ShoreReefer
Active Member
Good morning reefing family. This build started in my head last year when I was contemplating which route I should take for an upgrade. After careful consideration I decided to upgrade from a 72x18x22 second hand tank to a brand new Innovative Marine 200EXT. The price and the dimensions are really what drove me to settling on this tank. Here are a few pictures of my current 4 year old setup. Now was the hard part of convincing my better half that an upgrade was needed. She hated the buckets and equipment next to the stand and the bottles on top of the canopy creating clutter so I promised to build a cabinet next to the stand.
Believe it or not the dogs were extremely helpful in convincing the better half that now is a good time for an upgrade. You see we have 2 dogs (65lb Sato dog and 95lb Chocolate Lab) as well as engineered hardwood floor on our first floor slab which have become extremely scratched up because of their nails. We have decided to replace the engineered hardwood with a faux wood tile which means breaking the current tank down, taking up and replacing the floor and putting the tank back up so what better time for an upgrade! That coupled with a promotion at work and a nice pay increase and she finally said yes . Which leads to this morning’s confirmed order of a brand new tank.
I also went back and forth in my head deciding if I should just get the tank and stand and use my existing sump and return pumps or the complete package. This was especially tough to decide because I was able to install a filter roller in my current setup which I don’t believe you can in the new sump. After careful deliberation I went with the complete package because I liked the idea of the larger sump than I currently have, a new return pump and all of the included plumbing. I will update later today with the equipment and stocking lists. Now time for the weekly maintenance. Stay tuned!
Believe it or not the dogs were extremely helpful in convincing the better half that now is a good time for an upgrade. You see we have 2 dogs (65lb Sato dog and 95lb Chocolate Lab) as well as engineered hardwood floor on our first floor slab which have become extremely scratched up because of their nails. We have decided to replace the engineered hardwood with a faux wood tile which means breaking the current tank down, taking up and replacing the floor and putting the tank back up so what better time for an upgrade! That coupled with a promotion at work and a nice pay increase and she finally said yes . Which leads to this morning’s confirmed order of a brand new tank.
I also went back and forth in my head deciding if I should just get the tank and stand and use my existing sump and return pumps or the complete package. This was especially tough to decide because I was able to install a filter roller in my current setup which I don’t believe you can in the new sump. After careful deliberation I went with the complete package because I liked the idea of the larger sump than I currently have, a new return pump and all of the included plumbing. I will update later today with the equipment and stocking lists. Now time for the weekly maintenance. Stay tuned!
