IM 40 fuge or algae reactor

[Nick13]

Hey I have a IM nuvo 40 and want to set up a either a refugium in one of the back chambers using the in tank refugium baskets and IM fuge light, or set up and algae reactor. It seems like the algae reactor route will hold a lot more cheato then the small chamber in the tank. I have a second return pump that came with the IM 40 (476gph) would that work to for flow with a reactor and would I be able to keep the reactor under my tank in the stand rather then hanging on the side of the tank? Also which would hold more pods in the long run? Thanks!

[This guy is extra salty]

I made an algae reactor out of a cheap 40$ media reactor off amazon and the 26$ Water proof light from marine depot if you already have a pump you’re golden

[WhatsReef]

I don't know anything about algae reactors, but I've got chaeto in 2 of my Fusion 40 chambers on one side... intank floss holder with double floss at the intake with a DIY thing preventing the chaeto from chamber 1 from sinking too low and going into chamber 2 so it's boxed in by the floss holder and the little thing at the bottom (it's made from my extra "shelf" from the intank media basket I have on the other side and some rubber tubing for "legs").

 

There's a modified intank fuge basket in the second one. I cut a media bag and glued it to either open side of the fuge basket edges so it's covered in netting about half the way up on both of the "open" sides. This way when I lift it out the chaeto sinks down into the netted portion and doesn't spill out the sides.

 

My middle chamber has ATO, heater, return pump. Got a carbon reactor coming and hoping I can cram it in there as well, but I might have to modify the fuge basket on my media side to accommodate it if not (right now it has a bag of bio balls in it).

 

In the other side's two chambers I have various bio media in intank baskets. I have a good amount of rock too, but my tank is a damn pod factory right now. Some days there are a lot more, but this morning I'd say I have about 10 pods per square inch on the glass and that's with lights on (2 small clowns, YWB, yellow clown goby in the tank). I occasionally turkey baster blast the chaeto and media chambers and it shoots pods (and a bit of detritus) into the display area.

 

I'm pretty happy with the setup and the level of pod saturation as I love having plenty of pods.

[WhatsReef]

Just modded this bad boy yesterday:

 

[Nick13]

Thanks guys! Whatsreef what light are you running to grow the cheato?

10 hours ago, This guy is extra salty said:

I made an algae reactor out of a cheap 40$ media reactor off amazon and the 26$ Water proof light from marine depot if you already have a pump you’re golden

Do you think the pump will be enough if I mount the reactor under my stand?

[SliceGolfer]

1 hour ago, Nick13 said:

Do you think the pump will be enough if I mount the reactor under my stand?

Best to check specs on the pump and measure head pressure. If the pump sits in the AIO sump, down to the stand, and back up, I would guess you’re looking at 4-6 ft head pressure.

 

I mounted my reactor on the corner. This allows me to keep an eye on it, use a smaller pump (which doesn’t add extra heat to the water), access the reactor for quick maintenance, and bonus it lights the hallway at night.

 

[Nick13]

I'm thinking I could mount it vertical under my stand and it would sit maybe 2-2.5 under the top if the tank. How much flow do I want going through the reactor? I was thinking around 250gph if that sounds right?

[Nick13]

16 minutes ago, SliceGolfer said:

Best to check specs on the pump and measure head pressure. If the pump sits in the AIO sump, down to the stand, and back up, I would guess you’re looking at 4-6 ft head pressure.

 

I mounted my reactor on the corner. This allows me to keep an eye on it, use a smaller pump (which doesn’t add extra heat to the water), access the reactor for quick maintenance, and bonus it lights the hallway at night.

 

 

Do you get good pod growth with the reactor your running?

[This guy is extra salty]

2 hours ago, Nick13 said:

Thanks guys! Whatsreef what light are you running to grow the cheato?

Do you think the pump will be enough if I mount the reactor under my stand?

Yes You should be fine 

 

I’m using this light

https://www.marinedepot.com/Accel_Aquatics_Warm_White_High_Output_Water_Resistant_LED_Strip_Light_with_Transformer_6_foot_LED_Light_Fixtures_for_Aquariums-Accel_Aquatics-6H94602-FILTFILD-vi.html

[SliceGolfer]

59 minutes ago, Nick13 said:

I'm thinking I could mount it vertical under my stand and it would sit maybe 2-2.5 under the top if the tank. How much flow do I want going through the reactor? I was thinking around 250gph if that sounds right?

I’m pushing with a Sicce Micra Plus 158gph powerhead, but the reactor is right off the tank. I am not aware of a recommended flow rate, I felt slower might be better.

52 minutes ago, Nick13 said:

Do you get good pod growth with the reactor your running?

My tank is new, and I have seeded it with pods. I routinely see pods in there, plus some larger pods and a baby brittle star which must have come in on the Chaeto. Next maintenance of the reactor I’ll move the star into the display.

[Nick13]

Awesome I think I'm going to go the reactor route and mount in underneath! My tank is very new too so I'll also probably seed it with pods as well. I have see a lot of them on the tank already so that's a good start at least! Thanks everyone for all the feedback!