BuckeyeFish Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I've been lurking on here for a while so I thought it was time to put up a build/progress thread of my current endeavor. I've been keeping saltwater tanks for 20+ years and have had tanks of varying size but nothing under 65G. My last tank was a custom acrylic tank built by GEO (he's local to me and does awesome work). Well, after much research, indecision and thought I've decided to enter the nano reef world. I looked at many different options (custom, DIY and off-the-shelf) and eventually decided to go with the Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 20G all-in-one tank. My primary goal was to put together a system that would be relatively easy to take care of while still being able to keep a nice variety of livestock. I also want to automate things as much as possible so I can stay on top of the basic tasks (water changes, dosing, etc). I'm an IT guy so tech stuff geeks me! Equipment list: IM Fusion Nuvo 20 gallon all-in-one tank IM Fusion stand (yeah, I could build it but don't really have mad wood skillz!) Marco Key Largo dry rock IM Ghost Desktop skimmer Kessil A360WE with gooseneck and Apex cable Neptune Apex controller (full version) Apex DOS (for continuous water change) Tunze Osmolator 3155 (dosing kalkwasser with ATO for pH) Intank media baskets (2 - running Chemi-Pure Elite and Purigen) Gyre 130 Fish: I haven't really decided on the fish yet other than a pair of mated clowns which I've already added. One of our local reefers breeds clown fish and the wife's only stipulation was that the tank needed a happy couple! Other than that I know I can't put too many in there. I'd like to go with some more unique types of fish so if anyone has any ideas feel free to chime in. A few that I'm considering are: - Deep water basslet - Blenny of some sort (Midas or maybe tail spot) - Goby of some sort (Dracula with a shrimp pair perhaps) Misc. livestock: I like shrimp in a tank event though they can get greedy and steal food. I'll probably go with either a skunk or maybe a fire shrimp. I just wish fire shrimp weren't so shy. If anyone has any other suggestions on other shrimp I'm all ears. I'll also have the usual assortment of snails and maybe a few hermits (just like their constant activity). Of course there will be corals too. I like a little bit of everything but I'm partial to cool zoanthids/palys and colorful LPS. Current status: The tank started cycling on 2/1/15 and took a little less than a month to complete. I first put in a few black foot Trochus snails, nassarius snails and larger ceriths. The first coral added was an orange wall hammer just because I saw it and thought it was sweet! A couple weeks after that I added the two clowns and a jawbreaker mushroom. The jawbreaker was an impulse buy because the guy I bought the clowns from happened to have one and gave me a good deal. That thing literally GLOWS under the Kessil. That brings things up to current state. Miscellaneous thoughts: I'm loving the decision to go nano! The Fusion 20 just looks good and sleek. My previous big tank set up had a basement sump so I'm re-using the salt mixing and RO setup I had used before. The Tunze 3155 has no trouble pumping the ATO water up from the basement (just make sure you tweak the pump setting in the controller). Since I can sometimes be a little lazy when it comes to water changes (hits us all at some point), I went with the new APEX DOS for continuous water changes. The unit sits in the basement and easily pumps the water up to the tank. I'm hoping that between the continuous water changes, kalkwasser ATO and using Red Sea Coral Pro salt (high levels of Alk, Ca and Mg) that I won't have to dose two part. Time will tell. Loving the Gyre 130 for flow. Originally I had it on the back wall but it would blow the sand away from the front of the tank. I ended up putting it horizontal on the end and it rocks! It does a great job of keeping any detritus in suspension. Other than a little expected cyano on the sand no algae. I was more than a little concerned about how well the Ghost skimmer would work based on some of the feedback I read. I'm happy to report that after a couple weeks it started foaming nicely and now pulls out some decent stinky stuff. It's not the nasty sludge that my old SRO skimmer used to churn out but overall I'm satisfied. The sound also quieted down and it's really only noticeable if the room is really quiet. The Kessil 360WE is probably the best light I've ever used. The shimmer is incredible and the pop it gives the corals is incredible. Getting kind a of long so I'll post a few pics in the next post! Thanks! Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Here's a few pics. Photography is definitely not my thing so bear with me as these are just from my phone. Tank: Orange Wall Hammer: Jawbreaker Mushroom: Mated pair of snowflake clowns: That's all for now. I'll try to keep this updated as I add livestock. Feel free to comment or asked questions! Thanks for looking! Link to comment
Smithjm5 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Looking good! Awesome equipment too Link to comment
anizato Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 whaat? how much did you pay for that jawbreaker??? Link to comment
czorich Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Great set up! I have a Fusion 20 too, great tanks. Good to know the Gyre isn't too much flow for the tank, I am debating the new QD MP-10 or the Gyre130 to replace my Jebao WP-10. The auto water changer is sweet too, I change 2-3 gallons per week. Keep us updated on the progress Link to comment
