24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build

Jesfromdax · 07/01/2015, 10:09 AM

Hi everyone this is my first thread on Reef Central.

This past Weekend I attented Reefpalooza 2015 at the Meadowland Expo center in Secacus, NJ with my Wife and Kids. I was just expecting to pick up some equipment for another build but ended up buying an entire system...oops. The offer was too good to pass up, it included the Tank with Stand, skimmer, heater, LED's, powerhead they even gave me salt and threw 20 pounds of Reel Reef Rock in for free with Sand. All of this for more than half off the retail price. I am open to all questions/suggestions and will be adding/switching equipment as the build comes along. Hope you guys enjoy this build....

ReefWreak · 07/01/2015, 10:44 AM

lol looks familiar!

I was there too, scoped out a bunch of stuff, including that tank. I run a 29g cube myself.

What are you coming from? What is your current hobby level? Welcome to the Nano group forum!

Jesfromdax · 07/01/2015, 10:32 PM

Hi, thanks for the Welcome. I use to run a 55 Gallon FOWLR with a pair of Clownfishes and a Gang of Bengai Cardinals but had to give it up after my First Son was born. I currently just have a 75 with African Cichlids so this is my attempt to get back into Saltwater.

What did you have your eye on? I had my eye on one of the CAD Lights tanks but I'm paranoid about having a sump because I live on the 3rd Floor of a walk up and I'm afraid to come home to a Flood.

Jesfromdax · 07/02/2015, 06:36 AM

I have been reading mixed reviews about Reel Reef Rocks has anyone else used it to aqua scape their tank? If anything I'll go half and half with some live rock from my LFS.

Jesfromdax · 07/02/2015, 06:53 AM

The biggest complaint I've read about the Fluval M-Series is the way the baffles are set up. The first and second baffles both have slots/openings on the top. So essentially the water moves horizontally and not up and down like in a traditional sump, this has lead to owners coming up with creative ways of adding additional baffles for redirecting water flow.

I lucked out and noticed that the slots in my first baffle was actually on the bottom (Yesss!!!) this directs the water down then back up into my second chamber like a traditional sump would.

I can only attribute this to Fluval reading forums such as this one and correcting their design. I'm curious to know if all new tanks have this problem corrected.

Jesfromdax · 07/07/2015, 09:14 AM

Let's talk about this light. The Fluval Spectrum LED is provided with the M60 Kit and at first glance appears to be a solidly build light. You can switch from Whites to Blues with a Manual Switch and here is where the problem starts. Because both spectrums are on one power cord it is impossible to place an automatic timer that will create a dawn to dusk effect. You literally have to manually switch between the blues and whites. I'm not trying to grow Acropora fields so I guess they will do for now but I was looking at the Maxspect Razor Nano for my Birthday.

That's Rusty he's 17 years old and still thinks he's a puppy...

Blues

Whites

Jesfromdax · 07/07/2015, 09:34 AM

Yesterday I mixed about 29 gallons of new Saltwater in this tank I bought from Petco a couple of weeks ago. I added a heater and had a Marineland 600 Maxijet mixing everything up for me. I just ordered a refractometer but the Hydrometer read 1.024 SG.

Jesfromdax · 07/07/2015, 09:38 AM

Finally put the Tank in its Final position. Had to do some serious rearranging but in the end it had to be near one of the few outlets in my Bedroom.

Water still Cloudy and I might remove that shelf rock when everything settles down.

ReefWreak · 07/07/2015, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jesfromdax

Hi, thanks for the Welcome. I use to run a 55 Gallon FOWLR with a pair of Clownfishes and a Gang of Bengai Cardinals but had to give it up after my First Son was born. I currently just have a 75 with African Cichlids so this is my attempt to get back into Saltwater.

What did you have your eye on? I had my eye on one of the CAD Lights tanks but I'm paranoid about having a sump because I live on the 3rd Floor of a walk up and I'm afraid to come home to a Flood.

