Austin S
Supporting Member
Hey everyone!
I recently joined the club and am very excited to meet all of you and get involved with the reefing community in the Bay Area! I want to start this tank journal with a bit of background about myself, then dive into my current projects. My name is Austin Summy. I grew up in Atlanta and moved to the Bay Area in 2021. I have been passionate about fish keeping my entire life(have my mom to thank for introducing me to this hobby lol). My parents were always very supportive. I started with freshwater fish but was always drawn to the saltwater displays at my LFS. Around age 9 I was gifted a 24 gallon biocube. This quickly spiraled into somehow convincing my parents to let me setup a 75 gallon FOWLR in my bedroom when I was 12. Later on when I was in high school, my interest in the hobby dwindled and I converted this tank to freshwater. I wanted to spend my pocket change hanging out with my friends instead of on fish.
I took a hiatus from the hobby while I was in college. Upon graduation I moved to the Bay Area. My first significant purchases once I found an apartment were the following:
1. Mattress
2. 65" TV
3. Couch
4. Innovative Marine 30L AIO
I was ready to get back into the hobby. This time my main focus has been on coral. I felt I needed to remain mobile and keep a small tank since I expect to move several times in the next few years. To me, a smaller system where I can really concentrate and learn about coral seemed like the best path forward. As a kid I mainly concentrated on fish and what little coral I tried to keep was never successful.
I have really loved the IM30L. This tank has helped me learn and grow a lot as a reef keeper. I have had this tank set up for 3 years now. Over the past year it has locked into a very good balance where most of the nutrients I import via feeding gets taken up by the coral and I do not need to rely very heavily on water changes to keep my nutrients in check.
A few months ago, I started to daydream about having a larger tank with a dedicated sump. These dreams would have remained in my mind...until @SupraSaltyReefer posted a deal on an IM 75 EXT that I could not refuse. He listed a tank with a voided warranty due to an aesthetic defect(you have to scratch the word "VOID" into the glass instead of dealing with return shipping, hence the tank nickname/thread name). I had been looking at this tank for a while and loved the dimensions, but could never justify the cost of the complete system. I picked up the tank from Tu in March and have been steadily making progress to get this tank up and running. When Tu and I met, I mentioned that I did not have many friends that shared the same hobby. He introduced me to BAR, so I have him to thank for bringing me here!
Diving into more details on my current tanks, starting with pictures I took today of the 75 EXT:
And a few pictures of my 30L AIO:
My plan is to transplant everything over to the 75 EXT and shutdown the 30L. I was considering keeping this as a quarantine tank, but I think I will grab a 10g system for this purpose long term.
A more detailed breakdown of the 75 EXT build:
I built the stand out of 2x4 and plywood. I used to do some wood working with my dad when I was young, so this was a fun aspect of the build that was very nostalgic. I used a stain and polyurethane to darken the wood and protect it from any inevitable spills. I finished with a 1/4" layer of self leveling epoxy over the top surface of the stand. I probably could have skipped this step, but I have seen 1 too many seam failure videos on the internet and am a bit paranoid about having a completely evenly supported surface lol. I am planning to build doors for the front of the stand, but this is still a WIP.
For plumbing, I went with green PVC from Formufit(it reminded me of the pipes in Super Mario lol). I used a few scrap pieces of wood to mount supports for the PVC. For lighting, I am planning to run 3 AI Primes. I have one mounted on the tank currently and plan to move the 2 I currently have on my 30L over when I move my SPS. I used 2020 aluminum extrusion to make a mount for the lights that I then bolted to my stand. I secured each light to the 2020 using a L bracket and a m5 bolt. It was difficult to find 2020 that was long enough for my plan without paying an arm and leg for shipping, but I was able to get around this by using straight brackets to join two pieces together end-to-end.
A few other misc notes on my build:
- The sump I am running came from a Red Sea Reefer 170. Long term this will most likely be one area that I will expand on in order to have space for a dedicated refugium.
- I am using the Reef Octopus 152-S protein skimmer. It is a bit oversized for my system, but I got a really great deal 2nd hand from a local reefer and have really been enjoying it.
- I am dosing All for Reef on both tanks for calcium/alkalinity/magnesium supplementation. My 30L has dosing setup on a versa pump and I have just been taking care of the 75 EXT manually for now.
- I have YoLink smart leak detectors for peace of mind. I have 1 set up inside my stand and one set up behind my tank.
- I am using a rackmount power strip. This has 10 independent switches in the front with all connection points in the back. It has definitely helped me improve my cable management(although definitely still a WIP)
The next steps in my mind that I am working towards:
1. get all livestock moved over from my 30L, mount the 2 additional AI Primes on the 75 EXT, and retune the PAR levels within the tank
2. cable management! Everything is one big mess on my shelf. I would like to find a good place to mount my various controllers, but having clean cables has never been my expertise
3. cabinet doors
4. Reef Pi -> mainly to monitor water parameters and help alert me before any potential tank crashes. The independence of an open source solution seems very appealing, have any of you went this route? Would be really great to hear some tips for setting this up
5. refugium/algae scrubber -> going to wait and see where my nutrient levels settle out to before making any changes in the filtration department. The mandarin dragonet has always been a bucket list fish for me and I will probably need a refugium to sustain a large enough copepod population to keep one
6. enjoy the tank!
I will keep this thread updated as the tank progresses!
