New IM 150 EXT build. Diving into the deep end of the pool

[Doob]

That canopy looks great!

Thanks! It’s the pvc trim boards, which I’ve never used but they’re great to work with. I’m watching closely for these first few days to make sure it stays together haha.

I wanted something that allowed me to adjust the spacing between the lights. Now I can slide them freely from side to side to dial them in.

After building that I really regret buying the hydros control board made from the same material. It’s really inconvenient to use and not thought out well at all. I’ll probably be buying a sheet of this to make my own.

 

[JTRReef]

Really nice build so far, especially since it looks like you're going with a bare bottom tank. I am on the fence if I want sand or bare, I am a first time reefer and low/easier maintenance is high on my list. Are you going with that since you plan to do SPS dominant and want higher flow or is it a personal preference?
Were you able to buy the IM tank + stand and no sump or are you going to try to resell it? I like their tank/stand setups but everything in my size range comes with a sump and I'd like to do what you're doing and outfit it with a trigger. I need to keep the ATO in the cabinet and their RF sumps take up too much room. Looking forward to seeing this progress!

 

[nuxx]

Super cool build!

 

[Doob]

Really nice build so far, especially since it looks like you're going with a bare bottom tank. I am on the fence if I want sand or bare, I am a first time reefer and low/easier maintenance is high on my list. Are you going with that since you plan to do SPS dominant and want higher flow or is it a personal preference?
Were you able to buy the IM tank + stand and no sump or are you going to try to resell it? I like their tank/stand setups but everything in my size range comes with a sump and I'd like to do what you're doing and outfit it with a trigger. I need to keep the ATO in the cabinet and their RF sumps take up too much room. Looking forward to seeing this progress!

Thanks for the reply!

It’s both. My first tank had sand but after my first bare bottom I’ll never go back unless I want to keep a sand dweller.

Yes, I bought the tank and stand only, I thought they offer that on most models. The reason I did that is because they had these in stock but the complete system was 4-6 months for delivery. Plus I wasn’t crazy about their return pump. I don’t think I would have liked their sump anyway. It’s large and closed in which probably makes maintenance a pain. Also with these extra deep tanks, I believe their plumbing needs the sump to be all the way back, making it harder yet.

If I could go back I’d probably pick a smaller sump. I used a wye check valve that seems super solid, and I don’t have much space left under the tank. I’ll get my ATO and a kalkwasser bucket down there but not much else. I was ended up having to move all the controllers to the wall bench to the tank which I really didn’t want.

 

[Doob]

I thought I’d give a quick update. The tank is doing great. I got some live sand from TBS mid July, just a small box for seeding. I started ramping my lights up about a month ago, I’m at 25%. The diatom bloom was very minimal. There’s currently some cyano but not much.

I moved my fish from my old tank over and bought some new ones. The new ones will be in the old tank as an observational quarantine for 8 weeks (only one week to go) and they’ll join the others. I’ll be adding one more batch and I’ll be done with fish, I think. The fish are:
2 mochavinchi clowns
1 purple tang
1 lawn mower blenny
1 azure damsel

New batch:
1 Tomini tang
1 chalk bass
3 pajama cardinals

I’d still like:
1 foxface
Maybe a biota yellow tang.

In other news I have a control board mounted, not organized yet. It’s an ikea besta cabinet, I’ll post more on that when it’s finished. I’ve finally got some under cabinet lights which turned out great.

I used some led strip lights that put out about 3000 lumens, and found some aluminum c channel with diffusers for them.

 

[Doob]

I’ve never seen this before, it’s hard to see if you’re not focusing on it, but this white whispy stuff is covering the back panel. I’m surprised how well it showed up on the video.

I’m not concerned about it, just sharing.

 

[Doob]

I found a couple of these guys that must have come in with the live sand.