You picked up the CAD light tank, I was just checking them out at the show to see what they were all about. They looked really nice for a new nano. Good call on no sump, though always remember there are a thousand other ways to still spill water everywhere, not that I would know....

We'll see how the baffles work out. Yours look solid. The picture with the arrows on it makes sense, since you want the water level to be consistent in that first skimmer chamber. I guess your point is that they're doing that now and didn't used to? I would just remove that last baffle, so you only have the intake from the tank, skimmer chamber, and then one large return chamber. It'll minimize the water level change from evaporation, and is a lot of space to play around with, with intank media baskets or CPR nano reactors.

You could set up a bunch of mechanical things back there, or a fuge, or whatever, with all of the space. I don't really mind how the stock baffles are set up, I can see a lot of creative things to do with it how it comes stock, or with modifications. All depends what you want to do.

My back chambers have a skimmer in the first and the rest are empty right now, just settling chambers for detritus so I can siphon it out with water changes.

As far as the light goes, for now, I would just keep it, unless not having the blue/white lights on timers drives you crazy. It looks like a decent light otherwise. If you're handy, you can also open the lights up, see how it is wired, and see if you can add a timer anywhere in the series, or see if you can split the drivers onto different power cords.

For the Reel Reef Rocks, looking at their website, the rocks look solid. I haven't used them before. Honestly, all of these artificial rocks being dyed purple is driving me nuts, but to each their own. I'd almost rather have quarried limestone, and let it grow whatever it grows. But I suppose a more sustainable alternative are these new rocks, and it looks more and more like the choice is between man-made rock and TBS, and TBS is now starting to blur the line by making the sustainable rock and sinking it in the ocean as well. Good things for the hobby I suppose.

Just saw your pics that you posted as I was writing this. Looks good, though I would recommend rearranging to minimize contact between the sand bed and the rocks. I would make it more vertical, and try to have as little contact between the rocks and sand as possible, to reduce dead spots for flow.

Jesfromdax · 07/09/2015, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefWreak

You picked up the CAD light tank, I was just checking them out at the show to see what they were all about. They looked really nice for a new nano. Good call on no sump, though always remember there are a thousand other ways to still spill water everywhere, not that I would know....

We'll see how the baffles work out. Yours look solid. The picture with the arrows on it makes sense, since you want the water level to be consistent in that first skimmer chamber. I guess your point is that they're doing that now and didn't used to? I would just remove that last baffle, so you only have the intake from the tank, skimmer chamber, and then one large return chamber. It'll minimize the water level change from evaporation, and is a lot of space to play around with, with intank media baskets or CPR nano reactors.

You could set up a bunch of mechanical things back there, or a fuge, or whatever, with all of the space. I don't really mind how the stock baffles are set up, I can see a lot of creative things to do with it how it comes stock, or with modifications. All depends what you want to do.

My back chambers have a skimmer in the first and the rest are empty right now, just settling chambers for detritus so I can siphon it out with water changes.

As far as the light goes, for now, I would just keep it, unless not having the blue/white lights on timers drives you crazy. It looks like a decent light otherwise. If you're handy, you can also open the lights up, see how it is wired, and see if you can add a timer anywhere in the series, or see if you can split the drivers onto different power cords.

For the Reel Reef Rocks, looking at their website, the rocks look solid. I haven't used them before. Honestly, all of these artificial rocks being dyed purple is driving me nuts, but to each their own. I'd almost rather have quarried limestone, and let it grow whatever it grows. But I suppose a more sustainable alternative are these new rocks, and it looks more and more like the choice is between man-made rock and TBS, and TBS is now starting to blur the line by making the sustainable rock and sinking it in the ocean as well. Good things for the hobby I suppose.

Just saw your pics that you posted as I was writing this. Looks good, though I would recommend rearranging to minimize contact between the sand bed and the rocks. I would make it more vertical, and try to have as little contact between the rocks and sand as possible, to reduce dead spots for flow.

