CWerner's IM 50 Nuvo AIO build

[cwerner]

Hello All,

I'm starting this thread to document my new build! To give some background, I'm new-ish to reefing (but not aquariums), and currently have a 75 gallon with 20 gallon sump setup in my Dining room. Well, life happens and I'll be taking that tank down in order to install a piano for lessons for my two young boys. At the same time, I've ordered an IM Nuvo Fusion 2 50 gallon lagoon tank direct from IM.

I decided to go with an AIO this time because I had very mixed success with my 75 gallon, I'm sure because of mostly beginner mistakes. I was able to keep fish just fine, but I've had a tough time keeping anything but softies alive. I've learned a lot of lessons from this tank, but I'm feeling a sort of guilty relief that it's going down since maintaining it has been a lot of work, mostly due to my decisions.

Equipment List so far:

Fusion Nuvo 2 AIO tank w/ APS Stand (black)
11 watt Aquashield UV water clarifier
inTank Media baskets (for running Filter Floss/Pads rather than socks)
Overflow protectors
(2) RFG Flow Nozzles
(2) Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 pumps
(2) Maxspect Jump 160 LED lights (brought over from old system)

My eventual plan for this build is to have a full element dosing setup that includes the major, minor, and trace elements. I'll also plan on feeding reef roids/reef frenzy in an automatic fish feeder along with my fish food. I want to eventually make water changes unnecessary or at least only rarely necessary as I'm at the stage in life with two young kids where finding the time to perform this maintenance (without the kids getting in the way) is pretty tough.

My one big question mark for this build is nutrient export. I plan on running a skimmer (not sure which one yet), but besides that I'm not sure what to do about nutrients export if I actually do go to a no WC system. I was thinking that since I'm already setting up dosing I could possibly carbon dose, but I'm not familiar with it, so I'd definitely need to find out more info. There isn't enough room for a refugium that would actually do enough nutrient export from what I can see. Perhaps some sort of algae reactor would work.

My plan is to slowly transition my fish to my QT tank I have downstairs, take down my 75 gallon, and setup the 50 gallon, and then bring the fish over to the 50. I'm undecided as to what I want to do with my rock and sand. I think I'll probably bleach the rock and do a short cure in RODI water to leach out anything that shouldn't be going in the new tank and then aquascape from there.

If you read all of that then thank you, if you see any of my plans that look alarming to you or if it won't work, then let me know, as I'm still pretty new at this and don't want to make mistakes that aren't easy to correct later.

 

[blaxsun]

Avoid the IM protein skimmers like the plague.

 

[cwerner]

Avoid the IM protein skimmers like the plague.

Thanks. The reason I didn't order it along with the tank was because of the awful reviews I found.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks. The reason I didn't order it along with the tank was because of the awful reviews I found.

They’re not exaggerated in the least. You will replace the pump every 2-3 months, and they often work less effectively (and sometimes not at all) after cleaning - if you can believe it.

I ran a pair of IM Fusion Pro 25-gallon tanks, and you will really appreciate the InTank media caddy upgrades. If you’re going to run filter floss on the top I might suggest using Chemi-Pure Blue (not Elite) in each of the caddies in the middle chamber. You should have enough room to also run some of the smaller MarinePure hexes in the bottom chamber (that will help with nitrates over time).

The only thing you will need to plan for is a ATO system. IM makes a nice 15-gallon unit that you can place in your stand. Tunze makes a very good ATO that I highly recommend (the one with dual sensors). This should give you anywhere from 1.5-2 weeks of automatic RODI topup and still have lots of room for your accessories.

 

[Zach B]

Excited to see this build come together! Sounds great

 

[cwerner]

Well I just made my second major purchase. I decided on a doser as well as an ATO reservoir thanks to @blaxsun recommendations. I went with:

-Hydrofill 5 gallon ATO Reservoir
- Red Sea ReefDose 4 head Dosing Pump
- ReefDose Deluxe Color Tube Kit (mostly for the tube runners)

I went with the 5 gallon reservoir because I want a lot of room left in my cabinet for other equipment, and 5 gallons is what I had on my 75 gallon system and would last about a week, which is good enough for me. The dosing pump was harder, I was stuck between the Kamoer F4 Pro and the ReefDose. I read reviews of both and both pumps seem reliable and accurate, but the kamoer had some negative reviews about the software and connections. I already own an ATO from my old system that has proven reliable and should work well in the new system.

