Finnex Owners club

[Reef-Ski]

Well yesterday I pulled the trigger and ordered a new 30 Gallon Finnex M Tank. I haven’t seen much posted on M tanks so I though I would try and get something going here.

I made the decision to go with the M tank after extensive research on similar size tanks. After owning a Red Sea Max and all the additional Mods that it needed I wanted something that was more thought out. The M tanks filtration area looks very functional. Granted every Nano tank out there seems to lack in areas like protein skimmers, lighting, and amount or flow. For me already having a Tunze 9002 Nano DOC skimmer and a Sundial T-5 light fixture to add to the tank made my decision a little easier.

Hopefully some Finnex owners can chime in on some of there experiences, and any Mods that will make this tank even better.

For me I will post my updates as time goes by. I plan on building my own stand and taking all my livestock from my existing 30 gallon long setup, and transferring them into the new M tank.

How do people like this tank, and what recommendations can you share?

 

[JLAURIA751]

They seem like a good tanks don't have any experience with them Iv never seen one in person. The only advice I would give is to be carefull not to scratch the tank. But thats obvious I don't think many people own them, let us know what you think about the tank when its up and running. then maybe start a finnex thread. Oh and good luck.

 

[Reef-Ski]

JLAURIA751-
Thanks for the input.

I was thinking about starting the thread after I received the tank. I guess I was hoping to get some tips on how people have there’s setup.

Has anyone split the return with loc-line for multi directional flow.

 

[swjim]

I just started up my Finnex M tank three weeks ago. This is the smallest reef tank I have ever set up but I'm very excited about it. The tank is well made, I ordered it with the Finnex 6x24 T5 lighting (this is also my first attempt at a T5 only tank). Right now I have about 30lbs of fiji pink aragonite sand, 30lbs of base rock and 6lbs of live rock in the display. The refugium has a few pieces of base rock rubble, a small amount of sand and some chaeto. I am using the stock skimmer and it seems decent for an inexpensive model, I will evaluate if it needs to be upgraded over time but in the first week of running it pulled out about 3/4" of skimmate roughly the color of a dark green tea. The tank went started its first diatom and algae bloom after about a week and I have added two Tonga fighting conches and two turbo snails. The algae has greatly subsided and I have also added a single blue chromis. So far so good, there are a ton of pods running around the live and base rock, one of the rocks has some micro stars in it that I'm sure will migrate to other rocks over time and the same rock with the micro stars also has about 18 zooanthids on it.

I also built my own stand but still need to build the doors.

The only mods I have done from stock so far is to remove the foam pad in the second chamber. I've left the stock filter pad in place to help reduce microbubbles. I also added a Koriala 2 for additional circulation and will add a second one as I start to stock the tank more.

I think that's about it for now. I really consider it a nice tank.

 

[Reef-Ski]

swjim-

Sounds like a nice setup. Any photos by any chance?

How long did it take to have your tank delivered?

 

[swjim]

It took a week from the time I submitted the order to the time it was delivered. I didn't request any kind of expedited shipping because I hadn't started on the stand yet.

Here are a few pics.

Here's one with my younger boy who is as excited about the tank as I am.

 

[Reef-Ski]

swjim-

For some reason the pics do not show up.

 

[swjim]

That's odd, I have the gallery set to be open and I can see them even if I'm logged off of the photo site. What are you seeing, red Xs?

 

[Reef-Ski]

Now I can see them, that was weird.

Great photos and I like your stand.

Was it tough to make? How tall did you make it?

 

[swjim]

Thanks! The stand wasn't tough to make, it's 36 3/4" high. I used plywood for all but the exposed edge on the top "table" piece. This made the project cheaper but I did have to rip all of the boards to size which added a bit of time to the project. Everything is connected with pocket screws and glue. Now I just need to motivate myself to build the doors.

 

[Mr Neon]

I bought a Finnex m-30 2 years ago and it is still running today. The one you have is an updated version of the same tank. The difference is in the back where the refugium is located. Mine came with the sump for the skimmer the chamber for the return pump and then the refugium.

