vaughnking Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) Hello All. Long time lurker...first time poster. I have kept saltwater tanks for a very long time. I mainly kept FOWLR in the past. This is my second nano build. The first was almost ten years ago. Needless to say...I am back in the game! I was able to pick up an Innovative Marine 20G Nuvo tank from one of my LFS (The Hidden Reef / Outside of Philly). They had a sale on tanks. I picked mine up with the 2 stock 18w lights for $279...much cheaper than the $399 retail price that I saw online. After I set up the tank and mounted the lights, one of the clamps snapped. Thank God that I had the cover over the tank...the light would have just plopped in. I emailed IM and Brian got back to me ASAP. After sending a few pics, they mailed out a new clamp. Great customer service! Here are my plans. Equipment: Tank - IM NUVO 20 Pump - Might keep the stock...I have noticed that a lot of people replace them. Flow - 1 Jebao SW 4 - picked it up from another LFS / ARS in Malvern...Mike is great and I picked it up for cheap...$20 cheaper than another LFS...and Mike appears to keep some of the best frags locally. Heater - 50W from old system Lights - 2 stock Skkye Lights 18W - will keep for now and consider upgrading around the Holiday. (Kessel or Prime HD LD) ATO - I am researching ATOs at the moment Skimmer - I am researching skimmers at the moment Filtration - Socks and chemi-pure blue Refugium - looking at using one of the chambers for a refugium Life: 12ish pounds of dry rock / 15lbs of sand Fish (I am thinking about 3 max) Orange Spotted Goby or Yellow Watchman Goby or Rainford's Goby (leaning towards the Rainford's) 6 Line Wrasse Tail Spot Blenny - picked him/her up after the cycle Midnight or Wyoming White...just don't know yet....maybe a Domino Corals (still determining what I want) Lords Leptoseris Chalice Scolymia Favia Frogspawn Leather Leptastrea Candy Canes COC Snails, hermits, mini brittle stars (as necessary) Maintenance: Weekly 10%-20% water change Dosing (maybe) I started the cycling process 2 weeks ago (shrimp and bacteria). Ammonia and Nitrites have spiked...picking up Nitrates...taking it very slowly... A few picks: Edited September 25, 2017 by vaughnking Photos 3 Quote Link to comment
cju84 Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Welcome to NR! I think your rockwork might be my absolute favorite I've seen on this site. Really really like it. Nice job. I use a Tunze ATO (think several others on this site do as well). I don't personally use a skimmer in my IM 20 Fusion - hopefully someone else can recommend one for ya. I'm excited to see how this fills out! Great stocking plans. Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 9 hours ago, vaughnking said: Hello All. Long time lurker...first time poster. I have kept saltwater tanks for a very long time. I mainly kept FOWLR in the past. This is my second nano build. The first was almost ten years ago. Needless to say...I am back in the game! I was able to pick up an Innovative Marine 20G Nuvo tank from one of my LFS (The Hidden Reef / Outside of Philly). They had a sale on tanks. I picked mine up with the 2 stock 18w lights for $279...much cheaper than the $399 retail price that I saw online. After I set up the tank and mounted the lights, one of the clamps snapped. Thank God that I had the cover over the tank...the light would have just plopped in. I emailed IM and Brian got back to me ASAP. After sending a few pics, they mailed out a new clamp. Great customer service! Here are my plans. Equipment: Tank - IM NUVO 20 Pump - Might keep the stock...I have noticed that a lot of people replace them. Flow - 1 Jebao SW 4 - picked it up from another LFS / ARS in Malvern...Mike is great and I picked it up for cheap...$20 cheaper than another LFS...and Mike appears to keep some of the best frags locally. Heater - 50W from old system Lights - 2 stock Skkye Lights 18W - will keep for now and consider upgrading around the Holiday. (Kessel or Prime HD LD) ATO - I am researching ATOs at the moment Skimmer - I am researching skimmers at the moment Filtration - Socks and chemi-pure blue Refugium - looking at using one of the chambers for a refugium Life: 12ish pounds of dry rock / 15lbs of sand Fish (I am thinking about 3 max) Orange Spotted Goby or Yellow Watchman Goby 6 Line Wrasse Tail Spot Blenny Midnight or Wyoming White...just don't know yet.... Corals (still determining what I want) Lords Leptoseris Chalice Scolymia Favia Frogspawn Leather Leptastrea Candy Canes COC Snails, hermits, mini brittle stars (as necessary) Maintenance: Weekly 10%-20% water change Dosing (maybe) I started the cycling process 2 weeks ago (shrimp and bacteria). Ammonia and Nitrites have spiked...picking up Nitrates...taking it very slowly... A few picks: Looks good so far. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 10 hours ago, vaughnking said: Midnight or Wyoming White...just don't know yet.... One of each? The dark side and the light! Tank is off to a good start. to Nano-Reef! Quote Link to comment