Yes brother I dont know if my tank was made one of a kind or not but on some of the other nano forums Fluval M60 owners kept complaining about the baffle design. I think the complaints reached the parent company Hagen-Fluval and they switched up the baffles. If this was just for the trade show(s) or if this is was an entire change of approach to thier product line remains to be seen. After a couple of days running the light I agree with you, the lights are pretty solid. Since I work in the afternoon-night I wont have much of a chance to see a dawn to dusk effect anyways, so its not going to bother me if I dont have it. I just pointed that out for any other users who are interested in the lights. The aquascape is temporary as the tank cycles, once everything becomes a little more balanced I will be rearranging them.

Jesfromdax · 07/09/2015, 11:08 AM

Received my new wave makers today.

Jesfromdax · 07/09/2015, 11:19 AM

More pics of the WP-10 inside the tank. This blows the wave maker that came with the tank literally out the water. You can set it to make a wave but I currently have it in reef crest mode since my tank is rimless.

Have the Fluval wave maker on the opposite side pointing down behind the rocks.

Put the WP-25 on my Cichlid Tank since I took the Maxijet 600 to use as a utility pump.

Jesfromdax · 07/15/2015, 10:11 AM

Update: I had this oily film buildup on the surface of my water. I directed the power head towards it with little success. After some research I figured out that I needed better surface skimming. Went online and ordered the JBJ 6 gallon nano surface skimmer.

The water movement keeps it in place for now. I plan to keep it affixed with a small amount of crazy glue so it wont fall off when I turn off my return pumps.

After only 30 minutes in the tank all the oily film on the surface was gone and my water appears crystal clean.

ReefWreak · 07/15/2015, 10:25 AM

Nice addition. I've been noticing the film on my biocube as well. I never had the issue with my old nanocube because I had the DIY casette tape case overflow skimmer, but the biocube has a few different inlets, so it might be time to explore that.

Looking good so far!

Jesfromdax · 07/16/2015, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefWreak

Nice addition. I've been noticing the film on my biocube as well. I never had the issue with my old nanocube because I had the DIY casette tape case overflow skimmer, but the biocube has a few different inlets, so it might be time to explore that.

Looking good so far!

I was going to DIY it and put a piece of Black Plexiglass in front of the overflow. They sell a 12 & 24 gallon version but it was too wide for my use. I was also considering the Cassette tape method until I found this surface skimmer on Salty Suppy, the dimesions were perfect.

*I've started to read your 29 Gallon build Thread here before I head to work... Looks very good so far.

Jesfromdax · 07/18/2015, 08:49 PM

Received a couple of more things today.

Almost felt like Christmas.

I guess the biggest purchase was the Tunze Osmolator Nano and Nano Glass Cleaner...

On top of that I received my motion sensor LED that is going to light up every time I open the doors of the stand.

The Miscellaneous items are a 150 watt heater to use for backup of main heater/saltwater mixing. Some industrial strength Velcro, two different sizes of tubing for various uses. Also a Coralife power cord as a temporary controller for my light until I get an Apex Jr. Some salt so I can do a 100% water change after the cycle ends. And last a cheap Chinese cooling fan for those Hot summer days. New package of equipment coming in tomorrow.

Jesfromdax · 07/20/2015, 08:49 AM

My OCD kicked in and decided to finally do a little bit of wire management. Combination of the American DJ PC-100A and Coralife power center helped me get all those crazy wires in order.

Throw in a couple of Zip ties and everything became nice and tidy.

Jesfromdax · 07/20/2015, 09:03 AM

Let's talk Heat: temps have finally hit the 90s here in NYC and needless to say that more heat equals higher rate of evaporation. It was time I added the cooling fan and Auto Top off.

Tank Temp was originally 83 (forgot to take a pic of the thermostat) but after about an hour temp was down to 80.

