G
Guest
Guest
JAN 10, 2014
I recently decided to sell and clean out my 40 breeder because I will be moving soon. After collecting the sale money and store credit at a LFS, I have decided to "trick out" a Innovate Marine Nuvo 8. My younger brother keeps a Nuvo 8 and I love the design of it and see a ton of opportunity to create an amazing nano tank.
I purchased the tank itself yesterday. I ran a leak test on it last night and all was good. I read that some of the earlier models had a problem with the back acrylic wall leaking ever so slightly into the display. This was NOT the case on mine. I ran it for a few hours with warm tap water just to help clean some of the oils and dust from manufacturing and it is currently sitting empty waiting on dry goods.
The main goal of this tank for me is to keep some mushrooms, zoas, 2 or 3 small clams, some scrolling monti and possible some birdsnest SPS and a few open brain corals. I want to also keep 3-4 sexy shrimp and one fish or a blue spot jawfish.
Over the past couple of weeks I have spent time researching upgrades to this tank and I think I have come up with a winning combination.
1. First, I wanted to get a stand that will have ample room for reactors and accessories that I may add in the near future so I went with the 14 gallon Oceanic BioCube stand. http://www.marinedepot.com/Oceanic_1...FIAQCS-vi.html I also purchased a JBJ ATO to keep my salinity constant.http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_Autom...DPETPU-vi.html
2. I am going to use the stock light as a refugium light and have replaced it with RapidLED.com's Par 38 Multi color bulb. I then ordered the gooseneck from BoostLED.com. I also upgraded the stock return pump to a MaxiJet 400 and I ordered the Innovative Marine spin stream to put on there for a more random flow.
3. I ordered a "beefed-up" media basket and refugium from http://shop.mediabaskets.com/IM-Nuvo-8_c62.htm. I have read absolutely RAVE reviews on these things. Awesome design and will help immensely with the filtration aspect of a nano. In addition, I got a pack of ChemiPure Elite, SeaChem Purigen, and some fine grade filter floss for the media basket.
4. Because of my past experience with unwanted hitchhikers on my live rock, I decided to go with dry rock from MarcoRocks.com. I ordered the 15lb. Dry Key Largo set with some epoxy and 5 lbs of rock rubble. I figure I can always put the extra in the back of the tank for more biological filtration.
5. I went with CaribSea Hawaiian Black reef sand. I have always thought black sand looked awesome and since I won't be doing more than one fish, I should be able to keep it clean and pretty.
Like I said, I ordered most everything yesterday so I don't have a lot of the stuff yet, but will take pictures when it all comes in.
Question:
1. I already ordered the ChemiPure and Purigen, but I recently have been reading about the BRS dual media reactor and can't find anywhere that will tell me if this will work for a 8 gallon or not. I am going to run the filtration that I already ordered during the cycling process and probably for the next 6 months or so, but is this something I should invest in? Filtration is my #1 priority. I will be doing 1 gallon water changes every two weeks.
JAN 16,2014
I got my Par 38 from Rapid LED on Tuesday. The color is fantastic. I can't wait to put it over my tank and see how it looks. It came in before anything else did.
I got my rocks from MarcoRocks yesterday. They packaged each individual piece separately in bubble wrap and not one rock was broken. Really cool pieces. A lot of character. Not to mention, they gave me a lot more than 15lbs. The rock rubble pieces were packaged in a blue plastic bag wrapped in packing tape. They are the perfect size for mounting frags or putting in a sump.
I will be uploading photos of these things as soon as I make it home today. I am expecting my shipment from mediabaskets.com today along with the gooseneck from boostLED.
Tomorrow (Friday) I will be going to pick up my JBJ ATO and my stand from the LFS that they ordered for me.
I had to return the original Nuvo 8 tank I got because there were one scratches on the glass. The LFS gladly took it back and ordered me a new one that will be in tomorrow.
Photo of the tank up and running should be tomorrow night!!!
