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IM Nuvo 20 Peninsula


fishez4alivin

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fishez4alivin

I used to be pretty hardcore in this hobby and then it happened.  Finally after 5 years, I had about a 115 lb tumor removed from my backside.  With that change I had to take down my reef tank with thoughts of eventually coming back.  SIP bored me back.  I wanted to get back and the timing couldn't have been better.  Forced vacation for a few months, stuck at home, everything lined up.  Anyway it appeared that a lot of other people were interested in starting tanks, because the available tanks were limited.  I will always support local business, so I decided I would drop my wad on my local store, something I didn't do the last go around.  Even though I got this nano, I always expect an upgrade in the future.  So the list was made.  

 

I wanted a Fuji Cube 20 Peninsula, the dimensions are pretty nice, but my local store is an Innovative Marine distributor, so I got the Nuvo 20 Peninsula instead

Originally 1@ Radion XR15 pro, which I ordered from the LFS, mount and diffuser.  What happened?  Saw a guy who had a never used XR15 Blue on CL: and bought it instinctively.  So I figure I can use both lights and keep the intensity down.  

Upgraded return to Sicce 1.0

MP10WQD

20 lbs of Life rock

20 lbs sand 

Skimmerless, I can't see the use without a real sump

If necessary, I will get one of those Santa Barbara algae scrubbers

Started the tank April

Used overpriced hydraulic cement to fuse the rockwork tossed in sand, a small bottle of Dr. Tim's bacteria and my workhorse baby Yellow Tang, to mow down any algae.  I purposely don't install my lights until the two month mark, and after I have the last fish I will house in this tank.  Using a small 1 1/2" tang, in two months time, he will grow to maybe 2", When I will catch him while he sleeps, and give him to a friend who has a 300 gallon.  It's like a 20G QT, I've done it a bunch of times.   So I fill it with water, sand and rock, Dr. Tim's and the yellow Tang.  Two weeks later, I get one of those tiny designer clownfish, and I wait another two weeks and get another tiny clownfish.  I wait another week before I decide to get the first coral, an Elegance frag, easy, low light coral.  Now I will slowly cycle my first Radion, at 30% for 8 hours a day.  I'll probably borrow a fish trap, to catch the YT, so my tank has the biofiltration to take care of two tiny clownfish and a yt, remove the biggest waste creator of the three, and I should be in good shape.  Today I bought a algae magnet to clean a tiny corner of the tank that had light diatoms.  My goal is to start seeing coralline algae spotting the glass or vortech, then I'll begin to get more coral.  Nothing will go into the tank until those purple spots start forming.  I do not want to have any uglies, and running the tank fish only with just cheap led for the past two months.

 

First thing I noticed, for a tiny light, Ecotech has a tank of a mount for these lights.  I am almost wondering if 2 Radion's will be too much.  Sorry I know pics are really great, but I need to get a DSLR again, because my pics are hella blue.  

 

This tank is in my garage instead of my office for the time being, I'm worried the light is going to make the back panel explode, so no leak test in my house until I get my 2nd light.

 

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fishez4alivin

wow those pics suck, so since I had to start the account back up, I see old pics of my old tank..

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this guy I loved but he used to eat my pink lemonade acro, scoly and acan flesh, he ate half of my Pink watermelon chalice...I had to get rid of him

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At one time this would be considered crazy, my fragged scoli, and the pink yuma I fragged right after, hope more do this now.

 

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LOL, went crazy when those diamond band saws entered the scene

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Nice start, I have the same tank and same exact light on it, 2 of those lights will definitely be to much, I would be really worried about that back glass because with the mount that light is heavy. Will be following along to see how it goes for you, also did you just cut the yuma right down the middle? I have one I'm thinking about cutting but didn't know if it was safe to cut the mouth.

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fishez4alivin

Yeah with a scalpel....it was a super healthy yuma that I had 3 years and it never dropped a baby, so I cut it.  That yuma healed fast, at first I thought is messed up, it didn't look good, but it recovered easily.  I just used one of the little breader box with course calcium reactor media.  I ended up giving one to a friend so the two of us we've  had it around 12 years.Yeah those lights and mount are pretty big.  I may get the 30" bar, and since I'll already have two bases and the adapter, lengthwise and distribute the weight.  I may get the Pro from my LFS, and sell this Blue.  It seems the light is perfect to have low light corals on the outside edge, and  sps in the center.  I need my diffuser, hate the disco ball effect.

 

 

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Ok cool, thanks for sharing the pics, looks pretty straight forward after seeing that. But for the light i have the diffuser already and it does eliminate any disco effect, I get good coverage for the entire tank also. If you already have 2 then I would definitely get the bar if you want to mount both.

