200G IM EXT (First tank ever)

[UncommonSense]

That honestly makes mounting lighting to the plywood wayyyy easier then buying all kinds of extra stuff too I think. Something to think on for sure.

Oh definitely!! I was heavily considering rebuilding the hood out of 1/8” wall, 1” square aluminum tubing, with 1/8” thick ABS, HIPS, or black acrylic exterior cladding…

But, the price of those materials skyrocketed with the recent economy, and it served no practical benefit besides looking slightly more pretty/modern, and weighing significantly less than wood!

An aluminum framed hood still needs light mounting points too; whereas the plywood skinned hood lets you just screw stuff in Willy-Nilly!

Possibly build a “quick and dirty” lighting hood out of cheap plywood and lumber; use it for a little while to figure out what you do and don’t like, then execute on a much more fancy, well thought out design once you’ve had some time to really wrap your head around your own bespoke design?

 

[UncommonSense]

I do think you are right though I’d have to do cabinet doors rather than flipping up for my use case i think

There cabinet doors make the most logical sense in your application, definitely!

They make really getting into the tank a bit tougher than having the whole front 30-40% flip out of the way; so what about a ceiling mounted sliding rail which would allow your “permanent” hood design to completely slide off the tank to one side for serious maintenance?

This could also allow the hood to extend all the way up to the ceiling, incorporating the HVAC vent into it’s design, so the ceiling vent sucks/blows through ventilation slits between the ceiling and the functional segment of the hood!

 

[vittpsu21]

yeah I definitely need to consider the application I want to use, though I would love to say the opinion will be totally my own, that wont be true since it will be in the basement. I think most of the choice will come down to how it looks/fits with decor from the wife lol

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[vittpsu21]

I hadn't shared and this is not finalized or even complete yet at this point, but this has been my plan for stocking... please feel free to provide insight where you see fit... I think I am unsure on the Rabbitfish, because of the obvious pitfalls but would really like to have one I think!

​

Month	Additions	Notes & Care Tips
0-1	Cycle Tank (Live/Dry Rock, Sand, Bacteria)	Monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate; no livestock yet.
1-2	Cleanup Crew: - 15x Trochus Snails - 10x Nassarius Snails - 10x Cerith Snails - 8x Astrea Snails - 10x Blue-Leg Hermit Crabs - 5x Scarlet Hermit Crabs	Start light; adjust later based on algae/detritus. No shrimp yet (wait for more stability). Gradually ramp up light schedule for algae growth.
2-3	First Fish: - Clownfish Pair (Ocellaris or Percula) - Royal Gramma - Tailspot or Lawnmower Blenny	Blenny provides excellent algae control early on. Very hardy and peaceful.
4-5	Schooling Fish: - 5-7x Blue-Green Chromis - 3x Banggai or Pajama Cardinals	Peaceful additions that increase movement and color. Feed frozen & flake foods.
6	Wrasses + Filefish: - McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse - Fairy Wrasse (Exquisite or Lubbock’s) - Firefish Goby - Aiptasia-Eating Filefish (Add near end of month after wrasses settle.)	Ensure tight-fitting lid for wrasses and Firefish. Filefish helps with Aiptasia control—feed well to discourage coral nipping later.
7	Tangs + Rabbitfish Together: - Kole Tang - Tomini Tang - Yellow Tang - One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish (or Foxface Lo)	Add all at once to minimize aggression. Excellent algae grazers. Foxface has venomous spines—handle with care. Feed plenty of Nori & macroalgae daily.
8+	Shrimp + Goby Pair: - Yasha Goby + Pistol Shrimp (or other pair)	Add after tank has stabilized (sand well-colonized). Provide caves/burrows. Slow acclimation required for shrimp.
9-12+	Optional Final Fish: - Mandarin Dragonet (ONLY after mature pod population or if prepared to target feed.)	Only add if you're confident in tank maturity or prepared to provide live/frozen copepods.

---

​

Fish	Key Foods to Offer	Notes
Tailspot Blenny / Lawnmower Blenny	Natural algae, spirulina, mysis shrimp, SeaVeggies, Nori	Ensure enough natural algae; supplement if needed. Lawnmower Blenny sometimes picky—observe eating.
One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish	Nori (daily), macroalgae (Caulerpa, Gracilaria), mysis shrimp, quality pellets	Key algae grazer—keep well-fed to reduce coral nipping risk. Offer algae multiple times daily if needed.
Aiptasia-Eating Filefish	Aiptasia (initially), mysis shrimp, clams, small meaty foods	After Aiptasia control, switch to prepared foods to reduce coral risk. Feed well and observe.