hinnenkm Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I really like your rock too! The shorter one is a really cool piece and it will be fun to watch corals grow out on it Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 @cju84 Thanks for the warm welcome! I am going to look at the Tunze ATO...an ATO is my next purchase...stability is key in this small tank. @WV Reefer Thanks Christy! @Lula_Mae Just a couple of young Jedi! @hinnenkm Thanks! that is the plan....Here is my plan so far: Big Left Rock Top Right Side - Freak Hair Pavona (after light upgrade) Top Cave - Mummy Eye or Bubblegum Chalice (Maybe Blue Eye Litho or Jingle Bells) Bottom Front - Branching Montipora (after light upgrade) Back Left Side Cabbage Coral / Leather Middle Rock JLantern Leptoseris or Frogspawn (I'm worried about the aggressiveness) Right Rock Lords (various frags) Left Sand Front Meteor Shower Cyphastrea or Cherry Garcia Chalice Right Sand Front Scolymia I really like Mike From Elite Reef's tank: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2556245&page=5. That is why I am going for the Lord garden. @teenyreef has a garden that I would like to copy as well: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/373961-teenyreefs-im40-not-so-teeny-tank-new-zoa-rocks/ I want to make sure that I get proper flow in the tank...I hope that 1 SW4 will get the job done. The rock is going to create dead spots...I will just have to figure them out. 2 Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 Welcome to N-R! I like the scape and I think an acan garden would be a great idea for the right side. When you upgrade your light for SPS, make sure the acans are in a spot with low lighting, they don't keep their colors well otherwise. I struggle with that all the time in my tanks. Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 Thanks @teenyreef . Your tanks are awesome. Good advice on the acans....I might stay with the stock lights and LPS stocking for a while so that I don't have to deal with that issue. 1 Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 Minor update. I just wanted to note how pleased I am with IM's customer service. I received a package today that included two additional light mounts (I only had one that snapped) and a tube of silicone. I don't know if I will use the silicone...but it is nice to have for repairs. I sent the crew at IM some pictures of a few imperfections in the build. I have very small silicone gaps...Brian at IM assured me that it is only cosmetic. I am going to trust him and keep a close eye on my silicone. Question...would anyone else be worried if they were me? Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 26, 2017 Author Share Posted September 26, 2017 It has been a while since my last update. The tank finished its "1st cycle" on the 15th (3.5 weeks). I added the first additions on the 20th and the second additions on the 24th. I added 7 frags and a Tailspot Blenny. I am having difficulty keeping my calcium levels at an appropriate range. My alk also dips. I am using Kent Marine Superbuffer for my Alk levels and Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium for my Calc and Mag. My corals are doing pretty well...but I know that I am going to run into danger if I don't correct my levels. Here are my recent readings: Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0 DKH 2.5 PH 7.9 (Kent should help get this up) Calcium: 360 ...buffering with Reef Advantage MAG: 1230 buffering with reef Advantage I also noticed that I am constantly topping off the tank I am not going to be able to maintain proper water conditions with my levels are not exact...so I purchased the Tunze Nano ATO that should arrive tomorrow. Thanks @cju84 for the recommendation. After a lot of internal debating, I went with the tried-and-true solution. I am debating getting Kalkwasser from BRS and adding it to my reservoir. I use Instant Ocean salt mixed in distilled water. I was told that I am going to maintain my parameters through dosing. I don't want to dose 2 part. I am going to do a little more research and see if this works. Ok, a few bad cell phone pics...the best pics that I could get of my frags 1 of 2 Lord Micomussa I believe that this is a Leptoseris (LFS told me that it is a Favia...I'm not too sure) Green Hairy Rhodactis Euphyllia 1 Quote Link to comment
TatorTaco Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Tank is coming along great. Can you provide a FTS with the new coral additions when time permits? Did you have much of an algae problem with the new setup? Quote Link to comment
SantaMonicaHelp Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Welcome to Nano Reef, I like your scape! -Paola Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 @TatorTaco Thanks. I will once I get a better camera. My phone isn't capturing the tank in an ideal state. Everything is white or blue washed. I need to pick up a dslr. I haven't had much of an algae problem...yet...just the typical diatom blooms. I am waiting for the dreaded hair algae. Thanks @SantaMonicaHelp Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 I just received a few must-have items. Quote Link to comment
TatorTaco Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 2 hours ago, vaughnking said: capturing the tank in an ideal state. I think you'll be chasing the magical rainbow on this. Unless you've got a phone that's 4+ years old, you might find that buying a $5 orange filter film online will help you with the blue hues. Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted September 27, 2017 Author Share Posted September 27, 2017 @TatorTaco You are probably right. Thanks for the heads up. I never knew about the $5 orange filter. Quote Link to comment
vaughnking Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 Update time. Hey guys, I wanted to check back in. I have made some progress on the tank. My parameters have stabilized and I picked up a V2 Nanobox. Thank you @zooman72 for the light! Dave from nanobox was also helpful. Picked up livestock as well: toadstool, a few acans for the garden, green tipped hammer, purple-tipped frogspawn, and a small zoa frag (rastas). Here are some pics. I now have to consider purchasing a camera. FTS with Skkye Lights...yeah the lights were not flush/parallel FTS with Nanobox Tailspot Blenny coming out of his/her cave Acans getting ready for the garden One of my favorites right now...green tip hammer. 2 Quote Link to comment
zooman72 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Nice! Hopefully everything continues to progress well for you - good luck! Oh, and love the tailspot by the way - I have had one for several years now, and they are one of my favorites in a small aquarium. Quote Link to comment
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