GK3’s IM AIO 30 - Tank+Apex+100%DIY

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I ordered an 1/8” of acrylic for the bottom today. Opaque black. Should be here in 5 days.

This also showed up today:
bc194aa708554f479b5c491677668f98.jpg


I put the spin streams on the returns. They are loud little things. Anyone else noticed or have this issue?
 
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So I am working on building a stand out of t slot aluminum. The base part is easy: bottom and then single shelf. ATO res, UPS on bottom. Then all the apex stuff proudly presented on the shelf. Cover the top in butchers block and tank on top of that.

Where I am struggling is how to mount the lights and cover the filter part. I wanted to do something cool where it would be a motorized lift. Raise the lights 12-18” while lifting the part that covers the back. Gives you access for maintenance and then you lower it back down to cover everything and put the lights back to the proper height. But every concept I come up with is either a)boring or b) so bulky if dwarfs the tank and looks weird.

You guys have any thoughts?
 
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Here is my first concept:
Closed:
closed.JPG

Open:
open.JPG
Concept:
The three places circled in blue can be used to store dosing chemicals, supplies, etc.
Red Circle will be control area with apex
Black circled area will hold ATO, UPS, misc. supplies
concept.JPG

I made everything different colors to distinguish the parts. The 8020 aluminum and the cover for the storage and back side of tank will all be black. The top the tank sits on will be gray butcher block.

Love to hear feedback and thoughts.
 
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I ordered an 1/8” of acrylic for the bottom today. Opaque black. Should be here in 5 days.

This also showed up today:
bc194aa708554f479b5c491677668f98.jpg


I put the spin streams on the returns. They are loud little things. Anyone else noticed or have this issue?
From what I have read, Spinstreams should quiet down after they break in.
 

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Here is my first concept:
Closed:
closed.JPG

Open:
open.JPG
Concept:
The three places circled in blue can be used to store dosing chemical, supplies, etc.
Read Circle will be control area with apex
Black circled area will hold ATO, UPS, misc. supplies
concept.JPG

I made everything different colors to distinguish the parts. The 8020 aluminum and the cover for the storage and back side of tank will all be black. The top the tank sits on will be gray butcher block.

Love to hear feedback and thoughts.
Super interesting concept!

What is the primary goal with this? Is it to hide the equipment? Reminds me of the cover on the red sea max line of aquariums.
 
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Super interesting concept!

What is the primary goal with this? Is it to hide the equipment? Reminds me of the cover on the red sea max line of aquariums.

Yes, to hide the equipment and give it a more finished look. Basically i don’t want to see the skimmer top and reactor tops in the back.

Plus I can place coral food, fish food, ABC dosing all around the tank, but have it still be hidden until needed.

Lastly I like the idea of showing off the apex electronics, but hiding the ATO and other things down below. still stepping up beyond a typical cabinet.

Bonus: the APS aluminum stand for the 30L is like $350, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe the stand price.
 

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Here is my first concept:
Closed:
closed.JPG

Open:
open.JPG
Concept:
The three places circled in blue can be used to store dosing chemicals, supplies, etc.
Red Circle will be control area with apex
Black circled area will hold ATO, UPS, misc. supplies
concept.JPG

I made everything different colors to distinguish the parts. The 8020 aluminum and the cover for the storage and back side of tank will all be black. The top the tank sits on will be gray butcher block.

Love to hear feedback and thoughts.
I wonder if there would be some way to mount some sort of track for the sides of the "canopy part", like they is for drawers or something. Like if the whole canopy thing was like a drawer but instead of sliding horizontally out, it slid vertically... You would probably need to come up with some sort of counterweight system, but if you could put the canopy on tracks and have a counterweight system you could raise the whole thing up and down like a drawer would open.

Not sure if that makes sense or not...
 
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I wonder if there would be some way to mount some sort of track for the sides of the "canopy part", like they is for drawers or something. Like if the whole canopy thing was like a drawer but instead of sliding horizontally out, it slid vertically... You would probably need to come up with some sort of counterweight system, but if you could put the canopy on tracks and have a counterweight system you could raise the whole thing up and down like a drawer would open.

