IM 30L Tank Build

ReefChief343

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
10
Reaction score
68
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I originally built this tank with the intent of drilling it and installing a sump underneath it. I did not drill it(as of yet) and decided to go ahead and cycle the tank, add sand/liverock, and transfer the inhabitants of my old tank into their new home.This current setup has been running for six months. My plan was to have a successful clown harem tank. I’m not sure of my current plans.

I’ve been reefing for two years now and are looking for a good 30L equipment/filtration recipe + standard tank husbandry + patience to get good looking well ran tank. It seems I can get some coral to live fine and have a little growth and some to just be meh. Below I will list all of my current equipment plus tank inhabitants.

Equipment:
-Innovative Marine 30L AIO
-Rear Sump Area Left(First Chamber)
-InTank Media Basket (InTank filter floss, ChemipureBlu, Bagged Carbon)
-Rear Sump Area Left(Second Chamber)
-IM ChaetoMax light
-Chaeto
Rear Sump Middle Chamber
-AI Prime HD
-Tunze 3152 ATO (with 5-gallon hedpak for freshwater)
-IM 30L stock pump with “y” divider
Rear Sump Right Third Chamber
-Finnex HMS-150S heater
Rear Sump Right Fourth Chamber
- Nothing.
Vortech MP40 Powerhead
APS NUVO 30L Stand
Red Sea Test Kits
Hanna Test Kits

Livestock:
1x Ocellaris Clown
1x Midnight Lighting Designer Ocellaris
2x Turbo Snails
5x Nassiruis Snails
~10 x assorted hermit crabs
~10 x Cerith Snails
1 x RBTA

Coral:
Frogspawn
Green Hammer
Purple Hammer
Duncan
Orange Torch Coral

This is my current build. It’s about six months old. I do plan to drill it. Maybe add a reasonable algae scrubber and upgrade the return pumps.

No skimmer at this current time. Running very frequented water changes every week.
61A6C835-7F3C-4ABD-A2C1-D79AAC823FCE.jpeg
14224081-5E97-4629-9ACC-653A21C47FB2.jpeg
95559441-6C4D-455A-A93B-EEECDFB43927.jpeg
03EB4C9D-E54E-49FD-83E8-C9255CBBEB25.jpeg 774837F3-17A0-42D6-9764-C632A2B91105.jpeg 41957613-E4DE-4C3C-B8DA-2ABEE295C8B5.jpeg
 

intricate_reefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
1,099
Reaction score
1,924
Location
New Bern, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like you are off to a great start. The 30L is really an awesome tank. You said you were looking for some help or a recipe to run successfully. I have one that’s a year old and have done pretty well I think. I pretty much only keep lps and zoas though.

Your equipment looks great for the most part. I would consider adding another Ai Prime if possible, one doesn’t really have enough spread. Other then that maybe consider upgrading the return pump and using some RFG nozzles. I’m running 2 sicce 1.0 pumps on mine. I went with two for redundancy in case one were to fail I’d still have flow through the sump. Once your start to get more coral and you demand goes up a doser is really nice to have.

If you have any questions ask away, PM me or stop by my build thread

Picture of my tank, sorry to spam
B839B94C-2862-4826-8F58-31B80DDA4362.jpeg
 

New&no clue

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 11, 2019
Messages
3,541
Reaction score
12,173
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Pretty good. Added a good handful of new LPS to the tank; as well as some advanced testing. Lost a Kupang Damsel yesterday. Need to start a QT tank. Thank you for asking!

how is the one AI working? I just bought a 30L and looking into lighting options.On my other tank I have a T5/LED hybrid and I like that setup. But the 30L are so narrow I don’t think that would work.
 

intricate_reefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
1,099
Reaction score
1,924
Location
New Bern, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
how is the one AI working? I just bought a 30L and looking into lighting options.On my other tank I have a T5/LED hybrid and I like that setup. But the 30L are so narrow I don’t think that would work.

I thought about about a hybrid as well but there weren’t too many options. The only one I really saw was the reef Brite Supra T5. Uses two T5s with a reefbrite strip in the middle. I’d imagine it would be a ton of par and would be nice to get a dimmable strip for some adjustability.
 
OP
OP
ReefChief343

ReefChief343

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
10
Reaction score
68
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks like you are off to a great start. The 30L is really an awesome tank. You said you were looking for some help or a recipe to run successfully. I have one that’s a year old and have done pretty well I think. I pretty much only keep lps and zoas though.

Your equipment looks great for the most part. I would consider adding another Ai Prime if possible, one doesn’t really have enough spread. Other then that maybe consider upgrading the return pump and using some RFG nozzles. I’m running 2 sicce 1.0 pumps on mine. I went with two for redundancy in case one were to fail I’d still have flow through the sump. Once your start to get more coral and you demand goes up a doser is really nice to have.

If you have any questions ask away, PM me or stop by my build thread

Picture of my tank, sorry to spam
B839B94C-2862-4826-8F58-31B80DDA4362.jpeg
Looks like you are off to a great start. The 30L is really an awesome tank. You said you were looking for some help or a recipe to run successfully. I have one that’s a year old and have done pretty well I think. I pretty much only keep lps and zoas though.

