Jesse's 20G Fusion

[Obsessed Reefer]

Of course my box from Marine Depot gets delayed, because I hate UPS. Sat all day in NJ, yet it won't get here until tomorrow now.

[lilmatty5dimes]

those are some nice additions from the swap. i love that chalice and orange crush.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Thanks!

 

Ordered a 500mL bottle of Tibse pods from keydiver. Hopefully it'll get here Wednesday or Thursday. And then the Mandarins on Friday. Super excited!

[Obsessed Reefer]

So I'm probably going to be getting the Mandarins a few days early, my work schedule got changed around and now have nights off this week. I'm also probably going to pick up a bottle of selcon tomorrow as well to soak the mysis in. I'm super excited. also going to do my first batch of BBS overnight.

 

While I was away my 8G is having a small outbreak of green algae, so I need to get that straightened out.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Brought home the Mandarins today, introducing Mushu & Maleficent (M&M). The only thing I noticed as I was getting them, was that Mushu (the male) has some fin damage, it looks like something was attacking him. Since they have not once seen to fight, I'm going to hope it was just one of the hermits in the tank at the LFS, but I am going to keep a very close eye on him. You can see it in the first picture below.

 

https://flic.kr/p/poKbTb'>

https://flic.kr/p/poKbTb'>IMG_0598 by https://www.flickr.com/people/126151760@N05/'>darth.slover, on Flickr

 

Here, the female on top, the male towards the bottom.

 

https://flic.kr/p/oJi8jw'>

https://flic.kr/p/oJi8jw'>IMG_0601 by https://www.flickr.com/people/126151760@N05/'>darth.slover, on Flickr

 

Female on the right, male on the left.

 

https://flic.kr/p/oJm6Ct'>

https://flic.kr/p/oJm6Ct'>IMG_0605 by https://www.flickr.com/people/126151760@N05/'>darth.slover, on Flickr

[Obsessed Reefer]

So some good news. This morning before I left for work, I fed a little bit of the Reef Nutrition ROE, and it appeared that neither one cared about it. So I mixed some mysis with the selcon, and fed that. The female ate the mysis, which I was glad to see that she didn't get too stressed from the car ride home and the acclimation. The male looked around at the mysis, but I couldn't see him eat anything.

 

When I got home tonight, I mixed the mysis & ROE with the selcon. Fed some ROE first, and I'm pretty sure I saw the male eat a few. I fed the mysis, and he still followed it around, but again, didn't see him eat anything. The female chowed down, which I'm super happy for, and the males fin is not looking any worse, so hopefully it clears up.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Oh also I want to try adding some macro to the display, like planted macros. Any suggestions on what's the easiest to care for?

[Cameron6796]

I'm assuming you mean some more colourful pretty peices but a ball of cheato behind the rocks could hurt if help down by a peace of rubble. In addition some dragons breath or Occtodes

[Obsessed Reefer]

Yup. I already have cheato in my rear chamber. I'm looking for like blue/purple/red stuff to grow to add some more color.

[Obsessed Reefer]

So I fed again this morning, and they both ate the mysis. As I was leaving, I heard an unusual splash. You guessed it, one of them jumped from the breeder box into the display. I couldn't tell which one, but I think it was the male. It's been making me nervous all day.

[Obsessed Reefer]

So when I got home today, I confirmed it was the male that jumped, and I let the female into the display as well. The male seemed ok, has been moving around and exploring. I fed the tank as well. I want to get a small dish I can use to place food in the tank as soon as they pick a favorite spot.

[owenj]

Beautiful new mandies (although really, who says "ugly mandy")

[Normang]

Hey Obsessed Reefer, a question for you.

 

How are you still liking the Maxspect Razor Nano? How are your corals reacting to it and how is the spread, is it enough to completely fill the fusion 20? Are you totally satisfied with it or does it leave you wanting something more.

 

I plan on getting this tank sometime next year and I can't decide between getting the Maxspect razor nano ( I don't know if it will be powerful enough and with enough spread) or go with the Radion XR15W Pro with the RMS mount. The Razor nano is about 150-200 bucks cheaper and comes with the mount which is separate for the radion for a price of about 90 bucks.

