Innovative Marine IM Ext 50 - Triton Method

CrazyCarlitos

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New build - Triton Method

New equipments:
- IM ext 50 gallon with APS stand
- Trigger Triton 26 Sump
- Current USA E-Flux 6010 DC pump
- Octo eSsence S-130 Skimmer
- BRS 200w titanium heater
- Caribsea Aragonite Special Grade Dry 40lbs
- MacroRocks dry live rock (foundation and shelf)
- Aquamaxx dry live rock
- whole bunch of little things u need to start a tank. Lol

will be using few equipments I already own, (to be replaced soon with):
- Radion xr-15 (Kessil AP9X. Than the Radion will go in the refugium)
*ended up getting a Kessil h80 flora for the refugium*
- Ecotech mp -10 power head (MP40 if needed)
- Arctica Titanium Chiller
- Tunze 3155 Osmolator ATO
- Aqua Medic Reefdoser Evo 4
- Various Live rock

equipments I will prob end up getting later:
- Innovative Marine Hydro-fil Ti ATO reservoir 5g
*ended up with gamma2 vittles About 9 gallons*
- IM DIY screen mesh lid
*ended up with JumpGuard pro with multi-cutout kit*
- Vivid Random Flow Generator
*Got it. Impressed so far*

Planning minimal aquascape

So far, the black APS stand is complete.
Very strong and lightweight.
The door is off intentionally atm to make setup easier.
Same for the provided shelf.

The Trigger sump has been placed in the stand.
Perfect fit with some room in the front.
Too nice at the moment to to hide it. Haha
Won’t be using the filter socks once the Triton method starts later

The tank (30 x 23.6 x 16.1) has been placed on the stand.
Looks freakin great, even tho it’s empty. Lol

made sure the skimmer and the return pump fits in the sump chambers.
Good to go.

next is plumbing

will try to update as often as I can

Carlitos

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CrazyCarlitos

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Dry fitted the drain pipes (1 main and 1 E-drain) last night

will prime and cement later

I tried to keep it simple as possible. Haha

1” pvc pipes blue 40 sch
2 unions per line 80 sch
2 90 degree joints per line 80 sch
1 gate valve for main line (angled little bit for easier grab and turn)

removed the pipe extension in the refugium (for the E-drain) so I can hear it if it’s ever used.
Other-wise, the E-Drain should remain dry.

basically, Measure, cut, sand and clean the pvc pipes

If u see something that doesn’t look right, let me know. Thx!

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ichthyoid

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Yes.
Semantics must’ve gotten in the way, as I was speaking from the perspective of the pump & sump.
-mea culpa
 
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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

the E-drain needed to be redone.
The primary drain line is fine, but the emergency drain is in the way of the refugium light.
Must re-route.
To make it easier, I will be using soft pipes. It’s an emergency drain, so it should be fine.
Waiting for some parts to finish up tonight.

In the meantime, decided to create a controller board on the IM provided shelf.
Bought a 24” x 7.75” x 1.25” wall shelf from Home Depot. $16
Drilled some holes using hole-saw.
and mounted the controllers using strong Velcro.
Left a room on the right side for another power-head controller, if needed.
Hung the Doser using Velcro also.
The Kessil H80 Tuna Flora was hung using the provided mount with screws.

note*
I will be removing the cable railway in the rear of the shelf (see x on pic)
It looked nice, but it will make changing/servicing the controllers a nightmare if I need to open the railways. It will be much easier without it since I will have limited access from the rear of the tank later.
From the front u cannot see it anyways.

C6D48207-FA65-44C1-9DC4-E66A4ED63408.jpeg F955BF3B-12EE-490F-A6F8-96272F2B91A9.jpeg 94699D8E-E5B3-4FC5-8CC6-DC73C8C50C59.jpeg 468CC640-6CFF-4385-B5FA-0B898EC3BC2B.jpeg 49028C46-2108-4FB8-B3B5-A6EC7E071414.jpeg 4D9D0AB8-BE8B-4F90-8822-82B6F6AB912E.jpeg 9FE4816F-B576-403A-BC4B-27EB183F7932.jpeg FA60CE6F-830B-4BEC-BB6A-B32BC41B0698.jpeg 4A245E8F-811B-49C1-8B96-8B7F3631E6B8.jpeg
 
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infinite0180

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Update:

the E-drain needed to be redone.
The primary drain line is fine, but the emergency drain is in the way of the refugium light.
Must re-route.
To make it easier, I will be using soft pipes. It’s an emergency drain, so it should be fine.
Waiting for some parts to finish up tonight.

