Innovative Marine NUVO Fusion 40 and APS stand - 3 year review

[billygoat]

Hi N-R! I was reviewing some old photos and noticed that my IM NUVO Fusion 40 AIO recently turned 3 years old. I figured I should do a review of the product and share some pros and cons for other people considering this system. I've written out my thoughts below, but you can skip straight to the end if you're looking for a quick bulleted breakdown of my review!

 

Note that this review is for the "NUVO Fusion 40 PRO," not the "NUVO 40 gallon long" aquarium. The tank footprint is about 24" x 20" and it is about 19" deep.

 

The Tank

 

 

The tank itself is made from 8mm low-iron glass. Mine arrived with a fairly long scratch across the front, which was very unfortunate but no fault of the manufacturer. I probably could have appealed for a replacement but didn't want to hassle with it as the scratch is only obvious when you look at the tank from a weird awkward angle. I have not added any additional scratches to the glass despite having bumped it countless times with rocks and corals, so the quality definitely seems good there. I use a Flipper Nano metal-bladed magnetic algae scraper to clean the glass and have never had any issues with scratches or nicks from the blade. The seams are clean, and are joined at right angles with black silicone. I would have preferred mitered edges, but the look of the tank is pretty good and the black silicone fades into the display nicely.

 

The false wall that separates the sump chambers from the display-side of the tank is made of black acrylic. I noticed that after a few years it began bowing backwards a bit from the weight of the water in the display, but this does not strike me as a structural problem and does not affect the display in any way. The tank came with a pair of black duckbill return nozzles, which I replaced about a year in with IM's SpinStream random flow nozzles. These nozzles made a pretty loud grinding noise for a few months after installation, but now (years later) they are completely silent and still totally functional.

 

The display of this particular aquarium has some rather unusual dimensions. At 19" deep and 24" long, the tank is much deeper than most other tanks of this size. This occasionally leads to difficulty when trying to reach deep into the tank to adjust or clean something, but generally I have not had extensive problems with the depth in terms of access. However the depth certainly does lead to some difficulty when it comes to aquascaping and stocking the tank. Most fish are much more concerned with horizontal rather than vertical space, so the tank feels smaller than most aquariums of a similar size (compare to a 40 gallon breeder, which is 36" long), and some fish that would normally be comfortable in 40-gallon tank would probably find the NUVO 40 to be too small. It also causes some interesting issues with corals, as the taller aquascape necessitated by the tank's height can lead to problems with shading and crowding as corals grow. That being said, there are certainly many examples of artful and unique aquascapes that make excellent use of the space offered by the NUVO 40's display, including several featured right here on Nano-Reef. I personally have grown fond of the tank's dimensions, but I can definitely see them causing issues for those planning on putting together a more traditionally oriented reef.

 

 

The system also came with a pre-cut and fully assembled mesh lid, which is very nice. it sits cleanly on the top of the display and has small perforated corners that can be snapped off to allow cords through (see corner in photo below).

 

Sump Chambers

 

 

The setup and arrangement of the sump chambers is probably my biggest gripe with this tank. The back chambers are extremely narrow - only 4" wide on the interior - which makes them pretty hard to get into if you have even medium-sized hands. The narrowness of the sump area makes removing the return pump a nightmare. I'm still using the MightyJet 538 GPH return pump that came as part of the system package. It's a decent pump and seems to work fine, but it's actually longer than the center chamber of the sump is wide. This center chamber opens up at the bottom into a broad space that spans the entire length of the sump (like a capital T turned upside down), so the pump can sit comfortably once it is down there... but in order to get it out or put it back in, you have to do some serious wrangling. I've found that to get the pump out I have to remove both nozzles that connect to the Y-splitter that brings water from the pump to the display, remove the ATO sensor (which also must necessarily sit in the center chamber, as that is where water level fluctuations in the sump are registered), and remove the left-side screw (only the left!) on the mount that clamps my light to the back of the tank. Once all of those components are out, I pull the pump up by the Y-splitter until I can reach it with my hand, then twist it diagonally and drag it out of the sump corner-wise. Suffice it to say that all of this is frankly a massive pain in the butt, and as a result I definitely don't clean the return pump as often as I ought to. I've been searching for the longest time for a smaller pump that would actually fit into the sump without all of this rigamarole, but have yet to find one that is sufficiently powerful.

 

The stock tubing connecting the pump to the Y-splitter and then to the two returns is extremely stiff and difficult to manipulate. I ended up replacing it with soft silicone tubing, which makes it easier to remove the return pump as it is much more supple. Salt creep in the sump area is fairly minimal, though I do get some from time to time on the tubing and return nozzles as the silicone tubing I used doesn't fit quite perfectly on the barbed fittings of the returns (I secured it to the fittings with zip ties). I also grow mangroves in the sump, which leads to a lot of light spillage into what would normally be a dark area. There's a lot of coralline algae growing in the sump as a result, which I don't remove as it hasn't been a problem. If you have a more standard light setup the sump will be dark and you won't have to worry about anything growing back there.

 

The system also comes with a media caddy and a filter sock. I replaced the sock with a floss holder made by InTank, and use that alongside the stock media caddy to hold filter floss under the overflows. I don't use a protein skimmer, but if you would like to incorporate one you'll probably have to get one that's very small, as space in the sump is certainly very limited.

 

I one point I tried to use the media caddy as a mini refugium box with a light (also made by IM's AuqaGadget line) that velcros on to the back of the tank. I had to peel off some of the black backing on the sump in order to install this light. It ended up not working out at all, as the cramped and narrow space inside of the overflow chamber where the media caddy sits gets insufficient flow to grow chaetomorpha. The light being stuck right to the glass also causes intense pest algae growth back there, and barbeques the chaeto since it's less than a centimeter away from the diodes. I do not recommend trying to use the sump as a refugium in this way.

 

The Stand

 

 

Call me paranoid, but I've always been leery about aquarium stands made from particleboard. They just seem fundamentally flimsy. So the fact that IM's NUVO line comes with an anodized aluminum stand was a major selling point for me, and I was not disappointed. The NUVO APS stand is essentially an aluminum frame with plastic panels that make up the sides, and an open back. It is roomy inside and comes with a single shelf. The doors are quiet most of the time but squeak occasionally when very dry low-humidity air comes through (I live in Los Angeles). Honestly I rarely open them at all except when I need to turn things off for a water change. I am not particularly mechanically inclined, so assembling the stand involved several hours of pondering the mute diagrammatic instructions, fitting, mis-fitting, and re-fitting things together, and swearing. But once set up and leveled, it's very nice! Feels very solid and sturdy, and it will not warp or sag over time. I like the stand a lot.

 

Well that's pretty much all for my review. Here's a quick bullet-pointed TL;DR :

 

PROS:

• Quality craftsmanship, good clear glass, sturdy construction.
• Stand is made of anodized aluminum, not particleboard. It will not warp, sag, or rust.
• Unique dimensions make for interesting aquascaping opportunities.

 

CONS:

• Sump chambers are too narrow. Removing the return pump is very difficult. Larger equipment such as a protein skimmer can be difficult to fit.
• Tall display can make it difficult to access the bottom of the tank.
• Non-traditional dimensions can limit stocking choices. Tank feels smaller than most other 40 gallon aquariums.

 

That's all I've got! Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps if you're thinking about upgrading to the NUVO Fusion 40.

 

 

 

 

 

[mcarroll]

NIce review!!  Thanks for posting!!