Owners Thread: Innovative Marine Fusion 40

[Reduck]

Time to take a few more days off...

been burning vacation days left and right. Just took Monday off now too..
Three day work weeks aren't bad...
Sad part is I will not get to do the tank move till next Thursday night or Friday now...

 

[jguinn]

I'm still feeding manually. I've thought about getting an Apex feeder, but I've read some mixed reviews on them. And I kinda enjoy feeding. We were out at dinner tonight and I was thinking that I might try to find a way to setup an automatic feeder as a backup that would run in the event that I didn't manually put the Apex in feed mode before, say, 8pm.

My travel is getting ready to ramp up with work, too. And I'm in the same situation. I like knowing that with some level of certainty I can do the prep work before I travel and use the data from Apex combined with its automation and my wife's presence there to do things like swap out ATO buckets, etc... to keep things running well so that I don't have a ton of worry while I'm away or come home to a giant mess.

Cost is not insignificant. But after having implemented one, I really can't say that I would be willing to try and do it without one. Obviously people have very successful tanks without them all the time. But it sure is nice to have.

Are you feeding manually the same time every day or do you have an automatic feeder hooked up? Its funny because I was initialy really against getting an Apex - it simply felt like overkill (cost aside which was also a consideration). But now my job will reuire me to start traveling a lot. So I think it will give me exactly the peace of mind I'm going to need. My boys can still handle feeding or refilling of ATO water but it would be great to have insight and control over the tank from far away.

 

[Reduck]

I'm still feeding manually. I've thought about getting an Apex feeder, but I've read some mixed reviews on them. And I kinda enjoy feeding. We were out at dinner tonight and I was thinking that I might try to find a way to setup an automatic feeder as a backup that would run in the event that I didn't manually put the Apex in feed mode before, say, 8pm.

My travel is getting ready to ramp up with work, too. And I'm in the same situation. I like knowing that with some level of certainty I can do the prep work before I travel and use the data from Apex combined with its automation and my wife's presence there to do things like swap out ATO buckets, etc... to keep things running well so that I don't have a ton of worry while I'm away or come home to a giant mess.

Cost is not insignificant. But after having implemented one, I really can't say that I would be willing to try and do it without one. Obviously people have very successful tanks without them all the time. But it sure is nice to have.

My AFS has been running for 9 months without a hitch. Yes, it's loud, the lid is a bit difficult to shut, but otherwise it's damn dependable. I only use it for pellets, but I mix the two types I feed well in its container. I bypass it on nights I feed the tank, otherwise, the fish expect it to run. They circle the landing spot for an hour before feeding time waiting.

It's not that expensive either for what it does and the way it does it..
I never worry about them not eating. And it leaves out the worry of tank sitters over feeding..

 

[Kman237]

Hello everyone, Quick question about the innovative marine nuvo fusion 30 long. I am considering picking this tank up today at a LFS. I've been doing a ton of reading over the last week. I'm worried about the bowing problems I've read about. Anyone here know if this problem has been fixed by now? Should I go with the 40 gallon instead? They have both in stock. I really like the look of the 30 long though. I haven't seen any post about this bowing problem this year. Most everything I read is from 2014.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

-Kman.

Double post - I think the other thread is dead? Correct me if I'm mistaken.
(Official Innovative Marine Owners Thread)

 

[Reduck]

Hello everyone, Quick question about the innovative marine nuvo fusion 30 long. I am considering picking this tank up today at a LFS. I've been doing a ton of reading over the last week. I'm worried about the bowing problems I've read about. Anyone here know if this problem has been fixed by now? Should I go with the 40 gallon instead? They have both in stock. I really like the look of the 30 long though. I haven't seen any post about this bowing problem this year. Most everything I read is from 2014.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

-Kman.

Double post - I think the other thread is dead? Correct me if I'm mistaken.
(Official Innovative Marine Owners Thread)

The other thread isn't dead. This one is more popular due to the ideal size of the 40...and we like to babble on here...While the long is pretty, it's 30g and shallow. It limits height and depth of display. That said I've seen a few nicely done 30l tanks. And I have not heard any blowout stories in about a year. I can tell you the 40 is very well built.its up to your taste really.