Not sure if that makes sense or not...

It does. There are actually tracks in the back with bearings that you can’t see. The idea is either motor driven, or as you stated, counterweight.
 
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I wonder if there would be some way to mount some sort of track for the sides of the "canopy part", like they is for drawers or something. Like if the whole canopy thing was like a drawer but instead of sliding horizontally out, it slid vertically... You would probably need to come up with some sort of counterweight system, but if you could put the canopy on tracks and have a counterweight system you could raise the whole thing up and down like a drawer would open.

Not sure if that makes sense or not...

What do you think of the look?
 

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how do you like the spin streams? thinking of getting them to upgrade from the stock return nozzles. do they sit below water level? my current nozzles are like 20% out of the water level if I put them in a straight line and do not point them down/to the side
 

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Yes, to hide the equipment and give it a more finished look. Basically i don’t want to see the skimmer top and reactor tops in the back.

Plus I can place coral food, fish food, ABC dosing all around the tank, but have it still be hidden until needed.

Lastly I like the idea of showing off the apex electronics, but hiding the ATO and other things down below. still stepping up beyond a typical cabinet.

Bonus: the APS aluminum stand for the 30L is like $350, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe the stand price.
Yeah, the stand is stupid expensive. Custom is the way to go.

I like the idea. I think that it might look less bulky if it didn't extend all the way to the top of the light mount and didn't hang off the sides as much. I think if it was made more sleek it would be a cool look.

Something like this?
97e9843f8532ebf8d35d46ceeb61337b.jpg
49674fcdb03323ef1292f4039b744fa6.jpg
 

smilinteddy

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What do you think of the look?
I like the look. I think the idea is pretty sweet. For a second I had a thought that maybe it would be a cool idea to have the lights be independent of the rest of the cover... Like have the light mounts fixed to a frame piece that was more or less stationary that encompassed the rest of the canopy part, with only the canopy being moveable... it would cut down on the weight on the canopy and thus make it so you wouldn't need as much counterweight or motor power... But then I realized that the lights would then most likely be in the way if you had to get at anything behind them. I guess you could make them independent of each other but still make the lights moveable... Maybe a pulley system of some sort where the light mounting component was on the opposite end of the pulley system as the canopy part... So essentially it could be rigged so the canopy was the lights counterweight and vice versa?

That might not even be a thing... I'm no engineer, I'm a music teacher [emoji28]
 
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I like the look. I think the idea is pretty sweet. For a second I had a thought that maybe it would be a cool idea to have the lights be independent of the rest of the cover... Like have the light mounts fixed to a frame piece that was more or less stationary that encompassed the rest of the canopy part, with only the canopy being moveable... it would cut down on the weight on the canopy and thus make it so you wouldn't need as much counterweight or motor power... But then I realized that the lights would then most likely be in the way if you had to get at anything behind them. I guess you could make them independent of each other but still make the lights moveable... Maybe a pulley system of some sort where the light mounting component was on the opposite end of the pulley system as the canopy part... So essentially it could be rigged so the canopy was the lights counterweight and vice versa?

That might not even be a thing... I'm no engineer, I'm a music teacher [emoji28]

Hahaha music teacher = creative, I can totally see it.

Not sure I’d be able to fit both systems behind the tank, but I’ll see.
 
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Yeah, the stand is stupid expensive. Custom is the way to go.

I like the idea. I think that it might look less bulky if it didn't extend all the way to the top of the light mount and didn't hang off the sides as much. I think if it was made more sleek it would be a cool look.

Something like this?
97e9843f8532ebf8d35d46ceeb61337b.jpg
49674fcdb03323ef1292f4039b744fa6.jpg

This is interesting. I’ll moc something lower profile tomorrow.
 

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It's referred to as a "sump screen" in the Red Sea Manual.

Here is the information from their manual.
da8a9dcded22ae16ecef44708d527f12.jpg
 

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So either have the best fiancé in the world or the most easily persuaded. We are moving in about a month and I can’t take my current system to the new place (too big). So I decided to pick a few of my favorite fish and coral that I will keep and get rid of the rest (I have another thread for items for sale).

