Another Innovative Marine 50 Fusion Build Thread

What would you do


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pompeyjohn

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Hello all,

Yesterday I finally bit the bullet and put an order in for an Innovative Marine Fusion 50. Some stores list as discontinued, so I called up IM to find out more. They told me that it is not being discontinued, and they helped my find a local distributor, so I could buy it for 600 + tax rather than 750 + tax from an online store. Thanks IM!

The tank is scheduled to be delivered on the 6th (not this Friday, but the next). Never mind that, let’s start the build thread now!

My current tank is a scratched up 40 fusion. It sits on a shelf with a cabinet beneath it. This is all built into the wall in my living room. Here is a picture of how that looks.

20180220_122835-jpg.679736


The width of the space is 32” and it is 24” deep.

The shelf doesn’t reach to the front of the cut-out. The current shelf is 22” deep (and one inch thick). This has been fine for the current tank which is 20” deep. It leaves just a little gap behind the tank to run some dosing lines and power cables.

So that is the first issue. I asked IM about this. They suggested the following
  • A new 1” thick shelf that stretches the full 24”.
  • Ensure the vertical supports are strong enough to support the weight of the tank
  • Ensure the vertical supports do not rack forwards or sideways.
As long as this is the case they were confident that the one inch shelf could overhang the base below it.

I’ll get some pictures of the vertical supports, but for now will say that they are 2x4 studs, screwed directly to the king studs that make the side walls. I am confident they are not moving. So, I need to hit the big box stores and get a butcher’s block cut to 32”x24”.

The second issue is there will be no space at the back of the tank to run dosing lines / top-off / power cables. I am thinking of putting three or four small holes in the dry wall and running the lines down through the drywall and then back out into the cabinet below. Something like this would be perfect if I can find a smaller diameter and it can be painted.

43648baacaea72bc375a5fa80e0dd8e4.jpg


The third issue is the lack of space on the sides. Either side of the tank I’ll have less than an inch of space. So, I am going to have to sell the dual MP10s that are running on the current tank. I am very sad about this. They are great powerheads and will be missed. Options here would be an icecap gyre (or two) – or some powerheads mounted below each overflow. I’ll also be unable to clean the glass sides of the tank. That is not the end of the world. I could embrace this and build up the rockscape around the sides... or keep the rock central in the tank.

The fourth issue is stocking. I am not sure where to go with this one. The easiest would be to just build on my current mixed reef. Other options are…

SPS only, bare bottom – LOTS of flow, a wrasse and a lawnmower blenny.

Pros
  • I have the BRS dosing pumps for this already
  • SPS tanks can be stunning
  • Lots of color variety available

Cons
  • A 50 gallon all in one tank, has less than 50 gallons of water. SPS is tricky in smaller water volumes.
  • My wife likes corals that wave.
Anemones and clowns only tank

Pros
  • A local store to me has a great 60 cube with a clutch of 23 [Sustainable Aquatic] clowns in it. It is mesmerizing to watch them all play.
  • Buying a single clutch of clowns and then adding more and more nems is an appealing prospect.
  • Lots of coral waving back and forth – happy wife.
  • I could sell the BRS dosers because there is no need to really watch alk and calcium before.
Cons
  • Lots of big water changes. I have been doing 5 gallons a week on the 40. I’d probably have to double that for this type of tank.
  • These tanks are skimmer limited. The Tune 9004 seems to be the best option and I am not sure that is up to the task here. I’d happily run an external skimmer, but it would have to be under the tank in the stand – and I don't even know if that can be done.
  • I’ll need lots of nems to help disperse the aggression early on. Probably ten or more before the clutch is introduced.
Mixed Reef

Pros
  • I can move over all of my current coral
  • Variety of coral types is visually appealing
  • Variety of fish
  • The 9004 skimmer can just about hang in there if I don't overfeed

Cons
  • It just doesn’t excite me as much as the other two options
So, there we have it. Thanks for reading. This should be a fun build. Pictures of the cut-out and cabinet area to follow.
 