I'm still figuring out a skimmer and I'm even contemplating getting a HOB refugium for Chaeto or Sea lettuce for my export rather than Biopellets, but I'm not certain that that would look all that great hanging off the back of my sleek new tank.

 

[blaxsun]

The ReefDose is really compact, so I think you’ll be really happy with it. I’m not sure what you’re planning for wavemakers, but a single ReefWave25 would probably do nicely (they’re super quiet and you can control it through the ReefBeat app as well). Note that the magnet is waterproof, so you can mount the ReefWave in the central pump chamber facing forward (below the return outlets). The AI Nero3 is another option.

Tunze makes a few small protein skimmers that should fit in one of the middle chambers, and then it doesn’t have to hang off the back. I haven’t used them personally, but they seem well-made and a lot of AIO tank owners have recommended them.

 

[cwerner]

Well I realize this probably isn't all that exciting for anyone but me, but my first shipment of stuff has arrived! Pardon the mess in the background, I've been working on replacing a sink all weekend.

 

[cwerner]

Got some more swag in the mail today. Also got a courtesy call from IM saying that the tank was pretty close and to expect a call from the shipping company to schedule the tank drop off. I'm hoping my wife and I can handle the tank itself.

 

[TheWB]

Well I just made my second major purchase. I decided on a doser as well as an ATO reservoir thanks to @blaxsun recommendations. I went with:

-Hydrofill 5 gallon ATO Reservoir
- Red Sea ReefDose 4 head Dosing Pump
- ReefDose Deluxe Color Tube Kit (mostly for the tube runners)

I went with the 5 gallon reservoir because I want a lot of room left in my cabinet for other equipment, and 5 gallons is what I had on my 75 gallon system and would last about a week, which is good enough for me. The dosing pump was harder, I was stuck between the Kamoer F4 Pro and the ReefDose. I read reviews of both and both pumps seem reliable and accurate, but the kamoer had some negative reviews about the software and connections. I already own an ATO from my old system that has proven reliable and should work well in the new system.

I'm still figuring out a skimmer and I'm even contemplating getting a HOB refugium for Chaeto or Sea lettuce for my export rather than Biopellets, but I'm not certain that that would look all that great hanging off the back of my sleek new tank.

Welcome to the Lagoon 50 AIO club. I have one as well along with the 5 gal reservoir. It’s overpriced for what it does but the drawer makes refilling a lot easier so in my opinion it’s worth the money. Following along, it will be fun to see what you do with it.

 

[cwerner]

I'm still waffling with Nitrate/Phosphate Export. I'm using an algae scrubber in my current tank and it does a good job and can easily be adjusted and it (shouldn't) have an ongoing cost. I found a HOB model that should fit my tank well and not look too obtrusive:

Marine Magic Ultra Slim Algae Scrubber # MM-ALGAE-01A

The Marine Magic MM-ALGAE-01 is a Hang On Back design Algae Scrubber. This is designed for reef tank with limited space or reef keeper without sump. It could handle a 50-80 Gallon / 190-300 Litre R…

www.marinemagic-online.com

Otherwise my other 2 options are dosing carbon or biopellets. After some research it looks like the IM Midsize might have too weak of a pump to properly tumble biopellets, maybe someone has some direct experience with that, finding another reactor that would fit in the chambers that has a pump designed for this would be a pain for sure.

I'm planning on having my tank be fairly heavily stocked so whatever I move forward with will likely need to handle a heavy load.

