Sk8n Reefer's Nuvo 16

[Sk8n Reefer]

Hey there Nano reefers I've been lurking for to long and it's time to join in the community. I've been keeping salt/reef tanks for 20+ years with moderate to good success and plenty of enjoyment . I got out of the hobby about 4 years ago due to the classic "vacation disaster" when my power went out and did not come back on for a few days in the winter. I think I just wore my wife out talking about a reef tank and she agreed we should set up a nano. Boom- it was on ! I decided on the clean look of the IM Nuvo 16. Here's the breakdown

 

Tank Specs

IM Nuvo 16

Lighting- 2 IM stock 14k 8watts each. AI nano w/ controller

Flow- upgraded to Sicce 1.5 (358gph) 2 IM spin streams

Heater- Aqueon 100watt

Media Reactor- IM mini max - run carbon ( regularly ) and GFO ( sparingly)

ATO- JBJ

Stand- Ikea

 

Water specs

Salinity- 1.024

Ph- 8.0- 8.2

Calcium- 400-420

Alkalinity- 7-8

Phos- .03-.05

Temp- 78

Nitrate-0

 

I decided to take a new approach (for me) to my livestock. I will only buy livestock from one store. I will use the same salt ( Kent) as them and also get my RO/DI water from them. To many times I have been caught up in that " beautiful " coral ( in a crappy looking tank) and purchased from any store I walk into- that has changed. It is quite liberating just going to one store for coral and fish. I am lucky here in Denver to be able to take this approach with a great store that is truly a partnership and have a great variety of SPS and other coral. They can frag from their own tanks and also from the many they maintain . I am making one exception to this rule- I will make one or two purchases from MACNA this year but that is the only " outside " source that will be added in. I think this approach has helped the early success of this tank and I plan on continuing with this practice.

Nuvo 16 3/20/14

3/24/14 Filled up with 13lbs. Live rock - came right from stores main frag tank- little to no cycle time- it was more like moving a tank . Added two Picasso clowns and a cleaner shrimp. Just using stock lights and returns at this time.

4/19/14 Started to add some frags

I've seen some nice growth from everyone over the last 4-5 months- these pics are over a month old

Here's how the tank sits today

 

Water parameters have been in check with weekly 5 gal. water changes. The elevated level of Calcium in the Kent salt has enabled me to keep calcium around 400- I am sure as my coralline and coral grow I will have to start dosing. Probably go with the BRS 2 part dosing units. I have been resistant to adding power heads in the tank( don't like the look) and the larger return pump and the spin streams really provide good water flow around the system. I feed the tank twice daily- flake w/ garlic in the morning/ afternoon and then evening a mixture of reef chili, Roti feast, Phyto feast, marine cuisine and mysis shrimp. An occasional up in the middle of the night additional feeding of Reef Chili. Thanks for checking it out , looking forward to more communication with the community. Maybe I'll see ya at MACNA this year!

Thanks, Scott

[owenj]

Beautiful tank, Scott. Your SPS growth is great. Is it all SPS is there and a mushie or two?

[Sk8n Reefer]

Thanks owenj! Ha, I just reviewed my pics- you see where my attention is- SPS. Softies, yes I have 2 zoos and a small colony of Clauvlaria that I have already fragged twice and traded back to the store. It grows crazy fast and takes over- I'll be continuing to trim it back . I try to keep it on the ends of the tank. I have one rock with a few mushrooms and Xenia which is starting to grow rapidly also. I didn't even post a pic of my Picasso Clowns- I'll have to get some this week for sure.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Here's a shot of one of the zoos and the Clauvlaria

[Sk8n Reefer]

Here's a shot of my two Picasso Clowns in their favorite spot waiting for a meal to come floating by!

[Egginis]

Great looking aquarium. The corals and fish look very healthy and it's amazing what kind of colors you can get from the regular stock lighting. Water changes are key and performing a five gallon change per week is certainly helping your environment stay healthy. I use to add 3 gallon changes per day. It may have been excessive but worked for me. Do you add any additional supplements for your SPS? I do believe adding a 2 part alkalinity and calcium supplement would be a good idea. However if your parameters are holding steady and you continue to get growth, I would not change a thing at the moment. Also wondering how you like the sicce 1.5 pump upgrade? Is it worth it? If it quiets the aquarium down, I may try this pump on the new build. Looking forward to following along.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Egginis- I can't say enough about the Sicce pump- very quiet and has some great gph for it's footprint- I would recommend it for sure . I recently started adding Acropower- 3ml a week. I am borderline on dosing right now- probably is a good idea. My Calcium drops to about 380 on the 6th day before I do my water change. I've tried to keep things fairly simple- no skimmer - but I am considering adding the new IM Ghost skimmer because I feed the Coral and fish generously. My phosphates tend to stay under .04 with water changes. I am running the stock lights on the end but I am also running an AI nano- I kept the stock light cause the Nano just doesn't cover the tank enough and the stock lights help balance it out. Thanks for the post- appreciate it!