Eckozulu Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Curious on your programming of the apex dos. How many gallons a day? What coding? Do you find its consistent? Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 whaat? how much did you pay for that jawbreaker??? It actually wasn't that much. I got it from a local reef club member so he cut me a break. I can't come close to getting a pic that actually shows it off. It literally glows! Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Curious on your programming of the apex dos. How many gallons a day? What coding? Do you find its consistent? I used the water change wizard on the Apex Fusion site. I change out a little less than a gallon per day which works out to 6 gallons a week. It is very consistent. They include a measured container that you use to calibrate the pumps. It should dose 40ml in 90 seconds. Initially one of the pumps was a little off (like a couple ml) but after calibration it was dead on. The thing can pump 31.7 gallons in 24 hours! I only have a couple corals in the tank so far but the alk and ca levels are doing good. One thing I discovered is that you have to make sure the tubes are TIGHT so no air gets in the line. Link to comment
Eckozulu Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks bro, how do u keep the lines tight? Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks bro, how do u keep the lines tight? The tubing is a biotch to get on so you just have to wrestle it on. They also have a compression nut on each tube and I think that I didn't tighten those enough the first time. I also heated the end of the tubing the first time which I think allowed it over-expand. Link to comment
DocReef Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Got a Fusion 20 as well. Nice start. I'll follow your progress. Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 So I added a few more corals today thanks to a local reef club member. I'm looking to add more unique and colorful LPS to the tank and was able to score some nice stuff. Enjoy! Cherry Corals Skittles Acans (couldn't really capture the color right but it's cool!) Diamonds in the Reef Pumpkin Patch Rotundaflora Pink Boobies Chalice Tyree Space Invaders Orange Crush Acans Neon green with purple hammer Link to comment
Fishstiks Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 Beautiful pieces! That jawbreaker is gorgeous! I know what you mean about not capturing the color on them though, I have yet to be able to take a picture that shows off the true color of mine. :-) Link to comment
jafrica Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks for posting. I'm looking into setting up a 20 gal. IM Fusion Nuvo, and have considered a lot of the equipment you chose. From what I've priced out, it's not cheap, but believe it will be all worth it. A couple questions: Do you think the 20 gal. will be large enough for you in the long run? I'm playing around with the idea of going the next size up (30 gal.), but that adds another couple $100s to the build. Just wondering what you think of the 20 gal. overall size, especially since you've had a larger tank in the past. I'm wondering why you chose to go with the Kessil 360, as opposed to the 160. Do you think the 160 would be inadequate for the tank? Thanks. Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Thanks for posting. I'm looking into setting up a 20 gal. IM Fusion Nuvo, and have considered a lot of the equipment you chose. From what I've priced out, it's not cheap, but believe it will be all worth it. A couple questions: Do you think the 20 gal. will be large enough for you in the long run? I'm playing around with the idea of going the next size up (30 gal.), but that adds another couple $100s to the build. Just wondering what you think of the 20 gal. overall size, especially since you've had a larger tank in the past. I'm wondering why you chose to go with the Kessil 360, as opposed to the 160. Do you think the 160 would be inadequate for the tank? Thanks. I'm really liking the 20 gal Fusion. While I loved having the larger tank I like the decreased maintenance of the smaller tank. My main reason for going with the 20G instead of the 30G or even 40G Fusions was the footprint. The 20G fit perfectly where I wanted to put it. I like a more minimal approach to aquascapes so the smaller tank size was perfect for that as well. As for the Kessil 360 instead of the 160 I wanted to make sure I had plenty of coverage and wasn't sure the 160 would cut it. My other choice was the Nano Box Duo but it was a bit more money and I really like the shimmer of the Kessil. Plus, since I really like LPS and some LPS like a bit of shade I liked how the 360 gave good coverage but the shadows weren't harsh (if that makes sense). I suppose if you're going with an aquascape that's not real hilly then the 160 might be OK but I think the 360 would be the better option overall. Good luck! Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Here's a good pic I just took of my Jawbreaker mushroom. It's really grown in a short period of time. Link to comment
reefernanoman Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 Nice tank, equipment and LS. How's the Kessil working for you? Link to comment
BuckeyeFish Posted April 12, 2015 Author Share Posted April 12, 2015 Nice tank, equipment and LS. How's the Kessil working for you? Working great! Love the shimmer and how it makes the coral glow. No complaints at all. Link to comment
natedogg Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Any updates? Anything you would do differently? Link to comment
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