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pompeyjohn

pompeyjohn

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Whilst travelling I have been reading on what others reefers have done with this tank. The sicce 3.0 (746 gph) return pump seems to be a popular upgrade (from 476gph). I am wondering if the tank could handle more gph though. Does anyone know how to calculate the maximum gph rate the dual overflows can handle?

I also ordered two liters of denitrate. Going to bag that up and place it in the rear compartment corners. These are the areas where detritus tends to settle, so already low flow. Fingers crossed on that one. Even if they dont really help it'll be nice to block off those areas.

In tank flow will probably be an icecap 1k gyre, but still researching that. I'd love to just rely on the main return, but that looks unlikely.
 

chefjpaul

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I put a vectra S1 return in mine, just got it wet this weekend.

I am finding the water line to run a bit low for my liking, but found some cool gadgets on the InTank website Ill try out, one being an overflow grate / skimmer cover that is adjustable.
 
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pompeyjohn

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I put a vectra S1 return in mine, just got it wet this weekend.

I am finding the water line to run a bit low for my liking, but found some cool gadgets on the InTank website Ill try out, one being an overflow grate / skimmer cover that is adjustable.

There is another build thread on here with a mod for the return gates. They siliconed a couple of 3/4" or 1" high pieces of plastic behind the return teeth. That raised the water level about an inch. I was planning to do that. However, the adjustable gate sounds great. Looking into that now!

At what setting do you run the vectra s1? It looks like the max is 1400 gph, which is a *lot* more than the standard return.
 

chefjpaul

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There is another build thread on here with a mod for the return gates. They siliconed a couple of 3/4" or 1" high pieces of plastic behind the return teeth. That raised the water level about an inch. I was planning to do that. However, the adjustable gate sounds great. Looking into that now!

At what setting do you run the vectra s1? It looks like the max is 1400 gph, which is a *lot* more than the standard return.
Yeah, I saw the mod and was about to do it, when I found tge adjustable. I like the cleaner look better as well.

The return pump is cranked up full blast right now during the cycle, as I broke my gyre controller.
I'll probably be running the arid reactor off of it as well, so in my instance, it'll help being able to control it.
 
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pompeyjohn

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That is really helpful - thank you. So the dual returns can handle 1400 gph of flow. That is very good to know. You have got me really thinking about getting an arid reactor as well. I love the idea of not running a skimmer. I take it you'll be hanging yours off the side? Sadly, that is not an option for me.
 

chefjpaul

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That is really helpful - thank you. So the dual returns can handle 1400 gph of flow. That is very good to know. You have got me really thinking about getting an arid reactor as well. I love the idea of not running a skimmer. I take it you'll be hanging yours off the side? Sadly, that is not an option for me.
Yes the arid will be sitting next to the tank, as I have it sitting on my elos 120 stand, just enough room.

That water level is really bugging me out...lol
f5a926a6421628c0823ecb3d18802020.jpg
 
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pompeyjohn

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Yep, it seems to look too low doesn't it? I just watched a video about the IM fish guards. They look good, and the profile is still pretty low which was a concern. It is not clear how you adjust the height on them.

That rockwork is fantastic by the way.
 
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pompeyjohn

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I see now that you wrote InTank...... and for some reason I read Innovative Marine. Sorry about that. Not with it at all today. The InTank ones look a bit like the old cassette overflows that you got with early JBJ tanks. To raise the water level would the top of them have to be physically higher than the back wall?
 

chefjpaul

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I see now that you wrote InTank...... and for some reason I read Innovative Marine. Sorry about that. Not with it at all today. The InTank ones look a bit like the old cassette overflows that you got with early JBJ tanks. To raise the water level would the top of them have to be physically higher than the back wall?
Not sure, but Ill get a couple and test it out. If not ill mod it.
 

TheWB

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I have a pair of those In-Tank surface skimmers as well. Let us know how they do. I’m going to use the Current USA DC 1190 gah return pump, I bought it like a week before Ecotech announced the S1. At the time it was the only DC return pump I could find that would fit in the rear chamber, it’s 3.5 inches wide and the chamber is 3.7 so tight fit but it’s in there.
 

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