I’m back! AIO IM 40G build

[ronnie]

Somehow I’ve found myself thrust back in the hobby by a whim and a forgiving wife. I picked up an IM Nuvo 40G tank/stand/livestock last Saturday and this has quickly evolved into a money pit as I bought a Radion XR15 Pro from the LFS along with some other misc supplies.

I am building a new stand as I’m not a fan of the one it came with. Using rockets template (as I have done on all my builds). I got the base and legs built last night. Two legs attached as well. Kreg and glue.

Eventually I want to get a controller and an MP10 going. Wife says my budget is $0 atm, so I’m going to have to wait.



For coral, I will be mainly focused on zoas and LPS and staying away from SPS as long as possible. My journey with AEFW in my previous tanks is something that has stuck with me and I can’t relive the pain yet. I’d love to have some of my old favorites back, though. Red Planet, tricolor, blue stag, etc.

More to come, but it’ll be slow going for now as I’m traveling for work tomorrow through Sunday.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

Congrats!

 

[ronnie]

Here are some of the current coral I purchased from a local grower.
JF Day Glo
Hellfire Torch
Random zoas
Acan

 

[ronnie]

Some minor progress on the stand. Nothing too exciting but the frame is done. Nothing else will happen until next week when I get back.

My plan is to wrap it in 3/4” plywood and make shaker doors to match our kitchen. I’ll spray it a few times to get a good coat of paint on it. Lots of sanding in my future.

 

[ronnie]

Well the stand hasn’t made much progress over the last month. It is supposed to rain this weekend though, so I am going to try to get it skinned.

I picked up an apex w atk, a Nero 3 (really like this thing!) as well as a new skimmer coming tomorrow to replace the Tunze 9004. It’s a great skimmer but I need a little more cup room. The skimmer is a cadlights knockoff. I’ll get it running tomorrow.

Skimmer link: https://a.co/d/dn3SEWB

I do have a DIY controller board in the works that I’m trying to figure out the best way to mount. I’ve also picked up a cable raceway kit to help keep the stand clean inside.

 

[ronnie]

Skimmer is in and making bubbles! I may swap it over to the second chamber if I can get the height right without the hanging bracket - otherwise it only fits in the first chamber. Which IMO isn’t a bad thing as I’ve not been a huge mechanical filter fan (sponges/etc).

 

[Budman93]

Looking good! Picked up the same tank. Overall pretty happy with it so far. Not too big and not too small. What are you using for the ATO resevoir? Was going to hit up home depot and see if they had something cheap and compact similar to that that would fit in the stand. Some of the online ones are like $100 which seems ridiculous to me.

 

[ronnie]

Looking good! Picked up the same tank. Overall pretty happy with it so far. Not too big and not too small. What are you using for the ATO resevoir? Was going to hit up home depot and see if they had something cheap and compact similar to that that would fit in the stand. Some of the online ones are like $100 which seems ridiculous to me.

I have a 5G jug that came with the tank. I have two so I swap them out as needed and refill the other.

 

[Opus]

Skimmer is in and making bubbles! I may swap it over to the second chamber if I can get the height right without the hanging bracket - otherwise it only fits in the first chamber. Which IMO isn’t a bad thing as I’ve not been a huge mechanical filter fan (sponges/etc).

My son has a IM 40L being delivered tomorrow. That is our main problem, finding a skimmer that will fit. Not sure we want it in the first chamber but that may be our only choice. Not sure what you meant by cup room. Did you mean you just wanted a bigger cup or was it sticking too far down into the chamber which made it hard to service?

 

[ronnie]

My son has a IM 40L being delivered tomorrow. That is our main problem, finding a skimmer that will fit. Not sure we want it in the first chamber but that may be our only choice. Not sure what you meant by cup room. Did you mean you just wanted a bigger cup or was it sticking too far down into the chamber which made it hard to service?

I was looking for more room so I can be lazy. The Tunze is a great skimmer, but I just know me and I won’t be diligent in emptying it every 10-12 days like I should.

