Innovative Marine 40L AIO upgrade

[Greaser9999]

Haven't posted anything in a good minute, so thought I'd share my small tank upgrade. Ended up going with a innovative marine 40L AIO for this upgrade. Love the IM tanks, very solid I think. Really dig the modern lids they're making for theirctanks now, very tight around the rim equals less probability of carpet surfers lol. Not really making any changes as far as equipment goes since I went overkill on my 20g equipment, so everything should work with this 40 as well, MP10, heater, ato, etc.Adding a 2nd AI prime 16HD since the length of the tank is 36in. Going with 30lbs of fiji pink & 10lbs of black hawaiian, really dig that look of black sand mixed in. I've had 20lbs of live rock cycling in a container for about 2 months now, really hoping this will help minimize any type of possible swings. That along with all my current live rock and using as much tank water as i can to add all the good bacteria. I have about 8 hours to make this happen, should be fun!!

 

[REPOWER]

Good plan and sounds like a fun weekend!

 

[drexel]

Nice! I love IM tanks, very solid overall. Have fun!

 

[Greaser9999]

Fish are still alive, si that's a plus Coral seem ok at the moment. I'll be keeping an eye on ammonia just in case. Best case, slight nitrate jump. Still need to fine tune the aqua scape a bit, but this will due for now. Thinking of adding a wrasse to this tank, any recommendations on proven housed wrasses in a 36in long? Was thinking a naoko fairy wrasse, they're nice looking but are also borderline line to my tank dimensions. Has anyone tried a flasher wrasse with these dimensions?

 

[drexel]

I think the only wrasses I would put in there are any of the wetmorella (possum), pink streaked or maybe H. chrysus (yellow), but may be a little big. Fairies and flashers get too big for that size tank and they need room to swim around, otherwise they can be jerks or just stay stressed out all the time.

 

[Greaser9999]

I think the only wrasses I would put in there are any of the wetmorella (possum), pink streaked or maybe H. chrysus (yellow), but may be a little big. Fairies and flashers get too big for that size tank and they need room to swim around, otherwise they can be jerks or just stay stressed out all the time.

Really... that's very discouraging

Wanted to test my luck with a small one and see what happens

 

[drexel]

I’m not the fish police and you may be okay with your choice, but figured I would add a little caution and give some other choices you might not have thought about.

 

[JojosReef]

Just seeing your build thread. Same tank I had before upgrading to an 83g 4fter.

In my IM40L's peak, it had: 2x pink streak wrasses, 1x blue star leopard wrasse (Macropharyngodon bipartitis), 1x yellow wrasse (Halichoeres chrysis), 1x splendid pencil wrasse (Pseudojuloides splendens), and finally 1x exquisite fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus exquisitus) and 1x linespot flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus). The last two were added shortly before the upgrade. All were added as juveniles/young(er) females, except the fairy and flasher, which came older than requested. That tank was quite overstocked and very ready for the upgrade, which was just in time because the leopard and yellow wrasse were getting big.

I could not keep my occelaris pair in that tank with the wrasses because they would attack the flashers/fairies, so they were exiled to a desktop tank. Had a Carpenter before the linespot that jumped through the IM lid mesh. Also had a long-term yasha goby that did the same--found him baked on top of the mesh :-( ... I recommend upgrading the lid.

 

[Greaser9999]

Just seeing your build thread. Same tank I had before upgrading to an 83g 4fter.

In my IM40L's peak, it had: 2x pink streak wrasses, 1x blue star leopard wrasse (Macropharyngodon bipartitis), 1x yellow wrasse (Halichoeres chrysis), 1x splendid pencil wrasse (Pseudojuloides splendens), and finally 1x exquisite fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus exquisitus) and 1x linespot flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus). The last two were added shortly before the upgrade. All were added as juveniles/young(er) females, except the fairy and flasher, which came older than requested. That tank was quite overstocked and very ready for the upgrade, which was just in time because the leopard and yellow wrasse were getting big.

I could not keep my occelaris pair in that tank with the wrasses because they would attack the flashers/fairies, so they were exiled to a desktop tank. Had a Carpenter before the linespot that jumped through the IM lid mesh. Also had a long-term yasha goby that did the same--found him baked on top of the mesh :-( ... I recommend upgrading the lid.

Dang, thanks for this feedback. Im window shopping for a wrasse at the moment but contemplating on getting one. How long did you house these wrasses in the 40L before you upgraded?

 

[JojosReef]

Dang, thanks for this feedback. Im window shopping for a wrasse at the moment but contemplating on getting one. How long did you house these wrasses in the 40L before you upgraded?

