Owners Thread: Innovative Marine Fusion 40

[bizacon]

Thanks so much to you and Reduck for the excellent information and advice. In the process of building out my Fusion 40 and this thread is a complete goldmine.

Particularly good to hear on the skimmer. I have been reading all that I can and waffling between the Ghost and the Tunze, but nobody seems to be really raving about either of them. I'll take your advice and go for the Aquamaxx.

What do you guys think about the WAV powerheads coming out? I'm not in a huge hurry to buy, so that's not a concern. Going to have to get a second and third job to get the Apex, light, ATO, skimmer, etc. I'm not at all opposed to going with the MP10's, but watched a great intro video on the WAVs that really has me interested in the bidirectional communication and diagnostics that will be available to Apex. Overkill or worth the wait?

Thanks again for all the advice. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I proceed, but I agree - I'd rather buy the right equipment the first time than buy something I'm not totally satisfied with to try and squeeze some pennies.

I am committed to ecotech as well. I feel that ecotech has proven to be a solid player in the pump market. Neptune really hasn't been in that market, so i would be a little hesitant to buy a wav from them, especially since it is the first run of the model... you know what they say "don't by the first year of anything!!"

Good call on the aquamaxx, i just wish i could hide it some how like the ghost but you can't so i will keep my ghost and complain about it

 

[bizacon]

That's an awesome deal! Glad to hear that it was a good choice. I'm going to start looking for one of those, as well as a used Apex.

I'm getting back into the hobby myself, after about a 20 year break. (Okay, that officially makes me sound old...). So much has changed as far as the equipment goes it's almost like starting fresh. Fortunately, my wife is actually *encouraging* me to jump back in. I think she is hopeful that a fairly complex hobby that will keep my mind off work in the evenings will make me a nicer person. Not sure she realizes yet that this means I'll have to cash out our girls' 529s in order to fund the project!
:beer:

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I think it's so she doesnt have to talk to you, and she can enjoy her shows at night......wait that is me!!!

Just tell the girls to get a scholarship, they won't need their 529s

 

[Reduck]

sounds like we should organize a fusion group buy, lol. I plan on picking up a radion, vortech and apex too.

That's always a possibility!

 

[jguinn]

That's always a possibility!

sounds like we should organize a fusion group buy, lol. I plan on picking up a radion, vortech and apex too.

I am totally up for that. I wonder how many would need to be committed for Neptune to work out some better pricing? I browsed through some of the equipment-for-sale threads and it looks like the secondary market for controllers is so hot that I don't have much of a chance of picking up a used one. They seem to literally be gone within a matter of a few hours of posting and I can't always get to a computer to check the forums predictably.

I work in finance for a long-term care pharmacy, and we rely heavily on volume-negotiated contracts with the pharma manufacturers. Wonder what it would take to build a reef group purchasing organization??? Hmm...

 

[Reduck]

Only prob I see with that is Neptune uses MAP pricing. Nobody gets a deal or everyone gets a deal. Same with Ecotech.
They offer once or twice a year deals and that's it.
I have been lucky on the used stuff for the most part.
Try your local reef clubs pages too. I bought my Apex through a ny reef club. Got a great deal on it brand new. I think the guy felt bad for me since I had mistakenly bought a jr three weeks prior....

I am totally up for that. I wonder how many would need to be committed for Neptune to work out some better pricing? I browsed through some of the equipment-for-sale threads and it looks like the secondary market for controllers is so hot that I don't have much of a chance of picking up a used one. They seem to literally be gone within a matter of a few hours of posting and I can't always get to a computer to check the forums predictably.

I work in finance for a long-term care pharmacy, and we rely heavily on volume-negotiated contracts with the pharma manufacturers. Wonder what it would take to build a reef group purchasing organization??? Hmm...

 

[Rtankster]

Only prob I see with that is Neptune uses MAP pricing. Nobody gets a deal or everyone gets a deal. Same with Ecotech.
They offer once or twice a year deals and that's it.
I have been lucky on the used stuff for the most part.
Try your local reef clubs pages too. I bought my Apex through a ny reef club. Got a great deal on it brand new. I think the guy felt bad for me since I had mistakenly bought a jr three weeks prior....

our reef club is setup as a business partner with Drs Foster & Smith and discount is 10% for orders above 10%

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/general.cfm?gid=481

 

[Reduck]

Normally deals like that don't include map priced items. If it does, I'd say buy it!

