IM 40 Build and Progression (My first tank).

[Quah]

My Wife @leCardneaux was interested in setting up and maintaining an aquarium in her classroom so she got an IM 40 gallon. Since she's new to the hobby and I've never made a build thread I thought this would be a good learning experience for the both of us.

General Idea of the tank: Lower maintenance corals, lots of colors, and placement based on color theory.

Stock list:
CUC - Lots of snails (no crabs, yuck!)
2 Picasso Clownfish
1 Tailspot Blenny
1 Black Cap Basslet to be added (soon).
No other fish after these.

Rock work: Custom made rock structure out of tonga branches and Fiji rock cemented together for easy dismantling when it has to be moved in the summer.

Corals:
The tank will be LPS and Soft coral dominate.
Currently in the aquarium: Nice Bowerbanki frag, Hammer coral, Mango zoanthids (might swap out for Sunny D's), Papaya Clove Polyps, and an RBTA.
Additions for the future: Rasta Zoas, Sunny D palys, Goblins / Emeralds On Fire Zoas, Radioactive dragon eyes, Utter Chaos, WWC Rainbow madness Cyphastrea, and ULTRA Rock Nems(we'll have to go to a show for these).

Equipment:
IM Nuvo Fusion 40 gallon
2x Current Loop DC powerheads (660gph)
Tunze Osmolator nano (this will probably get switched out)
Black AI Prime on Gooseneck.
5 gallon ATO bucket.

Maintenance:
Weekly to Bi-Weekly 10 gallon water change. Clean filter socks twice a week.

That's going to be it to start with. We will add pictures of the build and how it looks currently. Stay tuned!

 

[MSB123]

Following! This is gonna be awesome! Goodluck and happy reefing!

 

[leCardneaux]

It is awesome! I teach art at a middle school in Montana and my kids absolutely love the tank.

 

[Mr.Rocc]

Wow your braver then me! I would be terrified of putting a tank in my classroom.

 

[NY_Caveman]

@Quah Is your handle a reference to Jorma Kaukonen? If so, love it.

Are you moving the tank to your home in the summer? That is ambitious, but worth the effort to share with the lucky kids.

 

[Quah]

@NY_Caveman you are correct about handle, I think you're the first person to catch it.
We will be moving it to our house in the summer. I plan to go BB with it at that point until it's moved back. I designed the rock work to be mobile. It's essentially two pieces set on top of each other.
The first picture is how it looks currently, the second picture is how the rockwork is set-up. Had some issues with the light being a limiting factor without the whites cranked up. LPS is doing well Zoas not so much.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Ha! I have probably seen Jorma/Tuna live 50-60 times. Wife and I hired a guitarist a decade ago to learn and play Genesis when she walked down the aisle. He was like, “man this is harder than it looks.”

That aquascape is awesome. Minimalistic allowing for excellent flow I bet. Great job. I plan on using the same type of rule of thirds grid when I set up my JBJ Rimless 30.

 

[leCardneaux]

Wow your braver then me! I would be terrified of putting a tank in my classroom.

It's really going well for us. I began my first day with telling the kids about the tank and the animals in it, then we went into what they can and can't do with/around it. I also assigned a "tank police" in every class to watch over it

 

[leCardneaux]

So, over a year later and I thought I was way past due for an update. I didn't have time to update as teaching in the spring in a middle school for the first time really took over my life. I love my kids, but really didn't know what I was up against. Haha
Over the summer, I helped my husband move our LFS as he was expanding into a bigger location. After moving all the store tanks and doing refinishing we did in the new building, I decided to leave my tank at home for this school year. I have had several kids ask/complain about its location so I'm thinking I'll take a freshwater planet tank to school. We have another school in the district that left their saltwater tank at school over summer but I just didn't feel comfortable doing that and moving it back and forth every summer/fall just is overwhelming.

Anywhooo, on to the tank update!

