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Innovative Marine Fusion Club Thread


Begow

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I noticed there isn't a lot info around the web about these tanks since they are relatively new on the market. We also get a ton of questions about these tanks on Nano-Reef.

 

I figured if we made a club, posted pics and our opinions of these tanks it could definitely aid in the process of new people finding these tanks to be awesome! This can also serve a place for people to come and ask questions about the tanks.

 

I'll get it started:

 

I have:

 

Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 20

Auqa Gadget Spin Stream Nozzle X 2

Auqa Gadget Media Basket

Cobalt Aquatics Maxi-Jet 1200

Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 75W

Ecotech Radion XR15 Pro

Lifeguard Aquatics Bonded Filter Floss

300 Micron Filter Bag

Marineland Diamond Carbon

Nano Flipper

Tunze Nano ATO

Jebao WP-10

 

My opinion on the tank:

 

I love the beauty of the tank, it's very eye catching and people come to my house and stare although all I have is some rock and two fish. I wish they made the ATO capabilities a little better. There is only one place I know of that you can put a ATO and there are generally small waves there that can cause my ATO to trigger often for 1 second at a time. While this doesn't cause salinity swings or anything, I get nervous of burning the switch out!

 

I don't like the Caddy's, the stock ones or the aftermarket. I think the best option there is inTank. The water doesn't flow through them like it should IMO.

 

A lot of people complain about the screen top having a small gap, but it would be really hard for a fish to sneak through this gap. Not to mention it's designed that way to leave room for cords to powerheads etc.

 

You WILL need to add another source of flow. I upgraded the stock pump to a Maxi Jet 1200 and it's still not enough, eve with the Spinstreams. I am adding a Jebao WP-10 when I get home, some people keep two!

 

Overall though the tank is great, I've owned Biocubes, Solanas, and a Red Sea. This is easily my favorite and IMO the best looking AIO tank on the market. The glass is awesome, very thick and ultra high clarity!

 

I WOULD recommend this to other people.

 

sUcY1HN.jpg

 

Come on ladies and gents, post some pics and your add-ons!

 

 

 

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So far I don't have the tank set up, still working on planning/aquascaping/etc. I have the 10g, and I like the shape/footprint so far. My only complaint is really the stock pump. 97 gph max? I'm going to have to upgrade that ASAP.

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That tank looks wet already lol I have a Nuvo so same makers but either way I love the tanks and they have some of the best customer service I know of!

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Obsessed Reefer

I have a 20G Fusion, and I love it. It's a great sturdy build of a little tank, well worth the $200 price tag. I also have the IM stand that goes with it, which I hate. For $200, I could have found a much better stand elsewhere, and I kinda wish I did. It doesn't look strong, and was a PITA to put together.

 

I do agree that the stock media baskets are garbage, and while yes, inTank does make the best media baskets around, I am very satisfied with the Aqua Gadget baskets. Since I got two for the price of one inTank basket, it does the job.

 

 

Innovative Marine 20 Gallon Fusion [Living Room]:

Hardware:

  • Innovative Marine 20 Gallon Fusion Tank
  • Innovative Marine 20 Gallon Fusion Stand
  • Maxspect Razor Nano 16K w/ Upgraded Lens
  • Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Lite MarineDepot.com package

Filtration:

  • 20lbs Fiji Pink Sand
  • 8lbs Live Rock
  • Innovative Marine MiniMax Desktop Media Reactor
    • ​Seachem SeaGel (Carbon & PhosGuard)
  • Innovative Marine Ghost Desktop Protein Skimmer
  • 2x Innovative Marine Aqua Gadget Media Baskets
    • 1 is a Fuge with Cheato and Floss on top
    • The other runs Filter Floss, Filter Pad
  • ​Weekly water & filter media changes
  • Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
  • 4 Astrea Snails
  • 6 Blue Legged Hermits

Livestock:

