IM SR60 Build!

[mr_noodles]

Hello!

I'm Alan and I have been reefing for 2 years now. I started off on the wrong foot and have learned so much these past few years. My first was a 40gal Aqueon (FOWLR) that crashed after 6 months. I stepped away and told myself there's a lot more to the hobby than just water changes and needed to take a pause. Months later, I started an Evo 13.5 build and have had her running for almost a year. I'm beginning to get a little bit of overcrowding and planned on upgrading the tank

I picked her up from an LFS that had it on sale. The previous owner upgraded their tank and brought theirs to the store for store credit. I hesitated for a few hours after spending some time inspecting it. On the drive back home, I decided to turn back around and purchase it!

She was a tight squeeze, but it fit perfectly in my Optima! I secured it by crossing both seatbelts across the center and tieing it. Paper towel rolls were added on each side to add some cushioning.

Once we got it home, it went straight outside for a leak test and combined the evolution with a diluted citric acid and water blend to clean the spionid worms, patches of coralline algae, and some precipitation off of the glass. Once done, I drained and refilled the tank with water only to continue the leak test.

I went through my shed and picked up old dry rock (some previously live) and began the bleaching process on the rocks. I'm not going for a completely white look, but a few days to kill whatever may be on it. After that, it'll go through several rinses and a last soak with Seachem Prime. One new thing I want to try is drilling the rock in several areas to facilitate easy "frag plug to rock" placement. I knew I would eventually upgrade on the nano tank and most corals are still on plugs. I like the freedom of having that early control in case corals aren't happy where I place them. For those staring that the floaties - the duckweed on the top came from a rock in my planted aquarium.

[NEXT TO COME]
-Setup (IM APS Stand reassembly, aquascaping, filling, and beginning of cycle)

 

[mr_noodles]

Now that you have read through my thread, help me on this journey! My only livestock in my Evo is two clownfish and some CUC. What do you suggest adding to the tank? Must be friendly "to an extent" and will not eye my coral as food!

 

[mr_noodles]

What a week! Added substrate, dry rock, and set up the lights and return pumps.

During this process, I was torn between going bare bottom and a more coarse substrate. I used a fine grain substrate in my Fluval Evo and regretted adding anything beyond a 15x turnover rate between return pumps and wavemaker. Didn't want to make that mistake again! My LFS recommended Special Grade if I wanted to keep a natural reef look while being able to crank up that turnover rate a little bit more.

I began rinsing the dry sand and after several rinse sessions, added my 10lb layer, added rock, then added more sand.



Next was the hours and hours of making water. I purchased a RO Buddy for my Evo (since water changes were 2 gallons a week). Cranking out at 50gpd, it took 3 days to make it (I only run it when I'm home). Man, was that a lot of water! Protip: The large Brute cans are massive! For water changes, I wanted something smaller without comprimising the risk of leaching from other containers. I managed to find 10gal Brute cans! It's cute!



As the night winded down, I finally reached the top of the tank and lit off my return pumps. Quite a refreshing sound! Set up my lights (currently two AI Prime HD's) and forgot how annoying the non-bluetooth variants were annoying to set up. I'll be eventually adding a 3rd from the Evo once the transfer is complete a couple of months from now. Every time I cycle a tank, I always take a new approach with "beating the diatoms". My first tank was the "noob" cycle and rode the uglies like a champ. My second tank was lights out for 3 months (smaller bloom). This time, I plan on running Phosguard and 1/4 dosing Vibrant weekly (and keep lights out). Once the dust settles, I'll be adding Fritz tomorrow and adding an Ammonia source for the cycle.


For problems: I'm trying to figure out why I'm getting gurgling sounds between the baffles. I thought the return pump had air in the line and may have needed to be burped but it has been hours. Reaching out to some IM groups for some advise. Good night everyone!

 

[Gvirgoan]

I want this tank !!!

 

[mr_noodles]

I want this tank !!!

They were discontinued recently, so you may be able to scoop a used one at a good price!

I enjoy the shallow-ness to it. I can eventually put SPS in without paying out a lot for lights.

 

[Gvirgoan]

They were discontinued recently, so you may be able to scoop a used one at a good price!

I enjoy the shallow-ness to it. I can eventually put SPS in without paying out a lot for lights.

I see they have the Pro version available on the site