Side effect of evaporative cooling is I had to install the Auto Top off. Went with the Tunze Osmolator after reading all the good reviews. I set it up to pump water from a 5 gallon Poland Spring bottle. The head of the bottle was too narrow to fit the pump so I heated up one of my kitchen knives on the stove and went to work.

I couldn't have this ugly thing staring me in the face since the tank is in my room. Went out and got a hamper to hide it in.

Jesfromdax · 07/20/2015, 09:18 AM

Full Tank Shot as of 7/20/15

Jesfromdax · 07/25/2015, 10:32 AM

Diatom bloom was in full effect so it was time to get the CUC. Ordered a couple of critters from John at Reefcleaners.org

Ordered 10 assorted Hermits, Dwarf Ceriths, Nassarius, and Dwarf Planaxis snails. When I get a cover I will get some Nerites since they are infamous for escaping tanks. Going to do some water changes and get everything ready for the first fish.

Jesfromdax · 07/25/2015, 10:41 AM

24 hours after the addition of the CUC still have some Diatoms but it's about 75% less than yesterday. Surprisingly it seemed like it was the Hermits doing all the work. I know the Ceriths are typically nocturnal but as soon as we put the Crabs in they were picking at the Diatom in the sand.

Besides the new critters, I am also having a Copepod Bloom. They are all along the glass and especially in the Diatoms left on the back wall. All the white specs in the picture are Copepods.

Jesfromdax · 07/25/2015, 11:01 AM

More updates in the form of new equipment: IM Minimax Reactor and a GFCI outlet adapter.

The plan is to put GFO in the reactor as needed if/when phosphates increase, for now the reactor will remain in the box.

Should be receiving my new RODI filter on Monday from BRS, will post more pics then. Have a great weekend everybody.

timfederwitz · 07/25/2015, 11:29 AM

I absolutely LOVE the look of this Fluvial tank, but the baffles in the sump being all across the top really turned me off and I started thinking I was going to buy something else (still haven't made up my mind). However, if they really did make the change to alternate the channels, then that is pretty exciting.

I was thinking I would just hack it like others did in the pictures you shared, but not having to do that would be great.

Also, I thought this tank (M60) came with a mesh lid (??). Maybe I'm thinking of a different AIO tank, but I don't think I'd want to have a wide-open tank like that for fear of fish "jumping the wall".

Anyway, love what you are doing with the tank all around and it's making me want to go get one NOW!

Keep up the great posts and work!!

Jesfromdax · 07/25/2015, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timfederwitz

I absolutely LOVE the look of this Fluvial tank, but the baffles in the sump being all across the top really turned me off and I started thinking I was going to buy something else (still haven't made up my mind). However, if they really did make the change to alternate the channels, then that is pretty exciting.

I was thinking I would just hack it like others did in the pictures you shared, but not having to do that would be great.

Also, I thought this tank (M60) came with a mesh lid (??). Maybe I'm thinking of a different AIO tank, but I don't think I'd want to have a wide-open tank like that for fear of fish "jumping the wall".

Anyway, love what you are doing with the tank all around and it's making me want to go get one NOW!

Keep up the great posts and work!!

Thank you for the kind words. You might be right about the mesh lid. As you read in my first post I got this tank at Reefapolooza so possibly the same version of this tank sold at a LFS might come with a lid (maybe). I'll look forward to your tank build if you decide to go with the Fluval. My only real gripe is trying to find a media basket for some mechanical filtration when I do water changes. I wrote to Fluval but they currently don't have one available so I'm going to probably make one from egg crate when I find the time.

Jesfromdax · 07/26/2015, 09:56 PM

Came home from Work and looks like the Skimmer has finally broken in. Producing some nice Tea colored skim mate.

