IM 30g Long journey

[Minmay]

Hi everyone, I've been MIA for a few months but I'm back with a new journey at hand. My daddy passed away 2 weeks ago and I thought maybe it would be a good idea to break down my 2 12g tanks and combine it to 1 tank to keep my mind busy and not fall into depression. So, yesterday I ordered IM 30g long and a Tunze usa 9004 skimmer. Im really excited about this new build and putting all my fish/coral babies in one tank. If there are any suggestions on possible rockscape or if anyone has an IM 30g Long, please let me know how you like or dislike about the tank. Thank you for reading and I look forward to feedback. 

[A Little Blue]

Sorry to hear about your loss. 

Good that you are trying to keep your mind occupied. And reef tank is a great idea. 

I own IM30L so if you have any specific question, just ask. 

There is a lot to like about IM30L but I will start with what I do not like about it. 

• most owners of this tank love it for its dimensions. I think it could have been a few inches taller and wider. It would make aquascaping easier,  more scape options and more room for verticality growing corals or Gorgonians. 

• top screen over the tank is just OK but not great. It gives a weird screen-like shading and is not transparent enough. 

There are ways to fix it if you are interested later on. 

 

I don’t use sandbed but compensated with a lot of live rock that provides plenty of surface area for bacteria to grow and hiding places for species I keep. Your taste might be different but I’ll try to help if I can. 

 

I just bought the same skimmer (not sure if  I’m going to use it with this tank or not) so it will be interesting to see how it works for you. 

 

And lastly, there are number of IM30L owners on here (and that number seems to be growing) to help you out with the basics and setup. Here is my scape to give you idea how I set this up. 

 

 

Welcome to IM30L club and good luck with your new venture. 

[Minmay]

9 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Sorry to hear about your loss. 

Good that you are trying to keep your mind occupied. And reef tank is a great idea. 

I own IM30L so if you have any specific question, just ask. 

There is a lot to like about IM30L but I will start with what I do not like about it. 

• most owners of this tank love it for its dimensions. I think it could have been a few inches taller and wider. It would make aquascaping easier,  more scape options and more room for verticality growing corals or Gorgonians. 

• top screen over the tank is just OK but not great. It gives a weird screen-like shading and is not transparent enough. 

There are ways to fix it if you are interested later on. 

 

I don’t use sandbed but compensated with a lot of live rock that provides plenty of surface area for bacteria to grow and hiding places for species I keep. Your taste might be different but I’ll try to help if I can. 

 

I just bought the same skimmer (not sure if  I’m going to use it with this tank or not) so it will be interesting to see how it works for you. 

 

And lastly, there are number of IM30L owners on here (and that number seems to be growing) to help you out with the basics and setup. Here is my scape to give you idea how I set this up. 

 

 

Welcome to IM30L club and good luck with your new venture. 

Hi there, thank u for your condolences. What a beautiful scape you have there. From the reviews that i have read on this tank some ppl have a problem with it becoming bowed inwards amd leaving a 1/4 gap with screen and chambers. Has that happened to you? If so, how did you fix it? This will be my very first skimmer so I have no idea what to look for to see if its working correctly lol

[WV Reefer]

Sorry to hear about your dad. 😞 

 

But it’s good to have you back. 🙂 

[mitten_reef]

Sorry to hear about your dad. 

 

I'm an IM30L owner too.

 

Here's my tank thread https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/374445-micoasts-im30l-help-me-with-scape/.  

 

I have the same skimmer, but I have not had the need to use it on this one.  I didn't worked with it enough on the last tank to truly know its potential, either good or bad. 

 

I guess if I have to a chance to scape an IM30L from the ground up, I would be careful with the size of base rocks.  Like @A Little Blue said, it's hard to get a nice scape with the long but narrow (front-to-back) dimension.  But you can get inspiration from some other long and narrow tanks too, just search for ppl with mr aqua/aquamaxx 12g long or 22g long. 

 

 

[A Little Blue]

38 minutes ago, Minmay said:

Hi there, thank u for your condolences. What a beautiful scape you have there. From the reviews that i have read on this tank some ppl have a problem with it becoming bowed inwards amd leaving a 1/4 gap with screen and chambers. Has that happened to you? If so, how did you fix it? This will be my very first skimmer so I have no idea what to look for to see if its working correctly lol

True, it bows a bit, maybe 1/8”. It doesn’t bother me at the moment but if it does, I’ll be looking for an easy/safe fix. 

Thank you for kind words and hope to see your tank turn into a little oasis. 

Ohhh, and I am not skimmer kind of a guy but I started feeding more heavy and want to have it on hand just in case. 

@micoastreefing has a really nice tank that has been running a lot longer then mine, so you might find some useful info  there and perhaps some inspiration as well. 

 

[mitten_reef]

2 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

True, it bows a bit, maybe 1/8”. It doesn’t bother me at the moment but if it does, I’ll be looking for an easy/safe fix. 

Thank you for kind words and hope to see your tank turn into a little oasis. 

Ohhh, and I am not skimmer kind of a guy but I started feeding more heavy and want to have it on hand just in case. 

