Fusion M60 amateurish build- soon to be RFA garden

[frootbat]

I've been wanting something a little larger for awhile now, and I picked up a Fluval M60 set without light for $315.

 

 

Equipment:

Fluval M60 with stand

stock return pump

stock skimmer

Tunze Nano Osmolator

MP10, media basket, and heater on order, arriving 9-24

 

Lighting:

Current Orbit Marine Pro 18-24" (Nanobox duo coming in October)

 

Current stock:

air molecules

 

Planned stock:

2x occie clowns, starry blenny

 

I have a crown leather, zoas and 2 baby rock flowers that are in a pico now that will be moved here when it's safe.

 

I've read all about this tank in the Euro forums where this tank is prevalent, and the main gripes:

1. No filtration/media accommodation whatsoever in the rear chambers.

2. Whack flow design, instead of top-bottom-top flow in the rear, it's top-top-top flow.

3. Included light is meh. Same for included powerhead.

4. Frosted glass, not so bad for the waterline, but at the bottom of the tank too?

 

After consulting with StevieT @Intank, I'll be making do with a Biocube 29 basket+JBJ 30 flow director until the M60 specific basket is available. I suck at all things DIY, so I'm not brave enough to flip the first baffle. I'll use the included powerhead to mix salt water. As for the frosted glass, that is kind of annoying, it pretty much forces me to have sand, and I kind of wanted to go bare. Still, for $315, I'll work around the issues.

 

Rock/sand/water should go in tomorrow, I'll post pics so everyone can laugh at my (lack of) scaping skills.

[ManGups]

Sweet !! I have a M60 too.

[frootbat]

Well, 20# of sand and 25# or so of live rock later:

 

 

I've already bought a starry blenny (the lfs is holding it for me until it's safe to add). It may seem like just a pile of disparate rocks (and it is ) but I can always swap out that rock on the top for something else if I see something that strikes my fancy. I just figured that if the frosted glass was forcing me to have sand, I may as well have some room for some corals on the sandbed. But that's later...the first corals will be zoas and a crown leather.

[Cameron6796]

Following becauuse i love this tank

[frootbat]

Added snails, a couple zoa frags, a crown leather, and a pair of young B-grade Davinci clowns.

 

[frootbat]

Moved more frags over:

 

 

Also moved my baby rock flowers over. The didn't move far from where I put them:

 

[frootbat]

Well, since the last update this happened:

 

1. Clowns jumped 3 days before I got a custom made lid.

 

2. Added a couple of zoa frags, still want moar!

 

3. Made the huge mistake of adding a pair of what might have been peppermint shrimp, they either killed or annoyed into moving the rock flower anemone on the left. Can't find him anywhere, and I'm not willing to tear apart the rock looking for him. Have since caught the little F*ckers with a cut up soda bottle and they are gone.

 

4. Used the possible loss of an RFA to buy 4 more from Morgan, I should have them Weds. Pics to follow.

[frootbat]

Updated FTS to reflect additions and subtractions. Added 3 RFAs and some zoa frags, and removed the big crown leather (traded for zoas).

 

Also, I have fish on the way from Live Aquaria, should be in tomorrow:

 

Bonded Pair Whitespot Pygmy Filefish

Tailspot Blenny

Pink Bar Goby/Candy Cane pistol shrimp

[frootbat]

Totally re-did the rockscape over the weekend, it was just BAD...few places for corals, flow blocked by the branch rock, not enough good spots to place corals, etc...

 

Will update the FTS this weekend when my new rock flowers come in