Alan326
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2026
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 2
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
From wanting neon tetras to an IM 20 Long reef
Funny enough, I got into this hobby because I saw a school of neon tetras on TikTok. I bought a freshwater tank and started cycling it… then changed my mind before I even bought the fish and went saltwater instead.
My original plan was literally just two clownfish, no corals. That lasted about five minutes lol.
My first reef was a UNS 4G cube. Since everyone said pico tanks were unstable, I did a 500 mL water change every single day for about three months. After moving apartments, I finally got tired of being a human dosing pump and upgraded to a Waterbox Peninsula 15.
I really liked Waterbox’s quality, but not the Peninsula 15’s dimensions. IMO a short peninsula loses most of the point of a peninsula tank. It usually ends up against a wall anyway, the viewing angles are limited, and the length/height ratio makes both aquascaping and flow harder than they need to be. Out of the UNS 4G, WB15 and IM20, the WB15 was definitely the hardest for me to aquascape.
That eventually brought me to the IM 20 Long, and I think I finally found my sweet spot. The 23.6" × 15" × 13" footprint is much easier to aquascape and get good flow through. I live in an apartment and move pretty often, so 20 gallons is probably my realistic limit.
Current setup:
Waterbox definitely wins on QC and finishing IMO. Their rear divider is black glass, while IM uses black acrylic that scratches much easier. My IM also arrived with a small bubble inside the front glass, almost dead center. Very noticeable once you see it, but I was too lazy to return an entire aquarium over it lol.
For the stand, my old Peninsula sat on a reinforced IKEA MICKE. It fit perfectly until an ATO failure caused water damage and some of the particle board started swelling. That made me nervous enough that I built the IM stand myself from 2×4s. Less than $30 total, and I trust it way more.
The K7 Pro IV is probably the best-value piece of equipment on the tank. Around $140 with the mount for a 100W light is hard to beat. It did take three weeks to arrive and the app is pretty terrible though. For a K7 V, please give us Bluetooth, remove the ugly physical buttons, let us change preview speed, adjust channels directly on the graph, and show current wattage. Great hardware, questionable software.
For flow, I’m still using the two stock 130 GPH pumps. They’re quiet and actually work great. I still haven’t figured out how to open them to remove the impeller, so that’s a problem for future me
. With the Mini 3000 added for my torch, the flow feels just about right. I’ve also realized that trying to run a true LPS/SPS mixed reef in a 20-gallon tank is pretty difficult, especially when you’re trying to give everything the right amount and type of flow without blasting the LPS.
I’m really happy with this footprint so far. Small enough for apartment life and future moves, but long and shallow enough that aquascaping and flow don’t feel like a constant compromise.
I know the tank looks a little empty right now, but honestly, I’m out of coral money for the moment. The plan is to slowly fill it in over time, and I definitely want to add more torches in the future.
Funny enough, I got into this hobby because I saw a school of neon tetras on TikTok. I bought a freshwater tank and started cycling it… then changed my mind before I even bought the fish and went saltwater instead.
My original plan was literally just two clownfish, no corals. That lasted about five minutes lol.
My first reef was a UNS 4G cube. Since everyone said pico tanks were unstable, I did a 500 mL water change every single day for about three months. After moving apartments, I finally got tired of being a human dosing pump and upgraded to a Waterbox Peninsula 15.
I really liked Waterbox’s quality, but not the Peninsula 15’s dimensions. IMO a short peninsula loses most of the point of a peninsula tank. It usually ends up against a wall anyway, the viewing angles are limited, and the length/height ratio makes both aquascaping and flow harder than they need to be. Out of the UNS 4G, WB15 and IM20, the WB15 was definitely the hardest for me to aquascape.
That eventually brought me to the IM 20 Long, and I think I finally found my sweet spot. The 23.6" × 15" × 13" footprint is much easier to aquascape and get good flow through. I live in an apartment and move pretty often, so 20 gallons is probably my realistic limit.
Current setup:
- IM Fusion 20 Long
- Noopsyche K7 Pro IV
- 2× stock 130 GPH DC return pumps
- ZKSJ Mini 3000 wavemaker
- Bubble Magus Mini Q
- Hygger 100W heater
- DIY 2×4 stand
- Bare bottom
Waterbox definitely wins on QC and finishing IMO. Their rear divider is black glass, while IM uses black acrylic that scratches much easier. My IM also arrived with a small bubble inside the front glass, almost dead center. Very noticeable once you see it, but I was too lazy to return an entire aquarium over it lol.
For the stand, my old Peninsula sat on a reinforced IKEA MICKE. It fit perfectly until an ATO failure caused water damage and some of the particle board started swelling. That made me nervous enough that I built the IM stand myself from 2×4s. Less than $30 total, and I trust it way more.
The K7 Pro IV is probably the best-value piece of equipment on the tank. Around $140 with the mount for a 100W light is hard to beat. It did take three weeks to arrive and the app is pretty terrible though. For a K7 V, please give us Bluetooth, remove the ugly physical buttons, let us change preview speed, adjust channels directly on the graph, and show current wattage. Great hardware, questionable software.
For flow, I’m still using the two stock 130 GPH pumps. They’re quiet and actually work great. I still haven’t figured out how to open them to remove the impeller, so that’s a problem for future me
. With the Mini 3000 added for my torch, the flow feels just about right. I’ve also realized that trying to run a true LPS/SPS mixed reef in a 20-gallon tank is pretty difficult, especially when you’re trying to give everything the right amount and type of flow without blasting the LPS.I’m really happy with this footprint so far. Small enough for apartment life and future moves, but long and shallow enough that aquascaping and flow don’t feel like a constant compromise.
I know the tank looks a little empty right now, but honestly, I’m out of coral money for the moment
. The plan is to slowly fill it in over time, and I definitely want to add more torches in the future.