@micoastreefing has a really nice tank that has been running a lot longer then mine, so you might find some useful info  there and perhaps some inspaation as well. 

 

HAHA the age/history of my journal is misleading - the tank has only been in operation since January or so....livestock well, those have been around much longer than the tank has. But thank you for your kind words.

[A Little Blue]

6 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

HAHA the age/history of my journal is misleading - the tank has only been in operation since January or so....livestock well, those have been around much longer than the tank has. But thank you for your kind words.

Sooooo... old furniture in new condo? Lol 

Still very nice build and growth. 👍

Somewhat similar story here (move after old tank cracked). 

[Minmay]

1 hour ago, WV Reefer said:

Sorry to hear about your dad. 😞 

 

But it’s good to have you back. 🙂 

Thank u so much. I appreciate your kind words

[Minmay]

49 minutes ago, micoastreefing said:

Sorry to hear about your dad. 

 

I'm an IM30L owner too.

 

Here's my tank thread https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/374445-micoasts-im30l-help-me-with-scape/.  

 

I have the same skimmer, but I have not had the need to use it on this one.  I didn't worked with it enough on the last tank to truly know its potential, either good or bad. 

 

I guess if I have to a chance to scape an IM30L from the ground up, I would be careful with the size of base rocks.  Like @A Little Blue said, it's hard to get a nice scape with the long but narrow (front-to-back) dimension.  But you can get inspiration from some other long and narrow tanks too, just search for ppl with mr aqua/aquamaxx 12g long or 22g long. 

 

 

Thank u. I will be reading your thread and im sure i'll get inspiration from it. I've read that little is more so hopefully I'll be able to come up with something pretty to look at. I'll be posting pics as soon as possible

[Minmay]

Yesterday I went to LFS where I usually get my SW. When I started going to her she was using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt then she switched to Tropic Marin Pro. Oooo man what a difference. I just love the way my corals responded to the switch. 1 head of my hammer started receding and I couldnt figure out why but when I started using Tropic Marin it bounced back to life and is doing great. Well, my LFS decided to go back to Red sea Coral Pro because of customer complaints. I was disappointed but understood. Today i decided Imma bite the bullet and buy a bucket of Tropic Marin Pro. It was on sale for $89 plus I got a $25 off cert from last purchase so I only paid $72 (SCORE!). I figured New Condo for my babies I might as well get them the salt that they responded very well to. I know the UPS man is prolly gonna get to know me and hate me lol. 

[specore]

Just set mine up last week after downgrading from an 18x36x18 to this and losing a lot of real estate.  Overall though loving the tank.  No issues with the mesh top myself, although the two 360n's blast the tank with light :).  Also figure if the back begins to bow I can always put acrylic blocking (similar to what they between joists in construction) to correct.  

[Minmay]

4 hours ago, specore said:

Just set mine up last week after downgrading from an 18x36x18 to this and losing a lot of real estate.  Overall though loving the tank.  No issues with the mesh top myself, although the two 360n's blast the tank with light :).  Also figure if the back begins to bow I can always put acrylic blocking (similar to what they between joists in construction) to correct.  

Wow, pretty setup you have there! I love how you have your lights setup to the wall. My tank is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow so hopefully i can post some pics soon. Thanks for the suggestion inregards to possible bowing. Now I know what I need to do if that ever happens to my tank but crossing my fingers that it doesnt

[Minmay]

I got my tank amd second Ai Prime light in today and its a beautiful tank. Heavy as hell but my babies will love the new condo. Doing a overnight leak test. Hopefully I can get everything transferred over tomorrow before family arrives this weekend for daddy's services. 

[Minmay]

Finished my tank. Pre-mixed my own water with Tropic Marine Pro salt. The corals responding well to it. I just love this tank. The pic doesnt do it any justice. Hope yall like it. 

[A Little Blue]

[Minmay]

18 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

That looks much better. Thank u for fixing it 😁

[banasophia]

@A Little Blue how did you do that???

[sean1986]

I also have the IM 30, love this tank so far. 

[Minmay]

1 hour ago, sean1986 said:

I also have the IM 30, love this tank so far. 

WOW Thats just beautiful 

[JTM1991]

On 6/22/2018 at 12:44 PM, A Little Blue said:

 

What did you use to edit this? 

[JTM1991]

Also fellow IM30l owner as well I have learned a lot from this site. Sorry about your dad passing. 

[A Little Blue]

27 minutes ago, JTM1991 said:

 

What did you use to edit this? 

PS Express app. 

[Minmay]

On 6/26/2018 at 1:15 PM, JTM1991 said:

Also fellow IM30l owner as well I have learned a lot from this site. Sorry about your dad passing. 

Thank u for your condolences. I just love your scape. Its gonna look awesome with corals on it. Do you know what type of stock you're gonna get?

[JTM1991]

7 hours ago, Minmay said:

Thank u for your condolences. I just love your scape. Its gonna look awesome with corals on it. Do you know what type of stock you're gonna get?

Nothing planned this is my first real attempt at a reef tank I didn’t really try with my old tanks because I knew I was moving and i didn’t want to spend too much money on something that was gonna die.