Noob - Starting up a Nuvo Mini 38 (Now starting up a Fusion 30)

[snoop306]

Edit: Updated setup in post #19.

 

Okay, please bear with me as I've never set up a reef tank before. I've been reading as much as I could, and I think I'm ready to order.

 

This is what I currently have picked out:

 

 

I'm also ordering an Innovative Marine CustomCaddy 38 Media Basket.

 

Now, I'm not 100% sure this is everything I need, or that I even need everything I have added to my shopping cart. Is there anything I'm missing? Is any of this overkill, not necessary or not suitable for the 38? I want to make sure I'm doing it right the first time, so I don't end up having to return things or order additional equipment.

 

Any insight into my setup would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[endy0430]

Take out the mini UV I had it and its a piece of you know what. Also the IM skimmer I would replace with the Cadlights PLS 50. I also had the IM skimmer and its very inconsistent. Besides that everything else looks good.

[snoop306]

Thanks, I'll check that out tomorrow morning. Is there anything I'm missing that I'll need before I can be fully setup and start cycling, etc? I'll get salt and other small things I need from a local shop here, but what about any piping, or a way to mount the lights? Is there a recommended mount kit for those? I'm assuming the actual lights don't come with anything. Just want to have all my bases covered so I can get going as soon as my shipments arrive, not be delayed by having to make additional orders.

 

Sorry, when you say the Mini UV what exactly were you referring to? The UV sterilizer? Not necessary?

[LASci]

I've been just starting my own research and have been looking at a similar build. Did you look into the Nuvo 40? I believe that's their "updated" version of the 38. Costs another $100 though, however the setup in the back seems to have some better spacing and the edges are squared as opposed to curbed. Squared edges give you a bit more room and personally I prefer that look over the distortion you get in an rounded tank.

[DaveMc]

Will be following along. This is the same tank I was looking at upgrading to.

[snoop306]

I've been just starting my own research and have been looking at a similar build. Did you look into the Nuvo 40? I believe that's their "updated" version of the 38. Costs another $100 though, however the setup in the back seems to have some better spacing and the edges are squared as opposed to curbed. Squared edges give you a bit more room and personally I prefer that look over the distortion you get in an rounded tank.

I have no opposition to going to the 40 instead. I assume none of my other equipment would need to change?

[snoop306]

Also, looks like Dr. Foster Smith doesn't stock 40s.

[LASci]

I have no opposition to going to the 40 instead. I assume none of my other equipment would need to change?

 

I don't see why it would need to change, though I agree with Endy above who said that the CADLight 50 might be a better skimmer. It's dimensions should fit fine in the Fusion 40. One of the nice things about the 40 are the wider "equipment" slots. You can snugly fit either the IM skimmer or the CADLights skimmer in the equipment slot and still have room for two media trays as well as another equipment slot for a reactor. That's much better space usage then the 38, where you need to use one of the media trays to fit a skimmer other then the IM. The major downside on the 40 is that the width of the sump/refugium/overflow area is a bit smaller. That's a plus for space usage, but the downside is that the width REALLY restricts the size of skimmers that will fit. A lot of people like to use the Tunze skimmers on their Nuvo builds, but the dimensions on the 40 preclude their use. Before you buy, check the specifications on their website and check the footprints of the equipment you want to use. If you think you'll want to experiment with a lot of different equipment, the 38 might be a better (if not as pretty/clean looking) option.

 

Marine Depot has them in stock.

[Ahanix]

+1 for the Fusion 40 and Cadlights PLS-50. I have the fusion 30 and love it more than the curved glass tanks they released a while back

[snoop306]

What do you guys think of the 30 vs the 40? I kind of like the horizontal rectangle look more than the look of the 38/40.

 

Marine Depot won't ship aquariums to Canada, so my options are kind of limited in ordering the actual tanks.

[Eckozulu]

Did u check out cadlights aquariums. I love my artisan 50 cube, and the 50 long looks tempting. And they ship to canada.

[Ahanix]

What do you guys think of the 30 vs the 40? I kind of like the horizontal rectangle look more than the look of the 38/40.

 

Marine Depot won't ship aquariums to Canada, so my options are kind of limited in ordering the actual tanks.

 

 

Honestly, I would prefer the Fusion 30 over the 40 any time of the week. You will have more room for rock, coral placement and area to look at with the 30, regardless of the 10 gallon difference. I just went from a 34g solana to my 30 Fusion and love it more than any other tank I have had.

 

 

Fusion 30 you can do away with the Spin Streams, I have an MP10ES on mine with the stock pump and there is plenty of flow everywhere in the tank. I would swap the heater for a Cobalt Neotherm 100w ($44 on amazon, worth the extra $14)

 

You will have to get a different light other than the standard hydra for the Fusion 30 because of the length of the tank. I have a Hydra FiftyTwo over my Fusion 30 and it's perfect, although I would love to try a NanoBox light, or a Radion Gen3 to see how the coverage is compared to it.

[Spiderguardnano]

i would get the neotherm heater instead

 

you invested good money into this don't let it crap because of the heater

[LASci]

What do you guys think of the 30 vs the 40? I kind of like the horizontal rectangle look more than the look of the 38/40.

 

Marine Depot won't ship aquariums to Canada, so my options are kind of limited in ordering the actual tanks.

 

Lot of folks on here seem to like the 30L as well (plenty of build threads to look at). I believe the 30L and the 40 are both part of their new "Fusion" line; i.e. their most up to date technology, for whatever that's worth. The cube versus the long is just a personal preference really, get the one you like.

