zak.payne's Fluval M60 Build

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zak.payne

Member
I finally did it. After lots of soul searching and question asking, I finally bit the bullet and bought a tank. I purchased the Fluval M60 (24 gallon) aquarium kit. I decided on this tank because I loved the clean look of the tank and the stand looks very nice with the rest of my furniture in my living room.

This build is going to be slow moving, as this is my first ever I want to give adequate time for the cycle and be slow with the livestock adding.

I need to have a media basket made, so I will be either trying some DIY options with egg crate or finding a pre-made one.

I still need to pick up a heater, refractometer and a light before much progress will begin. I plan to fill the tank to leak test and get the pumps running, but other than that I won't be adding salt until the heater and refractometer arrive.

I think I've rambled enough, so I will wrap up this first post with some pictures. More to come!

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Ooooo! Boxes!
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The finished product, plus extra goodies. The stand was really easy to assemble, and I suck at using tools (disregard the window behind the tank, the blinds are always closed...I just opened them up for the picture)
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I plan on using the integrated water change system that comes with the Fluval tank. I noticed there are notches in each baffle, which would allow the whole back to be drained for a water change (I think?). Downside will be needing to turn all electrical off during water changes, but I will see if this becomes a PITA and I just stop using the water change system.
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My first attempt at a rockscape. I want to leave lots of swimming room for fish and coral growth, so the minimal look is pretty nice for now. I will add sand once I nail down the rock. I am using some of my dads old rock and sand he had laying around, so I can always pick up more rock if I need it (thanks dad!:thumbsup:).
 
Look forward to following along

In the Nano thread jedsmax has a nice build on an M60.

I started an M90 in December. I don't use water change system BC it is too close to my electrical. I just syphon. I like to get brown stuff off sand bed anyway.

In tank media should release media basket any day now I plan on getting it for sure.

Your first baffle are the grates at top or the bottom. The put them.at top which wasn't ideal design. They of late have started flipping the first baffle to have grates at bottom. The in tank media basket will help you with flow though.

Jed is a year in and loves his M60. I am a month in really liking my M90.

PS welcome aboard
 
Thanks! I did contact Fluval prior to purchasing the tank and they did change the baffle, so it flows through the bottom of the first baffle and the top of the second into the last chamber.

I agree with the electrical piece. My intention is to get a hose and connect it to the valve to drain it out to a bucket that is outside the cabinet. I still have to finalize the concept behind that though.

For the In tank media basket, are they making one for more generic tanks or specifically for the Fluval line? I've heard of their work...but haven't explored their products.
 
zak.payne said:
Thanks! I did contact Fluval prior to purchasing the tank and they did change the baffle, so it flows through the bottom of the first baffle and the top of the second into the last chamber.

I agree with the electrical piece. My intention is to get a hose and connect it to the valve to drain it out to a bucket that is outside the cabinet. I still have to finalize the concept behind that though.

For the In tank media basket, are they making one for more generic tanks or specifically for the Fluval line? I've heard of their work...but haven't explored their products.
Click to expand...

Specifically for the M60 and M90. They said it is designed and on production list. I have direct return nozzzle to disturb top, but prior I had a little surface film. I think in tank will maybe have attachment for that too.

Hose might be nice. I saw a few threads on electrical fires and it scared me off. I want to limit moisture down there as much as possible.

Any thoughts on screen top? BRS has a do it your self I just did.

I started without and my first morning I had a missing clown. Luckily he was in the sump.
 
I do plan on doing a screen well before my first fish, I don't want any jumpers. I'm debating doing my own DIY screen and getting some clips so it can be recessed. I don't want something to stick out from the clean lines of the tank.

As for the sump, I'm still torn. The first chamber will be the media rack, so filter floss, followed by a bag of carbon followed by possibly a bag of GFO (the third section can also remain empty). The middle chamber is still up in the air. I was thinking of doing a mini fuge, but I know a fuge that small won't do too much. So I might run some Marinepure ceramic balls in a mesh bag to allow for my surface area for beneficial bacteria. All in all, I still don't have a solid idea what I plan to do.
 