It's been running for a little over a year. Everything I have is healthy and happy, I did lose 2 fish and a 3 frags. The bowerbanki is at the store as well as the hammer, they will be coming back soon. I had issues with cyano and hair algae in the beginning but I've learned how to keep those at bay now. I really grew the appreciate the importance of a secondary tank be it just another display or a QT. Whenever I was worried about the health of a coral, I could move it to a more stable environment which sucked for me cause I couldn't enjoy them but was in their best interest as I'm a novice and the health of the animal is far more important to me than having a pretty view.

Equipment:
IM 40 gal
Tunze skimmer
Eco tech gen 3 light - I did have a AI light but really didn't care for it after the cover on the front just fell off one day while I was teaching. Fear not! Being an art teacher I was able to tape it together until my husband could fix it but then he returned an eco tech to me instead of the AI.
Same current loop
Same heater

Animals:
2 picasso clowns named Picasso and Guernica
Rainford Goby - I just got him so I'm still working on his name. Totally open to suggestions on names!
Skunk cleaner - also nameless
Conch snail named Cat (a student named him)
4 nassarius snails
1 trochus
2 nerites
2 stomatellas
1 bumble bee shrimp
2 feather dusters
An ultra rock flower nem
A ball nem - he just showed up, he moves about the tank a lot.
5 different types of Zoas - it would be 6 but I found a zoa eating snail. I don't know what he was, a hitchhiker, but the shell was very interesting so when I saw him I decided to let him stay. Until I found him eating zoas, then he went into a sump at the store so he could live but not eat corals.

I'll take a picture tomorrow when the lights are on. It doesn't look like a typical year old tank as I've just been moving suuuuuuper slow with building it.

 

[uncommonsalt457]

So, over a year later and I thought I was way past due for an update. I didn't have time to update as teaching in the spring in a middle school for the first time really took over my life. I love my kids, but really didn't know what I was up against. Haha
Over the summer, I helped my husband move our LFS as he was expanding into a bigger location. After moving all the store tanks and doing refinishing we did in the new building, I decided to leave my tank at home for this school year. I have had several kids ask/complain about its location so I'm thinking I'll take a freshwater planet tank to school. We have another school in the district that left their saltwater tank at school over summer but I just didn't feel comfortable doing that and moving it back and forth every summer/fall just is overwhelming.

Anywhooo, on to the tank update!

It's been running for a little over a year. Everything I have is healthy and happy, I did lose 2 fish and a 3 frags. The bowerbanki is at the store as well as the hammer, they will be coming back soon. I had issues with cyano and hair algae in the beginning but I've learned how to keep those at bay now. I really grew the appreciate the importance of a secondary tank be it just another display or a QT. Whenever I was worried about the health of a coral, I could move it to a more stable environment which sucked for me cause I couldn't enjoy them but was in their best interest as I'm a novice and the health of the animal is far more important to me than having a pretty view.

Equipment:
IM 40 gal
Tunze skimmer
Eco tech gen 3 light - I did have a AI light but really didn't care for it after the cover on the front just fell off one day while I was teaching. Fear not! Being an art teacher I was able to tape it together until my husband could fix it but then he returned an eco tech to me instead of the AI.
Same current loop
Same heater

Animals:
2 picasso clowns named Picasso and Guernica
Rainford Goby - I just got him so I'm still working on his name. Totally open to suggestions on names!
Skunk cleaner - also nameless
Conch snail named Cat (a student named him)
4 nassarius snails
1 trochus
2 nerites
2 stomatellas
1 bumble bee shrimp
2 feather dusters
An ultra rock flower nem
A ball nem - he just showed up, he moves about the tank a lot.
5 different types of Zoas - it would be 6 but I found a zoa eating snail. I don't know what he was, a hitchhiker, but the shell was very interesting so when I saw him I decided to let him stay. Until I found him eating zoas, then he went into a sump at the store so he could live but not eat corals.

I'll take a picture tomorrow when the lights are on. It doesn't look like a typical year old tank as I've just been moving suuuuuuper slow with building it.

Post the picture!