New With Questions

[leith.luke]

Hello everyone!

• My name is Luke. I have always had reptiles and tortoises in my care but have always wanted a saltwater tank. There is something about them that just amazes me. I am new to the hobby and just had some questions before I jumped in.
• First off the tank I was planning on getting is the NUVO Fusion 10 Pro. It looks beautiful to me in pictures and I have watched a couple videos on it. I was planning on buying this bundle from Marine Depot, who seems to be trustworthy. https://www.marinedepot.com/nuvo-fusion-10-pro-aio-10-gallon-aquarium-bundle-innovative-marine
• Is this a good tank? I have read about it and a lot of people recommend the in-tank media basket. Is that required or could I roll with the one provided?
• What light would you guys recommend for a tank of this size?
• And lastly, is there a secret ratio on knowing how much sand and rock you will need for your tank size?
• As I close, I was planning on getting this, along with a light, some rock, sand, and going from there. I just wanted to set that up and get used to it before I even think about adding life to it. Thank you for your time and I am excited to hear what you all have to say. 

 

[monkeytrumpets]

Hi Luke!  I have the 40 gallon version of the Nuvo Fusion, and am currently using the media basket that came with it.  It is pretty sturdy acrylic, and when pushed against the front of the rear chamber, the overflow pours right into the top of the basket.  I'm using filter mat that I replace every few days, rather than the fuzzy ball things that came with it, but that's just my personal preference.

 

For lighting, check out build threads on similarly sized tanks, and see what light they are using, and what they are successfully keeping with it.  I suspect there are quite a few options that would work for this tank, but depending on what you want to keep, you may find one particular light would work better for you, or have more of the features you are after.

 

The rule of thumb used to be 1lb of rock and 1lb of sand per gallon.  With an all in one like the Nuvo Fusion, a good chunk of your volume is in the rear chambers.  Depending on the type of rock you go with, you may find that 10lbs of rock takes up more real estate in your display than you are happy with.  That said, the more rock you have, the more surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonize.  I have 40lbs of rock in my 40g Fusion, but only went with enough sand to get the depth of sand I was looking for.  It ended up only being 15-20lbs rather than the full 40.  Looking at similar build threads on here would also help you get an idea of what others are doing in similarly sized builds, to give you a better idea of what you personally want.

 

Good call on getting the tank running before buying any fish/coral/inverts.  If you haven't already, look into the nitrogen cycle.  We rely on nitrifying bacteria as our biological filtration, and you'll want to be sure your biological filter is well established before you put anything alive (other than bacteria) in the tank.

[leith.luke]

• Thank you for the reply!
• One other question, I was planning on using dry sand with live rock. Will that be fine or should I have live sand along with the live rock?

[monkeytrumpets]

1 hour ago, leith.luke said:

• Thank you for the reply!
• One other question, I was planning on using dry sand with live rock. Will that be fine or should I have live sand along with the live rock?

IMHO, dry sand is fine.  As your biological filter gets established, bacteria will colonize the sand, essentially making it "live" sand.