IM 170EXT Build/Questions

[kribbz]

Well it has been a bit since I have posted on here but I thank everyone on here for allowing me to stalk their threads and learn a lot. My 75 gallon tank has been going for a little over a year and I have finally purchased my dream tank. I pulled the trigger in late Jan for an IM170 EXT. IM states that the process will be 12-16 weeks to build however I am hearing it will be more like 4-6 months. Either is fine with me as it gives me time to prepare. I'm an SPS guy at heart so I want to set this tank up a little better than I did with my current setup. I'm looking for any feedback from the group or constructive tips y'all may have for setting this tank up.

Tank:
Innovative Marine 170 EXT

Sump:
Pro Clear Red Flex 300 (I'm thinking this will be the best fit for me?)

Filtration:
3- 4" filter cups with polyfil (I hate filter socks)
Maxspect Aeraqua Duo AD600 Skimmer (already purchased)
2- eheim Jager 200 watt heaters
2- Maxspect jump DC10K return pumps
DOS for calc and alk
Jaebo 4 channel for trace elements
Super saturated Kalk on a peristaltic pump

Controls:
Apex
Hydros for wave controls

Flow:
2- Icecap 4k on Hydros controls
2- Nero 5

Lighting:
2- Radion XR30 G5 Blues
1- Radion XR30 G4
4- 48" T5 actinic

200lbs of live rock (Mixture of pukani, marco and tonga. Bought off another reefer and currently seasoning in trash bins)



My main question for the moment is regarding the sump. I'm really over analyzing everything. I like the Pro Clear setup because I feel like it gives me some options. My current sump has a small spot for a fuge but I pulled it because it was keeping nitrates and phosphates so low. Now I just keep some extra rock and blocks in there. The other thing I'm struggling with is whether I should put a hood on the tank or not. I feel like doing a hood with an open top so it lets the heat escape but shields the light spillage. My chairs in the room are low so when we sit and watch the tank the lights are a bit blinding. The other option I guess would be shields but you still see all the wires.... Lastly, I'm going to likely take out one of the doors on the end and build a control station for all the controllers. Looking for any pics anyone may have on ones they like and why. This will be my first shot at this so I'd like to hear pro's and cons of what you use.

 

[JM302]

I currently have an EXT 75 and on Jan 30th ordered an EXT 170. I'm in the planning phases just like you. I am going to use a 40B as a sump - very basic. Red Sea 1200 Fleece roller and the skimmer, set of baffles, then the return pumps. Because the tank is 5ft, I'm going to run a 20g high drilled with an overflow as a dedicated refugium rather than integrating it in the sump. This will give me room for a CA reactor once I have the need.

I have one of those fancy trigger sumps with a built in fleece roller - honestly, it's not bad but it's certainly not worth the $$ IMO. I ran my 180 with a 40B sump and it was always great.

The one thing I can say for certain is I have a custom fabricated steel stand for the 170. I do NOT like the APS stand. I seem to be the minority with that, but I'll put that out there.

 

[kribbz]

Everyone is getting on board with the roller mats. Is there really a value to them other than changing out media less frequently? I was opting towards the poly fill because it’s cheap and I can use it to help with nitrates. If they are high change it more, if they are low leave it in place for longer.
I do like your steel frame idea. I’ve heard these stands aren’t all that but I didn’t want to spring for the steel. Those things are as much or more than the tank. If I could find a reasonable place here in Houston that didn’t want my first born child to build it I would go that route.
Do you currently run a fuge on your 75? I ran in for about 9 months and couldn’t get my color on my sps to pop. Everything faded but wasn’t dying. I fed the crap out of the tank and I couldn’t even get algae to grow. Pulled the calerpa and now I can maintain 2ppm on nitrates (still low) and .015 on phos.

 

[JM302]

Everyone is getting on board with the roller mats. Is there really a value to them other than changing out media less frequently? I was opting towards the poly fill because it’s cheap and I can use it to help with nitrates. If they are high change it more, if they are low leave it in place for longer.
I do like your steel frame idea. I’ve heard these stands aren’t all that but I didn’t want to spring for the steel. Those things are as much or more than the tank. If I could find a reasonable place here in Houston that didn’t want my first born child to build it I would go that route.
Do you currently run a fuge on your 75? I ran in for about 9 months and couldn’t get my color on my sps to pop. Everything faded but wasn’t dying. I fed the crap out of the tank and I couldn’t even get algae to grow. Pulled the calerpa and now I can maintain 2ppm on nitrates (still low) and .015 on phos.

I really like the roller mat. I think my skimmer spends more time with gas exchange than it does doing anything else. Often it won't even produce foam of any kind. IMO, a roller mat really allows you to downsize the skimmer. I'm a fan - a roll lasts me about 2 months and is a million times easier than socks or poly. Right now my 75 suffers from high nutrients so I'll take all the help I can get.