[Sk8n Reefer]

Egginis- just to follow up- I am also a big fan of IM reactors- I run the mini with carbon continuously and add in two table spoons of GFO for up to a week out of the month- depending on phosphate readings. Small batches of BRS rox carbon changed every 2 weeks. You can run the GFO and Carbon at the same time- just allow room for the GFO to tumble and pack the carbon tight at the top with the sponges. I only use my media baskets for floss. I really limit my GFO but it is nice to use in a reactor with my heavy feeding to keep phosphates under control.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Xenia starting to grow to fast- you can see it in the front of the rock and toward the back below my purple Stylophora - getting dangerously close . Anyone have a tips on removing or trimming back Xenia- I have never kept this coral. It came out of the rock well after a month or two of it being in the tank. I am sure it will begin to sting my Stylophora sooner than later.

Other than that corals are growing strong without any "wars" going on

[Sk8n Reefer]

[Dryland]

I like the tank man. I'm following. Any plans to add a skimmer or anything?

[Egginis]

Egginis- I can't say enough about the Sicce pump- very quiet and has some great gph for it's footprint- I would recommend it for sure . I recently started adding Acropower- 3ml a week. I am borderline on dosing right now- probably is a good idea. My Calcium drops to about 380 on the 6th day before I do my water change. I've tried to keep things fairly simple- no skimmer - but I am considering adding the new IM Ghost skimmer because I feed the Coral and fish generously. My phosphates tend to stay under .04 with water changes. I am running the stock lights on the end but I am also running an AI nano- I kept the stock light cause the Nano just doesn't cover the tank enough and the stock lights help balance it out. Thanks for the post- appreciate it!

Thanks for the reply concerning the Sicce pump. I have the ghost skimmer and it is working well. The skimmer has been pulling out proteins and adjusting it is quite easy. With the smaller version, it's best to use a magnet to suspend it in the back chamber. The magnet is not included so you will need to purchase one if you do not have it. A few negative things are that the collection cup is small so you will need to check and empty it frequently. It does have a overflow valve which is a nice added feature. The skimmer pump is also too loud for my taste. It almost sounds like its rattling in the housing. I had my Nuvo in the bedroom, so if you have your aquarium in another part of the house then you should be fine. All in all its a nice skimmer and definitely worth a look.

[Sk8n Reefer]

I like the tank man. I'm following. Any plans to add a skimmer or anything?

Hey Thanks ,Ya, I am thinking a skimmers is about due but not quite yet. Probably gonna start dosing 1st - SPS - are starting to get fairly large compared to where they were at. I am a little worried with adding the IM ghost skimmer because I have my stock lights attached over that area- I think it should still be able to slip in with the light bracket- gotta watch some videos on it? Having issues still with some micro bubbles coming out of my spin streams no matter where I place foam to stop it. Must be coming from the pump chamber.

 

Thanks for the reply concerning the Sicce pump. I have the ghost skimmer and it is working well. The skimmer has been pulling out proteins and adjusting it is quite easy. With the smaller version, it's best to use a magnet to suspend it in the back chamber. The magnet is not included so you will need to purchase one if you do not have it. A few negative things are that the collection cup is small so you will need to check and empty it frequently. It does have a overflow valve which is a nice added feature. The skimmer pump is also too loud for my taste. It almost sounds like its rattling in the housing. I had my Nuvo in the bedroom, so if you have your aquarium in another part of the house then you should be fine. All in all its a nice skimmer and definitely worth a look.

Thanks for the review- that's the skimmer I am probably gonna go for. I am concerned about my stock light brackets not allowing the skimmer to fit through- from vids it looks like I might be able to though. Have you replaced the pump yet? Why the magnets? Does it have a bad mounting plate or to help keep the pump from bottoming out and making noise?

[Sk8n Reefer]

Here's some shots with the new camera- gonna be fun!

