IM Nuvo Fusion Pro 50 Lagoon AIO

[SilverCityReef]

What's up fellow Reefers!?!? My name's Andrew, aka Silver City Reef, and I've been in the hobby for just over a year and a half now. I'd like to start this thread by thanking everyone who takes the time to check it out and follow along, as well as everyone on R2R who has helped me get this far by answering questions, selling/buying used gear, etc. On behalf of all "new-to-reefing" beginner R2R members, Thank You To All Veteran Reefers Who Provide Answers & Share Their Personal Experiences To Help & Educate.

A brief backstory on me and my hobby experiences... I started my first tank, a drilled 40 Breeder with 29gal sump, in December of 2018. You can check out my build thread on that tank by Clicking This Link. Unfortunately I stopped posting updates there before I ran into a ton of issues, but you can see all of my photos, problems, etc by checking out My Instagram. I post updates as much as possible on IG as well as videos on my YouTube Channel when I feel I have information to share or get a new product I want to review.

Now that the introduction is out of the way, LET'S GET TO THE NEW BUILD!

I recently decided to order a new tank because I feel an AIO will fit my lifestyle better than my current 40B setup. I've had issues with the power going out and my sump overflowing at 4am, I now have pests I don't want, bristle worms and asterina starfish, from a coral purchase I knew would come with something, and other problems that kinda pushed me away from the hobby for a while. I live in a 2nd floor apartment and water changes have always proven much harder on the 40B than my 10g AIO QT and I hated doing them because of it so I stopped all together which caused coral deaths by the dozen over time.

After shopping around for a year, and finally deciding I was going to switch to an AIO a couple months ago, I found a good deal on the Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion Pro 50G Lagoon AIO W/ Black APS Stand. I hesitated to pull the trigger until there was only 1 left that was ready to ship and I lost out on an additional 5-10% off that I would've gotten had I not waited. It proved difficult to find a prebuilt AIO that had dimensions close to a 40B and the Fusion Pro 50 was the only real option. The tank measures about 30" long, 24" wide, & 16" tall with display dimensions of 29" x 18-3/4" x 16". Other prebuilt AIO's were shaped more like cubes and were deeper and that's not really what I wanted for my new build.

I will be breaking up the setup process into different comments, so it's easier to keep track of and follow, but for now, here's some shots of what I received and the stand setup. I'm planning to upload a few montage videos, as well as review/first impression videos, to my YouTube channel when I get a chance to edit them and what-not.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHECKING OUT MY NEW BUILD & PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT AND FOLLOW ALONG.

#staycalmkeepReefing
#ReefNAintEasy

 

[reefwiser]

Always exciting starting a new Aqurium.

 

[New&no clue]

I have a Nuvo 30 Lagoon, can't wait to see what you do with yours.

 

[Reef.]

Good choice, I agree the wider tanks look better, I also feel the fish probably prefer the longer swimming room too, I don’t see many fish swimming up and down!

Do the stands come indifferent colours? I ask as one of the online shops I use has a picture of one of these on their homepage in a light wood colour but on the purchase page they are all black, same as the IM site itself.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Always exciting starting a new Aqurium.

Super Exciting But SOOOO Much Work... Especially When Starting From Scratch In Same Spot As Old Tank & Transfering Fish Like I Am.

I have a Nuvo 30 Lagoon, can't wait to see what you do with yours.

Send me some pics or your IG if you have one. Would love to see what yours looks like. Mines up and running now but not sure when I'll get to next post on here.

Good choice, I agree the wider tanks look better, I also feel the fish probably prefer the longer swimming room too, I don’t see many fish swimming up and down!

Do the stands come indifferent colours? I ask as one of the online shops I use has a picture of one of these on their homepage in a light wood colour but on the purchase page they are all black, same as the IM site itself.

I think they used to but not anymore? I couldnt find any other colors when I was looking. I wouldve rather had like white or maybe even the wood color. You MAY still be able to find colors if you buy stand separately but if I'm being completely honest, it's not worth the $500, I was disappointed and I only paid like an extra $200-300 for it. It looks nice but doesnt go together well, or square, it has no leveling feet and the corner covers fall out when moving it around, and they give you a bottom shelf that has no support so I have to add a couple extra 1x3's under it to hold my ATO reservoir. I'll have a review up probably in a few weeks so if your not in a rush, maybe check that out first. I think waterbox has nicer stands but they're also $300 more for a 50g but its 36"x16x18 I think.

 

[TheWB]

Welcome to the Lagoon 50 club. I have one too and will be following along to see what you do with yours.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Since I am already here, responding to your comments, why not add another section.

Breakdown of the 40B went flawlessly which is extremely surprising since nothing has gone flawlessly with that tank at all, even water changes went bad multiple times. I started by shutting down the sump, emptying it, and draining the display down below drains. I took the sump, removed the baffles, cleaned it up, and set it up on the opposite side of the room as a temporary holding tank. I then drained more of the water, using it to fill the holding tank, and transferred dry rock as water level dropped. I then transferred all fish and invertebrates, and even the asterina stars and bristle worms because I wasnt going to waste my time trying to get rid of them. Once drained and empty, I threw out all the sand, brought tank outside, and broke down my DIY stand, which I actually think I'll miss the most because I made that stand for exactly what I needed and spent a good amount of time and money on it. I filled the holes in wall from DIY light mount, controller mounts, etc and touched up the paint.

I then proceeded to move stand into place and level it, which proved impossible because my floor sucks so it does lean slightly to one side and there's no fixing it without making the stand look & feel sketchy. I will be posting a review video on the stand so be sure to check that out if interested before considering to buy it. Let's just say I'm not impressed... Tank was mounted the next day but didn't see water as quickly as planned.