I run in the car scene and luckily have a friend who is a certified structural TIG welder / fabricator. I spent a few hours drawing it up in Fusion, $300 in steel + another $200 or so for powder coating and I've got a beautiful stand ready for the tank. I talked to a certain tank builder and they wanted $4k for the stand. For something that'll take about 8 hours to complete by an experienced welder..... that's robbery.

I do not run a fuge atm, but I did. I took it offline after it sucked me dry of nutrients and was part in a massive coolia dino outbreak. Whoops. I worked to increase my nutrients, fed a lot, removed the fleece roller, removed the chaeto and after a few months of UV I finally got the tank back - but then my nutrients went too far in the other direction and now I'm dealing with GHA. So I decided to build the fuge for the 170 and just use it externally for now. It's an Aqueon 20H that I drilled for a modular marine overflow that will temporarily sit on it's own stand next to the 75 until the bigger tank is in service. I will be very careful with the fuge as the thoughts of dinos again makes me ill.

I'm most excited about the TBS live sand that is showing up soon... that's going straight in the new fuge

 

[Devaji]

I order the IM 200 ext. right around BF/CM time line. I just got an email it got the states and was shipped on friday. could be here end of this week but more llikly early next.

why did you not opt. for the Im sump? in the pro clear cheaper or better for you? I did get there largest sump not a ton of info on them but for the price only a few hundred more it made since.
there not roller mat ready tho witch kinda sucks but I am a filter floss guy too. but i do have the RS 500 on another new build.

if you going to use the wave engine why not the Hyros controller too? have an apex already?

I am not an SPS guy but your 75 looks great. I kinda thought about going full SPS on my 200 inbound. to be honest I have no idea what I want to do with it. my original plan was a FOWLR focus on a few fish i have allays wanted but even at 275 total gallon I fell its still not big enough...heck even thought of a nice planted FW tank. ha

 

[kribbz]

I really like the roller mat. I think my skimmer spends more time with gas exchange than it does doing anything else. Often it won't even produce foam of any kind. IMO, a roller mat really allows you to downsize the skimmer. I'm a fan - a roll lasts me about 2 months and is a million times easier than socks or poly. Right now my 75 suffers from high nutrients so I'll take all the help I can get.

I run in the car scene and luckily have a friend who is a certified structural TIG welder / fabricator. I spent a few hours drawing it up in Fusion, $300 in steel + another $200 or so for powder coating and I've got a beautiful stand ready for the tank. I talked to a certain tank builder and they wanted $4k for the stand. For something that'll take about 8 hours to complete by an experienced welder..... that's robbery.

I do not run a fuge atm, but I did. I took it offline after it sucked me dry of nutrients and was part in a massive coolia dino outbreak. Whoops. I worked to increase my nutrients, fed a lot, removed the fleece roller, removed the chaeto and after a few months of UV I finally got the tank back - but then my nutrients went too far in the other direction and now I'm dealing with GHA. So I decided to build the fuge for the 170 and just use it externally for now. It's an Aqueon 20H that I drilled for a modular marine overflow that will temporarily sit on it's own stand next to the 75 until the bigger tank is in service. I will be very careful with the fuge as the thoughts of dinos again makes me ill.

I'm most excited about the TBS live sand that is showing up soon... that's going straight in the new fuge

I’m jealous on the TBS sand. I was going to pickup some rock rubble from them now that the rock is “seasoning” in tubs. I don’t live my rock scape in my 75 and my coral placement wasn’t thought out. So I’m kind of rebooting everything to get a fresh start. No more encrusting months on Rick work for me. Birds nest and zoas will have their place, and a Im going to try and be better about contrasting colors.

 

[kribbz]

I order the IM 200 ext. right around BF/CM time line. I just got an email it got the states and was shipped on friday. could be here end of this week but more llikly early next.

why did you not opt. for the Im sump? in the pro clear cheaper or better for you? I did get there largest sump not a ton of info on them but for the price only a few hundred more it made since.
there not roller mat ready tho witch kinda sucks but I am a filter floss guy too. but i do have the RS 500 on another new build.

if you going to use the wave engine why not the Hyros controller too? have an apex already?

I am not an SPS guy but your 75 looks great. I kinda thought about going full SPS on my 200 inbound. to be honest I have no idea what I want to do with it. my original plan was a FOWLR focus on a few fish i have allays wanted but even at 275 total gallon I fell its still not big enough...heck even thought of a nice planted FW tank. ha

Dude that’s awesome!! Congrats! I can’t wait to get that email from them!

I opted out on their sump mainly because at the time I bought the tank I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I didn’t want to be locked into their design when I selected equipment. I may kick myself later. I haven’t bought the sump yet. I was originally planning to buy a sump kit for a 40 breeder. I did that for the 75 with a 20L. Thanks for the complement on the 75. It’s been a labor of love/frustration.
The reason for both platforms, hydros and apex was that I originally ran a maxspect gyre and added an icecap 4k that came with the hydros controller. The maxspect magnets swelled on me so I picked up another icecap. The apex I really only use for the Neptune testing. I’m going to try and use a little more of its capabilities for controls when I move everything. I wish I was a better tech guy when it came to automation.
Are you going to do a build thread when it comes in?

