Jump to content
ReefCleaners.org

Justin Fox's Nuvo 16


justinfox

Recommended Posts

nuvo16_october2015_fts.jpg

LATEST FTS NOVEMBER 2015.

 

Yeahhhhhh..... I bought ANOTHER tank! ####!

 

I’d actually been eyeing a Nuvo 16 on eBay for some time. They’re older now, and there’s a local warehouse selling new tanks (tank only no lights or other gear included) for $180 on clearance, then this deal with the lot came along and I couldn’t refuse!

 

11886142_10153656626463203_1705121599990

 

I saw this advertisement for a complete Nuvo 16 aquarium setup on Facebook about 3 weeks ago and low balled the guy $500. He didn’t reply for some time, but eventually he did and said no, which was fine as I really don’t think I need another tank!!! He then reduced the price to $650 for the lot about a week or so ago, bargain! I messaged him again to say my offer at $500 still stands. Another week went by and yesterday he got in touch with me and said I could have it for $500 so I dropped everything on the spot and picked it up.

 

The loose plan for this tank was a rockpool intertidal zone biotope. IE: Everything that goes in it has to be collected from local rock pools around my area. How it’s going to be scaped I have no idea. The seller did give me a big bucket of live rock and I have a lot of dead rock left over too but I’ll hold off on using the rock for now.

 

PS: I’ve caught 2 of the larger ghost shrimp from the display tank (by hand too those cheeky buggers aren’t afraid of me at all!) and threw them into this Nuvo 16 this morning, both doing fine!

 

Specs:
- Nuvo 16 Aquarium (16 Gallon - 64 Litres)

- Skkye Light Clamp LED Lights (2 units)
- IM Aqua Gadget Skim Mate Ghost Desktop
- IM MiniMax Desktop (Media Reactor)
- IM Aqua Gadget Custom Caddy Media Basket (2 units. One each side)
- IM Universal Spin Stream Nozzle (2 units. One in each water outlet)
- White Cabinet (3 shelfs) from Ikea.
- Fluval 100W heater
- CaribSea Live Sand

- Sicce Syncra Silent 1.5 Pump (357 GPH)

 

insituu.jpg

I put the tank downstairs in my man cave, but then I thought back to a time when I had a 4ft tank in my man cave and honestly… I really didn’t look at it much whilst I was working down there, and changing water would be annoying as I’d have to go up and down the stairs, so I thought I’d set this tank up in the lounge room.

 

insitu_nuvo16.jpg

Tank in situ.

 

reactor.jpg

The deal came with lights, heater, ghost skimmer, spin stream nozzles and this sexy little reactor.

 

basket.jpg

Also upgraded media baskets on both sides.

 

sand.jpg

And a new bag of the good stuff!

 

ankinsitu_nuvo16.jpg

Sand and natural sea water went in last night, this morning this is how she looked (bag instructions said not to rinse!). I had floss in the media chambers but damn this stuff is dusty!!!

Link to comment
  • Replies 158
  • Created
  • Last Reply

I've read about the cracking glass! It didn't deter me though. I won't be running a wave maker on this tank so hopefully that'll help. I made sure the tank was damn level too but hey, if it cracks one day it cracks... I suppose! Haha!

Link to comment

ROLMAO

 

You got it bad, man! I do advise taking the tank off the little plexi stand. Other than wavemakers, that has been a commonality in a lot of the cracked 16s and 24s. They probably are putting weird pressure points on the bottom of the tank since they are rimless. I took my 24 off the plexi stand and just have it resting on some spongy shelf-liner material.

 

The Skyye lights are pretty crappy, but maybe for the type of stuff you are thinking about for this tank they'll be fine.

 

If the media baskets ever annoy you, inTank does make some for this tank.

Link to comment

ROLMAO

 

You got it bad, man! I do advise taking the tank off the little plexi stand. Other than wavemakers, that has been a commonality in a lot of the cracked 16s and 24s. They probably are putting weird pressure points on the bottom of the tank since they are rimless. I took my 24 off the plexi stand and just have it resting on some spongy shelf-liner material.

 

The Skyye lights are pretty crappy, but maybe for the type of stuff you are thinking about for this tank they'll be fine.

 

If the media baskets ever annoy you, inTank does make some for this tank.

Haha! Yes... got it bad!!!

 

Ah yes! I was wondering about that strange stand. I'm undecided about whether or not I like it. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. The tank is full now though so taking it off is going to be a bit of a pain. I'll think about it some more.

 

And yes I knew the lights would be crap, but for a rockpool biotope I'm hoping it will be enough (though shallow rockpools get a LOT of hard light!).

 

The media baskets seem to be fine. I've been swapping out floss daily to clear the water up.

 

I've got 2 of my largest shrimp in this tank at the moment. Catching them out of the Fluval Edge was easy! They're cheeky buggers and like to climb all over my hands when they're in the tank, so I caught both of them bare hand lol.

Link to comment

Nice! You have really been bitten hard by the reefing bug again Justin haha. Tank looks great sitting on that stand, I love how the feet on the stand match the feet on the tank.

Link to comment

LOL guys!

 

PS: Yesterday I went rock pooling with a few mates, was super fun! We almost caught a couple of cool gobies, but they got away. I did end up taking a bit of sea weed though, and a little mystery fish. Photos soon!

Link to comment

Small update.

