TSwift's IM Nuvo 16 AIO Reef

[TSwift]

Awesome birds! I've thought about getting something in the far future because I was so heartbroken after my dog died I swore I need to get something that lives longer than 10-15 years.

 

Can't wait for your tank to arrive! Any idea on how long you're going to be seeding that rock? Also, don't be afraid to take a hammer to that big piece to bring it down to manageable size.

 

And a stand! My apartment manager barely gave me approval for my tank but she said it had to be put on the counter. So no stand for me But your's looks great!

 

Thank you! Parrots are amazing, but they require hours of attention a day and lots of research. I built this site for my local rescue if you ever wanted to do more research:

A Parrot's Perch

 

I have 3.5lbs of sand and 3.5lbs of live rock covered in coraline from my 4gal plus I bought some Seachem Stablizer (might help, might not). I think all of that combined should kick start the cycle pretty fast, but I'm actually not sure how long I will be seeding for. I have never done dry rock before.

 

And that sucks about the stand, but I'm sure it being on the counter looks just fine!

[TSwift]

The tank has arrived!

 

Here's the catch: Its in the apartment's office and the package is HUGE. Pretty sure they packed it well... I mean dang. I couldn't lift it, so I will have to wait until after work to get my neighbor to help me I will edit this post with pics and updates tonight!

[aIIan]

Call UPS, odds are they'd ask the driver to roll back by and help you out but it can't be THAT heavy could it? You could have that thing up and running by now!

 

Straight outta the UPS handbook...

1. Get close to the object--work within your Power Zone.

2. Position your feet shoulder width apart, one slightly ahead of the other.

3. Bend at the knees--keep the natural curve of your back.

4. Test the object for weight and shifting contents.

5. Get a firm grip and grasp opposite corners.

6. Lift with a smooth steady motion--don't jerk.

7. Move your feet. Step or pivot--don't twist.

[TSwift]

Call UPS, odds are they'd ask the driver to roll back by and help you out but it can't be THAT heavy could it? You could have that thing up and running by now!

 

Straight outta the UPS handbook...

1. Get close to the object--work within your Power Zone.

2. Position your feet shoulder width apart, one slightly ahead of the other.

3. Bend at the knees--keep the natural curve of your back.

4. Test the object for weight and shifting contents.

5. Get a firm grip and grasp opposite corners.

6. Lift with a smooth steady motion--don't jerk.

7. Move your feet. Step or pivot--don't twist.

 

This literally made me LOL at work, so thanks for having my coworkers look at me funny! It isn't heavy, its just in a HUGE flimsy box that I couldn't get my hands around and I only had 10 minutes before I had to go to work. Plus, I live on second floor and I don't want to drop it down the stairs!

 

And I only have about 6 gallons of saltwater, so I will have to go get 10 more gallons from the fish store before the store closes at 7. Those buckets are heavy and I just started recovering my back from my car accident, so ill need all the help I can get. Definitely one of the worst parts of this hobby in my opinion - hauling buckets of water. Maybe thats why there are mostly men in the hobby...

 

As for the heater and filter media, it is supposed to arrive on the 3rd.

 

Problem: I realized I don't have Ammonia, PH, or Nitrite tests. Should I really go out and buy the kit from Petsmart for $30? Seems so ... overpriced. Argh. I could try to buy them separately at the LFS, but it would probably cost me the same price. I would hate to order it online and pay $6 shipping for it.

[TSwift]

Sorry it took so long for this update, but the tank is now set up! I was up really late last night trying to figure out the rockscape and I still feel like I kind of failed. The rockscape designs that I made two days ago in the pink bin didn't work because I forgot to consider that the tank is not as deep as the bin. My old designs just would not fit. I have 3-4 dry rock pieces I didn't even use.

 

Finally carried the huge box to my apartment with help from a friend:

 

This is how well it was packed:

 

On the stand:

 

Dry rockscape attempt 1:

 

Dry rockscape attempt 1,000 which I finally settled on. Please let me know your opinion on it. I really wanted to do a stand-alone piece in the middle, but I thought it looked too strange. I really want to keep the big rock on the right and the small tall rock on the left.

 

Wet! Still a little cloudy. This isn't the final rockscape. All of the purple/dark pieces is the 3.5 lbs of live rock from my last tank for seeding. I also used 3.5 of live sand and 3 gallons of water from my last tank.

 

How long do you think I should keep the live rock in there? I was thinking a week. Or should I wait until it is completely cycled? I'm dosing it with Seachem Stability which, combined with the LR and LS, should help speed the cycle a little. Also, any light cycle tips? I'm doing a 5 hour cycle just to keep my LR and zoas "alive"

[Dr. Acula]

Finally! Looks good, I like the 'scape. Now just to wait 'til you get this bad boy cycled.

 

Speaking of, I have no advice to give you with anything there. What I will say, though, is that I've been running my lights ~5.5 hours a day, give or take. Everything's been progressing just fine with that, so I imagine it would work out alright for you. But I'm sure somebody else and more experienced will chime in.