 

[TheWB]

I'm still waffling with Nitrate/Phosphate Export. I'm using an algae scrubber in my current tank and it does a good job and can easily be adjusted and it (shouldn't) have an ongoing cost. I found a HOB model that should fit my tank well and not look too obtrusive:

Marine Magic Ultra Slim Algae Scrubber # MM-ALGAE-01A

The Marine Magic MM-ALGAE-01 is a Hang On Back design Algae Scrubber. This is designed for reef tank with limited space or reef keeper without sump. It could handle a 50-80 Gallon / 190-300 Litre R…

www.marinemagic-online.com

Otherwise my other 2 options are dosing carbon or biopellets. After some research it looks like the IM Midsize might have too weak of a pump to properly tumble biopellets, maybe someone has some direct experience with that, finding another reactor that would fit in the chambers that has a pump designed for this would be a pain for sure.

I'm planning on having my tank be fairly heavily stocked so whatever I move forward with will likely need to handle a heavy load.

I had the IM mid size reactor and it kept building up pressure and blowing the top off. Couldn’t have that so I took it offline a long time ago.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

I'm still waffling with Nitrate/Phosphate Export. I'm using an algae scrubber in my current tank and it does a good job and can easily be adjusted and it (shouldn't) have an ongoing cost. I found a HOB model that should fit my tank well and not look too obtrusive:

Marine Magic Ultra Slim Algae Scrubber # MM-ALGAE-01A

The Marine Magic MM-ALGAE-01 is a Hang On Back design Algae Scrubber. This is designed for reef tank with limited space or reef keeper without sump. It could handle a 50-80 Gallon / 190-300 Litre R…

www.marinemagic-online.com

Otherwise my other 2 options are dosing carbon or biopellets. After some research it looks like the IM Midsize might have too weak of a pump to properly tumble biopellets, maybe someone has some direct experience with that, finding another reactor that would fit in the chambers that has a pump designed for this would be a pain for sure.

I'm planning on having my tank be fairly heavily stocked so whatever I move forward with will likely need to handle a heavy load.

Although I never ran into the pressure issue with the reactor that @TheWB had, I did find that I needed to make modifications just to run carbon. I upgraded the pump to a Sicce Micra which was an easy direct swap. Same gph as the stock pump, though, so might not help with biopellets. I then had a brace 3D printed to hold the sponges in place because they'd float up and let the carbon move around. In the end, though, I just found it more annoying to deal with than just dropping a bag of carbon into the media caddy so I ditched it and now my probes live in that chamber.

That's a slick looking algae scrubber. I keep looking at the Santa Monica Filtration scrubbers since they have a few that will fit in the back chambers of the IM 50 and don't break the house rule of "nothing gets pumped out of the tank". I've also considered just buying one of their submersible LEDs to grow chaeto or maybe trying the DIY scrubber route.

I'll be curious to see which way you go because nutrients have been a constant battle for me.

 

[cwerner]

Well to update this thread my tank has still not arrived, it's sitting in IL. The company delivering is supposed to call and arrange a drop-off time, but I haven't heard a peep.

Some good news is that my 2-part and carbon dosing solution has arrived. My plan is to move forward with carbon dosing as a nutrient export solution, with a backup plan of getting a scrubber if that doesn't work. Since I already have a doser I'm not going to go the biopellet route, as finding a good reactor in the footprint I want is challenging. I'm hoping my Tunze skimmer will pull enough crud out to handle my nutrient load.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

Well to update this thread my tank has still not arrived, it's sitting in IL. The company delivering is supposed to call and arrange a drop-off time, but I haven't heard a peep.

Some good news is that my 2-part and carbon dosing solution has arrived. My plan is to move forward with carbon dosing as a nutrient export solution, with a backup plan of getting a scrubber if that doesn't work. Since I already have a doser I'm not going to go the biopellet route, as finding a good reactor in the footprint I want is challenging. I'm hoping my Tunze skimmer will pull enough crud out to handle my nutrient load.

Keep watch for your tank. Probably not typical (I live in a very rural location) but I didn't get a call to arrange delivery, I just glanced out the window one day and there was this semi parked out on the road!

I'm hoping my wife and I can handle the tank itself.

