75Gal Innovative Marine INT- Mixed reef

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey everyone, my name is chase i'm from a small town in Idaho. I have been in the hobby for about a year now and you might have seen me lurking on R2R or posting some beginner questions that i have had over the last couple months. I have been working with a 20gal column tank that i am just not a fan of due to aesthetics and flow limitations. However the 20 gal has opened my eyes to the challenges and rewards this hobby has to offer and its something i find very rewarding. Having had enough of the column and much persuasion of the wife i decided to upgrade to the IM INT 75 gallon tank. I have been a little shy about posting a build thread as i am relevantly new to the hobby and don't want to look like i have no idea what i am doing... (even though that is probably more than true) but i decided to start this to help myself learn and hopefully others as well. So for the build i decided to take it really slow to allow myself to fully research every component that will be going into the system and decide what will work best for me, and allow my self to save up for these components. So i ordered the tank and the black APS stand and i am extremely satisfied with IM . The quality of both these items is unlike anything i have seen in a aquarium before being from Idaho Reef tanks are few and far between. I set the tank and stand up and started to toy around with plumbing ideas.
20180721_143439.jpg
20180720_223151.jpg
I Got a good idea of what i what it was going to look like and next i ordered my sump and return pump. I decided to go with the Trigger Triton 34" sump which is awesome and probably a little overkill for this tank. The sump fits in the stand just barely and and sits on the stand rails on the ends leaving about a 3/4" gap between the sump and bottom of the stand. Worried that when i put water in, the weight might crack the bottom of the sump as it is not supported i decided to fabricate a support out of 1/2" angle iron and placed kilmat, a car sound deadening material on top of it to eliminate any vibrations. i wish i would have taken a picture of it when it was done. Sorry. Also Decided to go with the Neptune Cor 20 return pump.
20180809_204016.jpg
With the sump in place it was time to finish the plumbing.
unnamed2.jpg
Once i got the plumbing done i realized i made some mistakes. I should have used a gate valve. I will probably replace that here soon, second i don't know what i was thinking and butted my union up to the bulkhead coming off the tank... and glued it. Now if i ever have to remove it i will have to cut the bulkhead out. Other than that everything went pretty smooth for the plumbing.
unnamed1.jpg


Once that was all done i decided it was time to level everything out and do a leak test of the system which i did not get any pictures of. I let it run for about 48 hours and to my amazement there was only 1 small drip coming from the bottom of the bulkhead due to it being pretty loose. Next i decided to order my lighting as this was going to be the biggest investment of the tank and wanted to get it out of the way. I decided to go with Led/T5 combo as this is visually appealing to me and everyone seems to gave good results with that combo. I decided to order the 36" Aquatic life T5 fixture with 2 Blue plus 1 purple plus and 1 coral plus bulb. I was really torn on what LED light to order. I was originally going to with 2 XR30w G4's but decided to cancel that order and go with the kessil AP700 as it's coverage almost perfectly matches my tank and i get to save a bucks only having to order 1. I received the lights and decided to do the single wire mod on the T5 fixture. I work at fab shop so i found this mod very simple and a much better looking option to having 2 wires. I also ordered the aquatic life t5 mounting arms as my walls are all plaster and i don't know how much i trust plaster holding alot money 13" above a watery grave.
56065617887__C98B841F-E5E0-48E7-9012-9C0157962D23.jpeg
I think i am going to take the arms into my work and have them put a Z type bend in the arm to try and push the light forward about 1 1/2" to 2" as the last to rows of T5's are pointing straight into my overflow.

unnamed3.jpg


Anyways that's as far as I have made it. My next steps are going to be silicone in a PVC sheet in as i plan to go barebottom and build a controller/dosing/ato cabinet to go next to the tank. Thanks for taking the time to look and check back for future updates.
 

NY_Caveman

likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
17,008
Reaction score
108,390
Location
New York
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like a great upgrade! Columns are such a challenge in so many ways. I bet you will really love this new setup.

EDIT: @Sarah24! Go Idaho!
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like a great upgrade! Columns are such a challenge in so many ways. I bet you will really love this new setup.

EDIT: @Sarah24! Go Idaho!


The column seemed like a good idea at the time... but 1 month later i regretted doing it. Space is limited, hard to get decent flow without having power heads everywhere and cords all over.
 
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So i ordered some stuff that should be here tomorrow, will post an update. But i am wondering if anyone has any experience with LiveRocknReef?
https://www.liverocknreef.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=7920
Was looking at getting this LR. Its is a bit pricey but looks like the real deal. Also looking for recommendations for starboard. Everywhere i look the dimensions are to small to do it out of one piece. Could i use ABS plastic sheet?
https://www.interstateplastics.com/Abs-Black-Extruded-Sheet-ABSBE~~ST.php
 

NY_Caveman

likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
17,008
Reaction score
108,390
Location
New York
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I used boatoutfitters.com and ordered a custom size. When you select the size the bottom option is custom. I have done this three times and was happy with each cut. For my 45 gallon I did 1/2” thickness with a small gap around to the glass. I went with black every time, but note their Sea Foam color is close to aragonite.


 
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you caveman. I was on their site earlier and somehow didn’t see they did custom sizes. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to match the trapezoid shape on the back of the tank. Do you know if it is it pretty easy to cut?
 

NY_Caveman

likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
17,008
Reaction score
108,390
Location
New York
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you caveman. I was on their site earlier and somehow didn’t see they did custom sizes. Now I just need to figure out how I’m going to match the trapezoid shape on the back of the tank. Do you know if it is it pretty easy to cut?

I have seen videos of people scoring it and breaking it, but I have never done it. See if there is a local plastics shop that will do a custom shape for you. Or call the one I mentioned even.

 
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well I got my new RoDi system setup. Decided to go with the 7 stage to save on DI resin. I was hoping I wouldn’t need the booster pump but unfortunately it looks like I’ll be picking one up. The last picture I had a leak between my first 2 stages and ended up breaking the nipple off inside the unit. Called BRS and they sent me a new canister and nipple no charge, no questions asked. BRS for the win yet again. Love those guys.
 
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Quick update got the bottom glass covered. Quick tip. Don’t forget to radius the corners of the starboard for the silicone joints on the corners of the tank. Dropped it in without and the point dug into the silicone a little... had a slight freak out out because it was wedged in there pretty good. Probably no more updates for a month or so. Taking to weeks to travel to Hawaii with the wife to go diving.
 
OP
OP
ChaseBurke

ChaseBurke

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
333
Reaction score
307
Location
Idaho Falls
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
CE90F017-22AF-4C8B-8706-F0FFC99681D5.jpeg
My Black Friday order came in wish I could have ordered more but the budget wouldn’t allow it. I also decided to cut out the silicone I put in around the edges of the plastic sheet to try and make it look a little cleaner and get the edges as straight as possible. Getting excited to get this bad boy up and running been way to long of a build. Any suggestions on doing the silicone to get the top edges straight?
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 72 38.1%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 63 33.3%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.2%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top