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fishez4alivin

yeah thanks, I was shocked at how big those stands are, they are bulletproof.  As for the Yuma, as long as they are healthy they will heal fast.  I actually cut those two again a month later, because the healed so well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
fishez4alivin

So I got a rbta in hopes that my clownfish would host it.  There is so lingering interest and then I caught this going on for the last few days.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
fishez4alivin

So it's been a busy summer, and typically this is when the tank gets neglected.  I got rid of my yellow tang because he ate all the algae in my tank, such a trooper.  So everything is looking great, and against my better judgement, I start feeding my tank. LOL...a small tank like this, with basically frags, doesn't need to be fed, with aminos and reef roids.  When things grow out, that's another level, but since I seemed to have to dose everyday, I figured my corals could use the nutrition.  Who was I kidding?  The little tank hung in there for not one, not two, but three weeks of feedings before the bio filtration couldn't keep up.  I figured removing the tang would allow me to feed, but even that poop factory couldn't compete with feeding every other day.   So I scraped, pulled rocks and scrubbed, rinsed in clean saltwater, and religiously did 50% water changes until I finally got control back.  It basically took the past month doing water changes, using  a small pouch of Chemipure Blue.  Of course one of those evenings I did that was just a little too much for that RBTA to handle, so it went on a walk.  Next morning I found it sucked into the MP10, luckily I had the foam guard on, because I used it to help grab the floating algae I would scrape.  It was super small, and shriveled up, but no ripped flesh.  So I decided to create a spot just for it, away from the flow, in a spot in a back corner that would get a back eddy.  The anemone basically gave me the FU, and became a constant traveler.  To get it to settle, I was forced to stop pulling rock to scrub, and hoped the Chemipure and water changes would be enough.

 

I also found aptasia on my little acan colony, so I gave that away, didn't want to have to deal with a chance of infesting the tank.  

Here it is when I decided I would need to actively fight this algae problem.

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fishez4alivin

Of course with that algae I decided to look into using one of those macrobacter or vibrant, so I went to my LFS, and saw a 20 gallon tank with a school of 1" Blue tangs, so I got one, making sure I got one that would eat frozen.  I have to admit, that as soon as it got into my tank, that fish became a worker.  Constant grazing the rocks to the point that the clownfish curious about what it was eating, started to graze the rocks as well.  I figured they were eating pods, until I watched them ripping the algae off the rock and sucking it down.  That little tang got those clownfish to eat algae off the rocks.  I can imagine a school of those babies keeping a tank clean, they are constantly eating the algae.  The three fish all about the same length are funny to watch.  The bigger clownfish can't decide which it wants to pair with.  So the smaller one and the tang around an hour before lights out, will do their little dance, shimmering .  They even all sleep together which makes catching that fish easy when I move him to a larger tank.  Currently they are hosting the return in the upper corner of the tank.  They take turns laying across the top of the nozzle, they have a rotation, it't hilarious.

Before 

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After countless hours and a couple hundred gallons of water changes.

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I'm seeing coralline growing where I have to scrape the glass and my vortech will need to be soaked in citrus pretty soon, just waiting for my spare wetside to arrive.  I'm going to start buying some hearty acros, to see if I can get them to thrive.  Wow, I knew the rbta lost color, but it sure has changed since before the powerhead incident, but it is the same nem.  Trust me, if it died, I wouldn't replace it.  Got to love how it planted it's foot under the chalice.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
fishez4alivin

I've been fighting the urge to upgrade, I actually don't see myself wanting to tend a 100+ gallon tank.  However I decided that I don't care for that rear chamber of this AIO, and while it's less tank space having a peninsula, it also means you don't have room for equipment.  No skimmer means a lot of filter socks and replace/wash/repeat.   So I just bought one of those Fiji Cube sumps, and over flow kits.  I am thinking about removing that aio wall and baffles, and I think I know how I am going to do this.  I'm going to use stainless steel wire, that vapors use to build coils.  Then I'm going to heat the wire, and push through the softening silicone.   I would build a tool, to tie the wire off to, and use it in the too small for my hands AIO sump.  It works pretty good on a POS tank, lets see if it will work on the IM.  If I cant get my sack to drop, I'll sell the Nuvo 20 and buy something 30G > with an external overflow.  I started getting some acros, since keeping things stable has been no problem.....Got a couple of real sweet deals locally.  

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fishez4alivin

Instead of going away for the weekend I ended up hitting up three locals for the fat frags/mini colonies for a great price.  Got a JF Flame Acro, WD, RR Pink Caddy, Pink Lemonade, purple stag, RMF Acid Trip, and a sunset monti.

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I started to get everything set up to deconstruct my AIO section.  Initially I tried to use coil wire at 28 gauge stainless.  It cut like butter, it was so easy.....on the back wall seam that had clearance.  All the other seams were super tight, and I couldn't push that wire through.  So I start cutting the silicone at the seam, and use a super thin, and easily breakable blade to get between the glass.  I was breaking blades every inch, there wasn't any clearance.  I tried a tape measure, spectra fishing line, thinner coil wire and was beginning to lose any hope in tackling this project.  So i get online, and see that this guy basically broke it all down, with a hammer.  Well I was considering it, but decided to try something different.  I used this old glass cutter I had, and scored the glass, then I grabbed channel locks and started lightly moving the glass.  Eventually I got it to break, and it came apart pretty easily.  I ran out of time, but will update with either a pic of my tank plumbed to the new Fiji Cube sump, or  a pile of glass, next to a rubbermaid  container......removing the acrylic was easy, but behind it was the nightmare. 