07/01/2015, 10:32 PM	#3
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Hi, thanks for the Welcome. I use to run a 55 Gallon FOWLR with a pair of Clownfishes and a Gang of Bengai Cardinals but had to give it up after my First Son was born. I currently just have a 75 with African Cichlids so this is my attempt to get back into Saltwater. What did you have your eye on? I had my eye on one of the CAD Lights tanks but I'm paranoid about having a sump because I live on the 3rd Floor of a walk up and I'm afraid to come home to a Flood. Last edited by Jesfromdax; 07/01/2015 at 10:46 PM.

07/02/2015, 06:36 AM	#4
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build I have been reading mixed reviews about Reel Reef Rocks has anyone else used it to aqua scape their tank? If anything I'll go half and half with some live rock from my LFS.

07/20/2015, 08:49 AM	#17
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build My OCD kicked in and decided to finally do a little bit of wire management. Combination of the American DJ PC-100A and Coralife power center helped me get all those crazy wires in order. Throw in a couple of Zip ties and everything became nice and tidy.

07/20/2015, 09:03 AM	#18
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build Let's talk Heat: temps have finally hit the 90s here in NYC and needless to say that more heat equals higher rate of evaporation. It was time I added the cooling fan and Auto Top off. Tank Temp was originally 83 (forgot to take a pic of the thermostat) but after about an hour temp was down to 80. Side effect of evaporative cooling is I had to install the Auto Top off. Went with the Tunze Osmolator after reading all the good reviews. I set it up to pump water from a 5 gallon Poland Spring bottle. The head of the bottle was too narrow to fit the pump so I heated up one of my kitchen knives on the stove and went to work. I couldn't have this ugly thing staring me in the face since the tank is in my room. Went out and got a hamper to hide it in.

07/25/2015, 10:32 AM	#20
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build Diatom bloom was in full effect so it was time to get the CUC. Ordered a couple of critters from John at Reefcleaners.org Ordered 10 assorted Hermits, Dwarf Ceriths, Nassarius, and Dwarf Planaxis snails. When I get a cover I will get some Nerites since they are infamous for escaping tanks. Going to do some water changes and get everything ready for the first fish.

07/01/2015, 10:44 AM	#2
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	lol looks familiar! I was there too, scoped out a bunch of stuff, including that tank. I run a 29g cube myself. What are you coming from? What is your current hobby level? Welcome to the Nano group forum!

07/02/2015, 06:53 AM	#5
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	The biggest complaint I've read about the Fluval M-Series is the way the baffles are set up. The first and second baffles both have slots/openings on the top. So essentially the water moves horizontally and not up and down like in a traditional sump, this has lead to owners coming up with creative ways of adding additional baffles for redirecting water flow. I lucked out and noticed that the slots in my first baffle was actually on the bottom (Yesss!!!) this directs the water down then back up into my second chamber like a traditional sump would. I can only attribute this to Fluval reading forums such as this one and correcting their design. I'm curious to know if all new tanks have this problem corrected.

07/07/2015, 09:14 AM	#6
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Let's talk about this light. The Fluval Spectrum LED is provided with the M60 Kit and at first glance appears to be a solidly build light. You can switch from Whites to Blues with a Manual Switch and here is where the problem starts. Because both spectrums are on one power cord it is impossible to place an automatic timer that will create a dawn to dusk effect. You literally have to manually switch between the blues and whites. I'm not trying to grow Acropora fields so I guess they will do for now but I was looking at the Maxspect Razor Nano for my Birthday. That's Rusty he's 17 years old and still thinks he's a puppy... Blues Whites

07/07/2015, 09:34 AM	#7
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Yesterday I mixed about 29 gallons of new Saltwater in this tank I bought from Petco a couple of weeks ago. I added a heater and had a Marineland 600 Maxijet mixing everything up for me. I just ordered a refractometer but the Hydrometer read 1.024 SG.

07/07/2015, 09:38 AM	#8
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Finally put the Tank in its Final position. Had to do some serious rearranging but in the end it had to be near one of the few outlets in my Bedroom. Water still Cloudy and I might remove that shelf rock when everything settles down.