JAN 18, 2014
I was able to get almost everything set up last night. There have been quite a few complications with shipping. I finally got my BoostLED gooseneck last night. Unfortunately, after being delivered late, it didn't work. I had to solder some wiring on the inside of the socket in order for it to make contact with the bulb.
I also had to return the tank itself. I noticed that after doing a leak test on my last one that there were some scuffs on the glass and one small scratch. I was able to exchange it for another one that is in perfect condition.
I also made a bonehead error while ordering my inTank media basket. I ordered the wrong media basket but got the right fuge. Let me tell you guys...inTank makes some quality stuff. Beautiful media baskets, high quality, and they skip no steps in the packaging. I exchanged the wrong media basket for the right one and it should be here on Thursday. However, I will be in Cabo San Lucas in Thursday on a deep sea fishing trip with my dad.
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
JAN 18,2014
I have to wait for my ATO to come in on Tuesday and my media basket to come in on Thursday. I'm going to set up my ATO before I leave for my trip so I don't have to worry about topping off. I won't be using my media basket until the tank is cycled so I'm in no rush on that.
I epoxied my rock work together and let it dry for about 2 hrs then rinsed it and put it in my tank. I put a bit of rock rubble in the back and some filter floss from my dad's 180 gallon in the stock media basket to seed the tank. I then put about 2 pinches of pellet food for the bacteria to eat and multiply. Now I play the waiting game!
Tanks set up!
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
APR 19, 2014
My tank has been up for 3 months. I cycled it pretty well - waited about 6 weeks and everything tested good so I got some zoa frags from my dads tank. They did well so I got a pigmy blue atlantic angel. He's only about 1" in length. He is doing well. I feed him a small amount of brine flakes everyday right before the lights go out. He loves to munch on algae in the tank too.
After about 3 weeks, I decided it was time to add more coral. I traded a local guy for some frags. I got:
Ponape Birdsnet - green and purple
Pink Birdsnest - dark pink/purple
Green Acro - I think it may be staghorn
Green Apple Birdsnest
15p Armour of God
10p Pink Ray
2 Superman mushroom - these are BRIGHT!
20p Whamin Watermelons
Idaho Grape Monti Cap
Candy Red Monti Cap
I expoxied the frags into place and everything is doing quite well. I got the frags 2 weeks ago today. I have seen growth on all the SPS and the zoas seem to be loving the low light at the bottom of the tank.
I also put to use my old Hydor Koralia nano powerhead. I don't remember it's GPH but it is the smallest one the have. It keeps my SPS happy. Doesn't blast them, but keeps the polyps moving.
My water params are:
Temp - 77-78
Salinity - 1.025
dKH - 9.5
Calcium - 450ppm
PH - 8.0-8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrite - 0
Phosphates - Not detectable
I feed my fish a small amount everyday and I feed Reef Chili one a week about 30 min before the lights go out. I turn off the return pump and powerhead and dispense the Reef Chili all over the tank. I let it sit for about an hour (until after the lights are out) then turn everything back on. I will soon stop feeding Reef Chili. I seem to have a bacteria bloom after every time I use it. Not huge, but the water gets a slight white tinge to it. I will replace the Reef Chili with another fish. Probably a small tailspot blenny. SPS need to be fed* but I would much rather feed them with fish poop than using a powerful feed like Reef Chili, mainly due to the size of my tank.
In the back of the tank I have the InTank media basket with a sheet of filter floss in the top compartment, under that I have carbon (not in bag) with filter floss underneath it, then underneath that I have another filter floss pad. I change my carbon just about every 2 weeks.
I dose Seachem Reef Fussion 1 and 2 every day. 1ml per day of each. I draw 1ml of Reef Fussion 1 into a syringe that I have, slowly, drop by drop let it disperse throughout the tank. I wait about 15 minutes and I do they same with Reef Fussion 2. They have really helped keep my PH, ALK and Calcium in check. I am mixing my own salt using Reef Crystals and was getting a dKH of 7 and Calcium around 380. This product helps me raise those level and keep them up.