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  • 5 months later...
fishez4alivin

The last 6 months have been crazy, and my tank sat in limbo.  I actually traded with a friend and got some easy Montis in exchange for my acros.  I've been slowly introducing them back.  I also removed the liferock that I originally had, switching to Marco dry rock, using AC glue and powdered Marco to glue it together.  New equipment includes a Ultra Reef UKB120, a Sicce SDC 6, and another MP10WD, which I bought 8 for a great price.  Added the RF module to make it wireless and Mobius ready.  I will be adding a remote refugium that I will plumb using a tee off my return.  The SDC6 is only running at 10%, so I have plenty of gph unused to tap into.  I pretty much gave away my tang, and just recently purchased a swissguard basslet, which is becoming a favorite for his chill attitude.  My rockwork has caves and overhangs for it to hide into, but not so much that he disappears.  He is always out, since he knows I am the food master.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Christopher Marks
On 2/22/2021 at 12:11 AM, fishez4alivin said:

just recently purchased a swissguard basslet, which is becoming a favorite for his chill attitude.  My rockwork has caves and overhangs for it to hide into, but not so much that he disappears.  He is always out, since he knows I am the food master.

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My favorite fish of all time! Don't see these too often!

 

I love your new aquascape, the overhang counterbalance is really impressive, seeing that open sand bed below is awesome.

 

I'm going to move your aquarium journal over to our Nano Reef Journals forum, where it should get more views 🙂 

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fishez4alivin

Sounds good.  Yes the basslet is an awesome fish.  He comes out every time I walk by, hoping I'll feed the tank.  He is camera shy, and gets a little anxiety when I have my phone up against the glass. 

 

The aquascape took awhile to get to what I wanted, then I realized that I needed a bigger tank to put it in.  So I busted it up, and that overhang was salvaged.  The base was layered with shelf rock, then I used water thin AC glue and filled the gaps using sand and powder that I had to layer and build up.   I had to make it heavy to balance it out.  It's tough to get a sense of how many little ledges there are.  I can have each coral have it's own perch.  On the small structure, I made it specifically for that anemone.  the base has a perfect hole for it's foot, but the sand I used to build up the gaps,  seems to have made it too coarse for it's liking. 

 

I was looking through some pics and I noticed how much my digitata has been growing the last few months. I forgot how fast sps grows once it gets to a certain size. 

1st pic is from February 2  Second is from today. 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
fishez4alivin

So a lot of new and preowned equipment has found it’s way to my house.  So I added an Apex, Synergy Reef sump, Avast Marine ATO and media reactor.  The sump was in brand new condition and came with a Kessil Refugium light and mount.  It was such a great deal I jumped on it, without thinking it through.  Oh and I just got one of these locally.  It just pops in the tank.  Makes everything else seem bland.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
fishez4alivin

Almost got it all installed but I also added a Trident, since my LFS had them also on sale like the online vendors, and of course added a DOS and some frags.  I’m probably going to upgrade, and my recent equipment purchases will definitely support it.  Can’t get over how bright a CSB is, but it is so small.  It’s in the box until further notice.  Clown keeps taking food and beating it up.  
 

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fishez4alivin

getting the chaeto to roll with a small sicce.  Really makes the mass grow tight, no dead spots from sitting stagnant in the refugium

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  • 2 weeks later...
fishez4alivin

Thanks, I'm hoping the current conditions continue and I can just sit back and enjoy the tank.  The chaeto is growing super fast, and the ball is dense and dark green.  It grows to the point where I am having trouble keeping it tumbling.  One issue I had to deal with was my colorado sunburst anemone.  It pretty small, and my onyx clown fish was beating it up.  I put it in a breeder box, and after a few days I wasn't enjoying the anemone like I should.  So I created a anemone friendly condo for it.  I used 1" and 3/4" masonry drill bits and drilled a 1" hole into some rock, then I drilled a 3/4" hole inside of the 1".  It allows the nem to get a secure foot hold, which they like to do.  I also faired out the inside of the rock with 2 part epoxy to make it smooth.  I found that when I used the CA glue and sand, the texture was too coarse for the anemone.  Here is the top of my anemone condo, It creates two openings for the anemone to choose, depending on desired flow and light intensity.   IMG_0054.thumb.JPG.4af5cb501efa250485399f7230841775.JPG

 

In this picture you can get a better understanding on what I was trying to do.  You can see the anemone has tentacles coming out of both openings, but it will make it's choice for preferred location...That acro shields the nem from quite a bit of flow, and of course shades it of lighting .  IMG_0443.thumb.JPG.82d87bc3752435bf1759dad277d02a08.JPG

 

 

 

And here is it, and it hasn't showed any interest to move out of the condo.  The hole also gives the nem a easy spot to seek refuge if the clown fish tries to beat it up again.

 

 

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