 

So I'm hating the lights already. Not so much the intensity (or lack of!), more the colour. It's just so... boring. If I ever did upgrade it would have to be something white and clean though (a Kessil would look funny on this tank in it's current location). I'm thinking a single AI Prime would work and look nice, and give me interesting shadows on the extreme left and right. I'll leave them for now though.

 

stripey.jpg

 

The little fish we caught at the rockpools is pigging out on flake already. I think it's a juvenile stripey.

 

I had a play with some dead rock I still had left over from my old 6ft. Unfortunately all the pieces are just way too big. I had a scape that was built up pretty high, old school styles, but I couldn't live with it so I've stripped it back and this is how it's looking:

 

nuvo16.jpg

 

The xenia on the left has come from my Fluval Edge, so too the leather on the right. The morphs on various bits of rock have come from the frag tank (I figure it's a bit of live rock to help cycle the tank), all shrimp from the display have been caught now (all by hand too!) and they're all in this tank now (which means I can finally buy my redline for the Fluval!).

 

PS: I'm now running carbon in the media reactor (as I've got so much matrix carbon left over from the 6ft tank it's crazy!).

 

PPS: This tank got a 50% water change yesterday. The way my weekly water changes work:

 

20 litres of fresh sea water goes into my Fluval Edge, 20% of old water from main display (Fluval Edge) goes to the Frag Tank, 20 litres of old water from the frag tank goes into this Nuvo 16.

 

 

Link to comment

Looking pretty good. I kind of agree about dumping the legs, but I know now that it's filled it will be too difficult. I really like my AI Prime, and I think you're right about a white one looking great above this tank.

Link to comment

You sir, are 1) addicted, and 2) a muthaf*ckin boss.. this is simply brilliant!! Looks amazing, the setup is great, love the location in the room, love the size (Nuvo 16's are always a beautiful tank, you literally can't go wrong)!!

 

Can't wait to follow along with this tank, too!!!

Link to comment

Looking good Justin :). I'm not sure if a single prime would be able to cover the width of that tank. I'm thinking you may have severe dark spots at either side, more than you are hoping for. After seeing them set up at an LFS the other day for the first time I was quite dissatisfied with what I saw (and I like AI lights). I think they suite small cubes great but unless you are willing to have lots of them to cover larger tanks they are basically an expensive PAR38 bulb.

Link to comment

You sir, are 1) addicted, and 2) a muthaf*ckin boss.. this is simply brilliant!! Looks amazing, the setup is great, love the location in the room, love the size (Nuvo 16's are always a beautiful tank, you literally can't go wrong)!!

 

Can't wait to follow along with this tank, too!!!

 

Haha cheers man!

 

Looking good Justin :). I'm not sure if a single prime would be able to cover the width of that tank. I'm thinking you may have severe dark spots at either side, more than you are hoping for. After seeing them set up at an LFS the other day for the first time I was quite dissatisfied with what I saw (and I like AI lights). I think they suite small cubes great but unless you are willing to have lots of them to cover larger tanks they are basically an expensive PAR38 bulb.

 

I've seen a few photos of tanks with just one Kessil 160, or one Prime mounted high up, it would still be better than the stock lights, but I'll really try to put off lights for as long as I can. I agree though, they (AI Primes) do look pretty weak in real life. I've seen a fair few of them now and haven't been too impressed with the visual light output.

 

So yesterday I did a spot of rock pooling with my bestie Jess. A few photos below:

 

rockpool.jpg?format=2500wHappy Fun Time!

 

anemone.jpg?format=2500w

Pretty green nem.

 

urchins.jpg?format=2500w

Whole bunch of urchins! There was an octopus in this pool too (no photos but I do have video footage!).

 

catches.jpg?format=2500w

My Haul! A goby, the fish was huge so I let him go, the shrimp isn't a ghost/glass shrimp, it's something else but I'm not sure what it is.

Link to comment

i wish i could go out to my local beach( about 100+miles away XD) and collect beautiful fish like that FOR FREE!!!!! So you let that bigger fish on the bottom right go, it looks very cool and interesting. Do you know what it was?

Link to comment

i wish i could go out to my local beach( about 100+miles away XD) and collect beautiful fish like that FOR FREE!!!!! So you let that bigger fish on the bottom right go, it looks very cool and interesting. Do you know what it was?

I do consider myself blessed to live by the ocean. I love it. That fish looked pretty damn aggressive. I've seen much smaller ones in rock pools before. They're always the first to dart out of the way. I didn't even know this guy was in the rock pool I was poking around in. He took me by surprise as the rock pool was tiny and had much smaller fish in it. To answer your question though, nope! Not sure what kind of fish it is but he's displaying stressed out colours in the pic above. In the pool he was more of a light blue/silver and also had some colourful markings on his cheek and near his rear fin.

Link to comment

Small update.

 

So I'm hating the lights already. Not so much the intensity (or lack of!), more the colour. It's just so... boring. If I ever did upgrade it would have to be something white and clean though (a Kessil would look funny on this tank in it's current location). I'm thinking a single AI Prime would work and look nice, and give me interesting shadows on the extreme left and right. I'll leave them for now though.

 

stripey.jpg

 

The little fish we caught at the rockpools is pigging out on flake already. I think it's a juvenile stripey.

 

*cough*NanoBox*cough*

 

Neat seeing the baby Stripey! I just learned about them earlier this week. Mr. Saltwatertank did his Wednesday write-up on them.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...