My leopard and yellow wrasse were in the tank for about 2 years, but I made sure to get them as juveniles. Unfortunately, I lost my yellow in the 83 when I accidentally left the small 1" square feeding door open over a weekend, but the leopard is still alive and is a HE now in @Dooly 's tank. He/she is enormous! I think a 40 is small for a full grown leopard, but she did well for the first two years. Here she is in that tank at its peak:

As you can see here, that tank was starting to get too full for the fish to fit inside!

New video · Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

And here they are eating freshly hatched baby brine shrimp:

New video · Friday, Nov 1, 2024

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

So definitely was a good time to upgrade. I'd say first 1-2 years of a juvenile leopard/halichoeres wrasse's life are fine in an IM40L. After that, they would benefit from an upgrade.

Lastly, might mention that the linespot flasher (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus) is an incredibly beautiful wrasse:

When it flashes, the purple really starts to come out:

 

[Greaser9999]

Tthanks

My leopard and yellow wrasse were in the tank for about 2 years, but I made sure to get them as juveniles. Unfortunately, I lost my yellow in the 83 when I accidentally left the small 1" square feeding door open over a weekend, but the leopard is still alive and is a HE now in @Dooly 's tank. He/she is enormous! I think a 40 is small for a full grown leopard, but she did well for the first two years. Here she is in that tank at its peak:
View attachment 133982
As you can see here, that tank was starting to get too full for the fish to fit inside!

New video · Wednesday, Sep 11, 2024

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

And here they are eating freshly hatched baby brine shrimp:

New video · Friday, Nov 1, 2024

Tap to view!

photos.app.goo.gl

So definitely was a good time to upgrade. I'd say first 1-2 years of a juvenile leopard/halichoeres wrasse's life are fine in an IM40L. After that, they would benefit from an upgrade.

Lastly, might mention that the linespot flasher (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus) is an incredibly beautiful wrasse:
View attachment 133983
When it flashes, the purple really starts to come out:
View attachment 133984

Thanks very much for sharing. Whatever wrasse i do ended up going with, is going to be on the smaller side. Need it to last a good 3 years possibly in this current tank. Could be a little less time depending how things go in my personal life. Leopard wrasses have always been my favorite, so this is making me rethink on my choice. Seaside tropical had a bunch of small ones a couple weeks ago, so it's tempting. There's so many beautiful flasher wrasses, hard to pick one in general. I think once im upgraded to the larger tank, may go with a group of flashers. You definitely needed the upgrade, all your coral was way overgrown lol

 

[thresher]

The movement of fairy wrasses is sublime and is one of my favs They look like they are gliding through the water with no effort.

 

[drexel]

I wish we could post videos here easily or I would post a couple when I had 3 flashers and a pintail. The light show they would put on was awesome! My carpenters was nearly 5”, which is kinda big for them and his colors were super vibrant.

 

[Greaser9999]

I was

I wish we could post videos here easily or I would post a couple when I had 3 flashers and a pintail. The light show they would put on was awesome! My carpenters was nearly 5”, which is kinda big for them and his colors were super vibrant.

Contemplating all week on whether it would be a good idea to get a wrasse, but now that im hearing success stories I'm definitely tipping towards trying out at least 1. Maybe 2.....

 

[drexel]

The problem with smaller tanks and wrasses (flashers and fairy) is the likelihood of them hitting the glass increases as they get bigger. Unless you can find a juvenile, there’s always the risk of injury.

 

[Greaser9999]

The problem with smaller tanks and wrasses (flashers and fairy) is the likelihood of them hitting the glass increases as they get bigger. Unless you can find a juvenile, there’s always the risk of injury.

The plan is to get small flashers, juveniles. Hopefully they can stay happy in this current tank for about 3 years until I can upgrade to the 75. I plan on swinging by Carson tropical tomorrow, and see if they can do something for me.

 

[drexel]

The more wrasses you have the more likely they run from each other and cause injury. Maybe one flasher and one fairy, both super small? I'm just being honest here, I doubt they'll stay small enough for 3 years, you would have to find them around an inch and half to make that happen. I'm not saying not to do it, just be aware of the risks.

 

[Greaser9999]

The more wrasses you have the more likely they run from each other and cause injury. Maybe one flasher and one fairy, both super small? I'm just being honest here, I doubt they'll stay small enough for 3 years, you would have to find them around an inch and half to make that happen. I'm not saying not to do it, just be aware of the risks.

I'm only doing one, it will most likely be the McCosker or carpenters flasher. I'm also adding a midas blenny, and that will be it as far as livestock goes.

 

[drexel]

I'm only doing one, it will most likely be the McCosker or carpenters flasher. I'm also adding a midas blenny, and that will be it as far as livestock goes.

Cool, I think McCoskers is the better fit as they are usually smaller, plus they’re usually more colorful than carpenters.