So it dawned on me, how am I going to start a new tank in the new place if I have fish and coral that need to go in immediately? I really don’t want to sell a few of my items because I’ll never get my money back and then I’d have to pay more to repurchase. So it dawned on me - start the new tank now, so it’s cycled, move it and the few fish/coral, then it’ll all be ready day 1 in the new place. But who the heck starts a whole new system before they move? Apparently I do. I ran this by my fiancé, she looked at me kind of cross eyed, wasn’t so sure, and then says “makes sense, want to go get it now?” Uh, yea!

I decided I didn’t want to mess with the sump setup so I did an IM AIO the 30L to be exact.

caff42663f573ab57359944179072fd5.jpg


Wanted to get the cycle started ASAP so immediately did the rock work:

c17e9fab4a091696c0ae04f86e0ea45b.jpg


And after 15 sets of gloves, 10 solo
cups, a bunch of hammering, and 2 containers of reef safe cement:

b62db85dc6fc3c790cf9b4eb8d9fae1c.jpg


5ae6b8d2dedb4e118ef1952c0e60ffa2.jpg


(Wow those pics are bad, I’ll take better ones tomorrow).

I used two types of reef cement. One from my LFS which is really fine cement mix that you combine with a resin. The other is NYOS reef cement (Amazon). I have used NYOS before but never the stuff from my LFS. NYOS is way better - cures much faster, mixes with water, and makes the whole process go much smoother. The other stuff says it needs 8-12 hours to fully cure so rocks will go in around lunch tomorrow. Only thing I regret is not having dry sand on hand to put over the cement to make it look more natural

That’s the tank wet behind it in the pics. Should have taken pictures of that process, but it’s poring water into a glass cube - you kind of had to be there.

Once rock is in, I’ll add pure ammonia and a bottle of bacteria to kick off the cycle.

This is not the IM pro this is the old version. My LFS had it for $100 cheaper and I saw no need for the DC pump as I plan to use my APEX from my current system. Will get the media caddy down the road.

And lastly, what are you keeping: my angler named Dave. Jack and Jill the two seahorses, my blueberry bounce mushroom, a few types of zoas, and my candy canes (they are just so yellow, I can’t not). Stay tuned to see how I keep my angler from eating the seahorses.

Lastly I plan to do bare bottom on this. I’ve never done it before, but I think I am going to lay down either white or black acrylic and have zoas grow on it instead of sand.

Wow, went on a bit of a ramble there...
I started cycling a tank before my old lady and I moved as well. Haha
Set it up on the floor, covered, with some cycle booster added for a few months prior to move. Had a move-in ready tank though by the time it was set up in the new place. Had to go with a smaller tank as well. Got a Waterbox.
Did you add any media from your older tank to help the cycle?
I like the open concept idea
Following your thread. :)
 
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I started cycling a tank before my old lady and I moved as well. Haha
Set it up on the floor, covered, with some cycle booster added for a few months prior to move. Had a move-in ready tank though by the time it was set up in the new place. Had to go with a smaller tank as well. Got a Waterbox.
Did you add any media from your older tank to help the cycle?
I like the open concept idea
Following your thread. :)

Yep, mine is on the floor. Still waiting to get the rest of the live stock out of the old tank. It’s selling slowly but surely.

I did not add any media from the old tank. Most of it was covered in corals I was selling and the new tank is BB so no sand. Plus I liked the idea of fresh start.

Thanks, hopefully updating my stand concept later today. Would love your input.
 

mta_morrow

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how do you like the spin streams? thinking of getting them to upgrade from the stock return nozzles. do they sit below water level? my current nozzles are like 20% out of the water level if I put them in a straight line and do not point them down/to the side

I used the spin streams in my IM30L.

Below the waterline.

Recommend a larger return pump to get the best use out of them.
 
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Here is an updated concept.

Open and closed. Closed the radions are at the recommended 7" above tank. The dimension of the back is 5" above the glass. I assume this will be enough for any equipment I put in the filter area. If anyone knows of a filter piece that sticks up more than 5", please let me know.

What do you guys think of this idea?

Thanks ReeferReefer for the idea on lower profile.

closed.JPG
open.JPG
 
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