IM peninsula 14 impulse buy

[Ty.]

So I was at the foster and smith retail store this weekend and I "accidently" picked up an Innovative marine 14 gallon peninsula tank on clearance for $25 

 

This will be my first venture into saltwater and I have been doing plenty of reading but still have a few questions.  

 

I'm starting to pick up equipment to set the tank up right now, and so far i have the tank, and the IM stand, a cobalt aquatic neo-therm 75w heater, a 20 lb bag of caribsea pink Fiji sand, instant ocean salt crystals, a hydrometer, and a cheap powerhead and heater for mixing salt on order from amazon right now. I'm just wondering what else I should order up to get this thing going? I know I'm going to need about 10lbs of live rock, but I should be able to get that from foster and smith.

 

Also once I get some live rock will I be able to run the tank for a while without adding any sort of snails or inverts? Will the tank cycle with out any sort of Bio load, and would it stay cycled? 

 

Any other helpful tips y'all might have for setting this thing up, or what other equipment I should look at would be appriciated. 

 

Thanks. 

[Joevember]

$25????

They were on sale on their website for $125, and the original price is $200.

That is one of the smartest 'impulse buys' you can make.

Also you need to add a light to your list.

[Ty.]

Thanks, the stand was also on clearance so I'm only $75 into the tank and stand.

 

I also do have a light that I was going to try using that amazon sent it to me on accident instead of the light I wanted for my 29 gallon freshwater and they just refunded me my money and said to keep the light. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JTB5Q5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_iEZGBbP2ZNZD4

 

 Its nothing fancy, but should work for now. 

[Joevember]

5 minutes ago, Ty. said:

Thanks, the stand was also on clearance so I'm only $75 into the tank and stand.

 

I also do have a light that I was going to try using that amazon sent it to me on accident instead of the light I wanted for my 29 gallon freshwater and they just refunded me my money and said to keep the light. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JTB5Q5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_iEZGBbP2ZNZD4

 

 Its nothing fancy, but should work for now. 

That will be a good light for medium light LPS and softiea in a tank your size. I cannot believe how lucky you are with the tank and the light.

I would go up to wisconsin to buy the rest of their IM tanks if the store wasn't 270 miles away from me...😝

[Clown79]

7 hours ago, Ty. said:

So I was at the foster and smith retail store this weekend and I "accidently" picked up an Innovative marine 14 gallon peninsula tank on clearance for $25 

 

This will be my first venture into saltwater and I have been doing plenty of reading but still have a few questions.  

 

I'm starting to pick up equipment to set the tank up right now, and so far i have the tank, and the IM stand, a cobalt aquatic neo-therm 75w heater, a 20 lb bag of caribsea pink Fiji sand, instant ocean salt crystals, a hydrometer, and a cheap powerhead and heater for mixing salt on order from amazon right now. I'm just wondering what else I should order up to get this thing going? I know I'm going to need about 10lbs of live rock, but I should be able to get that from foster and smith.

 

Also once I get some live rock will I be able to run the tank for a while without adding any sort of snails or inverts? Will the tank cycle with out any sort of Bio load, and would it stay cycled? 

 

Any other helpful tips y'all might have for setting this thing up, or what other equipment I should look at would be appriciated. 

 

Thanks. 

I'd recommend returning the hydrometer, they are horribly unreliable. You want a refractometer.

 

As for cycling. It will depend on the rocks.

 

Dry rock-you need to introduce an ammonia source to start the cycle. Many use Dr Tim's products, their ammonia and bacteria.

 

Liverock- wet rock purchased in a store often has either a very short cycle or none at all. It depends if its cured or not.

 

If you order liverock that's wet, you will have a mini cycle as there will be die off during shipping.

 

When a tank is cycled, its cycled. The bacteria won't die. To die would need rocks being dried out, some sort of chemicals, a complete disaster to the tank.

 

You will need test kits for the cycling and after for corals as well as a powerhead in the tank

[banasophia]

Wow, you are lucky!!! Can’t wait to follow your setup. And I second the comment on the hydrometer... you want to switch to a refractometer asap to get off to a good start mixing and measuring your saltwater to the correct specific gravity. 

[Ty.]

Thanks for the tip on the refractometer. Any specific ones.to look for, or just one with good reviews on amazon? 

 

I'm also going to try for cured live rock, I'm.pretty sure I can get.some.out of the foster.and smith stock tanks. Am I right at shooting for about 10 lbs of rock? 