-Austin
I recently joined the club and am very excited to meet all of you and get involved with the reefing community in the Bay Area! I want to start this tank journal with a bit of background about myself, then dive into my current projects. My name is Austin Summy. I grew up in Atlanta and moved to the Bay Area in 2021. I have been passionate about fish keeping my entire life(have my mom to thank for introducing me to this hobby lol). My parents were always very supportive. I started with freshwater fish but was always drawn to the saltwater displays at my LFS. Around age 9 I was gifted a 24 gallon biocube. This quickly spiraled into somehow convincing my parents to let me setup a 75 gallon FOWLR in my bedroom when I was 12. Later on when I was in high school, my interest in the hobby dwindled and I converted this tank to freshwater. I wanted to spend my pocket change hanging out with my friends instead of on fish.
I took a hiatus from the hobby while I was in college. Upon graduation I moved to the Bay Area. My first significant purchases once I found an apartment were the following:
1. Mattress
2. 65" TV
3. Couch
4. Innovative Marine 30L AIO
I was ready to get back into the hobby. This time my main focus has been on coral. I felt I needed to remain mobile and keep a small tank since I expect to move several times in the next few years. To me, a smaller system where I can really concentrate and learn about coral seemed like the best path forward. As a kid I mainly concentrated on fish and what little coral I tried to keep was never successful.
I have really loved the IM30L. This tank has helped me learn and grow a lot as a reef keeper. I have had this tank set up for 3 years now. Over the past year it has locked into a very good balance where most of the nutrients I import via feeding gets taken up by the coral and I do not need to rely very heavily on water changes to keep my nutrients in check.
A few months ago, I started to daydream about having a larger tank with a dedicated sump. These dreams would have remained in my mind...until @SupraSaltyReefer posted a deal on an IM 75 EXT that I could not refuse. He listed a tank with a voided warranty due to an aesthetic defect(you have to scratch the word "VOID" into the glass instead of dealing with return shipping, hence the tank nickname/thread name). I had been looking at this tank for a while and loved the dimensions, but could never justify the cost of the complete system. I picked up the tank from Tu in March and have been steadily making progress to get this tank up and running. When Tu and I met, I mentioned that I did not have many friends that shared the same hobby. He introduced me to BAR, so I have him to thank for bringing me here!
Diving into more details on my current tanks, starting with pictures I took today of the 75 EXT:
And a few pictures of my 30L AIO:
My plan is to transplant everything over to the 75 EXT and shutdown the 30L. I was considering keeping this as a quarantine tank, but I think I will grab a 10g system for this purpose long term.
A more detailed breakdown of the 75 EXT build:
I built the stand out of 2x4 and plywood. I used to do some wood working with my dad when I was young, so this was a fun aspect of the build that was very nostalgic. I used a stain and polyurethane to darken the wood and protect it from any inevitable spills. I finished with a 1/4" layer of self leveling epoxy over the top surface of the stand. I probably could have skipped this step, but I have seen 1 too many seam failure videos on the internet and am a bit paranoid about having a completely evenly supported surface lol. I am planning to build doors for the front of the stand, but this is still a WIP.
For plumbing, I went with green PVC from Formufit(it reminded me of the pipes in Super Mario lol). I used a few scrap pieces of wood to mount supports for the PVC. For lighting, I am planning to run 3 AI Primes. I have one mounted on the tank currently and plan to move the 2 I currently have on my 30L over when I move my SPS. I used 2020 aluminum extrusion to make a mount for the lights that I then bolted to my stand. I secured each light to the 2020 using a L bracket and a m5 bolt. It was difficult to find 2020 that was long enough for my plan without paying an arm and leg for shipping, but I was able to get around this by using straight brackets to join two pieces together end-to-end.
A few other misc notes on my build:
- The sump I am running came from a Red Sea Reefer 170. Long term this will most likely be one area that I will expand on in order to have space for a dedicated refugium.
- I am using the Reef Octopus 152-S protein skimmer. It is a bit oversized for my system, but I got a really great deal 2nd hand from a local reefer and have really been enjoying it.
- I am dosing All for Reef on both tanks for calcium/alkalinity/magnesium supplementation. My 30L has dosing setup on a versa pump and I have just been taking care of the 75 EXT manually for now.
- I have YoLink smart leak detectors for peace of mind. I have 1 set up inside my stand and one set up behind my tank.
- I am using a rackmount power strip. This has 10 independent switches in the front with all connection points in the back. It has definitely helped me improve my cable management(although definitely still a WIP)
The next steps in my mind that I am working towards:
1. get all livestock moved over from my 30L, mount the 2 additional AI Primes on the 75 EXT, and retune the PAR levels within the tank
2. cable management! Everything is one big mess on my shelf. I would like to find a good place to mount my various controllers, but having clean cables has never been my expertise
3. cabinet doors
4. Reef Pi -> mainly to monitor water parameters and help alert me before any potential tank crashes. The independence of an open source solution seems very appealing, have any of you went this route? Would be really great to hear some tips for setting this up
5. refugium/algae scrubber -> going to wait and see where my nutrient levels settle out to before making any changes in the filtration department. The mandarin dragonet has always been a bucket list fish for me and I will probably need a refugium to sustain a large enough copepod population to keep one
6. enjoy the tank!
I will keep this thread updated as the tank progresses!
-Austin
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