I was lucky enough that even though they say they are only responsible for getting the tank to the curb, the driver brought it right up and into my garage (and didn't complain a bit when I asked him to wait while I opened everything for inspection). But getting it into the house was the famous husband and wife duo (last time we moved we did the whole house ourselves, too). Let me tell you, that tank is shockingly heavy. We just had a few steps to go up from the garage and it made me nervous (I think I'll hire some help if we ever go to a bigger tank). We used a pair of lifting straps to get the job done.

 

[cwerner]

Update: The tank is here!

No water in it yet. I plan on hopefully having water in it by the end of the week.

Assembly was pretty straightforward and the tank arrived in good condition. The stand looks good, and should be very strong. There is a bit of a learning curve with connecting the stand together, but I figured it out pretty quickly.

I'm trying to really nail my stand layout before I have things in place with the power and dosing tubes

Pics of assembly:





Pic of the tank/stand:





Still a lot of work to do. I'm breaking down my media center tomorrow and then hopefully my tank will be in it's final spot. I also have to trade in a couple fish that will no longer fit in my downsized tank. I still need to look into the fitment of the equipment. I'm kind of miffed that the UV doesn't fit into the second chamber and will only for the intake chamber. I was also hoping the tunze skimmer 9004 would fit in the central chamber, but the tubing to the return makes that kind of impossible. I'd have to switch to a single return. My thinking at this point is to either get a HOB skimmer or a different footprint internal one.

 

[TheWB]

Update: The tank is here!

No water in it yet. I plan on hopefully having water in it by the end of the week.

Assembly was pretty straightforward and the tank arrived in good condition. The stand looks good, and should be very strong. There is a bit of a learning curve with connecting the stand together, but I figured it out pretty quickly.

I'm trying to really nail my stand layout before I have things in place with the power and dosing tubes

Pics of assembly:





Pic of the tank/stand:





Still a lot of work to do. I'm breaking down my media center tomorrow and then hopefully my tank will be in it's final spot. I also have to trade in a couple fish that will no longer fit in my downsized tank. I still need to look into the fitment of the equipment. I'm kind of miffed that the UV doesn't fit into the second chamber and will only for the intake chamber. I was also hoping the tunze skimmer 9004 would fit in the central chamber, but the tubing to the return makes that kind of impossible. I'd have to switch to a single return. My thinking at this point is to either get a HOB skimmer or a different footprint internal one.

You could just run one return line and then split it at the output. I’m thinking about doing that if I ever get around to switching my old return pump out for the new one I bought back in June but still have not installed because reasons lol. That will create room for the Tunze skimmer in the middle chamber.

 

[cwerner]

Update:

Okay, this thing is ready for water. There's some last minute details like replumbing the pump line, but other than that it looks like we're ready to go. I've got some pictures of the build process and the cable management. I've gone for a 'somewhat organized chaos' look for the electrical and control lines.



Here's the somewhat finished product. The pump controller is on the door, I plan on putting a temp controller on the door as well, but that's a future plan once I get a wifi enabled temp controller.



There's a lot more wiring there now, but that is the basic wire management. The router and modem are located in the stand at the moment, as there's not another good place to put it ATM. My living room is currently torn apart from another project.

I'm using the Current USA wave pumps, with a bluetooth controller that I had laying around.



Here's the (mostly) finished tank:



It needs to get cleaned up a bit now that it's in position. I'll be picking up some sand and live rock tomorrow to mix with my existing dry rock and do some 'scaping. Then it's on to cycling!

 

[cwerner]

Well there's some water in the tank. I don't want to deal with the hassle of washing out my old sand, so I'm likely going to grab some sand from the store as well.

 

[cwerner]

There is water in the tank! Also, I picked up some Live Rock and completed some basic aquascaping. It's a pretty basic scape, but I'm not sure how I would change it. I have yet to setup my ATO, but I noticed that I can't use my old Hygger ATO since the back of the tank is opaque, so I ordered the new Reef Breeders Prism one from BRS. There's been water and the clown in the tank for a couple days now and all appears well so far. I'm keeping a close eye on Parameters and everything seems good. No detectable ammonia levels with Nitrates sitting around 5, Nitrites around .01. I want to make sure the tank is ready before I add any additional inhabitants and shutter the old tank for good.