More to come but this update is long enough I think...

Here's the 40B breakdown, temporary holding tank setup, location prep, & new tank placement photos.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Welcome to the Lagoon 50 club. I have one too and will be following along to see what you do with yours.

Would love to see photos of yours, PM me some pics if you have any or if you have an IG, send me your info. I'm curious to see what people have done with the space they have. I think I should've slid heater under sock and skimmer chamber to provide as much usable space as possible but I will do it on my first WC I guess.

 

[TheWB]

Would love to see photos of yours, PM me some pics if you have any or if you have an IG, send me your info. I'm curious to see what people have done with the space they have. I think I should've slid heater under sock and skimmer chamber to provide as much usable space as possible but I will do it on my first WC I guess.

No IG for me but if you click on my build thread badge there’s plenty of pics there. Skip to page 17 for most recent FTS. Check it out and let me know what you think.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Yissss the 50 lagoon is my favorite tank of all time.

 

[Shaveen]

Congrats! looking forward for more updates.

 

[New&no clue]

Send me some pics or your IG if you have one. Would love to see what yours looks like. Mines up and running now but not sure when I'll get to next post on here.

Here is a video of mine. I did a ULM softy tank as it is located at my work so I didn't want anything to difficult. I have a mixed tank at home.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Equipment, Media, & Additives/Supplements

My current equipment lineup is as follows:

- (2) Kessil A360WE's
- (2) Kessil A-Series Gooseneck Mounts
- (2) Kessil 90° Gooseneck Adapters
- Kessil A-Series Spectral Controller
- Finnex HPG-300 Heater
- Icecap Gyre 1k (Currently On Holding Tank)
- Neptune Systems Apex Jr
- Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO
- Auqa Gadget Gourmet Defroster
- Auqa Gadget Custom Caddy

There are a few more items I already plan on purchasing or adding in the future, including:

- Sicce Syncra 1.5 (To Feed Media Reactor)
- BRS 5" Mini Media Reactor
- Neptune Systems FMM (Leak Detectors & Water Level Sensor)
- Innovative Marine Midsize Nuvoskim DC Protein Skimmer
- Icecap 2K Gyre

Besides the necessary equipment, we all know the most necessary part of any tank is the biological filtration. I decided to use the following media, rock, & supplements:

- BRS/Marco Rocks Reef Saver Dry Rock (33lbs)
- Brightwell Aquatics Xport-Bio Biomedia Cubes (150G Bag)
- AquaMaxx Dry Live Rock (Marco Rocks) (10lb & 45lb)
- Instant Ocean Bio-Spira (250ml)
- Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride (4oz)
- Brightwell Aquatics Microbacter7 (500ml)
- Brightwell Aquatics Microbacter Clean (500ml)
- Microbe-Lift Nite Out II (4oz)
- Microbe-Lift Special Blend (4oz)

I am well aware I don't NEED all of these supplements but I have a method and want the most diverse variety of bacteria as possible. I do not add everything at once either, it's like a 3 month process plus some on going maintenance dosing from time to time. I also only used roughly 58lbs of dry rock, not the full 83lbs I ordered.

 

[AZReef13]

Yes, Another IM owner... I have an IM40 up for almost 3 years. Will be following along

 

[SilverCityReef]

Here is a video of mine. I did a ULM softy tank as it is located at my work so I didn't want anything to difficult. I have a mixed tank at home.

Wow, it looks amazing! I was honestly considering the 30L because I liked the dimensions but felt my fish needed more space. I hope my tank ends up looking that good. Im probably going for torches, LPS like acans, favia, & favites, & hopefully some SPS in mine. I had success in my 40B but not doing WC's for a while always killed everything. Hoping this tank will be easier to maintenance.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Yes, Another IM owner... I have an IM40 up for almost 3 years. Will be following along

I'm starting to think theres a great community surrounding these IM tanks!

 

[TheWB]

Solid equipment list. I’ll be curious for your review if the skimmer. I had the older ghost skimmer and while the dc version is definitely an improvement I was not a fan of the design.

 

[SilverCityReef]

Solid equipment list. I’ll be curious for your review if the skimmer. I had the older ghost skimmer and while the dc version is definitely an improvement I was not a fan of the design.

I saw that you had the Ghost in your build thread but havent had time to sit down and read through. I've been hesitant to order it because of the mixed reviews on the Ghost but from what I've seen & heard, the Nuvoskim is supposed to be good. It's just convenient to use something that's made for the tank. I really liked my Tunze 9004, although it skimmed wet, but I dont know if i could get one in back chamber and working properly.

 

[New&no clue]

I saw that you had the Ghost in your build thread but havent had time to sit down and read through. I've been hesitant to order it because of the mixed reviews on the Ghost but from what I've seen & heard, the Nuvoskim is supposed to be good. It's just convenient to use something that's made for the tank. I really liked my Tunze 9004, although it skimmed wet, but I dont know if i could get one in back chamber and working properly.

I bought the NuvoSkim and I'm not overly impressed with it. In my experience it skims wet or not at all. However, it is whisper quiet, which is nice.

 

[SilverCityReef]

I bought the NuvoSkim and I'm not overly impressed with it. In my experience it skims wet or not at all. However, it is whisper quiet, which is nice.

Hmm... I don't know if that's going to work for me then. That really sucks because they look great and minimal since they're made for these tanks. I'll have to see what other options are out there or if I can make a Tunze 9004 fit in the second chamber.