 

[Kman237]

The other thread isn't dead. This one is more popular due to the ideal size of the 40...and we like to babble on here...While the long is pretty, it's 30g and shallow. It limits height and depth of display. That said I've seen a few nicely done 30l tanks. And I have not heard any blowout stories in about a year. I can tell you the 40 is very well built.its up to your taste really.

Reduck, thank you for the reply. First time posting on this forum. I wasnt sure if the (other)thread had died off.

Thanks for the info I may wait another day or two and think about my choice some more.

 

[jguinn]

It's not that expensive either for what it does and the way it does it..
I never worry about them not eating. And it leaves out the worry of tank sitters over feeding..

Neptune needs to pay you commission. I literally read this on my phone as I was leaving my in-laws' house on the lake earlier than everyone else so I could get home in time to feed the beasts before the lights went out.

So where do you have yours mounted? I assume that the pellets just fall through the mesh cover with no problems.

 

[Reduck]

Neptune needs to pay you commission. I literally read this on my phone as I was leaving my in-laws' house on the lake earlier than everyone else so I could get home in time to feed the beasts before the lights went out.

So where do you have yours mounted? I assume that the pellets just fall through the mesh cover with no problems.

I have it clamped on my light rack. It can also clamp onto the tank rim itself.
Yup, pellets fall right through the screen...I would guess most any dry food would.
Very simple set up. Set a feed time and feed program and it runs...the only thing that is mechanically adjusted is the portion control. It's a little slide door that needs to be open to control what falls out on each drum revolution. I have it almost fully closed since I feed very small pellets..set it once and forget it. It takes a little trial/error to get it just right but you can do that away from the tank.

I actually bought it with the intent of using it for vacations only. Well, I haven't shut it off since! It works that well. No rushing home to feed.

As I mentioned in other posts, when it time to feed the tank, I just shut it off that day in fusion and run a normal feed cycle, then turn it back on.
Under 100 bucks...it's almost a no brainer..

 

[choss]

I have it clamped on my light rack. It can also clamp onto the tank rim itself.
Yup, pellets fall right through the screen...I would guess most any dry food would.
Very simple set up. Set a feed time and feed program and it runs...the only thing that is mechanically adjusted is the portion control. It's a little slide door that needs to be open to control what falls out on each drum revolution. I have it almost fully closed since I feed very small pellets..set it once and forget it. It takes a little trial/error to get it just right but you can do that away from the tank.

I actually bought it with the intent of using it for vacations only. Well, I haven't shut it off since! It works that well. No rushing home to feed.

As I mentioned in other posts, when it time to feed the tank, I just shut it off that day in fusion and run a normal feed cycle, then turn it back on.
Under 100 bucks...it's almost a no brainer..

Is it an Apex made feeder or are you running the small eheim one? That is the one I have and I use it the same way. Just drop a few pellets through the screen.

So now that you guys have me thinking about the Apex, which one are you running and is there an easy chart or something that shows what you get by going with the full version v. junior? I'm still on the fence for now but suspect I'll pull the trigger later this summer or in the fall.

 

[OsiViper]

Well had to add Red Slime Remover. Tried everything and nothing seemed to work to get rid of the Cyano.

And I wanted to leave my Skimmer on just to aerate the water but it being a Hob Skimmer would overflow out of the tank. So I had to design something.

Works perfectly. Dumps the foam back into the tank, causes a bit of microbubbles but tank remains aerated.

 

[Reduck]

Is it an Apex made feeder or are you running the small eheim one? That is the one I have and I use it the same way. Just drop a few pellets through the screen.

So now that you guys have me thinking about the Apex, which one are you running and is there an easy chart or something that shows what you get by going with the full version v. junior? I'm still on the fence for now but suspect I'll pull the trigger later this summer or in the fall.

