WhiskyTango's Fusion 40

[WhiskyTango]

Hello Everyone,

I've been reefing since 2008, and I just relocated from Boca Raton, FL to Niantic, CT.

My Fusion 40 has been up an running for 3 weeks for now. I'll be building a canopy for the LED/t5 combo sometime this week.

System Profile:
Innovative Marine Fusion 40
Apex Jr w/EB8
BuildMyLED Controllable 3 Channel 20k Light Fixture on Apex VDM Module
2x24w Hamilton Aruba Sun T5 Fixtures: 2 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Coral Plus
MP-10 QD
Tune Nano Osomolator ATO
inTank media basket with chaeto
IM Fuge Light
Finnex Titanium Heater
Sicce 1.5 Return Pump
200 Micron socks

Pukani base rock from BRS
Caribsea Original Grade Live Sand
HW-Marimemix Salt

I hope y'all enjoy.

 

[revhtree]

Looking good!

 

[reefwiser]

I have the same tank. [emoji3]

 

[WhiskyTango]

Update Pics! This tank is about 3 months old now. I am having trouble keeping chaeto alive for some reason, which explains the phosphates and small patches of cyano on the sand.

Fish
Tailspot Blenny
Social Flasher Wrasse

Coral
Green Pavona
Toxic Green Trumpet
Red/Green Favia
Burgundy/Blue War Coral
Elegance
Green Pocillopora w/ SPS Crab
Gold Torch w/ Green Tips
GSP
Orange Astreopora
Blue/Green Sympodium
Reddish Shrooms
Green Palys
Hot Pink/Purple Palys
Peach Palys (similar to Armor of Gods)
Fruit Loops Zoas


Montipora

1. Starburst Cap
2. ORA Blue Polyp Cap
3. ORA Purple Cap

Other Inverts
Pink Bubble Tip
Maxima Clam
Acro Crab in the Pocillopora

 

[WhiskyTango]

4 month update. Added some ornamental algae and a BRS mini reactor (GFO/Carbon) last week to help combat nutrients. I had a pretty high ph swing when my ATO pump picked up some kalk sludge from its reservoir, which really hurt my monti's and trumpet. Everything else is doing good.

 

[Tahoe61]

Welcome, really nice tank.

 

[WhiskyTango]

Thanks Tahoe61!

 

[DalPal25]

Do you use a skimmer?

 

[WhiskyTango]

Do you use a skimmer?

Yes, Hydor Nano Slim Skim. It works ok with constant tuning. I can't just set the cup height and intake air and expect it to perform the same a few days later.

 

[DalPal25]

Yes, Hydor Nano Slim Skim. It works ok with constant tuning. I can't just set the cup height and intake air and expect it to perform the same a few days later.

Would you recommend it? I'm looking for one for my NUVO 40. Beautiful tank! Mines cycling right now, can't wait to have a nice group of fish like yours!
Also, which chamber does it fit in?

 

[WhiskyTango]

Would you recommend it? I'm looking for one for my NUVO 40. Beautiful tank! Mines cycling right now, can't wait to have a nice group of fish like yours!
Also, which chamber does it fit in?

The Fusion 40's skimmer chamber is about an inch too shallow for the SlimSkim, so I keep to water level just a little high back there with my ATO. I definitely recommend the Hydor Slim over the IM Ghost Skimmer. In fact, I can't recommend anything IM makes other than their tanks...

 

[WhiskyTango]

5 months in. Apparently, my LED's were way too bright. I killed pretty much all of my monti's. I hope they come back, but it doesn't look good. So now my LED's are at 30%. RBTA split and I added an blue squamosa. Macros are growing, they've been pruned twice now. About to start H2O2 treatment for cyano.

 

[jsker]

The tank is coming along well, the aquascape is filling in

 

[WhiskyTango]

The tank is coming along well, the aquascape is filling in

thanks!

 

[Tahoe61]

The Macros add a lot to the tank, very nice.
Got to love that clam.
The Elegance is beautiful.
Hope the montis turn around, that is a lot of lighting.

 

[WhiskyTango]

The Macros add a lot to the tank, very nice.
Got to love that clam.
The Elegance is beautiful.
Hope the montis turn around, that is a lot of lighting.

Thanks Tahoe61, yea LED's are tricky without a PAR meter. On the last setup of this tank before the big move north, I ran this same fixture around 90%. But now, with the t5/LED combo, 60% was way too much. I realized this too late, I thought a high pH from kalkwasser was the offending party. I bought a hanna pH meter, and my pH is 7.9-8.4 depending on time of day.

 

[WhiskyTango]

It's been 3 months since my last update, in which time I nearly lost all my stony coral and was so close getting out of the hobby. To recap, this tank was setup in March. This time I decided I was going to finally put forth the effort to monitor alkalinity every day. In the past, I had success by passively doing kalk in my ATO with a less potent conservative mix, so I thought actually monitoring alk would surely get me Tank of the Month..lol.. This summer I bought a used Hanna Alk (ppm) checker on Amazon and my problems started.

With the Hanna Alk checker in hand, my goal was to maintain alk ~ 10 dKH. Around July I really started to notice my corals weren't as happy as they once were, so I blamed my LED's (so I reduced voltage), it couldn't be my saltwater from a brand new BRS 5 stage RODI water and hW Marine Reefer salt, or the alk because it was never above 7dKH for more than a day.

I also was having a hard time keeping chaeto alive much less growing it, turns out the Velcro sticky tape I used to mount my fuge light was too thick, so the light wasn't as close to the back glass as it should have been. Without a working fuge, I blamed phosphates, so I installed a mini GAC/GFO reactor, and of course the tank just on kept getting worse.

In September I decided my regular kalkwasser wasn’t good enough, so I started the kalk/vinegar/rodi water method. I followed Randy’s recipe and although my cyano finally went away and the skimmer seemed to be removing more gunk, my corals were seriously ticked off. All along the used Hanna Alk Checker was never above 11 dKH, I’ll never know what my alk really was during this time, but it sure as hell wasn’t good.

Finally a light went off in my chimp brain, the issues begin when I started chasing 10 dKH. I did two 25% water changes in 3 days, poured the kalkwasser out of my ATO, and refilled it with rodi. Immediately my corals started to open up and look better. My elegance is even taking food again. I was so worried about it. Unfortunately, I lost most of my small stony frags.

Today the survivors are in rough shape but seem to be getting better. RTN damage and tissue recession is everywhere. No more kalkwasser at the moment, I do 25% water changes every 3 weeks, which is 10 gals on a Fusion 40.

I blame the used Hanna checker, not Hanna as a company, but this lemon and the SOB who sold it to me instead of sending back when he first realized it was junk.

Irony: My worst reefing experience in 8 years was when I started testing daily, as opposed to my thriving tanks in the past that only received water changes and salinity checks.

 

[Tahoe61]

Sounds so frustrating. Weird because I am having an issue with my hanna checker now as well and experiencing a similar issue.
You still have some nice pieces to work with. At least the blue Squamosa is hanging in there.

 

[WhiskyTango]

Yes it is. Since all this went down, my last two coral purchases have been mushrooms. I'm back to basics with water changes and soft coral.

Sounds so frustrating. Weird because I am having an issue with my hanna checker now as well and experiencing a similar issue.
You still have some nice pieces to work with. At least the blue Squamosa is hanging in there.

 

[WhiskyTango]

Switched to Aquaforest Reef Salt, went bare bottom, removed t5's, replaced ro/di filters and resin. Corals are still recovering, and small coralline colonies are now everywhere.