  • Fish
    • ​Pair of ORA Onyx Clowns (Sonny & Cher)
    • Flameback Angel
    • Pair of Green Mandarin Dragonets (Mushu & Maleficent)
  • ​Coral
    • ​Aussie Gold Torch
    • Ultra Green Frogspawn
    • Rainbow Florida Ricordia
    • Blue Purple Mushroom
    • Red People Eaters
    • Sparklers
    • Fire and Ice
    • Green Lanterns
    • Pink Glitters
    • Orange Crush Acan
    • Various Acan Lords
    • Darth Mauls
    • God of Wars
    • Orange Chalace
  • ​Inverts
    • ​4 Astrea Snails
    • 6 Blue Legged Hermits

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i'm so torn on what light i want to get for mine. it's a 3 way tie between a 10k kessil a150w, nanbox mini tide w/ storm controler, or a 10k maxpsect razor nano. i think i'm leaning towards the razor.

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i appreciate the offer but i'm looking for a unit that can be goosenecked (i don't feel like buying or setting up a hanging hit). i have a ebay 120w full spectrum right now i just decided i want something small and sleek, and if the controller/timer is built in thats a huge plus.

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Hey all,

 

After doing a ton of research and going from the idea of a very small and easy tank setup (likely fresh water), we ended up with quite the investment. Absolutely love the hobby thus far and the Nuvo 40 has a lot to do with it. The fact that IM has the best (not joking) customer service I have encountered makes it really that much better. Paul @ IM is a great guy and awesome to talk to. Brian the same.

 

We started cycling our tank mid-July this year and have accumulated the below setup. The clowns went in after 5 weeks of cycling. This is our first salt water tank (I had fresh water growing up) and we are very excited about it. The Nuvo tank looks very slick and modern. Everything is concealed nicely in the back and you can barely see the skimmer and ATO. I will say that the stand is quite disappointing. It looks cheap and does not feel as sturdy as it costs. Besides that - totally recommend everything we have purchased thus far.

 

We do weekly 12.5% (5 gallon) water changes where we clean the mechanical sponges as well as change out the filter sock and clean the glass.

 

Since we had no experience we went with an IM LED. In hindsight I would have gone with something else, but at the price point this made sense at the time. I would love to be able to control the lights (dimmable, storms, etc.) from the Apex. In time...

 

We have converted 1 of the Custom Caddy's into a small refugium. The IM refugium light is attached to the back of the tank facing directly into the custom caddy chamber. At the moment it is stocked with chaeto and some small snails. We will add some pods soon to the tank and to the refugium to get some live food cycling in the tank.

 

All of the coral are frags and little babies. Most are doing pretty well. The Flower Pot we should not have bought as it will not last in our tank and one of the LFS stores that we bought it at should have told us this rather than selling for $60. The SPS also may have been added too early - we shall see.

 

Tank

 

IM 40 Fusion Aquarium

IM 40 Fusion Stand (blah)

IM Skkye Light Dimmable Dual Strip (will replace eventually)

IM Ghost Protein Skimmer

IM Nuvo SpinStream x2

IM Custom Caddy x2

IM MagnaFuge Refugium Light

HPS-200 Finnex Heater

Tunze Osmolator Nano ATO

Jebao RW-4

Jebao RW-4 Apex Cable (made by a fellow reefer)

 

Controller

 

Apex Gold Package

Apex Energy Bar 8 (needed a 2nd)

Apex Magnetic Probe Holder (temp, salinity, pH, ORB)

Apex Automatic Feeding System (travel a lot - works pretty well)

Apex ALD Advanced Leak Detection Module w/ 1 Probe

Apex DOS Dosing Pump (should arrive in December)

 

Live Stock

 

CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand (~30 lbs)

Live Rock (36.1 lbs)

Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt

 

Green Fluorescent Mushroom (Actinodiscidae/Discosomatidae)

Green Star Polyp (Briareidae)

White Pom Pom Xenia / Pulsing Xenia (Xeniidae)

Orange Ricordea Mushroom (Ricordea Florida)

Metallic Green Flowerpot Coral (Goniopora)

Acan Brain Coral (Acanthastrea Echinata)

Gold Ultra Hammer Coral (Euphyllia Ancora)