Your equipment looks great for the most part. I would consider adding another Ai Prime if possible, one doesn’t really have enough spread. Other then that maybe consider upgrading the return pump and using some RFG nozzles. I’m running 2 sicce 1.0 pumps on mine. I went with two for redundancy in case one were to fail I’d still have flow through the sump. Once your start to get more coral and you demand goes up a doser is really nice to have.

If you have any questions ask away, PM me or stop by my build thread

Picture of my tank, sorry to spam
B839B94C-2862-4826-8F58-31B80DDA4362.jpeg
Hey sorry for late response! Thanks for the support and the advice. That’s an awesome looking tank! I’m getting the 64 HD AI soon and moving my Prime to my 10 gallon QT I just sat up!

Two pumps is a great idea. I have questions about filtration. I only have floss, one InTank 3-chamber caddy, and a refugium with Chaeto! The other two chambers are free, as well as the rear area where the single pump sits.
 
OP
OP
ReefChief343

ReefChief343

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2019
Messages
10
Reaction score
68
Location
Atlanta, Georgia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
how is the one AI working? I just bought a 30L and looking into lighting options.On my other tank I have a T5/LED hybrid and I like that setup. But the 30L are so narrow I don’t think that would work.
The one Prime is working okay. Sorry for the late reply. I really need a PAR meter to really give you a honest opinion. It seems okay. It really needs a bigger badder light.
 

Tahoe61

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
13,239
Reaction score
15,695
Location
AZ
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Now I want a IM 30.
:cool:
 

intricate_reefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
1,099
Reaction score
1,924
Location
New Bern, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey sorry for late response! Thanks for the support and the advice. That’s an awesome looking tank! I’m getting the 64 HD AI soon and moving my Prime to my 10 gallon QT I just sat up!

Two pumps is a great idea. I have questions about filtration. I only have floss, one InTank 3-chamber caddy, and a refugium with Chaeto! The other two chambers are free, as well as the rear area where the single pump sits.

On my 30L I’m running media basket with poly-fil 100% polyester pillow stuffing from Walmart and just 4tbs of high quality carbon in a mesh bag changed once a month. The second chamber I am using a cadlights PLS-50 elite ll skimmer(I really like it). Middle I just have the two sicce 1.0 returns with a mesh bag in between the two pumps that has a handful of marine pure spheres. 4th chamber I have the intank fuge basket that I’m growing cheato in. Last chamber I’m using the IM UV sterilizer(water is crystal clear and I hardly have to clean my glass.

Smart move deciding to upgrade your lighting. One prime just isn’t enough for a 36” tank. What kind of corals do you plan on keeping? Really just adding another prime would be your best bet. With the hydra 64 the coverage of the tank isn’t going to be as good and even, you will have a hot spot in the middle. If you just want a ton of light for sps I would at least recommend splitting it up with two hydra 32s for more even tank coverage but I really think two primes would be plenty.
 

Ferrell

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Messages
2,403
Reaction score
2,401
Location
Kentucky
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just mapped out my tank today with a par meter. Just in process of cycling so figured I’d get the lights set up while I wait. 1st pic is location of readings and 2nd are the values. Far right column is the lights set at max for the BRS AB+ program. Numbers are small but readable when blown up. Highest value read was around 100 . But got a nice even spread of 50-80 everywhere else with lights at highest point on brackets. This will work for me as I’m only looking to have chalices, acans and zoas.
000327F7-0826-47AD-B70E-5BA4E51F5EBD.jpeg
143A2CCE-EE31-45FB-8682-0F2899BE285A.jpeg
looking forward to getting my two clowns at the end of the month.
 

intricate_reefer

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 12, 2011
Messages
1,099
Reaction score
1,924
Location
New Bern, NC
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just mapped out my tank today with a par meter. Just in process of cycling so figured I’d get the lights set up while I wait. 1st pic is location of readings and 2nd are the values. Far right column is the lights set at max for the BRS AB+ program. Numbers are small but readable when blown up. Highest value read was around 100 . But got a nice even spread of 50-80 everywhere else with lights at highest point on brackets. This will work for me as I’m only looking to have chalices, acans and zoas.
000327F7-0826-47AD-B70E-5BA4E51F5EBD.jpeg
143A2CCE-EE31-45FB-8682-0F2899BE285A.jpeg
looking forward to getting my two clowns at the end of the month.

What par meter are you using? I think your numbers are off, if it’s the BRS ab+ schedule at max. Are you using primes! I’m running two with diffusers which cut down par. I’m running ab+ reduced to 65% with whites only at 10% and I’m getting about 80-120 par in most the tank 60 in the corners. If your running the schedule at max it should be quite a bit higher.
 
Last edited:

Reef Mania LLC

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 6, 2019
Messages
41
Reaction score
26
Location
New Jersey
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I really love your aquascape, i just setup a 30L myself and im really enjoying it. Ive got 2 Hydra 32 over mine and i get good coverage. i need to rent a par meter to see the actual readings.
 

Gaspipe

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 16, 2019
Messages
744
Reaction score
420
Location
Cranford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I assume you have your Finnex HMS in the back chamber? Any issues with that? I was told the heaters with the thermostat can only be mounted "horizontal" and not vertical as in a rear chamber of an AIO tank. Thanks!
 
Back
Top