- Joined
- Feb 21, 2026
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Georgia
- What state or country do you live in
- Georgia
Figure I did a build thread for my first nano tank, I should do one for the next one too!
I had so much fun with my nano, I knew pretty early on that I was going to want another bigger tank. There was a space in our living room that's exactly 49" wide and so I pretty much picked it as the location for the next time. The intention was to slowly look for a tank and parts for it from forums and Facebook Marketplace which led me to this tank! It's an IM SR80 AIO.
My plan was to leave it in the garage until I can get all the parts sourced and then get it up and running sometime next year....Well the wife had different plans. She saw the tank and pretty much said, make it so!
I've got ~5lb of citric acid powder on order and plan to run that for a day or two and then give it a good cleaning. I bought some 3/4 boards from Lowes and plan to put one beneath the stand and another between the stand and the tank. Also bought some thin particle boards that I can cut and put into the stand to mount all of the equipment controllers.
Plan for now is simple. I need to source some pumps, heaters, and lights. I'm planning to make this all around the Neptune system so I'm looking for a Neptune pro also.
Ideally, I also want AWC but I haven't yet figured out where to plumb the drain line. There's no pipes behind the wall so I gotta figure that out...There was thoughts on converting it somehow into something with a sump but a convo at one of my lfs' scared me enough about overflows that I ruled that out.
As far as stock. Gonna start with a pair of clowns, preferably picassos. Also want a watchman goby and a pistol shrimp since they didn't survive our nano. Probably a few nice torches and a zoa garden down below.
That's it for now, don't really know what else to put in it yet but I've learned, I'm in no rush this time around!
PS. Yes it's replacing Pickle's bed but don't worry, he has a massive beanbag on the other side that he's also claimed!

I had so much fun with my nano, I knew pretty early on that I was going to want another bigger tank. There was a space in our living room that's exactly 49" wide and so I pretty much picked it as the location for the next time. The intention was to slowly look for a tank and parts for it from forums and Facebook Marketplace which led me to this tank! It's an IM SR80 AIO.
My plan was to leave it in the garage until I can get all the parts sourced and then get it up and running sometime next year....Well the wife had different plans. She saw the tank and pretty much said, make it so!
I've got ~5lb of citric acid powder on order and plan to run that for a day or two and then give it a good cleaning. I bought some 3/4 boards from Lowes and plan to put one beneath the stand and another between the stand and the tank. Also bought some thin particle boards that I can cut and put into the stand to mount all of the equipment controllers.
Plan for now is simple. I need to source some pumps, heaters, and lights. I'm planning to make this all around the Neptune system so I'm looking for a Neptune pro also.
Ideally, I also want AWC but I haven't yet figured out where to plumb the drain line. There's no pipes behind the wall so I gotta figure that out...There was thoughts on converting it somehow into something with a sump but a convo at one of my lfs' scared me enough about overflows that I ruled that out.
As far as stock. Gonna start with a pair of clowns, preferably picassos. Also want a watchman goby and a pistol shrimp since they didn't survive our nano. Probably a few nice torches and a zoa garden down below.
That's it for now, don't really know what else to put in it yet but I've learned, I'm in no rush this time around!
PS. Yes it's replacing Pickle's bed but don't worry, he has a massive beanbag on the other side that he's also claimed!

