Second Try at Reefing with an IM 20 gal Nuvo Fusion

stayjejune · Jan 13, 2017

Well, looks like I have my first tank inhabitants!! After getting my water checked out by the LFC they gave me the green light to throw a clean up crew (CUC) into the tank. I got everything acclimated a few hours ago and they're all in the tank. I'm sorry for the shoddy editing - I'm still getting used to this whole editing in Lightroom thing. But, here are some pictures!

stayjejune · Jan 23, 2017

Hi everyone!

Sorry in advanced for the long post, but figured I would update everyone on quite a few things. The past few weeks have been full of both good and bad news. The bad news is that I had two clowns die within four days of putting them in the tank. One of them seemed to have difficulty breathing from the moment I put him in the tank. The other seemed to be doing well and eating normally. Two days after the first one died, I found him in the overflow grill. Very very disappointed. I checked parameters and everything was fine. It was the first time I had shopped at that particular LFS so I might have just chosen poor quality fish. Overall, I'm a little disappointed with the overall fish and coral offerings of the LFS. Never ordered anything online, but I think I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes.

However, not all the news is bad news. I put a torch coral in the tank and it seems to be loving life. Found a good place for it in the tank and I'm happy as can be. Further, I put in an orange spotted goby and a pistol shrimp. They've yet to meet each other, but I'm hoping they pair up sooner than later. Oddly enough, I had a scare with the goby right before posting this. I got back home to find the goby carpet surfing. I checked to see if he was in fact dead, but moved as soon as I touched him. I put the goby back in the tank and seems to be doing okay. Hopefully he makes it through the night. I'll be more than disappointed if he doesn't. In hindsight, I should've kept the cover over the tank. I took it off and all day today I kept thinking about how they're prone to be jumpers and that I need to put the cover back on. Hopefully I wasn't too late.

Continuing with the good news I placed an order today for six corals from World Wide Corals ("WWC"). Very excited to get them in. I'll attach pictures to the end of the post from WWC's website. I also rearranged the rock work. I figured the new layout will give me more surface area to glue and place corals on.

I'm also a little disappointed with the Micro ATO. I haven't been able to figure out a good spot to keep the optical eye so that it keeps enough water in the back chambers. I often find that the middle chamber empties out of water before the ATO kicks in. Further, the eye does not work when it is placed in the back chamber because of it being all black. For those of you with IM Nuvos, how high do you keep the water level in the middle chamber? Maybe I just don't have enough water in the tank.

Here are some pictures as a reward for reading my entire post!

stayjejune · Jan 23, 2017

And the following are pictures of coral I ordered (taken from WWC's website):

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32474487785/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.00.51 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/550/32474487785_38fe9be033_c.jpg" width="800" height="652" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.00.51 PM"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32095880450/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.01.22 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/374/32095880450_7f3d5172a0_c.jpg" width="800" height="622" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.01.22 PM"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31662823243/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.01.53 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/657/31662823243_398c14a8b8_c.jpg" width="800" height="782" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.01.53 PM"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32095881320/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.02.29 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/693/32095881320_e237ae0efd_c.jpg" width="800" height="782" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.02.29 PM"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32322802162/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.03.17 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/515/32322802162_a0729a114e_c.jpg" width="800" height="655" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.03.17 PM"></a>

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32095882190/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.03.25 PM"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/439/32095882190_4d817ef2f9_c.jpg" width="800" height="720" alt="Screen Shot 2017-01-22 at 11.03.25 PM"></a>

stayjejune · Jan 24, 2017

Anyone have experience with their MP10 making a whining noise as it ramps up speed? It's not a vibration, but rather a whining noise that won't seem to go away. I've tried to reposition the wet side assembly a few times with no reduction in whining noise. I don't think it has been doing this the whole time, or at least I haven't heard it. Is this normal?

strummerfan · Jan 25, 2017

How did you cycle this tank?

stayjejune · Jan 25, 2017

strummerfan said:
How did you cycle this tank?

I started the tank with about 18lbs of live rock and 20lbs of live sand. I did the ol' raw shrimp in the tank to get the cycle going as well

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

stayjejune · Jan 26, 2017

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick coral update. I got my shipment from World Wide Corals ("WWC") yesterday and everything seems to be settling in nicely. The corals looked exactly like that they had online and I'm very happy with the experience. Highly recommend them. Enough words; here are the corals!