Over that 2 years period I did some mods to fit my needs and improve the design in my thoughts. The pump was not enough so I put in a Rio Hyper Flow 10H, Never liked the skimmer and got an Aqua-C Remora. Changed the plumbing to have two flow heads instead of a 90 elbow.

All in all a good tank. The only problem I am having now is the refugium. My algae grows so fast and over into the tank that it is now starting to foul the water with red, green, brown algae. I trim it all the time. There is not way for the stuff to not spill out in a well established tank. I think that is why the newer tanks have the refugium in the center with two chambers on each side to control this growth and contain it without getting into the main tank.

To fix this I am thinking of adding a separate sump with a 3/4" overflow made out of PVC. I got the design on this site. The new sump/refugium will allow better room for the algae to grow and keep it away from the main tank. Plumbing it is going to be challenge given the original flow set-up by the tank's manufacture, but I believe it can be done. I will just use the original refugium chamber as a dry sump or filter chamber to keep the flow constant.

One great thing about these tanks is they will never flood. (unless the skimmer chamber gets blocked off)

Anyhoo, good luck and enjoy your new Finnex!

 

[Reef-Ski]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13102595#post13102595 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr Neon
Changed the plumbing to have two flow heads instead of a 90 elbow.

Mr Neon-

Thanks for the insight.

I would be interested to know how the two flow heads are working for you. Was this an easy mod?

 

[Reef-Ski]

swjim-

I would imagine having to rip all of that material would take some time.

So you do not have any 2X4's for the main support?

What did you go with to get the nice finish?

I really like your design. Now I need to get started on mine.

 

[Mr Neon]

Reef-Ski,

I just bought a pvc fitting at Home Depot to work with the return piping that came with the tank. It was a male end that I used to screw the the octopus plumbing I believed it is called into it. You know the black pipe that can be adjusted? I got a "Y" and put 2 fan heads with different lengths on each end so that that I could adjust the flow to certain areas of the tank. Works great! The original pump though I think flows about 400gph and is not enough for the tank. The newer Finnex tanks have this type of plumbing. I spoke with Ken directly about that mod and he seemed interested so maybe he found parts for the newer tanks. The original tank had typical plastic pipe but for the flow it was a 90 degree elbow with no control.

 

[Reef-Ski]

Mr Neon-

Thanks for the info. I will check to see what mine comes with.

I like the idea of being able to direct the flow to different areas with only the one pump.

Good stuff.

 

[Reef-Ski]

Does anyone know if these tanks come with a glass cover.

I seem to recall seeing one that had a 2 piece glass top.

 

[Mr Neon]

yes, they come with a 2-piece glass top. It is not a full top though there is an opening where the light sits. I used 1/4" Lexan rated for outdoors and UV light that fits the entire tank. Cut down on the evaporation and the heat was not an issue, but then my tank is in the basement.

 

[swjim]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13102693#post13102693 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef-Ski
swjim-

I would imagine having to rip all of that material would take some time.

So you do not have any 2X4's for the main support?

What did you go with to get the nice finish?

I really like your design. Now I need to get started on mine.

No, I didn't use any 2x4s for support, the 3/4" plywood is more than enough to support the tank. If you look at most tanks in fish stores, even for very large ones they're built from 3/4". I'm not discouraging you from adding support, I'm just saying that if you build the stand properly you can do it with the thinner material and give yourself more room under the tank.

I used a Minwax Red Mahogany finish with four coats of polyurethane. The tank is in our dining room and my wife wanted it to be as close to our dining room set as possible. It is pretty close and when the lights are on you really can't tell the difference.

I have a sketchup of the design if you would like to use it as a starting point for yours, just pm me the e-mail address you would like it sent to if you want a copy.

 

[Reef-Ski]

swjim-

PM Sent

 

[Reef-Ski]

Mr Neon-

Thanks for clarifying on the glass top.