thetonyage Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Welcome to my Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10 build! Equipment List: Tank: IM Nuvo 10 gallon Stand: Fusion APS Cabinet Stand Heater: Cobalt Neo-Therm 50w Light: Ecotech Radion XR15w Pro G4 with Diffuser attachment, and RMS Tank Mount with custom riser Return Pump: Sicce Syncra 0.5 Powerhead: Ecotech Vortech Mp10w Quiet Drive Controller: Neptune Systems Apex EB8 Power Bar WXM for connecting to Radion and Mp10 LSM Lunar Sim Module (I dont think I will end up using this on a tank this small) pH, Temperature, and Salinity probes Breakout Box with Float switch controlling a second Sicce Syncra 0.5 ATO Pump (Breakout box also controls a LED light strip inside the cabinet triggered by a magnetic door sensor) DOS peristaltic dosing pump set to continuous water change of 1350 mL a day. Other: IM In Tank Media Basket Upgrade with Filter Floss in the top cage and a Chemi-Pure Blue Nano packet in each of the bottom 2. Livestock List: Clean Up Crew: Dwarf Cerith Snails, Nerite Snails, and Nassarius Vibex snails Female Yasha Hase Goby Red Banded Pistol Shrimp ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It all started with this box of glass and this box of rocks: I decided to go with some Pukani Dry Live Rock and start out with as sterile of a system as possible. I soaked the rock in a diluted bleach and water solution for 2 weeks to remove any organic materials that might have been left over on the rock. After that I did a muriatic acid dip. I did about a 20 minute dip. I then let the rock cure in a bin in my garage for a few months in fresh water, doing 50% water changes every week or so. If I was going to do this again, I would dip for less time, with a more diluted solution. It is pretty crazy just how much the acid ate away from the rocks. I didn't take any pictures of this process, but to give you an idea of what I mean, here are some aquascapes I was playing around with before doing anything to the rock: And here is the first ever FTS: December 15, 2018 As you can see, the acid really opened up a lot of tiny little pores in the rock but it also ate away a good amount of the rock itself. I'm not saying I wouldn't do that again, but I'd definitely do it differently next time. Anyways, the tank finally got water in it, and got a Dr. Tim's fishless cycle going the first week of December 2018. Here's the Most recent FTS from the other day (sorry for dirty water, I had just finished doing a bit of scraping/cleaning): February 15, 2019 The first additions after the cleanup crew were a Female Yasha Goby and a Red Banded Pistol Shrimp combo I scored from Diver's Den. Here's a pic of the Yasha while she was being drip acclimated: I didn't get any pictures of the shrimp that were worth sharing unfortunately. And once they went into the tank they disappeared for 2 days. I'm happy to say though that today I was able to catch a glimpse of the goby coming out to snag a few Mysis shrimp I fed! She wouldn't let me get close enough to take a good picture without going into hiding, but I managed to snap this one: Well, that's pretty much all I have for now. I'll update with some more info tomorrow as far as future plans are concerned and hopefully some more pictures! I do apologize for the quality of the photos, I have a pretty old phone, and I'm not the best photographer to begin with - but I do promise to get better as I go. I know how much everyone loves pictures, and I'd like to have a nice photo documentary of this tanks progress. Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to post any questions/comments/concerns. I'm looking forward to being part of the Nano-Reef community! 2 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, thetonyage said: Welcome to my Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10 build! Equipment List: Tank: IM Nuvo 10 gallon Stand: Fusion APS Cabinet Stand Heater: Cobalt Neo-Therm 50w Light: Ecotech Radion XR15w Pro G4 with Diffuser attachment, and RMS Tank Mount with custom riser Return Pump: Sicce Syncra 0.5 Powerhead: Ecotech Vortech Mp10w Quiet Drive Controller: Neptune Systems Apex EB8 Power Bar pH, Temperature, and Salinity probes Breakout Box with Float switch controlling a second Sicce Syncra 0.5 ATO Pump (Breakout box also controls a LED light strip inside the cabinet triggered by a magnetic door sensor) DOS peristaltic dosing pump set to continuous water change of 1350 mL a day. Other: IM In Tank Media Basket Upgrade with Filter Floss in the top cage and a Chemi-Pure Blue Nano packet in each of the bottom 2. Livestock List: Clean Up Crew: Dwarf Cerith Snails, Nerite Snails, and Nassarius Vibex snails Female Yasha Hase Goby Red Banded Pistol Shrimp Need Pictures!!! 😃 oh, and welcome to NR! 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Welcome to the community @thetonyage, looking forward to seeing what you create with your IM10! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 1 hour ago, WV Reefer said: Need Pictures!!! 😃 oh, and welcome to NR! Post has been updated with some pics! Thanks for the welcome! 1 hour ago, Christopher Marks said: Welcome to the community @thetonyage, looking forward to seeing what you create with your IM10! Thanks! Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Tank looks good. I like the rockwork. 1 Quote Link to comment
Daveg99 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Off to a good start 1 Quote Link to comment
Repower Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Nice equipment - looking pretty good! 1 Quote Link to comment