 

[Rtankster]

Normally deals like that don't include map priced items. If it does, I'd say buy it!

It does include them, just not live rock/sand.

 

[Reduck]

It does include them, just not live rock/sand.

Wow. I'd be broke! That's a sweet deal then...
You could always get in on the BRS group buy in their sub forum too. They don't include neptune etc but normal supplies are ok.
I've tried multiple times at mutliple dealers for sale coupons etc and they always give me the map excuse.

 

[Rtankster]

Wow. I'd be broke! That's a sweet deal then...
You could always get in on the BRS group buy in their sub forum too. They don't include neptune etc but normal supplies are ok.
I've tried multiple times at mutliple dealers for sale coupons etc and they always give me the map excuse.

unfortunately Drs started charging sales tax in Michigan.

 

[Reduck]

unfortunately Drs started charging sales tax in Michigan.

Pretty much the case all over. Amazon was awesome for big ticket stuff until they stuck a brick and mortar address in NJ. Now it's tax everything...you can still find some tax free e-tailers on occasion, but they are getting scarce..eventually the Feds will want a piece too..
It's only a matter of time...

 

[bizacon]

I am not going to get involved in this conversation about tax, because I live in Westchester county, NY...which has the lowest property tax in the nation :hmm4: Oh wait, it's the most expensive I am either really smart or dumb...going with dumb on this one.

My new frags are looking good... flow is great and dosing pumps on Wednesday. Leave the 2nd for 11 days, so need to have everything solid before i leave..should be fun!

 

[Reduck]

I am not going to get involved in this conversation about tax, because I live in Westchester county, NY...which has the lowest property tax in the nation :hmm4: Oh wait, it's the most expensive I am either really smart or dumb...going with dumb on this one.

My new frags are looking good... flow is great and dosing pumps on Wednesday. Leave the 2nd for 11 days, so need to have everything solid before i leave..should be fun!

Um yea...but don't move here cause we are number two or three in the country....and we get to be the butt of nj jokes. At least I wasn't born here..

I'd dose light while you are away...but then again you can program the pump outlet down if it sees your ph climb too high..that's how I did it. Watch your peak right after dosing and set it maybe .02 or .05 higher to shut off power to the outlets..dose at night when ph is naturally lower too, but I think you knew that..

 

[Jim.mer]

MP back ups

MP back ups

Boy, do I ever wish I got battery back ups for my mp's! We have a generator with whole house feed, just in case. But i would sleep a lot better knowing the tank is running...
Stay safe if you are in the path of this storm!

I had them but they didn't come on when they were suppose to, Pay top dollar and get burned Go figure

 

[Reduck]

I had them but they didn't come on when they were suppose to, Pay top dollar and get burned Go figure

Weird. I heard they were pretty reliable. I still have yet to buy one..

 

[bizacon]

Um yea...but don't move here cause we are number two or three in the country....and we get to be the butt of nj jokes. At least I wasn't born here..

I'd dose light while you are away...but then again you can program the pump outlet down if it sees your ph climb too high..that's how I did it. Watch your peak right after dosing and set it maybe .02 or .05 higher to shut off power to the outlets..dose at night when ph is naturally lower too, but I think you knew that..

You could just say NJ and that is a joke in itself I grew up on the west coast, so I am still a little bit nice still!!

I am going to do a water change the night I leave and part of me does not want to dose at all while I am gone. I use Red Sea Pro, so I already have elevated levels. I was going to dose my alk during the night and then Ca in the early morning... I feel that since my new SPS are just frags, I do not have a high demand right now. Thoughts? Dose or not while I am gone? I will create a program to have it turned off at a certain level.

If power ever fails over here..I have battery operated air pumps and just wrap that bad boy in towels

 

[Reduck]

It'll change you living up there. My corp office was in Elmsford, now in Valhalla.
I loath driving up there to hear the horror stories..but if you want a nice corporate presence outside of Manhattan, there you go..it's costly but nice..our office is beautiful..and nearly empty! But that a whole other story..