Rainbow Aussie Micromussa Lord

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32149552350/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8847.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/442/32149552350_dd198e930a_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8847.JPG"></a>

Area 51 Blasto

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31684834954/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8848.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/706/31684834954_3b868c07fb_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8848.JPG"></a>

Neon Splatter Hammer (decided it didn't want to open for a photo op)

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31684835554/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8849.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/771/31684835554_05db821247_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8849.JPG"></a>

Dragoneye Zoanthids

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/32149553170/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8850.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/712/32149553170_7f106c3ce4_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8850.JPG"></a>

Devil's Armor Zoanthids

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31684836404/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8851.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/402/31684836404_52c78b96e9_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8851.JPG"></a>

Green Frogspawn

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31684837234/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8853.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/366/31684837234_f6453121a9_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_8853.JPG"></a>

Last but not least, a FTS. Corals aren't going to permanently be there. Just letting them sit there before I figure out exactly where I want to stick everything

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/146546525@N06/31684837664/in/album-72157678827396505/" title="IMG_8854.JPG"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/743/31684837664_995a1f87b9_c.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="IMG_8854.JPG"></a>

Anthony357 · Jan 26, 2017

Looks nice! I like the stand you have too lol, i have the exact same thing. I was thinking about upgrading the cheap little powerhead i have inside my IM20 with a mp10, how are you liking it so far? I bought 1 spinstream nozzle for one of the return lines, didnt want to buy 2 just in case i didnt like it. But i might buy a 2nd one, as well as an mp10 and then be done with flow.

Oeste · Jan 26, 2017

stayjejune said:
Anyone have experience with their MP10 making a whining noise as it ramps up speed? It's not a vibration, but rather a whining noise that won't seem to go away. I've tried to reposition the wet side assembly a few times with no reduction in whining noise. I don't think it has been doing this the whole time, or at least I haven't heard it. Is this normal?

My 10qd does the same starting at 60% and gets louder. Its not as loud as one would describe but with a silent tank, it annoys me so much.
I'm also interested and confused if running above 60% creates a winding noise.

Oeste · Jan 26, 2017

Anthony357 said:
Looks nice! I like the stand you have too lol, i have the exact same thing. I was thinking about upgrading the cheap little powerhead i have inside my IM20 with a mp10, how are you liking it so far? I bought 1 spinstream nozzle for one of the return lines, didnt want to buy 2 just in case i didnt like it. But i might buy a 2nd one, as well as an mp10 and then be done with flow.

I love the floor corals! That yellow makes the tank BOOM:beer:

stayjejune · Jan 26, 2017

Anthony357 said:
Looks nice! I like the stand you have too lol, i have the exact same thing. I was thinking about upgrading the cheap little powerhead i have inside my IM20 with a mp10, how are you liking it so far? I bought 1 spinstream nozzle for one of the return lines, didnt want to buy 2 just in case i didnt like it. But i might buy a 2nd one, as well as an mp10 and then be done with flow.

Haha I like your choice of stand! It's a pretty functional piece for the price. I really like the look of your tank. The bright corals juxtaposed against the dark sand really makes them jump out at you. It looks like you have a piece of SPS on the left side, what light do you have over the tank?

I love the MP10! I bought it because I want to have the extra flow capabilities when I decide to try my hand at some SPS. The different modes as well as programability really make it worth the price. However, I'm still trying to dial it in for the LPS in the tank. Everyone seems to be enjoying a 30-40% lagoon, but they didn't mind the 30-40% reef crest as well. I might just be a little hesitant to crank up the flow and upset the torch, hammer, and frogspawn.

Actually, I just ordered two IM spin stream nozzles! How do you like the one so far?

Oeste said:
My 10qd does the same starting at 60% and gets louder. Its not as loud as one would describe but with a silent tank, it annoys me so much.
I'm also interested and confused if running above 60% creates a winding noise.

I noticed the noise when I was running the MP10 at 80% reef crest. I never noticed it before, but when I would ramp down and up to 80% in reef crest mode I could hear it if there was no other noise in the room. I started to get worried that something would go wrong because my mind immediately jumped to IM Nuvos cracking because they had MP10s on them. I tried moving the MP10 around and redoing the placement of the wet and dry side to try and minimize the whining noice to no avail.

But, now that I'm running the MP10 at 30-40% on reef crest and lagoon mode I don't have an issue with the whining noice. I'm no expert but my guess is that it has something to do with the lubrication of the bearings? Who knows, I could be completely wrong :spin1:

Anthony357 · Jan 26, 2017

I like the spin stream nozzle so far, definitely going to buy a 2nd one. I'm also using an air hydra 26hd for the light. The coral in the bottom left is a acan rock, it's blue and purple mainly with bits of orange, very pretty coral!

