IM Fusion Pro 40g AIO <º)))><

[pricewayne]

ミ[°°]ミ Progress Pic Placeholder ミ[°°]ミ

[pricewayne]

After *lots* of deliberation I'm putting my 50g EXT Lagoon build on hold/in-storage and instead I've ordered a 40g AIO to keep me satiated in the interim. I'll be moving next February and from a cost/effort perspective I'd rather keep it simple until then with an AIO setup.

 

Primary goals for this tank are to take things s l o w, avoid any/all impulse purchases and maintain stable/ideal water parameters for an SPS dominant reef. Very much consider myself a beginner hobbyist. My past tanks were a Fluval 13.5g on a Husky Cart and a 2.5g pink seamed pico while I was living in LA (I'm now in Brooklyn, NY).

 

40g tank + APS stand should arrive end of May or early June. I'll be working on my rockscape, stock plans and equipment shopping while I patiently and painfully wait.

 

Equipment (prices included if helpful for others):

1. tank+stand: IM Fusion Pro 40g AIO + APS Stand - $850
2. return pump: MightJet 22W/24V 538 GPH DC w/ controller - stock for now, may upgrade later
3. rock + scape supplies: 40lbs CaribSea South Seas Base Rock, + E-Marco 200, super glue, egg crate, zip ties - $225
4. substrate: CaribSea Dry Aragonite Special Grade Reef 1.0–2.0 mm, 40lb bag - $50
5. RO/DI: Aquatic Life Twist-In 100GPD 4-Stage System - $140
6. salt: Red Sea Salt Mix - $28/55g bucket
7. heater: Eheim Jager 125W - $25/ea
8. thermometers: 4-pack on Amazon - $10
9. 5gal buckets: 4 from Home Depot - $20
10. 7gal RODI storage container: Amazon - $15
11. sw mixing pump: Hydor Centrifugal Universal Pump L20-185GPH - $30
12. refractometer: Hanna Instruments Salinity Tester - $69
13. siphon for WCs: Amazon - $15
14. bacteria start-up: Dr. Tim's Aquatics One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria - $33 (chewy.com has the cheapest)
15. lighting: EcoTech Radion XR30 Pro G5 LED (I like this one more than the Blue) - $840
16. lighting mount: RMS XR30 G5 Tank Mount - $104
17. mag cleaner: Flipper Standard Float Algae Scraper - $45
18. temp controller: InkBird Wifi Heater Controller - $60
19. power head: Nero 5 - $199
20. controllable outlet strip: SmartPlug 6 Wifi + 6 Always-On Strip (Amazon) - $30
21. filter floss: inTank Floss - $15
22. bio-plate media: Brightwell Aquatics X-port Bio Blocks - $30

 

Here's my progress on the foundation for my scape:

 

And a rough design rendering of how I'm imagining it netting out (not quite in stone yet, if you will):

 

That's it for now! Fingers crossed I have updates to share sooner than later.

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[pricewayne]

Finally have some noteworthy updates. Tank start-up was on 5/27 and ended up going in a different direction with my rock scape. I've slowly been gathering final equipment while tank has cycled.

 

Decided on a simpler rock scape with an increased amount of negative space. In looking through some of my favorite tanks by other hobbyists I appreciate their use of smaller rock scapes to increase the contrast between the rock/corals and tank itself. Also excited to see how much coral growth I may be able to achieve through careful selection and placement.

 

It's worth noting I ended up not using e-marco 200 mortar and instead exclusively used Glue Masters Premium Thin Super Glue. Pretty shocked by how well it worked and how strong the bonds are. Heard about it from Tidal Gardens' youtube channel (link to the video is here). It was messy, but I was able to break my rock into very small-medium sized rubble to sort of piece-meal sculpt the scape to my design. I used a large plastic storage bin to keep glue from spilling out from my work area and kept the rock I was working with/glueing on top of egg crate to keep from bonding it to the bin while drying. Love there aren't any visible bonds I would have otherwise had all over my rocks if I'd used e-marco.

