New to reefing, starting a 20 gallon AIO

[lelandmarine]

WELCOME!
Here are some resources you may like

If you like to read

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is no...

www.reef2reef.com

If you prefer video’s. This video series is “5 minute guide”, good info. BRS TV has lots of different series.


Here’s a getting the most out of Reef2Reef link

Tips for Getting the Most From the Reef2Reef Forum

Tips for Getting the Most From the Reef2Reef Forum Clown Triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives, courtesy of @Darryl, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. If you're new to online discussion forums or just new to Reef2Reef, this article is for you. Much of the...

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[Salty Rambler]

Welcome to R2R! Looking forward to seeing what you create once the cycle finishes.

 

[LegendaryCG]

I will say with all that filtration be careful you don’t strip too much out. You won’t need to worry about that at first but as your tank matures it becomes increasingly easy to starve your tank.

 

[BaysEndReef]

 

[Macbalacano]

Hi all. I'm starting a new Fusion Pro 20 AIO from Innovative Marine. I have a small freshwater 10 gallon Aqueon I got from Petco a year or so ago with some tetra's and many red cherry shrimp, mostly success in that tank has brought me to the next challenge.

I've purchased this IM tank with the goal to try and minimalize any major maintance and not going to stock it with harder to keep animals - but would like some corals and inverts too. I tend to do a ton of research before so this is the list of equipment and supplies I've acquired for this build.

Equipment:
Tank: Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 20 Pro AIO (Includes DC return pump)
Stand: Innovative Marine APS Stand
Light: AI Prime 16HD
Heater: Helio PTC 100 Watt w/ controller
Powerhead: EcoTech Vortech MP10wQD
Skimmer: NuvoSkim DC Protien Skimmer
Refugium: inTank Fuge Basket
Refugium Light: ChaetoMax 2-in-1 Light 9W
UV: Aqua Shield 9W UV
AIO Res: HydroFill ATO Reservoir
Top off: Tunze Osmolator Nano 3152

Supplies:
Rock: CaribSea LifeRock 20 lbs
Sand: CaribSea Fiji Pink 20 lbs
Salt: Tropic Marin Pro Reef
RO/DI: 6 Stage RO/DI 100 GPD
Bacteria starter: BioSpira and Microbacter7
Extra filtering: Chemi-pure blue and SeaChem Purigen

Test kit:
Red Sea Marine Care Test Kit

Ended up getting some digital ones as I'm colorblind and having the digital versions make life for me a lot easier.

Salinity: Hanna Salinity
Alk: Hanna Alk
Phosphate: Hanna Phosphate Ultra Low

I started off pouring the entire bottle of BioSpira into the tank which was a pretty large bottle. Then I had some 10% Ammonia Hydroxide from Ace which I used on the freshwater tank a year ago. Put about a capful of that and here we are. The tank is currently on its 5th day cycling and has near 0ppm Ammonia 0.5ppm Nitrite and tons of Nitrate - when I tested Alk it was around 6.5 but I know this is because of the bacteria I'm building up. I really want to take this slow so I am adding a bit of Microbacter7 every other day to continue the cycle. Once the cycle is complete I'll water change and redose some of the ammonia to continue the cycle, at this speed I'll probably be looking at getting 2 clowns sometime in March.

I want to try and keep the easiest possible tank with "insurance" for the fish. The insurance I'm talking about will basically come from the refugium and UV light. While not necessary/ I'm sure, it hopefully will make things a little bit cleaner in terms of algae and the ugly phase that I'm sure will come. I have not got the Chaeto yet as it's out of stock but once I see it on Algae Barn I'll grab some. I'll add it prior to adding fish but want to wait for the bacteria to solidify first.

I have not run the skimmer yet, but it is a little bit louder than the rest of the tank, so I hopefully can run that periodically and the combination with the refugium will be helpful. Along with the Chemi-pure blue and Purigen (which go in the media racks) the filtering should be pretty good.

Let me know how I'm doing and any thoughts you might have on the build.

Here's a picture of the tank today, I have some tape covering the sand just so less light gets in and minimized any algea on the sand I can see on the bottom. It's not as bright as the picture may make it seem. I also have a cardboard peice that blocks light from a light strip I have behind the TV again to reduce the light on the tank right now. These will get removed with time.

Welcome! Nice tank!

 

[G Santana]

Welcome to the dance

 

[SPR1968]

Hi and Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[rubertoe93]

Welcome!!

 

[Jimbhoy13]

Welcome to R2R and the salty world. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hello and welcome to the channel.

 

[Fulladorn]

I will say with all that filtration be careful you don’t strip too much out. You won’t need to worry about that at first but as your tank matures it becomes increasingly easy to starve your tank.

Thanks, that is something I'm thinking about as well. Hopefully don't have to run the refugium too much since they're pretty loud on nano tanks.

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R!