Sometime in October I finally decided to take the plunge into a saltwater tank. I've been into freshwater tanks since I was in High School. Had 3 planted tanks and sold 1 setup to start the saltwater tank. Figured 3 freshwater and 1 saltwater was a bit too much for me... that and the wife didnt seem too happy about 4 tanks haha.
I've always liked the look of long/short tanks so I figured i'd start with a IM Fusion Pro 20 Peninsula. I think if i would have researched a bit more I might have chosen something different to save on lighting since this thing has a 26" display length / width. My thought process going into this was that I'd probably upgrade to a bigger tank later on so some components might be able to transfer over.
I started buying stuff randomly over the last 3 months and finally got water in the tank a couple weeks ago.
Equipment list:
Light: 2x AI Prime 16HD w/ hanging mounts
Pump: Stock Mighty Jet for now
Wavemaker: Nero 3 (I liked the idea of a single app for both lights and the wavemaker)
Heater: 75w Eheim Jager (Been using these for ages and have been the most reliable for me)
ATO: Tunze Nano ATO
Skimmer: Eshopps Nano Skimmer (havent put it on yet, since i'm still in my cycle)
Misc: IM Swim Stream Random Flow Generator (good grief this thing is the loudest part of the setup, hoping it quiets down in the next couple of weeks - took almost 5 weeks for this thing to shut up)
Inkbird Temp Controller added
I was going for the NSA type of aquascape so I purchased about 35lbs of Marco rock. Smashed and glued away! - Shoutout to Glue Masters on the forum for a forum member discount!
I used 20lbs of Caribsea Live Sand whatever the regular one was. (i'm into deep sand beds, but that's probably from having planted aquariums). I struggled with this a little as I was reading about bare bottom tanks. A local fish store has some really really nice bare bottom display tanks that look to be very established. I actually purchased 1-20lb and 2-10lb bags but only ended up using the 20. Will probably sell the 10 and maybe dump the other 10 in. Not 100% sure yet.
The stand is actually a custom doll closet I found on Craigslist that was built by a carpenter. The thing is really sturdy... like I can jump on the thing and it didnt move haha.
Due to the shape of the peninsula, limited space in the AIO chamber, and this was going in a room with high ceilings, I decided to make my own light stand. Googled a bit to see what others were using. I decided to go with steel pipe. I have a few other things in the house that were built with it and it seems to be a trend. I didnt feel comfortable with the length of it (i know, it would have probably NEVER been a problem, but I'm a little anal when it comes to "just in case"). So I offset one side so it might "feel" like it's floating and maybe hide it a bit more. Holes are drilled into the back and the wires are run through the pipe into the cabinet. Decided I needed to make cabinet pulls as well so I bought some more 1/2" pipe to make them.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how everything came out so far. Still have to clean up some of the wires. Wasnt a huge fan of the clips/stickies for the nero 3 but I plan on running the wire on the edges of the tank.
Looking forward to learning more and being a part of the community.
I've always liked the look of long/short tanks so I figured i'd start with a IM Fusion Pro 20 Peninsula. I think if i would have researched a bit more I might have chosen something different to save on lighting since this thing has a 26" display length / width. My thought process going into this was that I'd probably upgrade to a bigger tank later on so some components might be able to transfer over.
I started buying stuff randomly over the last 3 months and finally got water in the tank a couple weeks ago.
Equipment list:
Light: 2x AI Prime 16HD w/ hanging mounts
Pump: Stock Mighty Jet for now
Wavemaker: Nero 3 (I liked the idea of a single app for both lights and the wavemaker)
Heater: 75w Eheim Jager (Been using these for ages and have been the most reliable for me)
ATO: Tunze Nano ATO
Skimmer: Eshopps Nano Skimmer (havent put it on yet, since i'm still in my cycle)
Misc: IM Swim Stream Random Flow Generator (good grief this thing is the loudest part of the setup, hoping it quiets down in the next couple of weeks - took almost 5 weeks for this thing to shut up)
Inkbird Temp Controller added
I was going for the NSA type of aquascape so I purchased about 35lbs of Marco rock. Smashed and glued away! - Shoutout to Glue Masters on the forum for a forum member discount!
I used 20lbs of Caribsea Live Sand whatever the regular one was. (i'm into deep sand beds, but that's probably from having planted aquariums). I struggled with this a little as I was reading about bare bottom tanks. A local fish store has some really really nice bare bottom display tanks that look to be very established. I actually purchased 1-20lb and 2-10lb bags but only ended up using the 20. Will probably sell the 10 and maybe dump the other 10 in. Not 100% sure yet.
The stand is actually a custom doll closet I found on Craigslist that was built by a carpenter. The thing is really sturdy... like I can jump on the thing and it didnt move haha.
Due to the shape of the peninsula, limited space in the AIO chamber, and this was going in a room with high ceilings, I decided to make my own light stand. Googled a bit to see what others were using. I decided to go with steel pipe. I have a few other things in the house that were built with it and it seems to be a trend. I didnt feel comfortable with the length of it (i know, it would have probably NEVER been a problem, but I'm a little anal when it comes to "just in case"). So I offset one side so it might "feel" like it's floating and maybe hide it a bit more. Holes are drilled into the back and the wires are run through the pipe into the cabinet. Decided I needed to make cabinet pulls as well so I bought some more 1/2" pipe to make them.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how everything came out so far. Still have to clean up some of the wires. Wasnt a huge fan of the clips/stickies for the nero 3 but I plan on running the wire on the edges of the tank.
Looking forward to learning more and being a part of the community.
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