Brews_Reef
Community Member
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2026
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 31
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
Hello everyone!
After a little over 6 years of being forced out of the hobby by school, frequent moving, and life in general, I am very excited to be finally be getting back into it. For years I have planned on starting a shallow reef / lagoon style tank - I was especially fond of the waterbox frag line of tanks. After visiting a few reef stores throughout Florida, I began paying attention to Innovative Marine tanks - they just seem to be so well built, and I really love that their stands are aluminum rather than MDF board. With the 19 inch height of the INT 100, I feel like I'll be at a very happy medium between a shallow reef and a full blow deep reef tank. I placed the order about 2 months ago, so hopefully not too much longer before it arrives.
I recently completed building my first home, and will be placing my tank in my office on the second floor. My original plan was to place the tank directly over a load bearing wall, but I've had to shift course with that - which has brought about some challenges. The truss system that supports my floor would likely be stressed by the weight of this tank (~2200lbs), so after reading several threads about it - I went ahead and involved a structural engineer. I have to go downstairs into the garage area, remove the ceiling and build a load bearing wall system underneath where the tank will sit. I'm hoping to tackle that in the coming weeks. I just completed an "accent wall" for behind the tank in the office.
So far, I've been working on an aquascape and ordering some equipment. This is the second time in my life I have built an aqua scape. The last time I did a tank build, I essentially piled up a few rocks and called it a day. My goal with this scape, is to have some great nooks and crannies for everyone, lots of arches / caves, some good variability in height for some softies, and some incredibly well balanced water flow. Of all the fish I had in my last tank, I think the most memorable for me was my Midas Blenny - he had so much character - so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how a couple of Blenny's dig into these arches etc. (hard to capture in one photo, so I threw in a video)
Equipment wise so far-
Vortech MP40 X 2
BRS 300W Titanium Heater x 2
IM Helio Heater Controller
BRS RO/DI 5 stage
Pretty set on a pair of Radion XR 15 Pro's - thinking about listing a kidney for sale to make it happen.
Initial Stocking plan:
Some simple softies.
I love schooling fish - so a good few Blue-Green Chromis, and a collection of Anthias.
A pair of clowns
A midas Blenny
A variety of shrimp
A tang or two once things are very stable
Anyway, that was a long rambling intro. Excited to get started once this tank shows up - I'll for sure be reaching out for some guidance - it has been many years since my last reef keeping experience!
After a little over 6 years of being forced out of the hobby by school, frequent moving, and life in general, I am very excited to be finally be getting back into it. For years I have planned on starting a shallow reef / lagoon style tank - I was especially fond of the waterbox frag line of tanks. After visiting a few reef stores throughout Florida, I began paying attention to Innovative Marine tanks - they just seem to be so well built, and I really love that their stands are aluminum rather than MDF board. With the 19 inch height of the INT 100, I feel like I'll be at a very happy medium between a shallow reef and a full blow deep reef tank. I placed the order about 2 months ago, so hopefully not too much longer before it arrives.
I recently completed building my first home, and will be placing my tank in my office on the second floor. My original plan was to place the tank directly over a load bearing wall, but I've had to shift course with that - which has brought about some challenges. The truss system that supports my floor would likely be stressed by the weight of this tank (~2200lbs), so after reading several threads about it - I went ahead and involved a structural engineer. I have to go downstairs into the garage area, remove the ceiling and build a load bearing wall system underneath where the tank will sit. I'm hoping to tackle that in the coming weeks. I just completed an "accent wall" for behind the tank in the office.
So far, I've been working on an aquascape and ordering some equipment. This is the second time in my life I have built an aqua scape. The last time I did a tank build, I essentially piled up a few rocks and called it a day. My goal with this scape, is to have some great nooks and crannies for everyone, lots of arches / caves, some good variability in height for some softies, and some incredibly well balanced water flow. Of all the fish I had in my last tank, I think the most memorable for me was my Midas Blenny - he had so much character - so I'm very much looking forward to seeing how a couple of Blenny's dig into these arches etc. (hard to capture in one photo, so I threw in a video)
Equipment wise so far-
Vortech MP40 X 2
BRS 300W Titanium Heater x 2
IM Helio Heater Controller
BRS RO/DI 5 stage
Pretty set on a pair of Radion XR 15 Pro's - thinking about listing a kidney for sale to make it happen.
Initial Stocking plan:
Some simple softies.
I love schooling fish - so a good few Blue-Green Chromis, and a collection of Anthias.
A pair of clowns
A midas Blenny
A variety of shrimp
A tang or two once things are very stable
Anyway, that was a long rambling intro. Excited to get started once this tank shows up - I'll for sure be reaching out for some guidance - it has been many years since my last reef keeping experience!
