Greaser9999's IM 40g fusion build

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#1
So I decided to start a new build, I'm going with a tank that I feel will accommodate me a bit better time and chore wise. I decided to down grade a bit from my current 66g to a IM fusion 40 AIO on this build, I want to entirely eliminate the underneath sump. Originally I was planning on going with a RedSea but I like the way the sump area is built on the IM tanks better, not to mention it's a lot easier to get accessories & replacement parts. I decided to start the build from scratch, so I parted with everything from my last build. I'm trying to take my time and hopefully ensure I can cover all the flaws & problems I've ran into from my previous builds!! Feel free to drop suggestions as I make this build, hope to have it up and running in a few weeks.

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#2
Awesome!! I'm running one of these right now going on 2 years! I love this tank! Would definitely recommend the inTank replacement media baskets, those are a must. Great quality and fit perfectly into the back chamber.


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#3
First thing is first, my build was on a budget so I couldn't afford to blow money on fancy stuff. I got some quotes from some nice peeps on the forums in regards to getting a stand built, but in the end the most affordable way was building my own. It definitely isn't rocket science but it does take time to do it right. I saw quite a few tutorial build videos on YouTube and researched the forums in DIY's before going for it. Fortunately for me, I have access to my workshop which helped a lot with building the stand. I do CNC machining for a living so I feel this was ideal for building the stand, I'm very detailed when it comes to perfection. I ended up milling the ends on every single board, so every piece is exactly the same length





Once I put the top and bottom part of the frame together I ended up milling both sides and ended up with a 100% flat frame!!





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#4
Once I put the entire frame together with supports I ended up skimming the top & bottom on last time to ensure a solid flatness



I didn't care too much about the cosmetic part of the frame so I let the wife in on that, make her a part of the build and decrease the nagging
She loves pallet projects (she goes on Pinterest way too much) so I made the outside a pallet style look. This was the end result....



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#5
I decided to go with a hingeless door, I set the 2x4's holding it together apart enough to where I can shove the door in and it fits snug. Going to put a small piece of velcro in the two top corners to ensure it's not falling out, although I doubt it will. I also ended up letting the wife do choose the stain and do it as well, the color she chose was Jacobean. I figure 2-3 coats should give it a nice shine!! We tested the color on the door first to make sure it's what we wanted, so this is we're it's currently at with it's first coat on the stand and second coat on the door



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#6
Awesome!! I'm running one of these right now going on 2 years! I love this tank! Would definitely recommend the inTank replacement media baskets, those are a must. Great quality and fit perfectly into the back chamber.


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Did you ever run filter socks? Curious... There's a build thread on reef central solely for IM AIO tanks and it seems no one likes em, I would of thought it would of been the better option to eliminate detritus build ups in the sump area

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#7
I added in a safety lip on top, today I hit the entire edge with all weather caulking. Once it dries tomorrow, I'm gonna hit it with a couple coats of polycrylic to waterproof the inside of the cabinet. Since all the electrical will be tucked away inside, I want 0% chance of water getting anywhere in there



I decided to go with new dry rock on this build as well, had issues with fish vanishing with no trace so I want to eliminate the possibility of any unwanted hitchhiker's moving in. Unfortunately MD doesn't have their local warehouse anymore, so now I have to wait for my aquamaxx reef welder glue to come in next week to start gluing my rock together. Here's s peek at what I'm trying to build... Not final, well the arch probably is with the exception that I may add small shelve pieces around the sides for coral placement



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#9
Did you ever run filter socks? Curious... There's a build thread on reef central solely for IM AIO tanks and it seems no one likes em, I would of thought it would of been the better option to eliminate detritus build ups in the sump area

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Yeah, I tried the filter sock on one side. I personally prefer filter floss over the filter sock because then you have to wash it and keep an extra one on hand and it's more of a hassle than to Just use filter floss at the top of the media basket and toss it and cut a new one and replace it. This keeps detritus out but didn't when I had the stock media baskets. The inTank ones work well though. I also use phosphate remover pads, seachem matrix, and chemi pure blue in the media baskets. And an IM Ghost skimmer (does a pretty good job at skimming for me) and plan to get the Santa Monica Drop 1.2 algae scrubber. I don't have any problems with nitrates or phosphates.


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#10
Yeah, I tried the filter sock on one side. I personally prefer filter floss over the filter sock because then you have to wash it and keep an extra one on hand and it's more of a hassle than to Just use filter floss at the top of the media basket and toss it and cut a new one and replace it. This keeps detritus out but didn't when I had the stock media baskets. The inTank ones work well though. I also use phosphate remover pads, seachem matrix, and chemi pure blue in the media baskets. And an IM Ghost skimmer (does a pretty good job at skimming for me) and plan to get the Santa Monica Drop 1.2 algae scrubber. I don't have any problems with nitrates or phosphates.


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I also went with a ghost skimmer, although they don't have a very good rep I'm still taking a shot at it sheerly for the look.

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#11
I also went with a ghost skimmer, although they don't have a very good rep I'm still taking a shot at it sheerly for the look.

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Mine cranks pretty good, sometimes I'll get a pretty good skim from it! No complaints here, although I went with it for the same reason as you.
 
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#12
Mine cranks pretty good, sometimes I'll get a pretty good skim from it! No complaints here, although I went with it for the same reason as you.
We'll see how it goes, but I'll definitely give it some time before I even consider something different.


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#13
Finally got the stand finished, although paint drying is taking forever due to the crappy weather we had over the weekend. Hope it doesn't darken up too much once it fully dries


Giving the ole lady some moral support!!



We may hit it with some fine grid sandpaper once it dries, depending how the gloss looks. We don't want a super shinny coat



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#14
Looks like this will be the final color after messing with it a bit, color varies depending on light but I think we're happy with this color....



On another note, got a couple goodies yesterday thru the mail, let's see how well this reef welder stuff works. Next phase- start gluing the rock work together and rinse..




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JC Reef

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#17
You need to put up pictures when the final product has been finished! The stand looks amazing!!!
 
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#18
You need to put up pictures when the final product has been finished! The stand looks amazing!!!
Meh... It's nothing special honetly. My carpenter skills are at a 1 just cuz I built this thing lol I've seen some way better looking stands on here.

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#19
Finally got the stand inside, wanted to see how the color would look inside the house. The ole lady was good with it and that's good enough for me lol



Nothing like perfectly flat stand glad I went thru the trouble of milling the wood, now I won't have to worry about trying to shim it.





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#20
Been working on the aquascape about two weeks now, finally got it all glued together. The plan is to set everything in a tote with water and a couple powerheads to clean it all up! Feel free to critique my aquascape....


The idea behind the aquascape is to make it a goby reef for the most part, I do plan on adding a couple other bigger fish. I made a bunch of caves in the rock work prior to gluing everything together, and really hoping I can get a goby/pistol pair to take refuge in the small cave in the front. Extremely hard to get good pics of the rock work out of the water and without light directly above



Livestock plans are pair of clowns, gramma royal, bluespot jawfish and around 2-3 gumdrop gobies & yasha/candy cane pistol shrimp



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