I took the plunge!!!!!

[Oldfishwife]

After a week of heavy research and changing my mind at least 20 times, I finally made my tank/light purchase. I went with the Nuvo 10 cube instead of the Waterbox cube 10 I was originally considering. The price was slightly lower, it has great reviews and it already has a screened top so no need to build of make one. Thanks for the suggestion Clown79🙂. 

 

I also FINALLY decided to go with the Kessil a80 Tuna Blue. I saw Kessil lights (granted 360s over the frag tanks) at our local reef store and loved the look. The shimmer is reminiscent of our 400w 10k halides 😬😬. I’ve read that they aren’t enormously strong, but over a 10 cube of softies and lps, I think they’ll be fine. I like the whole heat sink thing so no fans needed. Since the tank isn’t wide or deep, I think it should be plenty. I plan to keep the light fairly close to the water, too, if it doesn’t narrow the spread too much. 

 

I’m waiting for another Amazon credit to clear before I order the controller and maybe a small powerhead, possibly upgrade the return pump, we’ll see. 

 

So, tank, lights, 10 pounds Bimini Pink sand, about 10 pounds of live rock(still to purchase), 50w heater, hydrometer, magnet cleaner, bucket of Reef Crystals, bottle of Prime, plastic long handle scraper, gfci, power strip, digital thermometer. Pretty much set. I know there will be other stuff, such as buying first 10 gal of saltwater, but it’s ONLY 10 gallons - easy peasy. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I can’t wait to get this little jewel box going! 

[WV Reefer]

19 minutes ago, Oldfishwife said:

After a week of heavy research and changing my mind at least 20 times, I finally made my tank/light purchase. I went with the Nuvo 10 cube instead of the Waterbox cube 10 I was originally considering. The price was slightly lower, it has great reviews and it already has a screened top so no need to build of make one. Thanks for the suggestion Clown79🙂. 

 

I also FINALLY decided to go with the Kessil a80 Tuna Blue. I saw Kessil lights (granted 360s over the frag tanks) at our local reef store and loved the look. The shimmer is reminiscent of our 400w 10k halides 😬😬. I’ve read that they aren’t enormously strong, but over a 10 cube of softies and lps, I think they’ll be fine. I like the whole heat sink thing so no fans needed. Since the tank isn’t wide or deep, I think it should be plenty. I plan to keep the light fairly close to the water, too, if it doesn’t narrow the spread too much. 

 

I’m waiting for another Amazon credit to clear before I order the controller and maybe a small powerhead, possibly upgrade the return pump, we’ll see. 

 

So, tank, lights, 10 pounds Bimini Pink sand, about 10 pounds of live rock(still to purchase), 50w heater, hydrometer, magnet cleaner, bucket of Reef Crystals, bottle of Prime, plastic long handle scraper, gfci, power strip, digital thermometer. Pretty much set. I know there will be other stuff, such as buying first 10 gal of saltwater, but it’s ONLY 10 gallons - easy peasy. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I can’t wait to get this little jewel box going! 

 

Yay!!! 😃

 

the beginning is so exciting! 

[billygoat]

Sounds like you're off to a good start! I think you'll be pleased with the A80. I use one over my 18 gallon tank and have no problems growing soft corals and gorgonians with it. In a 10 gallon tank you can probably grow quite a few different varieties of LPS corals with it as well.

 

Be sure to keep us posted on your progress once everything is up and running! 😊

[Oldfishwife]

Aaaaand I used my noodle this time and ordered from Marine Depot. The likelihood of a shattered tank is far less than what happened with Amazon - tank box tossed into huge shipping box with zero packing. That turned out well. Good for me because it gave me time to reconsider my options. Never go with that first impulse! 😂

[Nevvy]

Smart choice to order the tank from Marine Depot! Did the same and it arrived perfectly fine and well packaged! Also you can purchase distilled water from your local grocery store to mix salt, so less chance of a algae bloom w/tap water and prime...I also have a nuvo10 with a A80 and it definitely grows sofites with no problems. Good luck with the new tank!