 

[vittpsu21]

took some time to again make a not finished or total list but below is what I had in mind for corals, if you have any suggestions let me know... I really also like the green one that kinda looks like grass (I saw it at the LFS) but can't remember its name

Month	Corals to Add	Placement & Notes
0-3	No corals yet	Focus on fish stocking & tank stability.
4	Beginner Soft Corals: - Zoanthids - Green Star Polyps (GSP) - Xenia (optional) - Mushrooms (optional)	Add in separate areas to avoid GSP/Xenia taking over. Use frag plugs to monitor growth & avoid spreading too fast.
5-6	LPS Corals (Easy-Moderate): - Duncan Coral - Candy Cane Coral - Hammer Coral (optional; away from Torches later) - Start adding small colonies of preferred Torches (space out, they can sting).	Moderate flow/light zones; torches need room to avoid stinging others.
7-8	Anemone (Bubble Tip Anemone recommended)	Tank must be stable; high light; secure powerheads. Introduce after most other corals are settled, as it may wander.
9-10	Montipora (SPS) & Other SPS: - Montipora Cap or Digitata - Birdsnest Coral (if desired) Optional: Start with encrusting Montis if nervous about SPS care.	High light/flow zones. Only add after nitrates/phosphates consistently low-moderate & stable alkalinity. Test calcium/alk frequently now.
11+	Additional SPS or higher-demand corals (if desired)	Slowly expand SPS if all goes well. Consider Acropora only if comfortable with SPS.

 

[vittpsu21]

something like the attached PDF will likely be my starting point, and I will expand upon it. That being said, I don't really think I will chase parameters but those are just there for me as a reference point

 

[UncommonSense]

I hadn't shared and this is not finalized or even complete yet at this point, but this has been my plan for stocking... please feel free to provide insight where you see fit... I think I am unsure on the Rabbitfish, because of the obvious pitfalls but would really like to have one I think!

​

Month	Additions	Notes & Care Tips
0-1	Cycle Tank (Live/Dry Rock, Sand, Bacteria)	Monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate; no livestock yet.
1-2	Cleanup Crew: - 15x Trochus Snails - 10x Nassarius Snails - 10x Cerith Snails - 8x Astrea Snails - 10x Blue-Leg Hermit Crabs - 5x Scarlet Hermit Crabs	Start light; adjust later based on algae/detritus. No shrimp yet (wait for more stability). Gradually ramp up light schedule for algae growth.
2-3	First Fish: - Clownfish Pair (Ocellaris or Percula) - Royal Gramma - Tailspot or Lawnmower Blenny	Blenny provides excellent algae control early on. Very hardy and peaceful.
4-5	Schooling Fish: - 5-7x Blue-Green Chromis - 3x Banggai or Pajama Cardinals	Peaceful additions that increase movement and color. Feed frozen & flake foods.
6	Wrasses + Filefish: - McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse - Fairy Wrasse (Exquisite or Lubbock’s) - Firefish Goby - Aiptasia-Eating Filefish (Add near end of month after wrasses settle.)	Ensure tight-fitting lid for wrasses and Firefish. Filefish helps with Aiptasia control—feed well to discourage coral nipping later.
7	Tangs + Rabbitfish Together: - Kole Tang - Tomini Tang - Yellow Tang - One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish (or Foxface Lo)	Add all at once to minimize aggression. Excellent algae grazers. Foxface has venomous spines—handle with care. Feed plenty of Nori & macroalgae daily.
8+	Shrimp + Goby Pair: - Yasha Goby + Pistol Shrimp (or other pair)	Add after tank has stabilized (sand well-colonized). Provide caves/burrows. Slow acclimation required for shrimp.
9-12+	Optional Final Fish: - Mandarin Dragonet (ONLY after mature pod population or if prepared to target feed.)	Only add if you're confident in tank maturity or prepared to provide live/frozen copepods.

---

​

Fish	Key Foods to Offer	Notes
Tailspot Blenny / Lawnmower Blenny	Natural algae, spirulina, mysis shrimp, SeaVeggies, Nori	Ensure enough natural algae; supplement if needed. Lawnmower Blenny sometimes picky—observe eating.
One Spot Foxface Rabbitfish	Nori (daily), macroalgae (Caulerpa, Gracilaria), mysis shrimp, quality pellets	Key algae grazer—keep well-fed to reduce coral nipping risk. Offer algae multiple times daily if needed.
Aiptasia-Eating Filefish	Aiptasia (initially), mysis shrimp, clams, small meaty foods	After Aiptasia control, switch to prepared foods to reduce coral risk. Feed well and observe.

Just keep in mind that many of these fish are capable of living at least 1-2 decades, so plan accordingly for the ones you really want!

 

[vittpsu21]

The Bleaching has begun!

The container is on the way for the broken one, have also ordered a few more small things:

A Fish Net
2 JAGER Heaters
Epoxy Putty
Super Glue
Air stone (for qt tank) and airpump
50 Ft No spill Python for water changes, etc!
Osmolator 3 Auto Top Off - Tunze (still need to get a reservoir)

I did finally hear back from the company that will be moving it into place for me, hoping they will schedule soon but waiting to hear back on that! Hopefully they can do that before my family vacation on the 24th so I can start the process in tank while I am gone for a week (or maybe thats a bad idea!). Need the wife to order her new rug so I can pull out the old one but other than that we are mostly on the way.