Anthony357 · Jan 26, 2017

Here are a couple more pics

stayjejune · Jan 26, 2017

Anthony357 said:
Here are a couple more pics

<a href="http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/badblkbird350/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_163823.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u386/badblkbird350/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_163823.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170126_163823.jpg"></a>

<a href="http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/badblkbird350/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_164005.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u386/badblkbird350/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_164005.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170126_164005.jpg"></a>

<a href="http://s1065.photobucket.com/user/badblkbird350/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_164041.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u386/badblkbird350/Mobile%20Uploads/20170126_164041.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170126_164041.jpg"></a>

Those are some wicked corals! How do you like the light you're using now? I'm starting to do research on what to upgrade to, but I don't think I'll pull the trigger any time soon :reading:

Anthony357 · Jan 26, 2017

The only led lights i have owned were the ai primes and hydra 26hds, I love them. The user interface is awesome as you can control them on your phone and very easy to use. I had hydras over my 90 but decided to sell some of them and make it a fish only tank (so didn't need that much lighting) but kept 1 of them to put over this 20g and make this my reef tank. I would think 1 ai prime HD would be enough for these tanks but I already had the hydra...maybe buy 2 regular primes that way you could spread the light apart to get full coverage everywhere

stayjejune · Jan 26, 2017

Anthony357 said:
The only led lights i have owned were the ai primes and hydra 26hds, I love them. The user interface is awesome as you can control them on your phone and very easy to use. I had hydras over my 90 but decided to sell some of them and make it a fish only tank (so didn't need that much lighting) but kept 1 of them to put over this 20g and make this my reef tank. I would think 1 ai prime HD would be enough for these tanks but I already had the hydra...maybe buy 2 regular primes that way you could spread the light apart to get full coverage everywhere

The Primes seem like a great choice. I'm glad to hear your experience with the AI Primes was a positive one. I think I've narrowed it down to either two AI Prime HDs, AI Hydra FiftyTwo HD, or the Radion XR30W. Still a mystery which one I'll end up actually going with. They all have a lot of things going for them

Anthony357 · Jan 26, 2017

They all are good, and comparable. The primes, and 26hd for that matter, we're just way more affordable lol. I think 2 primes or 1 HD is plenty of light for anything you would want to have in a 20g

stayjejune · Jan 29, 2017

Anthony357 said:
They all are good, and comparable. The primes, and 26hd for that matter, we're just way more affordable lol. I think 2 primes or 1 HD is plenty of light for anything you would want to have in a 20g

That's what I was thinking. The Radion might be a bit overkill for a 20g and the coral I'm looking to keep. I think the two primes or one HD would be enough for me to keep all the LPS my heart desires and some easier to keep SPS placed higher up on the rock work

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stayjejune · Jan 31, 2017

Just a small little update. I received two spin streams today and just put them on. Now I see what everyone means by the noise haha. Luckily it's not too bad. I'm looking forward to seeing how everything in the tank reacts to the spin streams. Shortly after putting them on my goby swam straight to the front of the tank. Good sign I guess.

Speaking of the goby; after the initial scare of him carpet surfing and coming back to life, he seems to finally be getting back to himself. I still haven't seen him eat yet which is troubling. However, his stomach doesn't seem to be caved in so he's definitely eating something. Only bummer about the goby is that he still hasn't found his way to the pistol shrimp yet. But, yesterday he started hanging out right outside the little burrow that the pistol made himself.

Oddly enough, I realized today that my pistol shrimp seems to have molted. After putting on the spin streams I noticed shrimp exoskeleton on the sand bed at the back of the tank. Initially I thought the poor guy died already, but after seeing him wildly whip around his antennae I came to the conclusion that he simply molted. Still have my fingers crossed that the Goby and Pistol will become friends sooner rather than later.

Finally, I'm considering a captive bred Benggai Cardinal and captive bred Yellow Assessor as my next two, and final, fish. I'm also considering throwing in a peppermint (noticed one small piece and one large piece of Aiptasia) and/or cleaner shrimp. Thoughts?

strummerfan · Jan 31, 2017

Do something about the aiptasia now. I've always used joe's and a hypodermic needle

Second Try at Reefing with an IM 20 gal Nuvo Fusion

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