IM Nuvo Fusion 40 Revived!

[nothing_fancy]

Greetings R2R Community! I am very excited to make my first post here as this forum has been invaluable to me especially during this build process. I am very grateful for the information everyone here has contributed. Thank you all for being so generous with your knowledge and experience.

I purchased this tank in 2014 and began replacing and upgrading all of the equipment early 2022 and continue to do so presently.


Innovative Marine Nuvo Mini Fusion 40

Filtration:

Return: Reef Octopus Varios 2 w/ (2) VCA Random Flow Generators
Skimmer: Reef Octopus 100 EXT- Sicce 1.5 ->BRS Reactor (marine pure biomedia spheres/gfo) plumbs back up to skimmer-> rear chamber
Icecap C02 air scrubber (small)-recirculating
Avast Davey Jones Locker

Filter media:
Intank Media Baskets
Basket 1: Seachem Chemi Pure Blue + Phosguard+ Intank Bonded Poly Floss
Basket 2: Marine Pure Biomedia Spheres + Floss

Fiji Cube HOB Refugium
pumps: (2) Sicce Nano
Light: IM Chaeto Max LED
Roughly 3 oz macro algae

Lighting:
(2) Kessil A360X with narrow reflectors

Flow:
(3) Vortech MP10
(1) Jebao SLW 10

Dosing:
(4) Kamoer X1 Pro
Korallen-Zucht- XTRA
Korallen-Zucht- LPS
Soda Ash
Calcium Chloride

GHL Doser 2.1 (SA)
Flatworm Stop
Meerwasser
Spurenelements
Coral Booster


Heater:
BRS Titanium

Control:
Apex

ATO:
Avast Marine ATO
Reefbreeders Prism
IM Hydrofill 5



Below are some photos of my tank.

**Stand to get the Skimmer up to height behind the tank**

**ATO and Dosers under the tank**

**Control for Tank as well as power for a QT**

**Some Frags Hanging out**

**Some more Frags Hanging Out**

Thanks for reading and for giving me the opportunity to describe my build. I had a lot of fun putting it together and it's only the beginning! Thanks again to the R2R community for all the great gear reviews, knowledge, and inspiration. I look forward to updating this thread as the system grows.

-bp

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Nice! thanks for sharing.

 

[OldRed1]

This is a really cool tank! How do you get move water from the rear chambers down to the sump?

 

[SpyC]

This is a really cool tank! How do you get move water from the rear chambers down to the sump?

It looks like a hob refugium that uses u-tubes to pill water in and a small pump pushing the water out.

 

[mww00ds]

Got a question for you about the Fuji refuge. I also have one and have a trouble with salt creep coming out of the little nylon screws. Do you also have this issue???

 

[nothing_fancy]

Got a question for you about the Fuji refuge. I also have one and have a trouble with salt creep coming out of the little nylon screws. Do you also have this issue???

I did have that problem at first. For me it was due to some leakage. The water height in that unit has to be generously below those turn screws. At least a 1/4” If you’re still using the stock pump Id recommend replacing that with sicce nano. You can dial that in a little but you’ll need a reducer for the stock flex tube. Going further get a second sicce nano and mount it i the unit upper left corner. It’ll direst flow to area designed for chaeto and it will get water out of your Fiji cube better. Hope that helps

 

[nothing_fancy]

This is a really cool tank! How do you get move water from the rear chambers down to the sump?

Hey thanks so much that’s kind of you to say. I’m not running a sump on this system however I am pushing water down below the tank to a brs reactor with some simple plumbing. I am using 1/2” pvc with 90 degree elbows attached to 90 degree threaded hose barbs to keep it tight to the back of the tank. After the reactor it comes back up and hits the skimmer (this pipe is offset to meet up with the skimmers inlet flexible hose) and returns to the same chamber. Im using the reactor simply as a remote chamber which is probably not necessary however I think it has helped me to get the right flow dialed in to the skimmers inlet because this skimmer is a bit oversized for my tank. Thank you!

 

[RobbieMaynard]

That’s some big time filtration you have running on that baby. I’d love to see the layout. Are you running 2 intank media baskets, one in each end chamber? If so how to you have the HOB refugium flowing in and out? Doesn’t look like it fits in one chamber. Again, very impressive set up.

 

[nothing_fancy]

That’s some big time filtration you have running on that baby. I’d love to see the layout. Are you running 2 intank media baskets, one in each end chamber? If so how to you have the HOB refugium flowing in and out? Doesn’t look like it fits in one chamber. Again, very impressive set up.