This one will fit second chamber without the bracket. I just need to figure out how to prop it up. The Tunze 9004 is in the first chamber as well since it doesn’t quite fit the middle chambers.

 

[Opus]

Looking good! Picked up the same tank. Overall pretty happy with it so far. Not too big and not too small. What are you using for the ATO resevoir? Was going to hit up home depot and see if they had something cheap and compact similar to that that would fit in the stand. Some of the online ones are like $100 which seems ridiculous to me.

Unfortunately acrylic has gotten expensive. I picked up a 4.5gal reservoir at my LFS that they had marked down. It ended up being around $100 which was a bargain from what I was seeing online. The one I was going to order was over $200. Of course wanted a certain size. I'm putting it next to the tank which only has around 4 inches between the stand and the wall. Hard to find skinny reservoirs.

 

[ronnie]

Maybe something like this would work if 2G capacity is ok: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/coghlans-water-carrier

 

[Opus]

I was looking for more room so I can be lazy. The Tunze is a great skimmer, but I just know me and I won’t be diligent in emptying it every 10-12 days like I should.

This one will fit second chamber without the bracket. I just need to figure out how to prop it up. The Tunze 9004 is in the first chamber as well since it doesn’t quite fit the middle chambers.

OK, makes sense. I have the Cadlights skimmer in my IM50 which fits in the second chamber, but barely. I hope you can get that many days between empties. Mine is usually full in 6 or 7 days and I run a dry skim. One thing I've found I do not like is algae grows in the skimmer chamber since it is clear.

 

[ronnie]

OK, makes sense. I have the Cadlights skimmer in my IM50 which fits in the second chamber, but barely. I hope you can get that many days between empties. Mine is usually full in 6 or 7 days and I run a dry skim. One thing I've found I do not like is algae grows in the skimmer chamber since it is clear.

This skimmer is a cadlights knock off, so I’m guessing it’s the same dimensions or really close.

 

[Opus]

Maybe something like this would work if 2G capacity is ok: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/coghlans-water-carrier

If it is going to be hidden in the stand, my son just uses the small version of the orange Home Depot bucket. I'm bad with eyeing volume but I think it holds around 2gal and I think it cost less than $5.

 

[Opus]

This skimmer is a cadlights knock off, so I’m guessing it’s the same dimensions or really close.

I'm sure it is the exact same skimmer, mine just has the cadlights sticker on it and costs 3 times more. I didn't know about the knockoffs when I bought it 3 years ago or I would have saved some money.

 

[ronnie]

I did some aqua scraping over the weekend to open it up some. The plan is to have this as a zoa dominated tank, so I’m excited to see them fill in as they grow. Still need to get the new stand finished too. I’m slacking there.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I did some aqua scraping over the weekend to open it up some. The plan is to have this as a zoa dominated tank, so I’m excited to see them fill in as they grow. Still need to get the new stand finished too. I’m slacking there.

Can't wait to see the tank when it Is filled with zoas!!!

 

[ronnie]

This might be the slowest build ever. Still working on the stand. Have one door done and need to build the front door and then build a controller cabinet for the apex.

Here are some pics from today

 

[ronnie]

Progress over the last week. I am working on a controller board for the apex. It’ll have the brain, two EB8, an FMM, and a WXM for now. I need to cut the other oval holes out still and attach some brick holders on the back still.

And I finally got the frame cut for the door. Far from perfect, but wood putty will cover the gaps. I had to free hand the router for all cuts. I’m planning to put a frosted blue panel of acrylic in the middle. I’ll be spraying the stand with a bonding primer and then a few coats of cabinet paint. I redid our kitchen cabinets a few years ago and they turned out pretty good. Hoping this comes together over the next week or two. I’ll begin priming this weekend I think.

I also fell off the no Acro wagon officially with a big chunky pack coming in today. I’ve got about 30 frags of sps and Zoas to mount at some point over the next few weeks.