I still have no headway on Lights or Skimmer, both of which I wont need for quite a while but would love to at least get the lights out of the way. I find myself going back to AI Blades, but then see some very mixed reviews on them, if money was no object I think I would just get XR30's and be done with it but that it is quite the bullet to bite! I have also heard good things on Kessil but again just not sure where to go on that

 

[vittpsu21]

I have seen a few facebook market place lights for sale, but the whole idea of them kind of worry me, one was some t5's with some LEDS. The second was just AI LEDS but neither looked very well cared for and as so much goes into this process the whole idea kind of makes me feel uneasy!

 

[UncommonSense]

Hopefully they can do that before my family vacation on the 24th so I can start the process in tank while I am gone for a week (or maybe thats a bad idea!).

I wouldn’t bother worrying too much about getting rock in the tank before you go on vacation; assuming it’s cycling in the brute bin while you’re away; it’s just one less thing to worry about going haywire! — (My immediate thought is the return pump chamber of the sump going dry due to a week of water evaporation from the large system with no ATO, burning up your return pump!)

neither looked very well cared for and as so much goes into this process the whole idea kind of makes me feel uneasy!

This can be a big concern with used lighting especially! If the light’s electronics/wiring were ever exposed directly to salt water, or even salt creep; they can be outright dangerous to use!

Aside from the light (which was likely exterior cleaned before selling to hide the previous owner’s sins) just flat out dying on you due to corrosion/etc, there is a genuine fire, and electrical shock risk involved!

 

[Grallster]

Nice!! I just got my 200 EXT set up a couple weeks ago. Took 6 guys to move it into my basement (that tank is a tank)!
I would shy away from getting the tank set up and then immediately leaving on vacation—too many bad things can happen. Take your time.

 

[Grallster]

I went with a Aquamaxx Cone S-5 skimmer and 3X Kessil A9PX for lighting.

 

[vittpsu21]

Nice!! I just got my 200 EXT set up a couple weeks ago. Took 6 guys to move it into my basement (that tank is a tank)!
I would shy away from getting the tank set up and then immediately leaving on vacation—too many bad things can happen. Take your time.

Yeah it’s actually insane how much I underestimated the weight. I figured paying people was just the safer option as it sits in the crate in my garage lol

 

[vittpsu21]

Hopefully they can do that before my family vacation on the 24th so I can start the process in tank while I am gone for a week (or maybe thats a bad idea!).

I wouldn’t bother worrying too much about getting rock in the tank before you go on vacation; assuming it’s cycling in the brute bin while you’re away; it’s just one less thing to worry about going haywire! — (My immediate thought is the return pump chamber of the sump going dry due to a week of water evaporation from the large system with no ATO, burning up your return pump!)

neither looked very well cared for and as so much goes into this process the whole idea kind of makes me feel uneasy!

This can be a big concern with used lighting especially! If the light’s electronics/wiring were ever exposed directly to salt water, or even salt creep; they can be outright dangerous to use!

Aside from the light (which was likely exterior cleaned before selling to hide the previous owner’s sins) just flat out dying on you due to corrosion/etc, there is a genuine fire, and electrical shock risk involved!

Yeah ultimately I think I’ll buy new lights as everything else is new on the tank and I’d rather the piece of mind

 

[vittpsu21]

I went with a Aquamaxx Cone S-5 skimmer and 3X Kessil A9PX for lighting.

Did you go with the back mounting arms?

 

[UncommonSense]

Yeah ultimately I think I’ll buy new lights as everything else is new on the tank and I’d rather the piece of mind

You can always mix and match cheap and expensive lighting, building out an array over time! — this is especially true if you’re using a lighting hood!

For example, you’re starting with lower light demand soft corals, so you could just get a single nicer light for actual coral growth, and some cheap black box lights to light the rest of the tank to a visually appealing level! — (an oversimplification of this is: “what looks appealing to the human eye isn’t always appealing to the photosynthetic organism!”)

You can always employ your nicer lights within your future lighting array in areas where you want extra coral growth, and perceivable fluorescent “pop”! — Or, your black box lighting can eventually be demoted to refugium, quarantine, or frag tank lighting!

 

[Grallster]

Did you go with the back mounting arms?

Yep. I detest hoods.

 

[vittpsu21]

Yeah ultimately I think I’ll buy new lights as everything else is new on the tank and I’d rather the piece of mind

You can always mix and match cheap and expensive lighting, building out an array over time! — this is especially true if you’re using a lighting hood!

For example, you’re starting with lower light demand soft corals, so you could just get a single nicer light for actual coral growth, and some cheap black box lights to light the rest of the tank to a visually appealing level! — (an oversimplification of this is: “what looks appealing to the human eye isn’t always appealing to the photosynthetic organism!”)

You can always employ your nicer lights within your future lighting array in areas where you want extra coral growth, and perceivable fluorescent “pop”! — Or, your black box lighting can eventually be demoted to refugium, quarantine, or frag tank lighting!

Yeah it certainly seems like doing lights over time would be nice, I also don’t think I’ll have any demanding corals for some time

 

[vittpsu21]

Did you go with the back mounting arms?

Yep. I detest hoods.

What made you land on 3 over 2? Seems like coverage would be close with 2 also unless I misread