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IM 38 Nuvo


Coolhandreefer

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Coolhandreefer

Equipment

Tank: Innovative Marine 38 Gallon

Stand: Innovative Marine

Lighting: AI Sol Super Blue with AI controller

Water Flow: Vortech MP10

Heater: 100 Watt Jager

RO/DI: BRS 5 Stage 75GPD

inTank Mediabasket w/ floss, BRS Rox Carbon, and BRS GFO

Tunze 9004

Misc Reef Equipment (refractometer, test kits, etc...)

Incoming: APEX!

 

Fish

2 Black Ocellaris Clownfish

 

Inverts

CuC

Incoming: Blood Red Shrimp or 2 Cleaner Shrimp

 

Coral

Ultra Open Brain

Aussie Elegance

Purple/Black Torch w/ Neon Green Tips

White Hammer

Green Hammer w/ Purple Tips

Incoming: Gold Torch, Alien Green Frogspawn

 

October 2013 FTS

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Coolhandreefer

Tank was 400 and stand was 250. I know I could have saved money with the stand by DIY but I'm horrible at doing stuff myself and knew I wouldn't be happy with it in the end. I always see the nuvo 30 in my LFS and I've been wanting a nuvo for a long time. Its so nice and clean looking.

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Coolhandreefer

Got the tank today! Couldn't set it up though because the stand was at a different facility that had a delay for some reason so I'll be setting it up tomorrow! The only thing I didn't like is the shrink wrap vinyl on the back of the tank so I took that off and painted it.

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After 1 coat.

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After a lot of light coats and the final product.

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Much better than the original vinyl backing.

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MP10.

 

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inTank Mediabaskets.

 

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First try at aquascaping. I have a different one now that looks a little better.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Newb_reefer1

Looks like an awesome setup ! What do you plan to keep in the tank ? How much did it cost you for everything ? I'm asking because I'm planning on buying one myself

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Coolhandreefer

Well I actually need to update this thread because it was fully cycled as of yesterday morning and I added a Gold Striped Maroon Clownfish last night. I might only add one more fish because the Maroon grows pretty big and is aggressive but I just couldn't resist buying him because I love Maroon Clownfish especially with the gold stripes. I'm planning on getting a Six-Line Wrasse as the other fish and maybe a Yellow Watchman Goby but most likely only the Six-Line because I want to keep it a little understocked. For coral I'm definitely going to get a Green Birds Nest, Frogspawn, and Blue Mushrooms. I'll add more to the list as things catch my eye, I only want to add coral I really like, unlike what I did in my other tank, I just threw 20 pieces of coral in and only liked about 3 pieces.

 

The whole setup cost, give or take, $1700 with the tank, stand, LED lighting, MP10, rock, sand, pumps, heaters but I really love this hobby and this tank so to me its worth it! Its a great tank I have to say. I'm really glad I picked IM. You'll be happy with any size of these tanks if you decide to get one.

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Newb_reefer1

That's what I was looking to hear, I plan on setting up the IM 38 as an sps dominated tank and was looking for people who have the tank to give me some solid feedback. Are you running a sump or using the filtration area ? If you aren't using a sump like I plan to, is there adequate space to fit a mid size skimmer, media basket w/ filtration media, and space for a refugium like it says in the specs portion of the tank details ? Do you like the quality of the glass and stand ? Do you have any complaints about the tank ? Thanks I really appreciate it !!

Ps your tank is starting to look really nice !

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Coolhandreefer

I'm just using the back filtration area and there is definitely space to run a skimmer, media basket w/ filtration media, and a refugium, of course if you had a sump you could have much larger areas for everything but I think the back filtration area is large enough. I love the quality of the glass/tank and the stand. Some people say the stand is wobbly but I don't have a problem with it, it holds the tank fine and isn't going anywhere. I would suggest though if you are a good DIYer to build your own stand. Theres nothing better than a solid wood stand but TBH the IM stand is good enough for me. The only complaint is the cheap vinyl that covered the back but that was an easy fix, it peeled right off and I prepped and painted the back like in the pictures above. I'm just OCD and the vinyl probably isn't a big deal to most people. Other than that one thing I can't think of anything bad to say about the tank.

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Newb_reefer1

Awesome ! Looks like this is the tank for me, thanks for answering my questions :) I was really hoping that the IM38 had what I was looking for and it looks like it does ! Thanks for answering my questions, I'm really excited to pick up one of these and get it setup ! Good luck with your tank

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Coolhandreefer

Very nice, I really like the rockwork. Is the dark rock at the top going to stay, or was that your seed rock?

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Coolhandreefer

Thats my seed rock, I was planning on taking it out eventually but I like it now lol, so it will most likely stay in there. Thanks for the compliment!

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Coolhandreefer

So I saw some really, really, really nice rose bubble tip anemones at my lfs. I think I'm going to buy one once my tank matures a little bit and I still have some nitrates I have to get rid of through water changes. I'm hoping that my maroon will host it, that would be awesome! I saw a video where the second the tank owner put an anemone in the tank the maroon clown started hosting it, but I won't get my hopes up lol.

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Coolhandreefer

For my filter media I've been using a sponge and a small bag of carbon on both intakes and I started to notice A LOT of small particles in the tank. I went to Walmart and bought Morning Glory Stuffing (filter floss) and this stuff is AMAZING, I still have the sponge in but I put the filter floss on top of the sponge. It was only about $3.50 per huge bag. I've been using it for only 2 days now and the water is almost fully cleared up! Thanks again people of Nano-Reef.com for such great information (I found out about this Morning Glory stuff on here).

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I really like the rock work, I would personally take out the seed rock once the base rock is good to go. Other than that I really like your setup.

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squirrelieygrrrl

Seeing the back of your Im uncovered has given me the idea of moving one of the filtration/overflow chamber baffles over a bit to accommodate my bm nac3.... I may attempt it this weekend.

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Good looking scape and good luck with tank.

I have the same setup that's 5 weeks old today. Pic below.

I'm setting up the IM desktop reactor for gfo/carbon tonight.

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Great start, can't wait to see it all built out.

 

You might want to consider a skimmer and bio-pellet reactor soon. My personal favorites

 

The Eshopps nano. I have them one on my Biocube29 , on my Nuvo16, and already have one waiting for my Nuvo24.

Also, since algae is starting to grow now would be a great time to start a bio-pellet reactor; I love the IM desktop reactor.

 

Cheers!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Coolhandreefer

So I've been neglecting the tank lately but I'm getting it back on track with a couple extra water changes and then I'll be adding a small clean up crew consisting of hermit crabs and snails, then a Six-Line Wrasse and Yellow Watchman Goby, and then finally coral but I haven't decided which coral. I'm going back and forth on the idea of getting a RBTA but they sure look great at my LFS. I'll post updated pictures soon once I get a CUC and the new fish!

 

BTW: I'm hoping that the Maroon Clownfish won't be too aggressive towards the new fish, do you think its going to be a problem adding them? I'm thinking the Six-Line Wrasse will be able to hold its own but what about the YWG?

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Coolhandreefer

So I got a Six-Line Wrasse, 10 snails, and 10 hermit crabs this week. They all seem to be doing great. I've been doing water changes every other day to reduce nitrates and get the tank ready for coral and a Yellow Watchman Goby. Going to be making a big purchase of coral online within the next few weeks. Will post pictures soon!

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I really like Nuvo aquariums and the products that Innovative Marine invent. I considered getting a 38 but opted for a 24 due to the 3 foot horizontal viewing. Your aquarium seems to be coming along nicely. Looking forward to the pics.

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