Randy’s Innovative Marine 75 Ext

[RandyC]

So I decided to replace my Reefer 250 with another tank that had a little deeper profile and also an external overflow. Gave me a good 5-6” of back to front space versus the reefer.

I had a little bit of a slow start after I needed to get some tank replacements (two). The replacements were because of a ~5mm bubble in the front seam of both tanks. Not sure how they made it past quality control twice, which is unfortunate because in the past, I’ve had great quality from multiple IM tanks. However, I will say this, their customer support was second to none and I had two replacement tanks delivered in less than 2.5 weeks. I never so much as got a whiff of attitude from them, they just wanted to make it right. Tank glass quality, the overflow and the seams of the new tank are awesome. IM does make some great tanks.

Tank has been running for 24 days so far. I’ll come back and add some equipment details later, but here’s what it looks like today. It’s a little crowded because I shutdown a couple tanks and consolidated.

 

[rdriggett]

I'm considering upgrading to an IM 75 EXT so I'm looking forward to a review of the tank. Good luck!

 

[RandyC]

I decided on a Trigger Triton 26 sump and while I generally like it, two problems needed to be fixed. I can’t stand water noise….so I get a little ocd about fixing things like this.

#1: air suckage into drain line

Fix was easy, diagnosing the problem was a pain in the arse. It turned out that the slip-to-thread adapter they were using was allowing air to be sucked in from the thread side (the “bottom” of the adapter). I used a 3/4” bulkhead gasket where the arrow points. Problem solved and no more bubbles.

#2: waterfall into return compartment

For this, I built a sponge tray that hangs off the return baffle. Worked like a charm.

I can only hear the hum of the pumps now. My reefing ears are happy!

 

[RandyC]

Some little mods I’ve made so far.

#1: cooling

I wanted to avoid the honking sized fans on the display tank, so I’m giving this a try. I used a 24V 120mm computer fan over the sump. I used a couple of connectors to convert it to use the 24V port on an EB832 so I didn’t have to take up an extra 120v outlet/plug. I also cut a new lid and cut out a hole for the fan attached with nylon screws.

#2: minimizing magnets in tank - feeding ring. This was a simple one, I just made an acrylic square and put it under my auto feeder clamp.

 

[RandyC]

Mods continued

#3: external fuge

I like adding water volume and also like having a frag tank in the sump that runs lighting opposite the display tank, so I needed an extra space for a fuge. I converted a trigger 5 gallon ato and added an overflow box. Runs off a mighty jet mini pump.

#4: securing pipe. One thing about the all aluminum stand is there’s no easy place to secure pipes. You could just glue wood blocks or use some self drilling sheet metal screws, but I didn’t want to ruin the stand, so I came up with this.

I supported a couple wood blocks with the tension cams that IM sells for supporting shelves and routing out some 2x4 blocks to fit the tension cam in to hold the block in place. I’m sure you could have accomplished something similar with t-bolts and nuts, but I used the cams because I had some on hand.

 

[Da_Neefer]

Some little mods I’ve made so far.

#1: cooling

I wanted to avoid the honking sized fans on the display tank, so I’m giving this a try. I used a 24V 120mm computer fan over the sump. I used a couple of connectors to convert it to uae the 24V port on an EB832 so I didn’t have to take up an extra plug. I also cut a new lid and cut out a hole for the fan attached with nylon screws.

View attachment 43038View attachment 43039View attachment 43040View attachment 43041View attachment 43042View attachment 43043

#2: minimizing magnets in tank - feeding ring. This was a simple one, I just made an acrylic square and put it under my auto feeder.

View attachment 43044View attachment 43045View attachment 43046

I like the placement of the fan below the tank. Do you think you’ll get a bunch of condensation with it semi enclosed like that and not get the cooling you want?

 

[RandyC]

I like the placement of the fan below the tank. Do you think you’ll get a bunch of condensation with it semi enclosed like that and not get the cooling you want?

It’s still fairly open and the stand has no backing. So airflow and ventilation should still be pretty good. The fan is rated IP67 (semi dust/weatherproof) so we’ll see if it lasts.

 

[Zumareef]

Wow, impressive plumbing and cable management! Going to be a great reef.

Curios how you attached all the power bricks to the ceiling of the stand?

 

[RandyC]

Wow, impressive plumbing and cable management! Going to be a great reef.

Curios how you attached all the power bricks to the ceiling of the stand?

I just used 3 command strips. The 16lb ones.

https://a.co/4AkPsef

 

[Patio]

Looks great, Randy! How high are you driving your lights?

 

[RandyC]

Looks great, Randy! How high are you driving your lights?

All three xr30 g4 pros are running on this program.

 

[RandyC]

For those wondering where the other “magic” happens, I have an under the stair pantry/storage behind the tank. That’s where I have a 20 gallon ATO, the calcium reactor setup and a doser for sodium nitrate. I just feed tubes and low voltage wiring (tunze ato pump signal and apex aquabus cable) through the wall with a brush wall plate.

 

[RandyC]

A while back my Tunze 3155 osmolator pump died (it was 5+ years old), but instead of buying a new one I decided to just grab some parts I had from other projects to address the problem. I had 24v relay switch laying around so I just connected the tunze pump signal to the relay and now had a 120V outlet that could be switched on and any pump could be used. Right now I have an maxijet MJ900 connected.

 

[musclebenz]

nice setup Randy

 

[MolaMola]

Excellent description of your setup! Question about your sump tricks including the sponge tray - in addition to reducing noise, does it also reduce splashing of water droplets? I have a problem with salt buildup due to droplets from skimmer return, emergency drain, and flow into return chamber. I may also try your under-tank fan idea in the future. Thanks for posting all the details and photos.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

Wow!
very clean, very impressive
but I would have tried not to have as many 90 degree turns…flow inhibitors
also what is you maintenance schedule for your probes? (You’re putting a lot of faith in them)

 

[RandyC]

Wow!
very clean, very impressive
but I would have tried not to have as many 90 degree turns…flow inhibitors
also what is you maintenance schedule for your probes? (You’re putting a lot of faith in them)

Thanks!

I think loss of pressure from 90 degree elbows is a little over blown. I’m using two IM Mighty Jet 538gph pumps (yeah, I know this is an unusual choice), but I still have them only running at only 50-55% and have sufficient flow. I get it, it does lose some flow and probably uses a tiny amount more power. But it I really think it is negligible in shorter runs.

I check my probes for accuracy roughly every quarter, surprisingly, I’ve only had to calibrate them once or twice over many years of usage. I’m not exactly putting faith in them - more just using them as indicators. Calcium reactor pH probe is counter checked with alkalinity in tank - which I have a trident for and spot checks with Salifert. If alk is off the wall, carx needs some checking. Salinity probe, I mostly ignore, but do check at random intervals with a Milwaukee Digital refractometer. ORP, does anyone look at that? pH probe in tank, another, does it really matter as long as it’s not too low or too high?

 

[Kensington Reefer]

May your probes NEVER fail you
I have seen when they do...

 

[Darkxerox]

Really cool little mods to make things quiet and clean! Do you worry about the adhesive coming off of the command strips over time with the heat from the power bricks, then the bricks falling into the sump? Or is there another shelf below that?

Also how are you controlling the fans? Are they going off the ranco controllers?

Insane torch collection too! I'm definitely going to look out for a banana and tiger like yours.

 

[Zumareef]

I just used 3 command strips. The 16lb ones.

https://a.co/4AkPsef

I see.. thanks!