Jeff's M Fusion 20g mixed Reef Journal

[this is me]

Very nice.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Very nice.

Hows the new tank progress? I plan on living vicariously through you, Alex, and other large tanks.

 

[this is me]

You are welcome to swing by when you want. I'm hoping late November or early December is when I have something to show from the large tank.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Iphone shot..

 

[s_kelley]

Awesome as always!

 

[mcameron]

Tank looks great Jeff, something to aspire to. I am hoping to finally get my own fusion 20 up and running in the near future. How is the IM skimmer working out for you? The reviews are such a mixed bag.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Thanks guys and it means a lot!

Funny you mention the skimmer, recently it has been intermittently working. I would clean it and then it would start producing nice thick foam, then stop after a few weeks. This has been occurring now for months. Not sure what causes it but I think debris or something impairing the pump or air supply - even though I never find anything when I take the pump apart. I haven't been able to find a replacement pump.

As of last week, I ripped out the pump and associated parts, put in a Lee's 3" wood airstone and hooked it up to an airpump, and wow this thing is skimming like I've never seen before. Will post photos later of the setup.

I believe that all these pump driven skimmer eventually crap out somehow, therefore would recommend looking into air driven skimmers.
The Mame design all glass skimmer is really a thing of beauty:

https://saltwater-conversion.com/products/mame-skimmer

Those are usually sold out, but there are other options online and even DIY.

https://reefbuilders.com/2011/11/26/diy-mame-nanp-skimmer/

For tanks our size I believe these are sufficient enough to remove excessive proteins and waste while leaving the good nutrients that feed our corals.
I hope that helps!

 

[mcameron]

I would interested in seeing a photo of your mod, I haven't come across anyone else who has done that. I ended up going IM mainly because I found a great package on Black Friday from Marine Depot that gave me the skimmer, reactor, custom caddy, spin stream, and a drip accelerator for for $240. So I basically bought the skimmer & reactor and got the rest free. I have had people suggest the mame, it does look very nice, also have had people suggest the Tunze 9004. Thanks

Mike

 

[Jeff.:P]

Damn, that's an excellent deal!! I will take some photos of the mod and post them up soon. You could potential run the skimmer with the pump until it doesnt work! I may look into / research the Tunze 9004 for the future. Something to note with the spin streams: I noticed that once coraline, snails, algae ect. starting growing in and on the spin streams these start to break down and fall apart pretty quickly. They needed a vinegar bath something like every 2 weeks to functions properly, so I eventually replaced them with static / standard outlets. Also, they would also strain the return pump to some degree.

 

[mcameron]

I had one the hydor one s in my old biocube and loved it for about 8 months. Then I had to keep taking it apart to clean and eventually the head keep popping of on its own so I tossed it. I did get a mj1200 to upgrade the stock pump. So with that upgrade and an mp10 I should have plenty of flow to work with.

I'm not sure if they had switched yet when you got yours, but the tank now ships with filter socks instead of the cheap caddies so I am contemplating how I want to handle that. BRS accidentally shipped me a mag-light fuge light so I may look to use the custom caddy as a fuge with just a sock in the other side. What are you running in your racks?

 

[22engine]

Great setup man. I have the same tank and will be setting up this week. Can't wait to get back in. Never really like bare bottom but digging yours.


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[Jeff.:P]

Man you are lucky! I had the cheap caddies, and then invested in the 2 x in tank media baskets. They are very well constructed but on the expensive side. I may sell one and purchase 2 x filter socks. For media once in a while I will run activated carbon in a bag or a carbon mesh filter. I used to run GFO but stopped, I felt that I was stripping the nutrients out of the tank too aggressively - and that hindered growth.

http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Innovative-Marine-Fusion-10-20-25-Media-Basket-IM20MR.htm

I also upgraded my return pump to the mj1200, however when the spin streams were clogged or having a tough time this would cause the impeller fins on the mj1200 to break apart. Not sure if I had bad luck with them or something but a pattern definitely developed. One thing to note is that the mj1200 I purchased was not the one produced in Italy, which the italian one is apparently the "good one". Luckily maxi-jet stood by their product and sent me a 1/2 dozen replacement impellers. Once, I took off the spin streams it stopped happening. So go figure..

I had one the hydor one s in my old biocube and loved it for about 8 months. Then I had to keep taking it apart to clean and eventually the head keep popping of on its own so I tossed it. I did get a mj1200 to upgrade the stock pump. So with that upgrade and an mp10 I should have plenty of flow to work with.

I'm not sure if they had switched yet when you got yours, but the tank now ships with filter socks instead of the cheap caddies so I am contemplating how I want to handle that. BRS accidentally shipped me a mag-light fuge light so I may look to use the custom caddy as a fuge with just a sock in the other side. What are you running in your racks?

I think that's a great idea! I would purchase a second filter sock so you can easily replace them when needed.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Thanks and Nice! I had mixed feelings about sand with my old tank. I liked how it looked new, the wrasse I could keep with it, pH buffering, ect.. but ultimately it got nasty and trapped debris/nutrients. Also bare bottoms make tank moves fairly easy. Now I have several aggressive spreading montiporas (sunset, superman, ect.) growing on the bottom, before long it will all be corals!

Great setup man. I have the same tank and will be setting up this week. Can't wait to get back in. Never really like bare bottom but digging yours.


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[dilligaf29]

wow awsome photo love all the colors .can we get a full tank shot. i have always had luck with the cobalt maxijet 1200 runs cooler and seem to last longer .also intrested in making a mame skimmer like yours .keep up the good work

 

[mcameron]

I see it more as thanks for giving them over $1,000 in the past couple months, they just don't know they thanked me. Thanks for the heads up on the MJ I will keep an eye on it.

 

[Jeff.:P]

Thanks will do! Waiting on some gel filters for my DSLR and will have a slew of photos coming.

wow awsome photo love all the colors .can we get a full tank shot. i have always had luck with the cobalt maxijet 1200 runs cooler and seem to last longer .also intrested in making a mame skimmer like yours .keep up the good work

 

[Alex]

Colors are on point as always

 

[Jeff.:P]

Thanks Alex, more to come!

Colors are on point as always

 

[Jeff.:P]

 

[Jeff.:P]