In the meantime, decided to create a controller board on the IM provided shelf.
Bought a 24” x 7.75” x 1.25” wall shelf from Home Depot.
Drilled some holes using hole-saw.
and mounted the controllers using strong Velcro.
Left a room on the right side for another power-head controller, if needed.
Hung the Doser using Velcro also.
The Kessil H80 Tuna Flora was hung using the provided mount with screws.

note*
I will be removing the cable railway in the rear of the shelf (see x on pic)
It looked nice, but it will make changing/servicing the controllers a nightmare if I need to open the railways. It will be much easier without it since I will have limited access from the rear of the tank later.
From the front u cannot see it anyways.

C6D48207-FA65-44C1-9DC4-E66A4ED63408.jpeg F955BF3B-12EE-490F-A6F8-96272F2B91A9.jpeg 94699D8E-E5B3-4FC5-8CC6-DC73C8C50C59.jpeg 468CC640-6CFF-4385-B5FA-0B898EC3BC2B.jpeg 49028C46-2108-4FB8-B3B5-A6EC7E071414.jpeg 4D9D0AB8-BE8B-4F90-8822-82B6F6AB912E.jpeg 9FE4816F-B576-403A-BC4B-27EB183F7932.jpeg FA60CE6F-830B-4BEC-BB6A-B32BC41B0698.jpeg 4A245E8F-811B-49C1-8B96-8B7F3631E6B8.jpeg

Wow good idea with the floating shelf! I might just steal it for mine! So far i left the shelf out because it gives more access to the sump but that looks really nice!
 
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CrazyCarlitos

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Thanks!

in retrospect, I might put the 24” shelf to one side (instead of centering it) so I can reach behind with my hand thru the opening on the other side for servicing. Just in case.

Mine is centered... so I would need to lower the front of the shelf to do any work behind the board. Lol
That’s why I am removing the cable railway in the back.

* the shelf will NOT come out of the stand with the sump (Trigger 26) in place. *
 
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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

finished the plumbing last night. Will be testing for any leak today or tmrw. Fingers crossed*

In the mean time, I will start aquascaping.

the dry rocks have been rinsed and dried last week.
Same for the bleached rocks I had.

now just got to put it together. Lol

I have lotta “shelf” rocks, so hopefully I can make it appealing and functional.

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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

Hot wknd here in SoCal.

rinsing the 40lbs of dry sand took a while to get it clean... not ez.
But definitely worth it tho. Looks great with no cloud whatsoever in the tank.
I may end up taking some out later.. but I did use all 40 lbs for now (tank area - inner dimension 29” x 22.5”)

here is the aquascape I will be using until I figure out how the current blows the sand in the new tank.
I do not know the weight of the dry rocks. I also have 3 pieces of dry rock in the refugium below.

I am leaving plenty of room for coral growth. And trying to utilize the sq footage space since I do not have much height (16.1”) with the lagoon tank.

Using several “islands” upfront for showcasing and/or isolation. May add more flat rocks on sand bottom later when adding corals.

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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

The IM tank is beautiful

The finishes are super clean and the best news is no leak! Hahaha

very happy with the tank (even tho they didn’t tell me there was a New white stand coming out within couple of weeks when I placed the order for mine after few email. And cheaper too. Lol)

the Trigger sump. Also no leak. And also very nicely built. Two thumbs up.

the plumbing. No leak. Yay!
No issue with main drain, emergency drain, and the return pump.
Dialed it in using the gate valve and the return pump setting.
The pump is set around 50% mark. It is rated for 1900gph.
I am getting almost zero water sound... and more than x10 turnover afaik. Cool.

I added a random flow generator from Vivid Creative Aquatics. 3/4” loc-line.
The fit was not tight as the original tip that came with the IM tank.
Will watch for any issues, if any.
Although I do have any corals, I can see the various water flow on the top. Almost ever-changing. That’s a good thing imo.
I feel this is a great product at low price for anyone looking for random flow.
Will update later.

I also finished hooking up the Tunze ATO.
went with gamma2 vittles outback container from Amazon $30 for ATO reservoir
Wide open mouth makes it easier to pour in water.

wanted to get a nice acrylic ATO reservoir.
But in the end, I could not justify the high price along with the constant water marks showing. Lol

I made a small hole on the tube for Tunze pump near the top (inside the container) to avoid siphoning.
After setting up, tested it extensively and passed with out an issue.

last thing I did was adding the 4 VOSS bottles to be used for dosing.

some pics, otherwise it didn’t happen. Lol

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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

So this is how the sand naturally settled. Doesn’t seem to be any further movement.