 

Few tank shots at start-up:

 

 

 

 

Water Tests/Notes:

Date, Time, Temperature, Salinity, pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Notes:

• 5/31, 9AM    81.1    34.9    8.0    0ppm    1ppm    20ppm    
• 6/1, 8AM    81.3    35.2    7.8    0ppm    1ppm    20ppm    
• 6/2, 8AM    81.5    35.2    7.8    0ppm    1ppm    20ppm    
• 6/2, 9AM,    X    X    X    X    X    X    Added 2 BioBlocks, 1 in each 2nd chamber. Seeded rock scape.
• 6/2, 9:45AM    80.7    35.2    8.0    0ppm    2ppm    20ppm    
• 6/3, 8:30AM    80.6    35.2    8.0    0ppm    5ppm    40ppm    
• 6/4, 8:45AM    81.1    35.1    8.0    0ppm    1ppm    40ppm    
• 6/7, 9AM    80.6    35.1    8.0    0ppm    1ppm    40ppm    
• 6/7, 11:30AM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Dosed 110 drops of Dr Tims Ammonium Chloride.
• 6/7, 3PM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Mounted Radion XR30 Pro 9” above water.
• 6/7, 3PM    X    X    X    1ppm    X    X    
• 6/8, 8AM    80.9    X    8.0    .25ppm    5ppm    40ppm    
• 6/9, 8AM    80.9    X    7.8    .5ppm    5ppm    40ppm    
• 6/9, 11:30AM    X    X    X    X    X    X    5gallon water change to reduce nitrites. Added polyfill to right chamber.
• 6/10, 8AM    80.4    35.0    8.0    .25ppm    5ppm    20ppm    
• 6/10, 9AM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Added 3tablespoons of Purigen to right chamber. 10gallon water change to lower nitrites.
• 6/10, 6PM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Added 8.45oz of BIO-Spira Live Bacteria + Dosed 110 drops of Dr Tims Ammonium Chloride.
• 6/10, 7:30PM    X    X    X    1ppm    1ppm    X    
• 6/11, 12PM    81.5    35.0    8.0    .25ppm    2ppm    10ppm    
• 6/12, 12:30PM    80.7    X    8.0    0ppm    2ppm    20ppm    
• 6/13, 9AM    80.4    X    8.0    0ppm    1ppm    20ppm    
• 6/14, 8AM    80.7    X    8.0    0ppm    2ppm    20ppm    
• 6/15, 2PM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Added one Nero 3 wave maker. Added diffuser to Radion XR30.
• 6/16, 8AM    81.5    X    8.0    0ppm    2ppm    80ppm    
• 6/18, 9AM    80.9    35.1    8.0    0ppm    .5ppm    160ppm   
• 6/18, 8PM    X    X    X    X    X    X    20gallon water change to reduce nitrates.
• 6/24, 10:30AM    81.1    35.1    8.0    0ppm    0ppm    40ppm    Diatom bloom on rocks and sand bed; believe my tank is officially cycled!
• 6/26, 3PM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Replaced stock IM media basket and filter sock with two inTank baskets. Split media between baskets. Added 2nd Nero 3.
• 6/27, 11AM    X    X    X    X    X    X    Replaced stock return flow nozzles with two Spin Streams.
• 6/27, 11AM    81.5    35.0    8.0    0ppm    0ppm    40ppm   

I ended up ordering the ATLEDTIS HR Mounting System to hang my Radion XR30 over the tank instead of using Radion's arm mount. It was surprisingly easy to setup and connected seamlessly using the Radion hanging kit wires attached to the ATLEDTIS HR Mounting System rod. Ordered it from Aquaforest Aquarium: here's the link for anyone interested.

FTS from this morning with special appearance from my pup, Orbit  ▼・ᴥ・▼

 

Placed an order from Reef Cleaners last week for my clean-up-crew. Should have them in the tank tomorrow or Wednesday once they've delivered. Also ordered a custom lid from Kraken Reef. Still researching fish livestock options - not in any rush but may add one in the next couple weeks assuming CUC does well and water tests remain in check.

 

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[billygoat]

Oh wow, welcome back! I remember your Fluval EVO on a Husky cart - that was a super cool tank! I'm glad to see you're back and even more glad to see that you've upgraded to the same aquarium that I did. 😂 The Fusion 40 is a great tank with a lot of cool vertical space to work with, and I love it to death - until I have to clean the bizarre upside-down-T-shaped return pump chamber. But you won't have to worry about that for awhile at least.

 

Anyway, I can't wait to see where you take this new system! I'll be following along for sure.