It's an apex AFS. So it's fully integrated.
I'm running the apex normal version. The Jr to me falls short. For a small tank with no aspirations, maybe. I've added wxm, pm2, ald, AFS, and dos and ddr. Two temp probes, one ph, one orp, one conductivity probe. They all help me feel comfortable for one reason or another. It's a money pit, for sure, but one I do not want to be without. I should have bought the gold system right up front...

 

[Reduck]

Well had to add Red Slime Remover. Tried everything and nothing seemed to work to get rid of the Cyano.

And I wanted to leave my Skimmer on just to aerate the water but it being a Hob Skimmer would overflow out of the tank. So I had to design something.

Works perfectly. Dumps the foam back into the tank, causes a bit of microbubbles but tank remains aerated.

Nice idea. Sorry about the cyano. It's nasty stuff once it takes hold. Hope your livestock are not affected by the remover. You will want to do a big wc shortly after the treatment is over per instructions. It may also deplete your normal bacteria so I'd suggest using microbac7 or other bacterial additive once it settles back down to keep from mini cycle.

 

[OsiViper]

I had very little cyano left. I sprayed it off of rock and sand and snails but it was taking hold on SPS so much so that it was covering them and they had little/no PE.

Literally every SPS had Cyano on one part or another and it was killing them so it was either lose them to Cyano or take a chance and maybe it will kill the Cyano and they'll recover.

 

[Reduck]

I had very little cyano left. I sprayed it off of rock and sand and snails but it was taking hold on SPS so much so that it was covering them and they had little/no PE.

Literally every SPS had Cyano on one part or another and it was killing them so it was either lose them to Cyano or take a chance and maybe it will kill the Cyano and they'll recover.

I hate when that happens. I lost 3 really great corals after treating with that stuff. I hope you have better success!

 

[jguinn]

I'm running the apex normal version. The Jr to me falls short... I should have bought the gold system right up front...

+1 to all of that. The beauty of the thing is that the value starts to really become more realized as you add additional functionality. Yes, every module adds a bit more cost. But the majority of the cost is in the base unit itself and the energy bar.

One lesson I've learned the hard way in other projects is just to get the "best" you can right up front if there's ever any question. Agree with Reduck totally. I feel like the Apex Jr. would really be more frustrating than anything. It's just enough to get you to the point you'll go, "Jeez, I wish I'd just gotten the full thing. Now what do I do with this Jr.???"

Here's a nice comparison chart over at TB Aquatics.

 

[choss]

+1 to all of that. The beauty of the thing is that the value starts to really become more realized as you add additional functionality. Yes, every module adds a bit more cost. But the majority of the cost is in the base unit itself and the energy bar.

One lesson I've learned the hard way in other projects is just to get the "best" you can right up front if there's ever any question. Agree with Reduck totally. I feel like the Apex Jr. would really be more frustrating than anything. It's just enough to get you to the point you'll go, "Jeez, I wish I'd just gotten the full thing. Now what do I do with this Jr.???"

Here's a nice comparison chart over at TB Aquatics.

Thanks for the chart. I hear you on going right for the full monte out of the gate. Beside I'm not sure I can own anything called "jr."

 

[Reduck]

Thanks for the chart. I hear you on going right for the full monte out of the gate. Beside I'm not sure I can own anything called "jr."

Yes. Save your money and go for it. Especially if you see a larger tank in your future. There are so many for sale in the classifieds on a regular basis you could probably score a great deal if you act fast.
There was even a Jr for sale recently!:bounce1:
LOL

 

[Reduck]

woke up to a haze in the 40. It must be jealous that another tank is in the house. I'll stick some carbon in the reactor when I get home. Its getting close..very close.
Already had one offer on the 40 from local reef club member!

 

[OsiViper]

It must be jealous lol.

Anyone here looking to by a g3 radion pro? Have it for sale on the forums and thought I'd see if anyone here needed it.

 

[Reduck]

It must be jealous lol.

Anyone here looking to by a g3 radion pro? Have it for sale on the forums and thought I'd see if anyone here needed it.

It got over it by time I came home.
It should sell if the price is right. I'd take it but I already have 2'