Friendly Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 I like the scape as well! 1 Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 10 hours ago, Clown79 said: Tank looks good. I like the rockwork. 2 hours ago, Daveg99 said: Off to a good start 1 hour ago, Repower said: Nice equipment - looking pretty good! 31 minutes ago, Friendly said: I like the scape as well! Thanks for the compliments and for following along! Quote Link to comment
dferrari13 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Great start! 1 Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 I'm here to give a bit of an update on my future plans for this tank. Although I have always been a bit of a Chalice and Scolymia addict, I do have a thing for SPS coral. So, with a limited amount of real estate in this tank I have opted against playing coral wars, and decided to go for the challenge of a SPS-heavy nano tank. For future livestock additions I would like to add another Yasha Goby if I can find a male, and possibly an Onyx Clown or 2. Before I start to add any corals, I am experimenting with a continual water change with the DOS pump. I have never done anything but manual water changes in the past, so I'd like to see how consistent this keeps things. Changing 1350mL a day is roughly 100% of water changed over a month. I am using Red Seas Coral Pro salt at a salinity of 35ppt. In the future I hope that a continual water change will be a sufficient substitution for dosing Ca and Alk, but can't be sure until I try it. If anyone has any input on that I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. 1 Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 Since I have no photos to update with, I figured I would share my Radion and Mp10 settings in the Apex. First up is my Vortech Mp10 settings: In a tank as small as the Nuvo 10 anything over 17 or 18% power seemed to kick up a sand storm, so I have it maxed at a setting up to 13% in Reef Crest mode (I believe it ends up going a few % over the set limit at the highest point of reef crest). I have it so the Tidal modes coincide with my Radion ramping up and down (I'm sure it doesn't really make a difference, but that's how it's set for now). Here's my Radion light schedule: It's got an hour ramp up and down, and for 1 hour in the middle of the day I have it ramp up to 58%. I also have it set to 1% overnight as a moon light. The spectrum settings I use for daytime is equal to the Coral Labs AB+ settings: And here's my overnight moon spectrum: 1 Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 New frag day! 😁 I finally got a couple pieces of coral to add to the tank; a frag of ORA Purple Montipora (Capricornis) and a frag of ORA Jedi Mind Trick Montipora (Undata). After removing the new pieces from their unsightly plugs, I did a quick 15 minute drip acclimation and then a 10 minute Bayer dip. After a couple good rinses I then glued the frags onto some dry LR rubble I had left over, and placed them on the sand bed of my aquarium to get used to their new environment for a couple days before I decide on final placement. ORA Mind Trick Monti under SPS AB+ spectrum: Same frag under 10k: ORA Purple Monti Cap under SPS AB+ spectrum: Under 10k: FTS (10k light spectrum) March 6, 2019 Like I mentioned, the new frags are chilling on the sand bed for a bit -- and I have my Radions intensity turned down-- so the corals can get used to their new home. I realize the rubble I glued them to is pretty big, I may end up attaching them to smaller rubble pieces, or gluing them directly to the rockwork in their final locations. Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 I woke up yesterday to find my Mind Trick Monti had almost completely bleached out over night. Luckily the Purple Monti Cap frag was still in good shape... The MT still seems to have some pigment left, so I am hoping it's just pissed off from a bit too much light a bit too fast -- it doesn't look like RTN or STN to me, but I'm no expert. I'd also like to rule out monti eating nudibranchs, since I gave the frags a Bayer dip, but I know that's never a 100% guarantee. I turned the intensity of my Radion WAY down, to a peak of 16%, from a previous 38%, and increased flow on the MP10. I'm still leaving the frags in their position on the bottom of the tank for now, hopefully a change in light and flow will help out a bit. I also tested my parameters yesterday and here's the results: SG (Milwaukee digital refractometer) - 1.025 Temp. (Apex probe) - Fluctuates between 76.1 F and 77.1 F pH (Salifert) - 8.0 dKH (Hanna meter) - 7.7 Mag (Salifert) - 1290 Ca (Hanna Meter) - 414 NO3 (Salifert) - 0 NH3 (Salifert) - 0 Phosphates - (Hanna ULR meter) - 0.037 ppm I suspect the low Alk and Mag (I suppose Ca is a bit low too) could be what's wrong as well. I am using Red Sea Coral Pro Salt and these numbers are a bit off from what's on the bucket and on their website...At 1.025 SG my Alk should be over 11, and Mag and Ca should be higher too. I wonder if the Alk is precipitating out while my NSW sits in its continual water change container?? I guess I'll have to start testing more than just SG when I mix up NSW. My phosphates are kind of high as well right now, almost certainly attributable to me overfeeding frozen mysis shrimp as I dial in a more efficient way to feed the Yasha Goby. The lights don't turn on in the tank for another hour or so, so no new pics yet today. I will, however, be stopping back by later with more updates. If anybody has any suggestions as to what could be ailing my Monti, I would greatly appreciate hearing them. But for now I am hoping a decrease in lighting and an increase in flow will help while I work on getting my "big 3" parameters in check. Quote Link to comment
thetonyage Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 Nothing really new to report today. The Mind Trick still looks bleached, but no worse than yesterday. Quote Link to comment
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