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
alt="">
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I recently decided to sell and clean out my 40 breeder because I will be moving soon. After collecting the sale money and store credit at a LFS, I have decided to "trick out" a Innovate Marine Nuvo 8. My younger brother keeps a Nuvo 8 and I love the design of it and see a ton of opportunity to create an amazing nano tank.
I purchased the tank itself yesterday. I ran a leak test on it last night and all was good. I read that some of the earlier models had a problem with the back acrylic wall leaking ever so slightly into the display. This was NOT the case on mine. I ran it for a few hours with warm tap water just to help clean some of the oils and dust from manufacturing and it is currently sitting empty waiting on dry goods.
The main goal of this tank for me is to keep some mushrooms, zoas, 2 or 3 small clams, some scrolling monti and possible some birdsnest SPS and a few open brain corals. I want to also keep 3-4 sexy shrimp and one fish or a blue spot jawfish.
Over the past couple of weeks I have spent time researching upgrades to this tank and I think I have come up with a winning combination.
1. First, I wanted to get a stand that will have ample room for reactors and accessories that I may add in the near future so I went with the 14 gallon Oceanic BioCube stand. http://www.marinedepot.com/Oceanic_1...FIAQCS-vi.html I also purchased a JBJ ATO to keep my salinity constant.http://www.marinedepot.com/JBJ_Autom...DPETPU-vi.html
2. I am going to use the stock light as a refugium light and have replaced it with RapidLED.com's Par 38 Multi color bulb. I then ordered the gooseneck from BoostLED.com. I also upgraded the stock return pump to a MaxiJet 400 and I ordered the Innovative Marine spin stream to put on there for a more random flow.
3. I ordered a "beefed-up" media basket and refugium from http://shop.mediabaskets.com/IM-Nuvo-8_c62.htm. I have read absolutely RAVE reviews on these things. Awesome design and will help immensely with the filtration aspect of a nano. In addition, I got a pack of ChemiPure Elite, SeaChem Purigen, and some fine grade filter floss for the media basket.
4. Because of my past experience with unwanted hitchhikers on my live rock, I decided to go with dry rock from MarcoRocks.com. I ordered the 15lb. Dry Key Largo set with some epoxy and 5 lbs of rock rubble. I figure I can always put the extra in the back of the tank for more biological filtration.
5. I went with CaribSea Hawaiian Black reef sand. I have always thought black sand looked awesome and since I won't be doing more than one fish, I should be able to keep it clean and pretty.
Like I said, I ordered most everything yesterday so I don't have a lot of the stuff yet, but will take pictures when it all comes in.
Question:
1. I already ordered the ChemiPure and Purigen, but I recently have been reading about the BRS dual media reactor and can't find anywhere that will tell me if this will work for a 8 gallon or not. I am going to run the filtration that I already ordered during the cycling process and probably for the next 6 months or so, but is this something I should invest in? Filtration is my #1 priority. I will be doing 1 gallon water changes every two weeks.
JAN 16,2014
I got my Par 38 from Rapid LED on Tuesday. The color is fantastic. I can't wait to put it over my tank and see how it looks. It came in before anything else did.
I got my rocks from MarcoRocks yesterday. They packaged each individual piece separately in bubble wrap and not one rock was broken. Really cool pieces. A lot of character. Not to mention, they gave me a lot more than 15lbs. The rock rubble pieces were packaged in a blue plastic bag wrapped in packing tape. They are the perfect size for mounting frags or putting in a sump.
I will be uploading photos of these things as soon as I make it home today. I am expecting my shipment from mediabaskets.com today along with the gooseneck from boostLED.
Tomorrow (Friday) I will be going to pick up my JBJ ATO and my stand from the LFS that they ordered for me.
I had to return the original Nuvo 8 tank I got because there were one scratches on the glass. The LFS gladly took it back and ordered me a new one that will be in tomorrow.
Photo of the tank up and running should be tomorrow night!!!