 

As far as equipment goes, what do I still need for the media side of the tank? Is a Skimmer necessary, or can I run for a while without one and add it later once i start adding things to the tank?  Is a small powerhead something I should look onto also, and what models or brands should I look at? I have also been looking at ATO systems, but I think I'm okay with staying more hands on with the tank right now until I get the hang of everything and will get one later. Finally is the IM media tray tower worth looking at over the inlet sock that comes with the tank? 

 

Thanks again!  

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

Congrats!

 

I run of these tanks they are a blast. Biggest difference I made to the tank was the media rack off of Amazon. ($30) I use the stock return and just added a cheap wave maker to the outlet from amazing. ($12). AI Prime lighting has been more than sufficient but you could get something less expensive. 

 

Feel free to ask any other questions. I have 8 lbs of LR and live sand in mine currently. I haven’t seen a need for a skimmer with water changes. 

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

This is the wave maker I use on the return. Cheap and efficient for flow in the 14. 

[specore]

2 hours ago, Ty. said:

Thanks for the tip on the refractometer. Any specific ones.to look for, or just one with good reviews on amazon? 

 

I'm also going to try for cured live rock, I'm.pretty sure I can get.some.out of the foster.and smith stock tanks. Am I right at shooting for about 10 lbs of rock? 

 

As far as equipment goes, what do I still need for the media side of the tank? Is a Skimmer necessary, or can I run for a while without one and add it later once i start adding things to the tank?  Is a small powerhead something I should look onto also, and what models or brands should I look at? I have also been looking at ATO systems, but I think I'm okay with staying more hands on with the tank right now until I get the hang of everything and will get one later. Finally is the IM media tray tower worth looking at over the inlet sock that comes with the tank? 

 

Thanks again!  

Bulk Reef is generally my go to for equipment.  Here's a refractometer which comes with the necessary calibration fluid.  As far as a skimmer I don't see them as necessary, or even extremely beneficial on such a small tank.  Regular water changes will do more for you than a skimmer.  I would agree on the ATO, although they are convenient not necessary.  You can always add one later.  

 

The only other thing I would recommend for this tank besides a powerhead would be a media basket from InTank.  They are far superior to the filter socks that come with the tank. 

[Ty.]

1 hour ago, Nano Nano Boo Boo said:

This is the wave maker I use on the return. Cheap and efficient for flow in the 14. 

So you just run that instead of the factory diverter and thats enough flow without a powerhead?

 

I have the media basket in my amazon cart right now, any tips on what to run in it? 

 

I have also seen the middle chamber on the tank turned into a refugem, would this be a better route to go instead of a Skimmer, or just leave it empty for now? 

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

I indeed use that and it’s a good amount of flow. It’s random so works well for such a small tank. My frogspawn and torch seem to really enjoy it. 

 

I have the media rack and really think it’s a great upgrade. I use filter floss in the top to catch bigger debris. The middle I have chaeto growing, I have a $12 light from amazon suction cupped to the back for growth. You can simply peel the black off the back in one spot to allow light in.  Lastly I have carbon and phos reducer in the bottom compartment. Working well so far. 

 

Ill try and post some pics after work so you can see it. 

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

I really wouldn’t worry about a skimmer. The chaeto really helps things and doing small 1 gallon water changes on this tank takes 10 minutes. Much better approach in my opinion. 

[Ty.]

Am I better off cheato in the filter basket, or the entire middle chamber on the back of the tank? 

[Clown79]

4 hours ago, Ty. said:

Thanks for the tip on the refractometer. Any specific ones.to look for, or just one with good reviews on amazon? 

 

I'm also going to try for cured live rock, I'm.pretty sure I can get.some.out of the foster.and smith stock tanks. Am I right at shooting for about 10 lbs of rock? 

 

As far as equipment goes, what do I still need for the media side of the tank? Is a Skimmer necessary, or can I run for a while without one and add it later once i start adding things to the tank?  Is a small powerhead something I should look onto also, and what models or brands should I look at? I have also been looking at ATO systems, but I think I'm okay with staying more hands on with the tank right now until I get the hang of everything and will get one later. Finally is the IM media tray tower worth looking at over the inlet sock that comes with the tank? 

 

Thanks again!  

I use a sybon refractometer. It was expensive but I rarely need to calibrate it and it reads salinity at any temperature.

 

Look for one with good reviews.

 

10lbs of good rock is good.

 

Powerheads are really nice to have and there are many kinds. It's an important equipment.

Same with lights.