I like it.

there is the one return line connected to RFG in the upper right corner.
And mp10 on the other side (middle) set to Reef mode @about 60%
If I need more flow, I will get a mp40 for easy maintenance

Pretty impressed with the RFG so far.
Can’t wait to see the flow pattern with some corals in later.

the E-flux 6010 is also performing great. Very quiet and powerful.
The IM tank came with 3/4” return bulkhead.
But I am using the 1” barb that came with the pump and using a reducer (after the soft pipe > barb/slip)

The 3/4“ barb with pump looked way to small for the pressure and water flow I need (min x10 turnover)
The inner diameter of the 3/4” barb was way smaller than the 3/4” pvc pipe.

I started running the skimmer without the lid to start the break-in process.
The E-ssence s130 is actually pretty quiet with the lid on.

I added Bio-Spira last week and added couple of clowns few days later.
They look happy and eating well.

the dark spot on the sand at right is a piece of coralline algae from another tank.

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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

Added a cleaner shrimp yesterday.

so far just the cleaner shrimp and two clowns
-one Semi-Picasso (percula) and one Gladiator (ocellaris)-

also assembled the JumpGuard pro (75cm x 75cm).
I will need it since I plan to get couple of different flasher wrasses.
I made a simple rectangle lid since I am not running DT lights at the moment. (No pic at this time)
Pretty ez diy.
I like the way it sits inside the rim. Nice and neat. The black 1/4 netting is perfect for lids imo.

I purchased the JumpGuard multi cut-out kit to make the slot for the Kessil rim mount later.

Ordered Chaeto, Pom Pom, 5280 Pods and OceanMagik from Algae Barn on Fri.
Those macros, along with the most pods/OceanMagik will go in the refugium and I will start the 12-hr light cycle on the Kessil H80 flora
Rest of the pods/OceanMagik will go in the DT

the skimmer has been running without the lids (actually I just have the drain plug removed now) and still going thru break-in.
I have lowered the water level to about 7,25” and running the skimmer outlet valve at middle (6)
I will turn it off for few days after I add the pods.
Not much to skim anyways right now.

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Update:

The products from Algae Barn came yesterday vis USPS.
I received it around 6 pm on a hot SoCal day... so I was worried about the copepods.

Luckily, Algae Barn packed it very well. Thumbs up.
I can see some bigger copepods swimming still.
I also ordered the golf size Chaeto and Pom Pom..but the ones I received were good size. Nice!

Rinsed the two macros gently to remove the smaller pieces
Tied the Pom Pom on to the rock in the refugium (first chamber)
And threw In the Chaeto in the same chamber.
I first wedged in Chaeto between two rocks...
But later moved it under the drain pipe for more movement, hopefully.

The H80 is set on “grow” and @ 60% intensity.
Will ramp it up slowly over couple of weeks to 100%, depending on macro conditions.
Light is scheduled to run from 10pm - 10am on a digital timer ($13 Amazon)

Next, I turned off the skimmer and the return pump.
Added about 80% of the pods into the refugium and rest into the DT
Added roughly 50% of the OceanMagik in the refugium, 20% in the DT, and rest is in the refrigerator for later use. I will prob pour in the leftover in few days to supplement.
The skimmer will remain off for few days.
The pump was turned back on after 45mins

hopefully the macros and pods all thrive.

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CrazyCarlitos

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Decided I need a Coral Quarantine tank.
Better to be proactive rather than reactive. YMMV
I haven’t decided how long the quarantine period will be, yet.

Bought a 10 gallon tank from Petco for like $12 and a Aquaclear HOB filter for $27 from Amazon.
Was gonna sell the Radion xr-15 pro.. but now will use it to light this coral quarantine tank.
I have most of the other equipments already (heater, pumps, egg crate and pvc) so putting it together should not be too difficult.
The hardest part will be the loooong wait before I can add the new corals to the DT. Lol

I will post pics once it’s done
 
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CrazyCarlitos

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Update:

added a Blood Red Fire shrimp on sat.

he is huge... maybe over 2” long. Lol
Prob double the size of the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner shrimp.
They seem fine with each other, so far.

went to several lfs near by, but didn’t see any fish I liked
So ended up asking one lfs to look out for McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse and/or African Midas Blenny.

Coral quarantine tank is set, except for the water. (no pic atm)
Currently have the bio-media in the DT sump to seed it with some beneficial bacteria. (1-2 weeks)
Will start cycling process soon with ammonia.
So it’s gonna be a while before I can even get a coral. Sigh.

working on my patience.... lol

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CrazyCarlitos

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That was fast.. Lol

woke up this morning and saw that the Fire shrimp molted overnight.
Guess he outgrew the shell already.

I will leave the empty shrimp shell in the tank for few days

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Nice looking build! Now that I see 40 pounds of sand in your tank, I think thats plenty for me!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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