[Oldfishwife]

1 hour ago, Nevvy said:

Smart choice to order the tank from Marine Depot! Did the same and it arrived perfectly fine and well packaged! Also you can purchase distilled water from your local grocery store to mix salt, so less chance of a algae bloom w/tap water and prime...I also have a nuvo10 with a A80 and it definitely grows sofites with no problems. Good luck with the new tank!

Thanks. I’ll be getting the first 10 gallons of saltwater from our local reef store. $1/gallon if we take our own Home Depot buckets. After that we’ll be using distilled or purified for top offs and water changes. I’ve done a lot of reading on the A80 and since we are going for mostly softies and a few lower light lps I think it will be fine. If we ever decide to bump up the lighting, I just found reviews on the 10” Reef Bar. Sounds very good. Heat sink, so no fan either. I can’t handle the hum from fans, even a slight hum drives me nuts. That’s one reason I settled on the a80.☺️

[Clown79]

10 hours ago, Oldfishwife said:

After a week of heavy research and changing my mind at least 20 times, I finally made my tank/light purchase. I went with the Nuvo 10 cube instead of the Waterbox cube 10 I was originally considering. The price was slightly lower, it has great reviews and it already has a screened top so no need to build of make one. Thanks for the suggestion Clown79🙂. 

 

I also FINALLY decided to go with the Kessil a80 Tuna Blue. I saw Kessil lights (granted 360s over the frag tanks) at our local reef store and loved the look. The shimmer is reminiscent of our 400w 10k halides 😬😬. I’ve read that they aren’t enormously strong, but over a 10 cube of softies and lps, I think they’ll be fine. I like the whole heat sink thing so no fans needed. Since the tank isn’t wide or deep, I think it should be plenty. I plan to keep the light fairly close to the water, too, if it doesn’t narrow the spread too much. 

 

I’m waiting for another Amazon credit to clear before I order the controller and maybe a small powerhead, possibly upgrade the return pump, we’ll see. 

 

So, tank, lights, 10 pounds Bimini Pink sand, about 10 pounds of live rock(still to purchase), 50w heater, hydrometer, magnet cleaner, bucket of Reef Crystals, bottle of Prime, plastic long handle scraper, gfci, power strip, digital thermometer. Pretty much set. I know there will be other stuff, such as buying first 10 gal of saltwater, but it’s ONLY 10 gallons - easy peasy. 

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I can’t wait to get this little jewel box going! 

Congrats. 😁

 

Everything sounds great and looking forward to seeing pics!

 

My nuvo is a few yrs old and came with the original pump, I upgraded to the IM mighty jet and use RFG nozzles and no need for an additional powerhead- they take up so much room so I tried avoiding needing one.

 

If yours came with the mighty jet, you shouldn't need to upgrade, its s great pump. 

[Oldfishwife]

7 hours ago, Clown79 said:

 

My nuvo is a few yrs old and came with the original pump, I upgraded to the IM mighty jet and use RFG nozzles and no need for an additional powerhead- they take up so much room so I tried avoiding needing one.

I didn’t see this prior to my question in another thread regarding your mighty jet. Do you have to ramp it back at all or is the overflow able to handle that increase? RFG is a new thing since my reefing days - had to look it up. So much nicer esthetically than powerheads in a small tank, plus less noise. I’m all about avoiding tank noise. My refrigerator just started giving off a slight hum and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in there trying to figure out why. 😂😂😂 kind of funny since my hearing is pretty much shot. 

 

I’m looking forward to getting this thing going. I think I may get one nice piece of live rock for the bacteria and some life rock for the shapes.

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, Oldfishwife said:

I didn’t see this prior to my question in another thread regarding your mighty jet. Do you have to ramp it back at all or is the overflow able to handle that increase? RFG is a new thing since my reefing days - had to look it up. So much nicer esthetically than powerheads in a small tank, plus less noise. I’m all about avoiding tank noise. My refrigerator just started giving off a slight hum and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in there trying to figure out why. 😂😂😂 kind of funny since my hearing is pretty much shot. 

 

I’m looking forward to getting this thing going. I think I may get one nice piece of live rock for the bacteria and some life rock for the shapes.

I love the rfg's. The design has no moving parts so 0 noise but provides a nice random flow.