Hydor Koralia - great, good price, reliable

Tunze - great reviews no personal experience

Jebao - conflicting reviews, I wasn't happy myself

Aqamai - love it, customizable flow

Sicce - great product, quiet, reliable

Ecotech - favoured but too expensive for me 

 

Skimmers are great but not necessary on nano's if you have good husbandry and don't overstock

 

I manually top up daily but an ato helps for those who are very busy, travel, want a fully automated system

 

 

Media baskets are fantastic.

Most run filter floss. We buy it in bulk, cut it up to fit in the top section of the basket, and replace 2 times a week.

 

A good carbon is nice to use, removes toxins and polishes water. 

 

Purigen is another good product.

 

Phos reducers should be used as needed as they will strip available nutrients to macro algaes and corals

 

I prefer to buy my media in the larger containers and bag it myself. I like to control my qty ov media and change it more often. It's more cost effective too and I got better results

 

You can buy chemipure that's prebagged. 

[Clown79]

2 minutes ago, Ty. said:

Am I better off cheato in the filter basket, or the entire middle chamber on the back of the tank? 

Chaeto is great but you will need a light for it and not everyone can keep it alive. 

The only issue with chaeto, the less you have, the less nutrients it removes.

 

You will need a chamber for the heater, it should not be in the return pumps chamber.

[A Little Blue]

Equipment and filter choice for my IM14:

1st chamber - IM UV sterilizer with ChemiPure Nano Blue on top of the mechanical filter sponge that UV comes with. 

2nd chamber - Sea Grape macro algae and old JBJ NanoGlo light as well as few MarinePure spheres for biological filtration. 

3th chamber - Cobalt heater, IM MightyJet return pump, Tunze ATO. 

Stock nozzle replaced with Vivid RFG nozzle for random flow. No internal circulation pump/wavemaker. 

Light - AI Prime HD. 

[banasophia]

In my IM Nuvo 10 tank, since the back chamber is smaller than my other tank (and I do like to run a skimmer so I need room for that), I am doing macro algae in the display instead of a refugium, and I’m liking it so far. Doesn’t have all the benefits of a refugium, but it grows fast and needs to be cut back weekly so I’m assuming it’s helping with nutrient export, and I think it looks pretty. 

 

 

[Wyatt45]

I couldn’t see it.  Is it in a container?  Also what is that beast that your clown is in there?

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

34 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Equipment and filter choice for my IM14:

1st chamber - IM UV sterilizer with ChemiPure Nano Blue on top of the mechanical filter sponge that UV comes with. 

2nd chamber - Sea Grape macro algae and old JBJ NanoGlo light as well as few MarinePure spheres for biological filtration. 

3th chamber - Cobalt heater, IM MightyJet return pump, Tunze ATO. 

Stock nozzle replaced with Vivid RFG nozzle for random flow. No internal circulation pump/wavemaker. 

Light - AI Prime HD. 

Is that the stock return? Been thinking about upgrading but not sure it's possible.

[banasophia]

17 minutes ago, Wyatt45 said:

I couldn’t see it.  Is it in a container?  Also what is that beast that your clown is in there?

Haha the macro is the red stuff in the back left corner, behind the nem. That nem was sold to me as a red BTA a few weeks ago... so colorful, thinking it may be a different type. Anyway, there are two types of macro algae there. I think they are dragons breath and dragons tongue, but I don’t know the names for sure... I got them from my LFS to try to feed my sea hare, but he didn’t like them.

[A Little Blue]

20 minutes ago, Nano Nano Boo Boo said:

Is that the stock return? Been thinking about upgrading but not sure it's possible.

Return pump? No, it's an upgrade. You might wanna look into a different pump as I had to make some modification to make it fit and work without issues. But it provides more than enough flow and feeding mode is a plus.

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

45 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

Return pump? No, it's an upgrade. You might wanna look into a different pump as I had to make some modification to make it fit and work without issues. But it provides more than enough flow and feeding mode is a plus.

Absolutely going to research a bit. Would love to upgrade mine but not sure of options in such a small tank. 

 

 

May go with the Sicce 1.0....just a little more movement.

[A Little Blue]

29 minutes ago, Nano Nano Boo Boo said:

Absolutely going to research a bit. Would love to upgrade mine but not sure of options in such a small tank. 

I can’t be much help there. Perhaps IM14 owners thread have a list of pumps that fit. Again, IM Mighty Jet will fit if you are willing to shave off 1/4” of the intake threaded tube. Otherwise, it will seat 1/8” -1/4” from the chamber wall. It will still work but IMO, flow will be restricted and there is a risk of larger particles such as waste or piece of floss that could potentially clog the intake tube. 

 

Edit: 

quick ilustration of the mod

[Ty.]

This has quite a bit of info on what will fit in the tank.