Yeah I want a media basket in the first and then will figure out rest.
I bought a hang on back light for chaeto. I still think I will try it, but science wise seems like placebo lol

I wonder if my glass is thicker? I got some clips but they were too small. I cut clear CD cases and glued to my screen to make a lip so I maintained that clean look
 
Last edited:
Quick update on the tank. I had a small leak between the display portion of the tank and the sump area. However, with some silicone I was able to patch up the leak and get the display portion of the tank 3/4 way full without any leaking into the back chambers...success!

Going to be at this stage for the next few days. I am putting in an order to BRS for some needed supplies, so once those come in I can officially start the cycle. Can't wait to get that going and eventually some life in this tank!
 
I wanted to fix it so I could have an accurate reading with my auto topoff and salinity levels. Thankfully it was super small and didn't leak after that.
 
Quick update on things...it's full! Filled it with RO/DI water and turned all the pumps on. asabhe powerhead and return pump from Fluval are very quiet. The powerhead is basically silent and the return pump only has a slight hum. Being that the tank is in the living room, nothing can be heard over the TV which is awesome.

Plan is to add salt in the coming days. Once I get the heater from BRS I will add the salt and start the cycle. My plan is to use a deli shrimp for the cycle. My dad was nice enough to give me some live rock from his sump, but since it's in a cooler at the moment, I'm afraid it may not be "live" when my heater arrives. If that is the case, I will throw in a bottle of Biospira and the shrimp and let things go.
 
You kick on the Protein Skimmer?

It is in my living room and not very loud. I wouldn't run for the cycle, but might want to get it leveled. I started with the hang on back clip it came with. I didn't think it was low enough so used suction cups it came with.
 
I kicked it on just to hear the noise level. I turned it off because of the cycle. I'm still not 100% sold on using a skimmer for this tank, but since it came with the kit I figured I would at least try it.
 
Cool -newbie so can't really tell you one way or the other on skimmer. What's the argument against?

I just replace a clown I lost and got my first frag. Hopefully it goes well. Glad to see another Fluval user.
 
The only argument against it has come from my dad, a long time reefer and stuff that I have read. That argument is basically that at such a small footprint, a nano skimmer is only so good. Basically stating that in a nano aquarium the most beneficial way of removing stuff is via a water change. That I totally agree with and plan to change 5 gallons of water every 2 weeks. But anything to keep my water clean and clear during the intermediate timeframe is always a plus. That's just the argument I've heard, so I'm sure there are many other options out there I hope to hear as well!
 
Another quick update:

Came home to a box of goodies on my step (thanks BRS)! My tank is currently heating to 78 degrees. Once the tank is warm I will mix in the salt, so that may happen tonight or tomorrow once I'm home from work. Tomorrow I plan to pick up a bottle of Bio-spira and some deli shrimp as well. I plan to pour in the bio-spira and drop the shrimp in and just let things do their thing.

In the meantime, I am starting to build a fish list for this tank. With it being smaller, I don't want to overstock. I want to move slow as well, so the fish I add (especially the first one), I want to be active and fun to look at. Do you guys have any recommendations for the first fish? I've been drawn towards a black clownfish, but I also know some of them can be real ***holes (aka biting my hand) and I don't really want to deal with that if I can avoid it.

Any ideas are appreciated!
 
Last update for the night...and salt is in! I am using IO salt and am shooting for 1.025 for salinity. I have it at about 1.022 right now, but I want to let more of it dissolve first. It looks like there might be some chunks that precipitated when adding the salt, so I'm hoping letting things stir around for a night will break that up and dissolve the rest of the salt.
 
Nice

Someone with more experience can weigh in, but always assumed fhe bites were more comical than anything?

I love clowns. I really like the percula Jes has in his build thread.

I am leaning towards low number of fish and more focus on coral
 
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