 

My tank will be primarily softies, LPS, and some of the easier SPS, definitely not a SPS dominate tank.

Thanks for your input I really appreciate it.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Hey Obsessed Reefer, a question for you.

 

How are you still liking the Maxspect Razor Nano? How are your corals reacting to it and how is the spread, is it enough to completely fill the fusion 20? Are you totally satisfied with it or does it leave you wanting something more.

 

I plan on getting this tank sometime next year and I can't decide between getting the Maxspect razor nano ( I don't know if it will be powerful enough and with enough spread) or go with the Radion XR15W Pro with the RMS mount. The Razor nano is about 150-200 bucks cheaper and comes with the mount which is separate for the radion for a price of about 90 bucks.

 

My tank will be primarily softies, LPS, and some of the easier SPS, definitely not a SPS dominate tank.

Thanks for your input I really appreciate it.

 

I still love the Razor Nano. I still have very few corals, but it spreads evenly across the tank. If I had money, sure, I'd probably get a more expensive fixture that I could control from my phone and what not, but this is working perfectly fine for me.

 

For softies & LPS - it's perfect. For SPS, you would definitely want to keep it towards the top of the tank. And just think what you could buy with that extra $200 (Media Reactor, Skimmer, Controller, etc.)

 

 

I also realized today is my tanks two month anniversary of being wet, so I figured I'd right some more reviews.

 

Innovative Marine Fusion 20G Tank & Stand:

I really love the tank, and everything about it. The stand I'm still regretting, but what's done is done. The tank has a solid build quality, great craftsmanship, excellent clarity in the glass, and is a great AIO. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you're tight on a budget, vs. setting up a tank & sump.

 

Obviously no AIO is perfect, and this one isn't either. Of course I'm talking about the accessories that it comes with. The stock media baskets are crap, simple as that. I purchased two of the Innovative Marine Custom Caddies, and I love them. For $20 it's a simple upgraded media basket. I have run running as a fuge, and the other one running mechanical filtration. Obviously there are better ones on the market, but this is again, perfect for someone on a budget.

 

Next up is the return pump. Innovative Marine used the same return pump as their 16g Nuvo, rated at 211GPH. I replaced it with a Maxi Jet 1200, still using the split Y return they included.

 

Now for the added equipment:

For additional water movement, I have an MP10 in the display, which is just as good as it has ever been. I've had it for a few years, and used it in my previous tanks.

 

I added the Innovative Marine MiniMax Desktop Media Reactor, which works as you would expect, and is nice and compact. Same could be said for the Ghost Protein Skimmer. While yes, it's a pain to start with, after a few weeks of breaking in, it's been pulling a solid skim out of the water, and only is producing minimal micro bubbles.

 

Overall very happy with my investment. It'll work well for the next few years until I can move out and afford to upgrade to something larger.

[Normang]

Hey thanks for the update, I have enjoyed going through your thread. I havent heard good things about the stand, super expensive for what you get. Thanks for the info on the new skimmer and media reactor. Also, thanks for talking about the razor nano. I love the disco effect that it gives out compares to other units.

[drfu]

So I'm probably going to be getting the Mandarins a few days early, my work schedule got changed around and now have nights off this week. I'm also probably going to pick up a bottle of selcon tomorrow as well to soak the mysis in. I'm super excited. also going to do my first batch of BBS overnight.

 

While I was away my 8G is having a small outbreak of green algae, so I need to get that straightened out.

 

I always wanted Mandarins, yours look awesome! Keep us up to date with how they do, I'm specifically interested on how you feed them & what they will eat?

[Obsessed Reefer]

I always wanted Mandarins, yours look awesome! Keep us up to date with how they do, I'm specifically interested on how you feed them & what they will eat?

 

Mine eat frozen. I feed a mixture of frozen mysis & Reef Nutrition roe each day. I really haven't seen them go nuts after the roe, but I'll also feed some frozen LRS reef frenzy, every other day or so, but primarily mysis. As far as how I feed them, I kill all the pumps, feed my lps first, then the clowns and angel, then the mandarins, I just use a feeder to squirt it in their face, and since the pumps are off, it moves slow enough for them to get it.