 

I agree with Ahanix on the spin streams. I've never used them, but I can't see what good they're going to do since they work off the flow from the return pump and the gph on that is so low (<100) that you're not realistically seeing any real water movement out of that. Powerheads are for directing flow. Return pumps are just to get the water back to the display and you don't need some gimmick for that.

 

The CADLights aquariums is another good one to look at, as Echozulu mentioned, but their larger sized aquariums, like the 50g, are more of a traditional salt setup with sump in the stand, below the tank. If you're going to go that route, you might be better off ditching the AIO route and just putting together your own build.

[shaverto]

What do you guys think of the 30 vs the 40? I kind of like the horizontal rectangle look more than the look of the 38/40.

 

Marine Depot won't ship aquariums to Canada, so my options are kind of limited in ordering the actual tanks.

There are IM reps in Canada, you dont have to buy strictly from the websites talked about on nano-reef. If you live in Ontario though, both of the reps listed on the IM site no longer carry IM stuff because of poor experiences them or their customers have had.

 

I know this because i was looking into the fusion 30L myself. I personally prefer the wider tanks as opposed to the cubes.

[snoop306]

Alright, just pulled the trigger on the Fusion 30 from my LFS (I'm assuming this means local fish shop - haha), along with the stand. Funny because I just hit him up a couple hours ago and he told me he was putting in his order tonight and his next one wouldn't be until the fall.

 

(I never discovered DFS.com on here, it was just the online place I could find that shipped to Canada through my extensive searching).

 

Going to update this later with my new proposed setup for the 30L and get some input from you guys.

 

Thank you all so much for your help!

[Bobyboy]

Take a look at my 30 Build thread in my signature.

I'm using the IM skimmer and have no problems since it broke in aswell as the jäger heaters.

The return pump most defiantly puts out more than 100gph, I'm using the spinstreams and you do notice the difference.

 

Another note I want to point out, order dry rock and build your scape before your tank is wet.

 

Good luck and feel free to ask question.

[Ahanix]

Great news man, excited to see your Fusion 30 build! Welcome to the club

[snoop306]

My new proposed setup:

 

Nuvo Fusion 30

IM Nuvo 30 Stand

CAD Lights PLS-50

100W Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm

IM MiniMax All-In-One Media Reactor Midsize

EcoTech Marine VorTech EcoSmart Propeller Pumps MP10 ES

AquaIllumination AI Hydra FiftyTwo LED Module

AquaIllumination AI Director

Tunze Nano Osmolator 3152

Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget CustomCaddy Fusion 40 and 30L Media Basket - Possibly two

 

Couple questions...

 

Is a spin stream necessary? Read a few people saying yes and a few saying no.

Is one media basket sufficient? (Still trying to grasp the concept of how the media baskets work, anyone who could point me to a good "beginner thread" explaining that would be much appreciated.)

Is that lighting sufficient for the Fusion 30? Does that light come with a mount kit/arm of any kind or do I need to purchase something separately?

 

Anything I'm leaving out or that you would recommend changing on that setup?

 

Thank you so much! Excited to get started on this, and have my Canon Rebel and tripod ready to keep you guys updated.

[snoop306]

Take a look at my 30 Build thread in my signature.

I'm using the IM skimmer and have no problems since it broke in aswell as the jäger heaters.

The return pump most defiantly puts out more than 100gph, I'm using the spinstreams and you do notice the difference.

 

Another note I want to point out, order dry rock and build your scape before your tank is wet.

 

Good luck and feel free to ask question.

I noticed these in your build:

 

- RKE with Float switches

- toms aqua lifter plus air line and a 3 gallon jug for ATO

 

Can you elaborate on what those are and why I may or may not need them?

[Ahanix]

Not to jack his question. You won't necessarily need a controller but that's up to you. I personally think the Apex would work better but its personal prfernve.

 

I would strongly suggest or say its even mandatory to go with an auto top off. A tunze 3152 would work great based on the amount of evaporation this tank has and you can fit a 5g tank perfectly under the fusion stand to hold water which you will need to fill about once a week.

[snoop306]

Okay. I'll look into that. Thanks!

 

What about the media basket (and only having one), the spin stream and the lighting, in your opinion?

 

And feel free to jack any questions. The more opinions the better, imo.

[Ahanix]

Having the Hydra FiftyTwo I would suggest going something else than the standard Hydra.

 

Either Hydra FiftyTwo, NanoBox, Maxspect Razor 160w or maybe a G3 Radion (might) work.

 

I would vote for two media baskets, cut the spin stream and the UV sterilizer if you need to justify the cost, I think with right rock placement and the MP10 you will be just peachy in the flow department.

 

Also what are you planning on running in your reactor? I'm about to throw EcoBak plus in but didn't know if you had something else planned

[snoop306]

Thanks again!

 

Alright, I've updated post #19 to reflect your suggested changes to my setup.

 

Still want to read more before I commit to two media baskets, mainly because I'm still trying to understand how they are integrated into the aquarium setup and their role.

[Bobyboy]

I noticed these in your build:

 

- RKE with Float switches

- toms aqua lifter plus air line and a 3 gallon jug for ATO

 

Can you elaborate on what those are and why I may or may not need them?

The RKE is a Reef Keeper Elite system with Float switches for the ATO part, the aqua lifter is the water pump from the 3G holding jug to the tank.

 

The RKE or RKL comes in the basic,net and plus versions, it is probably the best purchase I've ever made in reef keeping as it allows me to set standby modes for everything thing electrical, on/off timers for lights, ATO functions, tempature and PH probes for accurate readings and acting as a controller for my heater.

 

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/saltwater/systems