Daasmo's IM 200EXT

[Daasmo]

I'm upgrading from my Tideline 62g AIO and I knew if I was going big I wanted to go as big as I could. I'm a buy once, cry once kind of guy once I decide I want something. So after doing some research I decided on the IM 200 EXT. I ordered late December fully comfortable with the listed lead time since it would give me time to prepare. Instead I got contacted a couple weeks later by IM to setup a delivery date. So first job was making enough room in the garage to accommodate the pallet. The only issue with delivery was they came a day earlier than they were supposed to do while I was at work. Thankfully someone was at the house so they dropped it in my parking spot.

I managed to get it on some Harbor Freight dollys so I could maneuver it out of my spot and there it sat for several months while I went through my list of preparations.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Daasmo]

Thankfully my wife has just let me do my thing on this slow process. First order of business was a complete rearrangement of our living room. Then I needed to touch up some paint and place a new outlet from the circuit on the other side of the wall. I also put the stand together which my 4 year old thought was a fantastic play house.

The big question was how to support the floor in the crawl space. The floor joists are parallel with the tank so I knew it needed some support. I worked with my dad who has more construction knowledge than me to come up with a plan and then waited on him to get me some lumber. He had a guy.

 

[Skibi]

Nice cant wait to see the progress!

 

[Daasmo]

So while I waited I bought some rock and started working on the aquascape. I used the Reef Dude method of Nyos Reef cement and BRS general bonding glue. I definitely recommend doing this outside because the fumes are terrible. I really just wanted a lot of overhangs and some caves so I just started putting stuff together.

I'll be adding rock from my existing tank as well. I'm not certain if this will be the final look but I have these rocks in a stock tank seasoning.

 

[Daasmo]

Now to the present. My dad came and helped me add floor support. Getting everything to the front of the crawl space was a process. We used an under bed storage container to load things in then pushed them under the plumbing and duct work that we had to crawl around. I didn't get great pictures because I was just glad to be done but we placed 2 beams covering 4 joists. 2 that were directly under the tank then one on either side. We ended up using 6 construction blocks, 6 floor jacks and 2 treated 3x5 beams.

Finally I called a moving company to move the tank. I was able to move the sump myself using a hand truck and a ratchet strap. But the tank is an absolute unit. The moving company sent 4 big guys but I had to pitch in as well to get it on to the stand. I definitely recommend at least 5 people and preferably 6. That was yesterday so I'm excited to work on plumbing this weekend.

I'll post an equipment list soon.

 

[Daasmo]

Newly purchased equipment list:

Return pump: Mighty Jet DC XL
Heater: BRS 600w x2
Skimmer: Simplicity 320DC
Lights: Reef Breeders Meridian 63 edge bundle with Reef 14k edge lights.

Equipment being used from previous tank.

Controller: Hydros Launch with XP8
Flow: Mp40 x2


I still need to figure out a lid situation due to the light mounts and an ATO container. I'll probably start with an IM 15g hydrofill next to the tank.
Plumbing is done now i need to start filling it.

 

[Skibi]

Nice big progress! Where were you thinking to put the mp40s?

 

[Daasmo]

Got the light up but I'm not sure I'm happy with the BOT mounts. Not really the mounts fault but the light is pretty heavy and it looks like the Euro brace is flexing. I emailed IM who called me pretty quickly. The euro brace isn't really made to support this much weight. So I'm back to drawing board. I can't do ceiling mount but i could possibly add a shelf to the wall and hang it from that.

The only benefit is i shouldn't need a custom lid now.

 

[Daasmo]

Nice big progress! Where were you thinking to put the mp40s?

I'm thinking on the back just for esthetics.

 

[Skibi]

So I tried the back and they wouldn’t stay I think because there’s 1/8 piece of plastic on top of the 3/4 of glass mine just spun and eventually slid down let me know if you have any luck with yours though!

 

[Skibi]

Such a bummer the euro brace can’t hold the lights with the mount shelf is a good idea or some 80/20 mounted on the wall too.

 

[Daasmo]

Good idea. I do have some 80/20 laying around. I'll just need to figure out if I have enough. And how to mount it to the wall.

 

[Florida_Man]

Congrats and you will love this tank. I have the same exact one except for the stand is black. I’ve been looking at the Meridian 63s like what you have but have been putting it off. Will definitely be following your build!

 

[Daasmo]

I think I have a plan for lighting mounts. I'm following the youtube video by Infinite Reefer on his light mount using 80 20 aluminum. The only difference is I want to try and mount the lights on drawer slides so I can push them out of the way a little if I need to. I ordered some stainless steel drawer slides off Home Depot but we'll see if they will work with the aluminum. I've also ordered the 80 20 parts I need from 8020.net. No idea on lead time.

I'm torn on trying to do a leak test with tap water. I'll need to drain everything to move the tank to mount the 80 20 when it gets here so I'm not sure I want to "waste" 200+ gallons of water. I don't think my landscaping is that thirsty. I would prefer to wait and test with RODI water or saltwater.

 

[Daasmo]

Light mounts were installed this weekend with the "help" of my 4 year old. He made sure they were sturdy by hitting them with my carpenter's pencil. They seemed to pass inspection. I did have to place the tank an inch further off the wall than my original plan due to the arms and return lines being in the same area. I could move the arms over a little more but I like that they don't obstruct access to the tank where they are.

I'm still going to try and use the drawer slides but I'll have to figure out how to secure the lights to them. If it doesn't work I can just use right angle brackets and secure it directly to the arm.

I leveled the tank using the leveling feet and decided it might as well start getting wet. I put what saltwater I had mixed in then added my RODI container. This seems like it's going to take a few days which is fine.

I'm going to get it to halfway then add my aquascape in. I want to add some live rock as well but I'm still deciding if I want to put it in observation first. I have a 29 gallon I can setup for observation. I think removing any bad hitchhikers will be easier in a smaller tank but I'm open to suggestions on that. Maybe that would diminish the benefit of going with live rock.

 

[Daasmo]

I ordered 30lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand from Gulf Live Rocks yesterday and it's in the tank today. I wasn't really expecting it that fast but that's on me for not asking. Luckily the tank was up to salinity and 77 degrees even if it's not full. I got the lights up today after work. It's not the cleanest install but it is on the drawer slides so I can move it. I probably need a cross member to connect the arms. There's a little flex when I push the light back so it doesn't go super smooth. I'm making more water but it's going slower now that I need to mix salt before putting it in the tank. Behold, my pet rocks!

 

[jabberkaycee]

I love the setup and the cabinet! I can wait to see how it looks with the scape added. Following

 

[Daasmo]

I love the setup and the cabinet! I can wait to see how it looks with the scape added. Following

Thank you. I moved some rocks in today and added sand. I think I'll need more sand. Here it is before the white out.

I'll tweak the aquascspe some more and I have rocks from my existing tank I have to leave room for. I started the return pump and only leak was the return bulk heads not being tight enough.

 

[jabberkaycee]

Yeah, this is going to be a nice tank. I can’t wait to see how it looks with some color in it. My tank just delivered today. I started plumbing the return pump, but I need an adapter. Now you’ve got me second-guessing how tight I got my fittings - I have to go check that now - lol