Orange/Green Colony Polyp (Zoanthus)

Giant Green Polyp Duncan - Aquacultured (Duncanopsammia axifuga)

Ultra Goid Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens)

Green Stylophora Coral (Stylophora)

 

Emerald Crab

Clean Up Crew (Snails & Hermit Crabs)

Blood Red Fire Shrimp

Tiger Pistol Shrimp

 

Ocellaris Clownfish x2 (juveniles who have paired in the tank)

Yellow Watchman Goby (little guy who paired with the pistol shrimp in the tank)

Orchid Dottyback (smaller)

Yellowtail Damselfish (baby)

 

Water Change

 

BRS 6 Stage Chloramines Deluxe RO/DI System

5-Gallon Water Container x2

100W Jager Heater

Hydor Koralia Nano 425 Pump 425 GPH

ESU Pad Pureflo 100 MIC

 

15359801119_5f03458d1f_o.jpg

 

14925674134_57627b9b05_o.jpg

 

14926241973_8efc48d17e_o.jpg

 

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15360288258_c9e38f23e7_o.jpg

 



Ugh not sure why those pictures are sideways! I used Flickr. Anybody know how I can fix? Thanks.

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Just picked up the 10 gallon fusion today. We currently have a JBJ 28 gallon in the living room and now the IM fusion in the bed room. Picked up some sand and rock today as well. Not sure what light I want to put on it yet.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am still waiting for my Fusion 20,My 16 Gallon Nuvo CRACKED after 8 months of running.It is suppose to be delivered this Thursday 10/30 after waiting a whole month for it, Warranty replacement. I have Radion Xr30 pro (OVERKILL) which I am eventually going to put on a different tank getting the X15, also have Ghost Skimmer,had the Skimmate piece of junk.ATO by Innovative,media reactor,spin nozzles,custom media baskets,let me know how everyone that has this tank likes it. Thanks!

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I have a thread elsewhere, but I just wanted to share my classroom project. We purchased SEVEN Fusion 10 aquariums, and I am very impressed with the quality. We bought cheap lights from aquatraders.co (18 watt LEDs for $34), and they are fine for the freshwater setups. The students with the reef might eventually upgrade. Like I said, we are overall very impressed by build quality and aesthetics. I own a Nuvo 8, and the Fusion 10 looks WAY better (I hate the ugly, cheap-looking pedestal on the Nuvo series).

 

That being said, we have run into these problems you might want to be aware of:

 

1. If you are used to a glass top, the mesh top allows for A LOT of evaporation, especially if your tank is near or directly under an HVAC vent (as a couple are in my classroom).

 

2. People are complaining about the pump, but we've actually had to turn down pumps. You see, some of my students have little fish and others will be getting shrimp. Even a full-grown male guppy somehow got through the overflow. So we have had to cover the overflows with a thin layer of foam. This means water flowed more slowly into sump and the water level got alarmingly low in the sump and as alarmingly high in the display. Turning down the pumps helped, and most of our tanks do not require high flow anyway. The reef pump is still set on the maximum setting.

 

3. The stock baskets are garbage. They are the same type I got with my Nuvo 8, which I promptly replaced with an InTank basket. Our school cannot affrod to buy seven InTank baskets at $40 each, so I guess we will live with the stock baskets and just try to keep bio-load down.

 

But that's it! A brand-new product, and we only have three complaints! I have called IM a few times about the rate of evaporation, and they have been awesome. By the way, my friend recently purchased the Fusion 20, and he loves its looks too.

 

I am holding out for the SR-60.

 

By the way, if you'd like to help my students raise money for ATO systems for when we are on school holidays, please consider clicking on the link below. You can give as little as a dollar, and every dollar you give will be matched by another donor if you give by November 1st and use the promo code SPARK.

 

http://www.donorschoose.org/jason.chau

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  • 1 year later...
  • 11 months later...

I just picked up this tank. I like it so far, but I do have a question I just purchased a jebao pp8 and it seems that this is too powerful this is my first marine aquarium so I don't know the right current it requires. Am I worrying to much?

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