[Dryland]

I'm essentially a noob when it comes to skimmers, but the PLS-50 elite from cadlights looks pretty sweet...

[Sk8n Reefer]

I'm essentially a noob when it comes to skimmers, but the PLS-50 elite from cadlights looks pretty sweet...

Thanks for suggestion- I will ck it out!

[Sk8n Reefer]

More shots!

[Egginis]

Hey Thanks ,Ya, I am thinking a skimmers is about due but not quite yet. Probably gonna start dosing 1st - SPS - are starting to get fairly large compared to where they were at. I am a little worried with adding the IM ghost skimmer because I have my stock lights attached over that area- I think it should still be able to slip in with the light bracket- gotta watch some videos on it? Having issues still with some micro bubbles coming out of my spin streams no matter where I place foam to stop it. Must be coming from the pump chamber. Thanks for the review- that's the skimmer I am probably gonna go for. I am concerned about my stock light brackets not allowing the skimmer to fit through- from vids it looks like I might be able to though. Have you replaced the pump yet? Why the magnets? Does it have a bad mounting plate or to help keep the pump from bottoming out and making noise?

 

The reason for the magnets is mainly to assist with getting the water level raised / balanced easier in the skimmer. I believe the Nuvo 16 and 24 have the same height back chamber measurements which means the skimmer needs to be elevated by either placing some pvc under it to prop it up or using magnets to support it to the back. I am actually going to experiment with replacing the pump just to get the noise down a bit.

[Chris!]

Wow you are getting some serious growth out of alot of pieces! Everything looks nice and happy, your plan definitely seems to be paying off. Keep up the good work

 

 

As far as getting rid of the xenia, you could see if the LFS will take their saw (if you don't have one yourself) to the rock and cut the whole thing off or let you trade that rock in for a different rock.

[Sk8n Reefer]

Wow you are getting some serious growth out of alot of pieces! Everything looks nice and happy, your plan definitely seems to be paying off. Keep up the good work As far as getting rid of the xenia, you could see if the LFS will take their saw (if you don't have one yourself) to the rock and cut the whole thing off or let you trade that rock in for a different rock.

Hey Chris, thanks yes everyone is 'happy' and growing well- I was hoping I could just peel the Xenia and it would come off in strips but sounds like I need to 'cut ' it off to fully remove it- bummer. Should of taken action when I saw the 1st few. My local store will take mostly everything on a trade but Xenia - I will ck'd with a few others. Thanks for the post!

 

The reason for the magnets is mainly to assist with getting the water level raised / balanced easier in the skimmer. I believe the Nuvo 16 and 24 have the same height back chamber measurements which means the skimmer needs to be elevated by either placing some pvc under it to prop it up or using magnets to support it to the back. I am actually going to experiment with replacing the pump just to get the noise down a bit.

So the mounting bracket doesn't allow for height adjustments? Let me know what pump you decide to go with.

[Chris!]

Hey Chris, thanks yes everyone is 'happy' and growing well- I was hoping I could just peel the Xenia and it would come off in strips but sounds like I need to 'cut ' it off to fully remove it- bummer. Should of taken action when I saw the 1st few. My local store will take mostly everything on a trade but Xenia - I will ck'd with a few others. Thanks for the post!

 

Sounds like a smart LFS, I don't blame em lol I had a friend that got some because his wife thought it was cool when he was just starting out.... he cut it off but if any remains it will grow back so you have to really get it all..... if there is nothing else on the rock you could cut if off and hit it with a propane torch or "cook it".

[Sk8n Reefer]

Sounds like a smart LFS, I don't blame em lol I had a friend that got some because his wife thought it was cool when he was just starting out.... he cut it off but if any remains it will grow back so you have to really get it all..... if there is nothing else on the rock you could cut if off and hit it with a propane torch or "cook it".

So it begins........to bad SPS isn't that hardy and as fast a grower!

[Chris!]

So it begins........to bad SPS isn't that hardy and as fast a grower!

 

Yeah but then it would be just like growing a tank full of xenia and other bs.... The challenge is part of the allure IMO.

[skyzpop]

Excellent tank and AWESOME pictures!

[Sk8n Reefer]

Excellent tank and AWESOME pictures!

Thank you! My 1st attempt at a Nano- lots of different challenges as compared to a larger tank for sure! I am enjoying how a small 5 gal. Water change can really make a positive change to the tank. Just got a ' real' camera - still figuring out the right settings but thank you!