[TSwift]

Thank you Dr. Acula!

 

Well, I got my shipment in from Salty Supply! Included was a Jager 75watt heater, Purigen, and Chemi Pure.

I also went to Petsmart and bought a Mag float and a gravel filter (its got a cool suction starter... thing!) ($23)

I also got a timer from Walmart. ($12)

 

 

Here is the two back chambers with Chemi Pure on the left and Purigen on the right. They both took up two chambers each. I forgot to buy filter floss at Walmart- I'll go get that this weekend.

 

I decided to do some testing to make the time go by faster. Here's the Hydrometer and Nitrate levels (still debating on if I really need ammonia, PH, and Nitrite tests when I can just test at my LFS for free when I go there for corals and water). The nitrate levels make me think my tank is already going through its cycle. Yay!

 

Tank after I cleaned it up a bit. I decided to move the live rock and scape it a little better until I can take it out. My lone nassarius snail and small zoa colony from my other tank is doing good. There is a lot less film on the top of the water now:

 

Overall set up (sorry about the blue - cell pic)

[Matteo]

you should squeeze a nano skimmer in the back!

[TSwift]

you should squeeze a nano skimmer in the back!

 

I will eventually!

 

I went to the LFS to test my water and got some results:

Ammonia: 1.0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20

 

So at least my cycle has started! I'll go to the LFS in another week to test it and see how its progressed. Waiting sucks.

[Matteo]

waiting is key though! if you are not patient you can throw money down the drain and cause yourself a lot of stress!

[JCG66]

How do you like the spin streams? Been thinking about buying them.

[TSwift]

waiting is key though! if you are not patient you can throw money down the drain and cause yourself a lot of stress!

Haha I completely agree!

 

How do you like the spin streams? Been thinking about buying them.

I love them! I think they definitely complete the look of the tank itself. They barely make any noise, especially once they break in a little. One thing that confuses me is that one is slower than the other, but I don't mind since it makes it more of a "random" flow.

[aIIan]

Do yours spin in the same direction? Mine did at first then one day the left side switched up its rotation. Weird.

[temet vince]

Your tank is looking great! And yours will be so much easier to secure than mine. All my live rock is little and branchy, so making it tuxedo urchin safe and still keeping my current layout is going to be a nightmare.

 

But it looks as if you've successfully avoided that headache with your layout.

 

Everybody's tanks are coming along. It's so exciting!

[TSwift]

Do yours spin in the same direction? Mine did at first then one day the left side switched up its rotation. Weird.

Nope. The left spinner spins clockwise and the right spinner spins counter-clockwise. The left one is slower. They advertise that they spin "randomly", so maybe its on purpose?

 

Your tank is looking great! And yours will be so much easier to secure than mine. All my live rock is little and branchy, so making it tuxedo urchin safe and still keeping my current layout is going to be a nightmare.

 

But it looks as if you've successfully avoided that headache with your layout.

 

Everybody's tanks are coming along. It's so exciting!

I like your scape a lot, though! I keep contemplating mine. I feel like there should be a small cave structure in the middle which stands alone, but I have no idea how I would break up the rock enough to do that. Although, once the large chunk of LR in the middle comes out, I think it will look nicer.

 

I do have some surface scum still that is getting really annoying. It's a thin, oily layer on the top of the water. I don't want to do a water change in the middle of my cycle and getting it with a paper towel seems useless. Any ideas?

 

Heres some updated shots and some close-ups of the rock. Everything is already starting to brown up.

 

The LR is getting all funky looking. The zoa's are doing pretty good. They actually looked worse in my last tank.

 

FS:

 

Left:

 

Right. I'm really starting to like this rock... It has a "stairway to heaven" feel on the right side in person. Lots of scaping opportunities!

[TSwift]

Hello! Sorry it took so long to update. 10 days flew by fast! I drove up 3 hours away and took a week to buy a new car. Finally settled on a Civic si 4-door (black) and I'm very happy with it!

 

Anyways, I had someone put in the Stability every day and top off the tank while I was gone. I came back and my turbo snail is as happy as ever in a very funky, brown looking tank.

 

The tank had lots of slime on the top and is very cloudy. On a positive note, there are amiphipods EVERYWHERE! They are covering the glass, rocks, and back wall.

 

FTS:

 

Left:

 

Right:

 

Sand and mr. snail!

 

Tested for Nitrates (around 5ppm) and Phosphate (0!!!)

 

Since its been 3 weeks, should I do a water change and order a CUC? I think the water change is needed so I can get this slime off the top (paper towels aren't helping).

[JCG66]

Dang new tank and new car nice!!!

[TSwift]

Dang new tank and new car nice!!!

Thank you! I was rear ended in my 2012 Cruz, so I used the money to buy a new car.

