So I Did a Thing... IM Nuvo Fusion 20 Pro Build

[mpatient]

Sooo...... Main Squeeze is out hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail for the better part of the month, and I got bored. Left to my own devices, I decided my little Waterbox 10g I set up in my office a couple of months was already going to be too small for the amount of corals I have purchased in the last 2 Unique Corals and ReefTide R2R sales. I have a 90 gallon set up in the living room that is chugging right along ( gosh, I need to update that build thread), that has some easy corals, but I am keeping to the KISS approach on that one for now.

Let me preface by saying, I LOVE the Waterbox 10g and was very close to purchasing the Mini Penn 25, but it simply would not fit on my desk for optimal viewing and hiding equipment/wires. After much research, I have just purchased the IM Nuvo Fusion 20 pro.

https://www.innovative-marine.com/specs-nuvo-fusion-pro-20

Had some hefty reward points saved up at Marine Depot from a light/aquascape upgrade for the 90, so I saved a chunk a change on the purchase. Below is the planned equipment list. I have a most of the misc equipment already, so not much more to purchase other than the tank.

1. IM Nuvo Fusion 20
2. Stock Mighty Jet Return pump (stock)
3. Tunze 9001 skimmer - used on the 10g (may opt out of using since I do regular water changes religiously)
4. Kessil 160WE with controller - used on 10g
5. 100 watt random heater - used on 10g
6. Jebao OW-10 - used on 3 different tanks at some point and still going strong. Will upgrade to a Nero 3 or 5 in the future
7. Tunze Nano or Duetto ATO ( I use a Duetto on the 90 and love it)
8. 18lbs live rock from Gulf Live Rock plus random rocks I have in my 40B sump.
9. Substrate - 20lbs Tropical Eden Meso Live Meso Flakes (I LOVE this stuff)

Stock list of what I have now:
1 tailspot blenny
12 random zoa frags (Rastas, Scrambled Egg, Purple People Eater, Hawkeye, etc)
Duncan (7 heads)
Candy Cane (5 heads)
Stylophora Milka
Orange Monticap
Green Monticap
10 Ricordias
1 rock anemone
1 red mushroom
1 Superman mushroom
1 Bloodsucker Blasto (single head)
1 Dark Matter Micro
4 Cyphastrea Frags (Bizarro, Bling Bling, Double Trouble, Shooting Star) 3 will probably go in the 90g
1 PomPom Crab

I will add a couple of nano sized fish at some point. Haven't decided and open to suggestions.

The tank and live rock was ordered today, so I expect everything will be here this week. I will be building an under the desk equipment cabinet, and designing this is next on my list.

That's it for now . I will update as stuff starts to arrive! Main Squeeze will never leave me to run amok for this long again!

 

[KingTideCorals]

Great thread! Enjoyed that write up, nice move on the upgrade! Looking forward to seeing some pictures of this! I have always really liked the dimensions of the Nuvo 20!

I bet the Tailspot Blenny is a crowd favorite!

 

[mpatient]

So this build is going at warp speed. Taking on a smaller build has been fun and is so much less stressful! I just received notice from MD that the tank has shipped and is scheduled to be delivered on Thursday (I ordered yesterday). Historically, I have gotten their stuff a day early, so it could possibly be here tomorrow. My substrate was just delivered a few hours ago. I have used this on my last 3 tanks, and will always do so going forward. It is super clean, does not blow around, and retains its color. Premium Aquatics is the only trustworthy vendor that sells Tropic Eden, and they ship fast! Even got a few fun freebies!

The best part of today was that my live rock came in. I picked it up at the airport on my lunch break, and it was like Christmas! I ended up going with KP Aquatics and I am so pleased with the experience. I have always wanted to go with the aqua-cultured rock and I think I am more excited about the rock than the tank!

I ordered 15lbs shipped in water Sunday night, I was contacted yesterday to make flight arrangements, and it was picked up today.

I decided to open the box outside on my driveway because A) I wanted to see any bad hitchhikers and die off and nothing beats sunlight. B) If the bag were to break, the water would go straight to the drainage grate.

First impressions:

1. I was expecting a fishy or decaying smell; however, there was none. Literally, my sump smells way more than this rock (and my sump is very clean) .

2. I believe I got more than 15lbs. Did not weigh it, but there is a lot more rock volume than I expected. Win!

3. No die off whatsoever. I am sure the sponges will go in the next few days, but it looks like I went offshore and picked the rock myself, put it in a bucket, and took it straight home.

There is beautiful coralline growth. I will be scraping some of this off into my 90g to help it along, but I am so excited to be months ahead of the game for the new tank. I have not seen any hitchhikers yet, but I am positive these will come out in the coming days. The rock is currently in a clear tote waiting on the tank. It will go right in, and I will monitor for a cycle. I am betting this will be done in no time.

 

[mpatient]

Called it!

 

[jazzfisher]

Can't wait to see that rock in the water and what you might find!
I had a question about the sand you chose: what is the grain size like? I have Yasha Gobies & candy stripe pistol shrimp, also a mandarin among others. I'm looking to upgrade my Nuvo 10 to the Drop off Panorama (if I can find one). So will be doing new sand when I dn my main tank the 30L, is okay on sand right now.

 

[mpatient]

Can't wait to see that rock in the water and what you might find!
I had a question about the sand you chose: what is the grain size like? I have Yasha Gobies & candy stripe pistol shrimp, also a mandarin among others. I'm looking to upgrade my Nuvo 10 to the Drop off Panorama (if I can find one). So will be doing new sand when I dn my main tank the 30L, is okay on sand right now.

Here are the specs for the different Topic Marin Grains. I have used the Mini and Meso. To me, the Meso is the perfect size, but will the mini flakes are good as well. I have jawfish, a diamond goby, and a Watchmen goby and it works well with their habits. Also have sand sifter starfish that glides through this like butter.

Aragasnow - 0.5mm
Tonga Special Pink - 0.8mm
Miniflakes - 2.0mm
Mesoflakes - 2.7mm
Reefflakes - 3.5mm
Reefflakes Grand Select - 4.5mm

 

[jazzfisher]

I’m keeping this mind for sure! Thank you!

 

[mpatient]

Well , its been forever since I updated, but here we are! Battled serious phosphate issues until I stopped feeding Reef Roids. The stuff is awesome, but it will wreak havoc on your parameters in a nano tank. I finally got my hands on two Ecotech Versa pumps, and am now dosing aminos and All for Reef. I have seen a growth explosion in the last month.

Current stock:

Yellow head jaw fish
Royal Gramma
Tailspot goby


Multiple palys (don't ask me names, I just go for pretty)
Multi zoas (same as above)
Ricordia garden (12 or 13 rica)
Blastos
Micros
Monticaps
Purple and green stylos
20 head duncan
Umbrella toad stool
6 head Sun Coral
star polyps
superman shroom
St. Thomas shroom. 4"

 

[REEFTIDE]

Sorry about that not sure what happened there. I'll have mods delete the bagilion accidental posts lol
Tank is looking niiice though