07/09/2015, 11:08 AM	#11
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Received my new wave makers today.

07/09/2015, 11:19 AM	#12
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	More pics of the WP-10 inside the tank. This blows the wave maker that came with the tank literally out the water. You can set it to make a wave but I currently have it in reef crest mode since my tank is rimless. Have the Fluval wave maker on the opposite side pointing down behind the rocks. Put the WP-25 on my Cichlid Tank since I took the Maxijet 600 to use as a utility pump.

07/15/2015, 10:11 AM	#13
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Update: I had this oily film buildup on the surface of my water. I directed the power head towards it with little success. After some research I figured out that I needed better surface skimming. Went online and ordered the JBJ 6 gallon nano surface skimmer. The water movement keeps it in place for now. I plan to keep it affixed with a small amount of crazy glue so it wont fall off when I turn off my return pumps. After only 30 minutes in the tank all the oily film on the surface was gone and my water appears crystal clean.

07/15/2015, 10:25 AM	#14
ReefWreak Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Astoria, NYC Posts: 10,159	Nice addition. I've been noticing the film on my biocube as well. I never had the issue with my old nanocube because I had the DIY casette tape case overflow skimmer, but the biocube has a few different inlets, so it might be time to explore that. Looking good so far!

07/18/2015, 08:49 PM	#16
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Received a couple of more things today. Almost felt like Christmas. I guess the biggest purchase was the Tunze Osmolator Nano and Nano Glass Cleaner... On top of that I received my motion sensor LED that is going to light up every time I open the doors of the stand. The Miscellaneous items are a 150 watt heater to use for backup of main heater/saltwater mixing. Some industrial strength Velcro, two different sizes of tubing for various uses. Also a Coralife power cord as a temporary controller for my light until I get an Apex Jr. Some salt so I can do a 100% water change after the cycle ends. And last a cheap Chinese cooling fan for those Hot summer days. New package of equipment coming in tomorrow.

07/20/2015, 09:18 AM	#19
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Full Tank Shot as of 7/20/15

07/25/2015, 10:41 AM	#21
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build 24 hours after the addition of the CUC still have some Diatoms but it's about 75% less than yesterday. Surprisingly it seemed like it was the Hermits doing all the work. I know the Ceriths are typically nocturnal but as soon as we put the Crabs in they were picking at the Diatom in the sand. Besides the new critters, I am also having a Copepod Bloom. They are all along the glass and especially in the Diatoms left on the back wall. All the white specs in the picture are Copepods. Last edited by Jesfromdax; 07/25/2015 at 10:54 AM.

07/25/2015, 11:01 AM	#22
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	24 Gallon Fluval M60 Build More updates in the form of new equipment: IM Minimax Reactor and a GFCI outlet adapter. The plan is to put GFO in the reactor as needed if/when phosphates increase, for now the reactor will remain in the box. Should be receiving my new RODI filter on Monday from BRS, will post more pics then. Have a great weekend everybody.

07/25/2015, 11:29 AM	#23
timfederwitz Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania Posts: 281	Tank looks great! I absolutely LOVE the look of this Fluvial tank, but the baffles in the sump being all across the top really turned me off and I started thinking I was going to buy something else (still haven't made up my mind). However, if they really did make the change to alternate the channels, then that is pretty exciting. I was thinking I would just hack it like others did in the pictures you shared, but not having to do that would be great. Also, I thought this tank (M60) came with a mesh lid (??). Maybe I'm thinking of a different AIO tank, but I don't think I'd want to have a wide-open tank like that for fear of fish "jumping the wall". Anyway, love what you are doing with the tank all around and it's making me want to go get one NOW! Keep up the great posts and work!!

07/26/2015, 09:56 PM	#25
Jesfromdax Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: New York, NY Posts: 145	Came home from Work and looks like the Skimmer has finally broken in. Producing some nice Tea colored skim mate.