SR-80 build

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Hello everyone,

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but now finally got to sit down and start documenting my Innovative Marine SR-80 build. I have been in the saltwater hobby since the summer of 2014 and have had a freshwater tank ever since I was 12. I started with a 40 gallon cube and then upgraded to a 60 gallon cube a year later. After making many mistakes and learning the hard way, I decided to upgrade again last summer and get the SR-80. I will post the few pics I took of the build process and the success/challenges I have encountered with the tank and equipment.

Here is the current setup:

Innovative Marine SR-80 tank with black stand
Tunze 9012 skimmer
4x Kessil A360 wide lights
2016 Apex with Dos and DDR
Tunze Osmolator with Synergy Reef ATO container
Finnex Heater
2x Sicce return pumps with 2 IM spin streams
2x MP10 QD power heads
30lbs BRS Pukani dry rock
Marine pure biomedia
IM fudge light
BRS 2 part dosing

Pics to follow

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Some pics

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Pics of when the tank first arrived. It was well packaged and the driver was at least able to place it on my walkway. Luckily a lawn crew was coming through the neighborhood, so I paid a few guys to carry it in the house for me

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And more pics of the build process. I ended up custom making and painting boards to go under the tank. I had them cut at lowes then painted at home. I used heavy duty Velcro around the edges to hold them in, yet make them removable in case of maintenance or access issues. One of the biggest benefits to this tank is the stand. The large openings at the top, bottom, and sides of the cabinets make running wire much easier. I added some LED cabinet lighting also.

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Currently, the tank is a mix of SPS, LPS, and some softies. I also have a haddoni carpet anemone which I have kept for 2 years now. In terms of fish, I keep the tank pretty light with 2 ocellaris clown fish, 1 royal gramma, and 1 cardinal fish. I have some blue legged hermit crabs and snails for my cuc. My current maintenance schedule is a 15 gallon water change every 2 weeks, change the filter sock every 3-5 days, and change carbon and gfo every month. I have seen good growth with the corals I have. My SPS has almost doubled in size and many of my frags are encrusting onto the rock work. I have yet to have any major algae outbreaks and only a handful of losses. More pics to come

[Tom0808]

Hi, I have the same tank and Ivery just bought the tunze 9012 have you had any issues with micro bubbles in the display?

[dimasv]

Beautiful tank

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[so_tatted]

Originally Posted by Tom0808

Hi, I have the same tank and Ivery just bought the tunze 9012 have you had any issues with micro bubbles in the display?

I did for just a few days, then they cleared out. I'm overall very happy with it. It fits very well and is extremely quiet. The biggest thing to note is the water level must be set properly. I had it set too low a few weeks after getting it and the micro bubbles were all over.

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Originally Posted by dimasv

Beautiful tank

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Thank you! I'll be posting some updated pics in the next few days

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Got some iphone pics just before the water change today.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...1&d=1495504617

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http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/at...8&d=1495562948

Another pic before my WC last night. Sorry for the photos/uploading. I am still learning the posting pictures part and all the pics are from my iphone.

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Here is another one



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[homer1475]

Nice looking tank.

FWIW if your going to take pictures with your phone, either turn the blues down or get an orange gel filter for the camera.

I'm not familiar with the tank, is it an AIO with no sump?

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Originally Posted by homer1475

Nice looking tank.

FWIW if your going to take pictures with your phone, either turn the blues down or get an orange gel filter for the camera.

I'm not familiar with the tank, is it an AIO with no sump?

Thanks for the advice. I did turn them down, but will definitely have to do it more next time. And yes, it is. It is the SR-80 from Innovative Marine. I like the set up and the tank quality. I also like the amount of room I have left under the stand to mount everything.


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[Tom0808]

Ok thanks does it restrict flow to much in the chamber its in next to the filter sock? Are you running the return pump chamber an inch below that baffle like it says in the manual?

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Originally Posted by Tom0808

Ok thanks does it restrict flow to much in the chamber its in next to the filter sock? Are you running the return pump chamber an inch below that baffle like it says in the manual?

Yes, it's about 1 to 2 inches down on the last baffles that lead to the return chamber. My rear sump has the filter sock on the right side that I change out every 3-5 days. The chamber next to it has my Tunze skimmer. On the left side I have one of the acrylic insert boxes from IM that I filled with some marine pure balls and chaeto. I have the IM fuge light on that side going 24/7. I keep the reactor in the chamber next to it and fill it 2/3 full with 1/2 BRS carbon and 1/2 GFO. The main chamber has both return pumps, the heater, all dosing lines, my Tunze ATO sensor, and my Apex probes. The only noise I get is from the overflows. I had to cut some larger pieces of filter pads to fit in them. After I did that, the tank is nearly silent.


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[Nevins]

Can I ask which direction you mounted the Tunze 9012 in the SR-80 chamber? Is the grating facing the sock chamber, or is it facing the center chamber? I am having issues mounting this skimmer (noise and bubbles)

[so_tatted]

Originally Posted by Nevins

Can I ask which direction you mounted the Tunze 9012 in the SR-80 chamber? Is the grating facing the sock chamber, or is it facing the center chamber? I am having issues mounting this skimmer (noise and bubbles)

I have the graded side facing the sock. I found that it works best if the skimmers sits higher in the chamber, meaning the top of the top magnet is level with the top of the glass baffle. In terms of noise, you may need to check the air line going into the skimmer and make sure it is clear. I have found that every 4-6 weeks my air lines gets some build up inside of it and it needs to be cleared.


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So doing a quick update.

Everything is going well. Had an Apex issue during the recent update, but I have now worked through that. I have added some more frags and rearranged a few others in the past few months. Everything is growing for the most part. Also did a Triton test about 2 weeks ago and found my potassium and iodine to be low. Have been dosing the recommendation, but have not seen any noticeable differences yet. He are some recent pics from today


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So it had been a while since I have posted an update, but here it goes:

The tank has been running well, but I have decided to make some changes. The biggest one is converting the tank to a bare bottom system. I decided this after reading a lot about it and seeing the main display tank at my main LFS do it. While I aesthetically like the black sand, I have started noticing that cleaning the sand bed every water change is becoming an annoying task. I have also started to like the appeal of having a B.B. tank for reducing the amount of water being used every water change. Currently I preform a 15 gallon WC every 2 weeks. I would like this to be this down to only a 10 or even 5 gallon change if possible, only removing excess detritus on the glass rather than sifting through sand all over the tank. In order to this, I have been SLOWLY removing sand every water change over the past month. I have removed about 40% of the sand so far, working from front to back. I have also created a small semi-Circle or rock work around my haddoni anemone to hold a small amount of sand around him. This seems to have worked so far and once the task is complete, this area will be the only place in the tank that will have sand left. I have tanked some updated shots of the tank. Hope your guys enjoy!


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