ago). So far, a 4' 100 gallon if very adequate. That being said, i just spent a few weeks in Hawaii snorkling and saw some very large Yellow Tangs, so if mine becomes that size, we'll either be getting a new tank or I will need to re-home for its own sake. That is a decision for a few years though.
Light wise, Ecotechs are great, although apps sort of sucks though. I got the deal of a lifetime on a new set on facebook marketplace.
Flow wise, I use a pair of Maxspect XF330 Gyres. I actually bought a second pair, and just clean them/swap them out every 3 months. The Gyres (without Controller), were about 100 bucks a pop and integrated right with my Hydros setup. They create as much or as little water movement as you want and are very silent. They do probably need to be maintained more than other types of devices.
In terms of INT vs EXT, the EXT will certainly hold more water. When i measure total volume in the tank + sump, displaced by Sand, Rocks and devices, I only have 86 gallons of water. I understand and EXT will give you considerable more volme and some space in the back. Location wise though, I could not swing an EXT.
Let me know if you get a build thread setup!
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