 

The mighty jet has 2 settings, regular flow and wave maker. I've had no issues with it. All the new IM packages come with it now. Much better than the old IM pumps 

[Oldfishwife]

Oh yay!!!!!! That will save me some $$$$$. If Marine Depot somehow sends me an old one, I’ll be calling to request a replacement. 😂

[TatorTaco]

I think their is a price difference between the old version and the new “PRO” version. Right? That might help differentiate the two. 

[Clown79]

15 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

I think their is a price difference between the old version and the new “PRO” version. Right? That might help differentiate the two. 

Yes there is a price difference. I don't think you can get the older set up anymore besides stores old stock, they don't even show them on IM's website.

 

Honestly, the pro version is how it always should have come.

 

The mesh lids now come with netting rather than the plastic that blocked light.

 

A media basket and sock, their magnet scraper and the mighty jet.

 

I got my 10g used and it was the older version so I got the really old media basket(sucks), the old pump(weak), and the plastic mesh.

 

I upgraded over the years. Replaced the lid with the 1/4" netting, got the new media basket, and the mighty jet(after yrs of using maxijet)

[Oldfishwife]

Ah, I see. I didn’t do the Pro, just the basic tank. I guess I’ll be ordering a new pump. 😂😂😂

[Clown79]

14 minutes ago, Oldfishwife said:

Ah, I see. I didn’t do the Pro, just the basic tank. I guess I’ll be ordering a new pump. 😂😂😂

You can try the stock pump for a while but I found it weak but mine was also used. In my lagoon I kept the stock pump for almost a yr. Now it has the mighty jet too.

[Oldfishwife]

I think I will try to change my order to the Pro tomorrow. The price of the upgrade pump is $99 so it would be same price, but the other included stuff is higher quality, too. I know it hasn’t shipped yet, so maybe I can do it. If not, no big deal. 

[Oldfishwife]

On 8/18/2019 at 1:08 PM, Clown79 said:

You can try the stock pump for a while but I found it weak but mine was also used. In my lagoon I kept the stock pump for almost a yr. Now it has the mighty jet too.

I was wondering about how to add the rfg. Did you have to upgrade anything to 1/2” or are the hose and outlet already 1/2”. I’ve been looking and can’t find that info. Did you have to add loc-line for the rfg? I’m expecting my tank on Monday - yay. 

[Nevvy]

28 minutes ago, Oldfishwife said:

I was wondering about how to add the rfg. Did you have to upgrade anything to 1/2” or are the hose and outlet already 1/2”. I’ve been looking and can’t find that info. Did you have to add loc-line for the rfg? I’m expecting my tank on Monday - yay. 

I still have my stock pump and the RFG attached on the existing outlet without a problem. As far as the Mighty jet hose connections I'm not sure...

[Oldfishwife]

Thanks! I’m doing a sicce .5 or 1.0 so hoping no hookup issues.

[Clown79]

1 hour ago, Oldfishwife said:

I was wondering about how to add the rfg. Did you have to upgrade anything to 1/2” or are the hose and outlet already 1/2”. I’ve been looking and can’t find that info. Did you have to add loc-line for the rfg? I’m expecting my tank on Monday - yay. 

There is an adaptor that attaches and the rfg attaches to that. That's all I had to use.

 

Didn't change anything to use the mighty jet.

 

Sometimes the hoses need to be cut for certain pumps but that's about it.

 

I used the 16mm adaptor and 1/2" rfg.

[Oldfishwife]

37 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

used the 16mm adaptor and 1/2" rfg.

Do you recall the brand name?

[Clown79]

9 hours ago, Oldfishwife said:

Do you recall the brand name?

VCA (vivid creative aquatics)

[haks]

Were you able to upgrade to the Pro edition of the tank? Highly recommend it!

Media basket, the MightyJet and the mag cleaner are all top notch and worth the extra $99. 

 

Also, where are you located? I have about 10-15lbs of dry rock left over from my tank build. Pay for shipping or pickup and they're yours.

[Oldfishwife]

No, it was too late. I’m going with the Sicce .5 pump and I ordered the media caddy separate. I’m also going to pick up the 1/2” and 16 mm adapter.