JAN 18, 2014
I was able to get almost everything set up last night. There have been quite a few complications with shipping. I finally got my BoostLED gooseneck last night. Unfortunately, after being delivered late, it didn't work. I had to solder some wiring on the inside of the socket in order for it to make contact with the bulb.
I also had to return the tank itself. I noticed that after doing a leak test on my last one that there were some scuffs on the glass and one small scratch. I was able to exchange it for another one that is in perfect condition.
I also made a bonehead error while ordering my inTank media basket. I ordered the wrong media basket but got the right fuge. Let me tell you guys...inTank makes some quality stuff. Beautiful media baskets, high quality, and they skip no steps in the packaging. I exchanged the wrong media basket for the right one and it should be here on Thursday. However, I will be in Cabo San Lucas in Thursday on a deep sea fishing trip with my dad.
JAN 18,2014
I have to wait for my ATO to come in on Tuesday and my media basket to come in on Thursday. I'm going to set up my ATO before I leave for my trip so I don't have to worry about topping off. I won't be using my media basket until the tank is cycled so I'm in no rush on that.
I epoxied my rock work together and let it dry for about 2 hrs then rinsed it and put it in my tank. I put a bit of rock rubble in the back and some filter floss from my dad's 180 gallon in the stock media basket to seed the tank. I then put about 2 pinches of pellet food for the bacteria to eat and multiply. Now I play the waiting game!
Tanks set up!
APR 19, 2014
My tank has been up for 3 months. I cycled it pretty well - waited about 6 weeks and everything tested good so I got some zoa frags from my dads tank. They did well so I got a pigmy blue atlantic angel. He's only about 1" in length. He is doing well. I feed him a small amount of brine flakes everyday right before the lights go out. He loves to munch on algae in the tank too.
After about 3 weeks, I decided it was time to add more coral. I traded a local guy for some frags. I got:
Ponape Birdsnet - green and purple
Pink Birdsnest - dark pink/purple
Green Acro - I think it may be staghorn
Green Apple Birdsnest
15p Armour of God
10p Pink Ray
2 Superman mushroom - these are BRIGHT!
20p Whamin Watermelons
Idaho Grape Monti Cap
Candy Red Monti Cap
I expoxied the frags into place and everything is doing quite well. I got the frags 2 weeks ago today. I have seen growth on all the SPS and the zoas seem to be loving the low light at the bottom of the tank.
I also put to use my old Hydor Koralia nano powerhead. I don't remember it's GPH but it is the smallest one the have. It keeps my SPS happy. Doesn't blast them, but keeps the polyps moving.
My water params are:
Temp - 77-78
Salinity - 1.025
dKH - 9.5
Calcium - 450ppm
PH - 8.0-8.1
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrite - 0
Phosphates - Not detectable
I feed my fish a small amount everyday and I feed Reef Chili one a week about 30 min before the lights go out. I turn off the return pump and powerhead and dispense the Reef Chili all over the tank. I let it sit for about an hour (until after the lights are out) then turn everything back on. I will soon stop feeding Reef Chili. I seem to have a bacteria bloom after every time I use it. Not huge, but the water gets a slight white tinge to it. I will replace the Reef Chili with another fish. Probably a small tailspot blenny. SPS need to be fed* but I would much rather feed them with fish poop than using a powerful feed like Reef Chili, mainly due to the size of my tank.
In the back of the tank I have the InTank media basket with a sheet of filter floss in the top compartment, under that I have carbon (not in bag) with filter floss underneath it, then underneath that I have another filter floss pad. I change my carbon just about every 2 weeks.
I dose Seachem Reef Fussion 1 and 2 every day. 1ml per day of each. I draw 1ml of Reef Fussion 1 into a syringe that I have, slowly, drop by drop let it disperse throughout the tank. I wait about 15 minutes and I do they same with Reef Fussion 2. They have really helped keep my PH, ALK and Calcium in check. I am mixing my own salt using Reef Crystals and was getting a dKH of 7 and Calcium around 380. This product helps me raise those level and keep them up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