[Obsessed Reefer]

Sorry for lack of updates, I've been super busy lately, and have been somewhat neglecting the tanks. My 20G has been battling some type of slime algae on the sand bed, and I ended up syphoning out the top layer of sand along with the algae, missed a little bit, but hopefully with that and larger water changes over the next week or so, it'll subside. I've cut back on lighting a few hours, and also lowered the intensity of the lights.

 

I lost the frogspawn the other week, it was never the same when I brought it home, but it just kept getting smaller and smaller.

 

All my fish are doing well, the mandarins are still eating mysis.

[Normang]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I ordered the fusion 20 and the InTank media/fuge basket on Friday during the big sale. A few questions for you

 

When I set up my tank I will also use live sand, pink Fiji and the caribsea life rock. Is it necessary to use biosphere to start the cycle or use a piece of raw shrimp? Did your tank go through a full cycle since you used liferock and biosphere, or was it a small one? How did you know it was cycled and ready for livestock?

 

How is the fuge in your tank? Is the Cheto growing rapidly or is it having issues? I ask Bc I bought the fuge basket with a 10w in water light

 

I'd love some more updates on your tank, especially some FTS.

[rbargante]

Got the first box of goodies in today.

 

20lbs of Fiji sand, two spill mats, the MJ1200, 2 custom caddys, two 100w heaters, a bottle of BioSpira, and a mag flip 100.

 

I have to say, the build quality of the Innovative Marine custom caddy is nice. It's no inTank quality, but for half the price, I'm impressed. I also like that the shelves are adjustable.

 

I should be getting my box of goodies from Marine Depot on Monday, and hopefully the tank and stand by the week after that.

hi. Can you tell me if your Innovative Marine custom caddy are the sanes as fusion 16 ? Thank you..

[JMCollins24]

Any updates on the Fusion?

[uwdanno]

How many fish do you have in the 20 now?

[Obsessed Reefer]

So over the summer both of my tanks experienced crashes. I was away for a month for work, and during the time, there was a power outage which tipped it into motion. Now that work is steady, I'm going to the process of getting my tank back in order. I'm breaking down the 8G I had in my bedroom, the sole survivor, a Randall's Goby, I'm moving to the Fusion.

 

I picked up another Green Mandarin, my LFS had him on sale, and I picked up some Chemiclean to help get rid of the red slime. My parameters are getting back in order, so hopefully it won't come back.

 

I'm sad to say that I'm going to have to get rid of the flameback angel, as once I released the goby into the fusion, it kept on attacking it. So right now I have the goby with the mandarin isolated from the flameback.

 

I've done a few major water changes over the past few weeks, which has helped remove a lot of the cyano, and I've read a lot of good things about the chemiclean, and I'm going to photo document how it helps.

 

I'm also looking into changing my light from the Razor nano to the AI Prime. I love the small foot print and the fact that I can control it via my smartphone, and I don't need any extra adapters for it.

 

Anywho, that's all for now, incoming photos, and I'll update over the next few days how the chemi-clean works.

 

More Fred & Booger by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Red Slime FTS by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Fred & Booger 3 by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Red Slime Half Shot by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Fred & Booger 2 by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Fred & Booger by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Red Slime 2 by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

 

Red Slime by Jesse Slover, on Flickr

[uwdanno]

Get over here....

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/365302-official-fusion-20-gal-thread/?fromsearch=1

[HarryPotter]

Sorry for lack of updates, I've been super busy lately, and have been somewhat neglecting the tanks. My 20G has been battling some type of slime algae on the sand bed, and I ended up syphoning out the top layer of sand along with the algae, missed a little bit, but hopefully with that and larger water changes over the next week or so, it'll subside. I've cut back on lighting a few hours, and also lowered the intensity of the lights.

 

I lost the frogspawn the other week, it was never the same when I brought it home, but it just kept getting smaller and smaller.

 

All my fish are doing well, the mandarins are still eating mysis.

Use some Chemi-Clean for cyano. Works 100% perfectly, absolutely reef safe, etc.

 

I've used it on many different tanks with a perfect success rate.