 

[Devaji]

Dude that’s awesome!! Congrats! I can’t wait to get that email from them!

I opted out on their sump mainly because at the time I bought the tank I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I didn’t want to be locked into their design when I selected equipment. I may kick myself later. I haven’t bought the sump yet. I was originally planning to buy a sump kit for a 40 breeder. I did that for the 75 with a 20L. Thanks for the complement on the 75. It’s been a labor of love/frustration.
The reason for both platforms, hydros and apex was that I originally ran a maxspect gyre and added an icecap 4k that came with the hydros controller. The maxspect magnets swelled on me so I picked up another icecap. The apex I really only use for the Neptune testing. I’m going to try and use a little more of its capabilities for controls when I move everything. I wish I was a better tech guy when it came to automation.
Are you going to do a build thread when it comes in?

yeah I will do a build thread for sure. I have a slow one going for my seahorse tank. taking forever to get wet tho.

 

[kribbz]

Any opinions on using turbo start on the rock that is "seasoning" in the trash cans? Also does anyone know of any mounts that allow you to mount an xr30 perpendicular to t5s? Since I'm using 3 across a 5 foot footprint, I am thinking about mounting them perpendicular to length of the tank to get better spread front to back.

 

[kribbz]

Well I made a decision and purchased a 40 gallon breeder and a sump kit off ebay. I liked this one because it allowed me to fit my skimmer into the first chamber and I can use the bigger chamber for extra rock. I still haven't heard anything from IM on the tank. The 25th would mark 16 weeks since order date SOOO I'm trying to be patient.

 

[JM302]

I just hit 12 weeks for my 170 - I'm using your delivery to set my expectations. What's frustrating is the emails from IM saying I can get a EXT200 in 30 days. So much for made-to-order.

Nice on the sump - I'm using a 40 breeder as well except I'm going to utilize a Red Sea ReefMat 1200.

 

[kribbz]

I haven't received those emails.... I'd be down with going larger! hahaha

 

[Devaji]

I just hit 12 weeks for my 170 - I'm using your delivery to set my expectations. What's frustrating is the emails from IM saying I can get a EXT200 in 30 days. So much for made-to-order.

Nice on the sump - I'm using a 40 breeder as well except I'm going to utilize a Red Sea ReefMat 1200.

wow it took me 4 months to get my 200 ext pen. got it 3 weeks ago now. got the stand build really like the APS stand BTW. 3 ppl say they like it better than the RS>WB stands non reefers.

@kribbz that is a nice sump kit. looks sharp. are you going with red pipes to match the sump now?
I would reach out to IM and see about those 200s.

 

[JM302]

My bad - it was the INT-200 in 30 days...... But still!

 

[kribbz]

wow it took me 4 months to get my 200 ext pen. got it 3 weeks ago now. got the stand build really like the APS stand BTW. 3 ppl say they like it better than the RS>WB stands non reefers.

@kribbz that is a nice sump kit. looks sharp. are you going with red pipes to match the sump now?
I would reach out to IM and see about those 200s.

Thanks. I was going to do red piping for sure. I think it will look sweet. This kit came with a 7” filter sock option which I will use a cup

 

[Devaji]

Thanks. I was going to do red piping for sure. I think it will look sweet. This kit came with a 7” filter sock option which I will use a cup

I'VE used a cpl types of cups over the years i like the one red sea makes.

yeah red pipes are will loook sweet!

 

[kribbz]

I'VE used a cpl types of cups over the years i like the one red sea makes.

yeah red pipes are will loook sweet!

Man I have to say that the Red Sea cups are good but I wish they had a little weight on the bottom of them. When I shut my pumps off to feed, the Red Sea cups tend to float up and then not reset. This new one is heavier and seems like it will stay down.

 

[Devaji]

Man I have to say that the Red Sea cups are good but I wish they had a little weight on the bottom of them. When I shut my pumps off to feed, the Red Sea cups tend to float up and then not reset. This new one is heavier and seems like it will stay down.

yes I never had that happen. I always added a bit of media to the bottom then added floss, so I guess that's why.

either way its exciting you're getting there. any day now. best way to "get the call" is plan a week vacation or the like. haha

 

[kribbz]

Well my tank was supposed to ship by the 24th of this month and I still hadn't heard from IM. So I emailed them twice and the second time they responded. It appears they are delayed and the tank won't ship for another month.... At least it gives me some time to plan my plumbing.

 

[JM302]

Well my tank was supposed to ship by the 24th of this month and I still hadn't heard from IM. So I emailed them twice and the second time they responded. It appears they are delayed and the tank won't ship for another month.... At least it gives me some time to plan my plumbing.

Any luck? Mine will be here in 2 weeks. It's in CA and headed to the freight terminal.