 

I am second guessing my rockscape. It could be because the live rock is in there... but I just wish my other formations that I built before hand would have fit. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have 3 or so dry rock pieces left that aren't even in the tank. I don't want to start a cycle again, but I figured it's now or never if I want to change the look of things.

 

Maybe it would help if you posted any rockscapes in similar dimensions that you like? I really want to stick to the 2 islands look.

 

Also, anyone know when it is safe to take the live rock out? I'll leave some small pieces in, but the larger pieces have cyano on them.

 

Ordering a clean up crew from reefcleaners.org on Monday and I will do my water change then.

[temet vince]

I do have some surface scum still that is getting really annoying. It's a thin, oily layer on the top of the water.

 

I have this too, and it's bothering me. Not noticeable unless I look down from above the tank.

 

Thank you! I was rear ended in my 2012 Cruz, so I used the money to buy a new car.

 

Congrats! Well, uh, not on the rear ending part but on the new car lol.

 

Also, anyone know when it is safe to take the live rock out? I'll leave some small pieces in, but the larger pieces have cyano on them.

 

What do you mean safe to take it out? Do you mean because of the seeding? I'm sure there is already bacteria on the new rock, but whether it is fully grown or not I have no idea. I would think you could take out the seeding rock, though, as the bacteria on the seeded rock will continue to propagate.

 

I'm glad one of us has been keeping our threads up to date! I'll finally be updating mine tonight after waiting for way too long.

[TSwift]

What do you mean safe to take it out? Do you mean because of the seeding? I'm sure there is already bacteria on the new rock, but whether it is fully grown or not I have no idea. I would think you could take out the seeding rock, though, as the bacteria on the seeded rock will continue to propagate.

 

I'm glad one of us has been keeping our threads up to date! I'll finally be updating mine tonight after waiting for way too long.

 

Yeah I figured the tank is pretty well seeded by now. I will be taking the live rock out in a couple days I think.

 

Anyways, I'm sad to admit this but I think I might have a HUGE problem.

 

I saw water at the bottom of my tank and some salt creep. I never noticed any leaking before, so I cleaned it up. What a noticed was a slight bend and some gaps between the tank and the black elevated stand that it comes with. When I pushed the stand up, water came out the sides. Now, I have been sort of sloppy cleaning the tank and water HAS gone down the sides and onto the stand before, so this could just be the excess water from that. Does anyone else with a Nuvo 16 have this problem? Do your stands bend a little as well?

 

I did not order the clean up crew since I still have some nitrites and nitrates left and I want to make sure I wont need to take down my tank before continuing.

 

EDIT:

Here are some pictures that might help describe my problem:

 

The bend in the mini-stand between the stand and the tank on the left:

 

When I push up on the mini-stand, the water comes out the sides:

 

Right side:

[TSwift]

Well, I cleaned up all the water I could from the mini-stand and I have not seen any more come out since. I'm going to keep an eye on it, so we will see. I think its from when I spilled water over the side of the tank earlier and it just pooled below on the mini-stand.

 

And I have even GREATER news!! The tank is completely cycled! I did a water change and it is crystal clear with no slime on the top. I also added a piece of dry rock to complete an arch on the right side. I'm now fully content with the rockscape. The live rock will be gone next week to someone who bought it.

 

I went to the LFS and got 3 Astrea snails and a small orange mushroom (4 heads). They didn't have many corals to pick from, so I think I will be ordering some online soon. I will also order a larger variety of a clean up crew as I go. I might move the mushroom farther into the "cave" since it is still in some light.

 

New FTS:

 

Mushroom (the other 3 heads are too small to see):

[JCG66]

Your tank looks great!

[TSwift]

Your tank looks great!

Thank you very much!

 

I finally found a local reefer who is AWESOME and bought some corals from him today. I will definitely keep in touch with him.

 

Heres the list:

 

1 Aussie Goniopora

1 Purple Hammer Head

1 Frogspawn

1 Green Zoanthid

1 Red Zoanthid

1 Orange Zoanthid

1 Yellow Zoanthid

1 Red Mushroom

2 Blue Mushrooms

1 Pulsing Xenia

 

And now for pics. As you can see, the live rock is gone and the tank is very well seeded!

 

Xenia, 2 zoas, the small purple hammerhead on the top, and the 3 mushrooms:

 

The aussie goniopora, paly frag, and frogspawn:

 

FTS:

 

Any advice on taking care of the hammerhead and goniopora? What food would they prefer weekly? I only have frozen brine shrimp and fish flakes right now. I have a TON of bugs covering my rock and glass. I even have these jelly-fish looking bugs that are very microscopic- very cool to watch them swim.

 

I am also looking to get a fish now, any suggestions? I really would like a yasha/pistol pair with 2 clowns, but it's hard to find a yasha goby around here.

 

 

Edit: Here are the corals as they are today- they are opening up beautifully!

[Deleted User 4]

Your rock scape is unbelievably wonderful.

[TSwift]

Your rock scape is unbelievably wonderful.

 

Thank you very much!! I think it looks a lot better now with all that liverock gone