Hey Robbie, thanks. Yep running both baskets in their designated chambers, one of them is running ceramic balls only. The HOB's inlet sits in chamber #2 from the left which I think IM normally designated as a skimmer chamber and the outlet for the HOB sits in the center right behind the filter's return nozzles. Theres still enough room to spare in Chamber #3 for the skimmers pump and return outlet tube which is the stock octo pipe. At this point though the rear of the AIO is pretty much maxed out without being overcrowded with kit. Thanks again

 

[nothing_fancy]

Doing a little update to the build;
Things have been going pretty well, growth on some of the first added corals has started to take off and maintenance has been super easy. I added an Avast Marine Skimmate locker which has been very helpful as I work a lot and don't have time for overflowing external skimmers. I finally added the clownfish that I had kept outside of the system for roughly 5 months as I didn't want him to have to go through the cycle. He is doing very well. I went through a bit of a situation with nitrates being low during that time but that has been corrected. Below are some photos of a rock arch I glued together using dry rock and jurassic glue braced with carbon fiber rods. The (4) acros that have been added to the arch had been on the racks for a while and showed no signs of going south so I felt that they should handle the move decently, we will see. I also added this wonderful mandarin. I've always wanted a mandarin but was worried about being able to confidently keep one due to their eating habits so earlier in this build I started culturing phyto which is super easy and later began culturing Tisbe pods which is also very simple. Once we saw that there were tons of pods and that the cultures could be restarted we picked this little guy up and he's been doing well as you can see he is very fat. **Lastly, I started using some new additives from KZ that I highly recommend particularly the "Corals Love" and "Coral Booster" Ive been dosing KZ aminos, sponge power, acro glow, Vitalizer and FWS from day one with this system. Aside from All for Reef and AB+ this system has been entirely powered by KZ from day one and although that brand is pricy the concentrates last a very long time. Thanks!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Your tank is impressive I like the variety of coral you have going on in your tank!

 

[RobbieMaynard]

Doing a little update to the build;
Things have been going pretty well, growth on some of the first added corals has started to take off and maintenance has been super easy. I added an Avast Marine Skimmate locker which has been very helpful as I work a lot and don't have time for overflowing external skimmers. I finally added the clownfish that I had kept outside of the system for roughly 5 months as I didn't want him to have to go through the cycle. He is doing very well. I went through a bit of a situation with nitrates being low during that time but that has been corrected. Below are some photos of a rock arch I glued together using dry rock and jurassic glue braced with carbon fiber rods. The (4) acros that have been added to the arch had been on the racks for a while and showed no signs of going south so I felt that they should handle the move decently, we will see. I also added this wonderful mandarin. I've always wanted a mandarin but was worried about being able to confidently keep one due to their eating habits so earlier in this build I started culturing phyto which is super easy and later began culturing Tisbe pods which is also very simple. Once we saw that there were tons of pods and that the cultures could be restarted we picked this little guy up and he's been doing well as you can see he is very fat. **Lastly, I started using some new additives from KZ that I highly recommend particularly the "Corals Love" and "Coral Booster" Ive been dosing KZ aminos, sponge power, acro glow, Vitalizer and FWS from day one with this system. Aside from All for Reef and AB+ this system has been entirely powered by KZ from day one and although that brand is pricy the concentrates last a very long time. Thanks!

Would love to hear your process for Tisbe culture. You sold me by saying it’s easy.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Would love to hear your process for Tisbe culture. You sold me by saying it’s easy.

Hey Sure thing, so you wanna get a fairly large preferably glass jar anywhere from .5 L to 3L. Then some rigid tubing enough that you can cut 8" lengths and 2" lengths. You need a air pump and a check air valve as well as some airline tubing. tons of info on DIY builds you can reference. Thats basically it and something to light it for 16 hours a day nothing crazy. You'll also need phyto to start it and feed it throughout the cycle which is around 11-15 days.

you'll see this in most DIY build directions but its simple:
-drill (2) holes in the lid of the jar one is to connect the airline the other is to allow air to vent
-connect the airline to the 8" rigid tube which will go down into the jar
-attach a 2" vent tube to the other hole
-Fill the jar almost all the way with freshly mixed SW at 1.025
-add 250ml of phytoplankton and top off the jar with SW
-add a jar of live tisbe pods from algae barn
-set the bubble to roll slowly and gently using the check valve
-set a time to light it for 16 hours per day

-after the 11 or so days, pour the contents of the jar out through a sieve using a fine filter you can even use a coffee filter
-invert the filter and pour fresh SW over it into another vessel and collect the pods.
put some of the pods into your tank and some of them back into the jar and start it again the same way
-before restarting make sure the jar is sanitized with alcohol thoroughly and I would replace the rigid tubing each time.
*its helpful to culture your own phyto for this which is easier than culturing the pods but very similar since you'll need phyto every time you start the culture and 250ml its a fairly large amount of phyto.
hope that helps