You are probably dead on. RSCMP will hold you till you get back. Love that stuff. It's only 11 days. Your plan is solid for the alk and ca. It will work fine that way, actually better than simultaneous dosing...no change of cloudy water or precipitation.. I have mine 30 minutes apart 5ml each then again 4 hours later, all overnight.
I'd vote on leaving the doser off whilst you are away trying to relax...
You'll proabably be staring at fusion most of the time worried something is going wrong..

As for the batteries..after being hit by so many power outages in the past three years...since I went reef, we haven't had one. I also have the battery air packs for the pond so I could use them. And swipe a ups from my Mac for a while if need be, but by then the generator would be running. It's got enough power to run 90% of the house, minus Hvac. I'll still spring for the batteries eventually,

You could just say NJ and that is a joke in itself I grew up on the west coast, so I am still a little bit nice still!!

I am going to do a water change the night I leave and part of me does not want to dose at all while I am gone. I use Red Sea Pro, so I already have elevated levels. I was going to dose my alk during the night and then Ca in the early morning... I feel that since my new SPS are just frags, I do not have a high demand right now. Thoughts? Dose or not while I am gone? I will create a program to have it turned off at a certain level.

If power ever fails over here..I have battery operated air pumps and just wrap that bad boy in towels

 

[bizacon]

It'll change you living up there. My corp office was in Elmsford, now in Valhalla.
I loath driving up there to hear the horror stories..but if you want a nice corporate presence outside of Manhattan, there you go..it's costly but nice..our office is beautiful..and nearly empty! But that a whole other story..

You are probably dead on. RSCMP will hold you till you get back. Love that stuff. It's only 11 days. Your plan is solid for the alk and ca. It will work fine that way, actually better than simultaneous dosing...no change of cloudy water or precipitation.. I have mine 30 minutes apart 5ml each then again 4 hours later, all overnight.
I'd vote on leaving the doser off whilst you are away trying to relax...
You'll proabably be staring at fusion most of the time worried something is going wrong..

As for the batteries..after being hit by so many power outages in the past three years...since I went reef, we haven't had one. I also have the battery air packs for the pond so I could use them. And swipe a ups from my Mac for a while if need be, but by then the generator would be running. It's got enough power to run 90% of the house, minus Hvac. I'll still spring for the batteries eventually,

I do like the quietness of Westchester, and really enjoy all the history of it. Just finished reading a book about Henry Hudson.

Good, glad you agree with me. Just because of the last trip and the crash, I feel better if I was not doing during that time. Ha, I think my wife would kill me if I am checking fusion while in Hong Kong and Tokyo..those AT&T rates aren't cheap and we want to FT our daughter..

I bumped up my lighting schedule as well...so far so good. Everything looks great. The plan is to get the schedule to 14-15k for about 3 hrs a day!

 

[jguinn]

I am committed to ecotech as well. I feel that ecotech has proven to be a solid player in the pump market. Neptune really hasn't been in that market, so i would be a little hesitant to buy a wav from them, especially since it is the first run of the model... you know what they say "don't by the first year of anything!!"

Good call on the aquamaxx, i just wish i could hide it some how like the ghost but you can't so i will keep my ghost and complain about it

Excellent points. I'll go with the MP10s and wait to see how Gen 1 WAVs shake out. Perhaps there will be some folks out there that get super-excited about the WAVs and decide to fund that purchase with the proceeds of selling me their MP10s...

 

[bizacon]

Excellent points. I'll go with the MP10s and wait to see how Gen 1 WAVs shake out. Perhaps there will be some folks out there that get super-excited about the WAVs and decide to fund that purchase with the proceeds of selling me their MP10s...

I am all for saving money and looking for new products, but a small tank like this, you need to go with what has shown to work..

TB aquatics have the best price on the MP10w es for $199 shipped. Brian is very quick with advice and shipping things out. Family owned, and I am all about that...Reduck would like it since the store is located in NJ and keeps the lights running over there.