200G IM EXT (First tank ever)

[Kasrift]

And you have the same kessel lights at the top hooked up or? At the very least my current is working and sturdy have pulled at the 2x4 a lot and it’s not moving the sag also gives me some more distance front to back which isn’t the worst lol

I'm using reefi unos. I only have two right now but will get a third. I got 3d printed mounts for the AI HMS rail, but currently have the lights just hanging by the mounting wires they came with until I get the mounts up.

 

[Grallster]

I would skip the plastic and mount the metal brackets right to the wood with big screws. It will eliminate at least some of the sags.

 

[Grallster]

I also would have mounted the wood above the tank so that you can lower the lights. This will make them MUCH less top heavy.

 

[vittpsu21]

Well we are up and wired, connected, and tested. The lights still gonna be off for a while as we are cycling but at least they are up! Unsure if I’ll want a third light or not, when I put the lights on they seemed ok but likely only time will tell. I’m still fairly certain I’ll order the extended arms no matter what just to get a little more range into the middle though they are not too far off tbh

 

[vittpsu21]

I also would have mounted the wood above the tank so that you can lower the lights. This will make them MUCH less top heavy.

Yeah I thought about this after but it was kinda hell to get the holes drilled so kinda stuck for now. I did lower the lights a fair bit also to get them within 14” of the water too. This basements always been weird since we bought the house when it comes to hanging stuff, the 2x4 seems snug but never know down here just gonna have to keep an eye on it. It didn’t matter how many fasteners I put in either to try to pull it more snug, though tbh the people who owned this house before didn’t do a ton of great work so the entire Sheetrock could be out of square tbh lol

 

[vittpsu21]

I had a hard time finding a lighting solution too. I landed on the Ai HMS rails for 72". It "rests" on the ledge so it fits eurobrace.

It is sturdy enough. I plan on building a canopy to hide the mounting system, but my 200g IM ext has only had lights on for about 2.5 weeks as it is a new setup as well.

just to clarify here you are saying you ordered the mount, then the 73" slide track as well?

 

[Kasrift]

just to clarify here you are saying you ordered the mount, then the 73" slide track as well?

Got the 73 in rail and multi light mount kit. It comes with a bracket for eurobrace tanks.

Took me a long time to figure out which one would work. This is pretty steady on the top. I'm going to build a canopy around it so you don't see it, but this worked perfectly for me. I wanted the option to go higher and the HMS rails can raise to 13 inches I think. The Reefing Unos have good spread and since the IM200 gallon is 30" wide, if I raise them I should be good to start with. I plan on adding some bars down the road when I need filler light if things get too shaded.

 

[vittpsu21]

Got the 73 in rail and multi light mount kit. It comes with a bracket for eurobrace tanks.

Took me a long time to figure out which one would work. This is pretty steady on the top. I'm going to build a canopy around it so you don't see it, but this worked perfectly for me. I wanted the option to go higher and the HMS rails can raise to 13 inches I think. The Reefing Unos have good spread and since the IM200 gallon is 30" wide, if I raise them I should be good to start with. I plan on adding some bars down the road when I need filler light if things get too shaded.

yeah my big concern is how I would hook up my ap9x to these lol

 

[vittpsu21]

Alright we landed here, just have to wait on the 3d printed brackets to show up

 

[vittpsu21]

Well, little update from me, waiting on the 3d printed brackets to arrive early next week. The tank is still cycling we are around .6 Ammon and some high nitrites! Still need to settle on a skimmer here sooner rather than later but that’s for another day as I’m moving my oldest into his dorm for freshman year! I’m imagining we will be cycled in the next few days and I’ll then get my copepods and get ready for my first fish! Refug light arrived but it’s off and I’m imagining I’ll start it slow when time comes.


I’m thinking I’ll add the skimmer when I add my first fish but haven’t really fully decided on that yet! All that to say I plan to QT fish in a 40 breeder so still a little time on the display tank!

 

[vittpsu21]

Alright well we finally tested again today, Ammon read 0.00 and nitrite somewhere between 0.5 and 1. That would mean that skipping a test yesterday in 48 hours ammon went from 0.71 to 0.00 and nitrite from 1.5 to 0.75 (estimate). Not sure if I got another false positive here or not so will likely wait till tomorrow to test again and make sure it looks good at 0.0 again still. I am not sure how realistic that drop is...that means my graph would look like this... just really not sure how likely it is in 48 hours that it drops that fast based of previous readings

 

[vittpsu21]

Also noticed this in the tank today which I assume is pretty normal since the ammonia and such could be feeding. I’m yet to turn the lights on outside of testing? It’s wavy and mostly clear it seems

 

[vittpsu21]

Alright the updates are a coming… we are just about cycled so on that note the QT tank is setup! Need to run the stuff into it but at least the large majority of it is done! We went big enough to eventually house our 3 tangs we will at at once, the heater is on the way as well as the copper and meds but everything else is in place!

The 3d brackets showed up and I can say I’m much happier with this setup also

 

[vittpsu21]

We also officially ordered a skimmer, expensive, but I liked the idea of the switchable cups based on bio load so we landed on A8 DC 300!

 

[vittpsu21]

Alright it was a weird night, we built the skimmer put it in, it ran but then randomly stopped while I was hooking the pump up to WiFi. I pulled the whole thing out unseated the pump and went to test it out of water to see if it could feel it come on or air blow and both did. Re hooked the whole thing up and put it back in to test again and this time it worked? Very weird anyway it’s off now because the cycle is just finishing we are at 0ammon for a few days now and 0.25-0.5 nitrite. I believe I will do my test dose of 2ppm ammonia tomorrow and expect it will drop to zero within 24 hours.


After that we will order our copepods and phyto. I have a sponge filter in the sump currently to try to prepare it for the qt tank! That being said I will have two options which are to order my first set of fish (2 clowns, 1 royal, and 1 lawnmower) plus cleanup crew all online from a pre quarantined reputable dealer. Option 2 is to wait a few weeks for the sponge filter and do it all on my own once it’s ready. Haven’t decided on either yet!

The refug light also only on for testing but also setup

 

[vittpsu21]

well today we hit 0.16 ammonia (it went up a little) and 0.00 nitrite, so I have just finished dosing 2ppm ammonia for the 24 hour challenge. I am guessing we will be cycled but we shall know tomorrow! Copepods and phyto was ordered today also and should have it by Wednesday/Thursday to put into the sump!

 

[vittpsu21]

Well, skimmer pump appears to have been faulty when shipped. When I turned it on initially it ran then turned off, I took it apart tried it again pump worked out of water so I put it back in. It ran again I turned it off. Went to go run it again and get this…

It thinks it’s out of water

 

[vittpsu21]

Ok but when I unplugged the air thing from the front of the skimmer and put it back in it started working?!?

 

[vittpsu21]

the second I unplugged it completely the pump started going, and when I pushed it back in I did it not nearly as far in as the first time? Could I possible have had it in way too far?

very weird, I still don't trust it and sicce is sending me another pump already but not what I expected, maybe somehow water wasn't getting in when I had it pushed too far? I actually am unsure lol

 

[UncommonSense]

the second I unplugged it completely the pump started going, and when I pushed it back in I did it not nearly as far in as the first time? Could I possible have had it in way too far?

very weird, I still don't trust it and sicce is sending me another pump already but not what I expected, maybe somehow water wasn't getting in when I had it pushed too far? I actually am unsure lol

That part is the air inlet tubing for the Venturi; the pump mixes air and water together; drawn through that Venturi!

The pump will have more load on it when only sucking in water, which may have caused the error message above!