 

[RobbieMaynard]

Hey Sure thing, so you wanna get a fairly large preferably glass jar anywhere from .5 L to 3L. Then some rigid tubing enough that you can cut 8" lengths and 2" lengths. You need a air pump and a check air valve as well as some airline tubing. tons of info on DIY builds you can reference. Thats basically it and something to light it for 16 hours a day nothing crazy. You'll also need phyto to start it and feed it throughout the cycle which is around 11-15 days.

you'll see this in most DIY build directions but its simple:
-drill (2) holes in the lid of the jar one is to connect the airline the other is to allow air to vent
-connect the airline to the 8" rigid tube which will go down into the jar
-attach a 2" vent tube to the other hole
-Fill the jar almost all the way with freshly mixed SW at 1.025
-add 250ml of phytoplankton and top off the jar with SW
-add a jar of live tisbe pods from algae barn
-set the bubble to roll slowly and gently using the check valve
-set a time to light it for 16 hours per day

-after the 11 or so days, pour the contents of the jar out through a sieve using a fine filter you can even use a coffee filter
-invert the filter and pour fresh SW over it into another vessel and collect the pods.
put some of the pods into your tank and some of them back into the jar and start it again the same way
-before restarting make sure the jar is sanitized with alcohol thoroughly and I would replace the rigid tubing each time.
*its helpful to culture your own phyto for this which is easier than culturing the pods but very similar since you'll need phyto every time you start the culture and 250ml its a fairly large amount of phyto.
hope that helps

Thanks a million. I’m definitely going to give it a shot. One question though, does Temp have to be around 78? I want to keep it in my basement but it probably dips to upper 60s especially around this time of year.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Thanks a million. I’m definitely going to give it a shot. One question though, does Temp have to be around 78? I want to keep it in my basement but it probably dips to upper 60s especially around this time of year.

Yep np, yes its better if the temp is warmer rather than going down below 72. The pods acclimate just like anything else you'd put into your tank. Someplace you don't use much like under your kitchen sink or something is a good spot to stash them. Also in case you don't catch this in any of the tutorials, when you do your first culture or any culture really, if you don't see a lot of pods on the sieve just put them all back in and let it build up again, sometimes you have to do that even if you've had successful cultures. Also feeding the culture phyto a couple throughout the 15 day cycle helps a lot.

 

[RobbieMaynard]

Thanks a lot! I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Just posted on the Mid Year update and figured I'd update the build thread.

**Everything's going swimmingly. Since the last update I've switched to a Varios 2 return which although I love the Sicce pumps I must say it has been the perfect return for this setup. After some ATI tests I have been experimenting with minor elements a bit more and I am seeing some benefit specifically in yellow and orange colors. I am using KZ 1-4 and have increased dosage of parts 1 and 2. I've also started low dosing manganese. I have also started working with lower phosphates than I had in the past which seems to have been improving coloration for me in all of the SPS especially the orange montiporas. I received a tip from Greg over at Greg's Corals in regards to lowering po4 and I am certainly seeing a difference.

Got rid of a couple of frag racks, still haven't committed to mounting most frags but I installed a rear grow out rack that seems to be working out. I was lucky enough to get this handsome clam from Clam Mania, it's been doing well albeit in fairly low par at the moment down in the sand bed, I attempted to mount it higher up but it jumped twice and landed where it currently sits both times. I have also added this black storm clown to compliment our black and white oscelaris. It has grown loads in the few months that it has been in the tank.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Glued up a new arch, starting to find homes for some of these frags.

 

[Madkix]

Nice tank.

I have the same tank and was wondering what settings you're running on your MP10s? I have two that run on reef crest in anti-sync at 40%. I feel like my flow may be too low. My goal is a mixed reef so I'm also worried about dialing it up too much for my LPS.

 

[nothing_fancy]

Nice tank.

I have the same tank and was wondering what settings you're running on your MP10s? I have two that run on reef crest in anti-sync at 40%. I feel like my flow may be too low. My goal is a mixed reef so I'm also worried about dialing it up too much for my LPS.

Thanks, if you're running reef crest (I do the same most of the day) I'd run them higher. 70%. It really depends on how heavy your return flow is and balancing that over all flow. I am running reef octo on the return at nearly full power, so 70% for the mp10s works well for me. For LPS one way to avoid directly blasting them is to install some of the wide flow Nem guards. Neat Aquatics makes those. I wouldn't be able to keep shrimp or some other inverts without those and they spread the flow much better for LPS than the stock shields that come with the MP10s