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IM Nuvo 8 w/ the Tampa Bay "Package"


diverseyboats

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diverseyboats

Hello world of Nano-Reef!

 

First SW tank. Decided to do an 8 gal after stalking the forums for the better part of three months. Go small or go home, right?!!?!

 

So, Went with the IM 8, the inTank basket with the lovely blue Amazon floss and some Purigen... Had to throw the entire bag of Chemipure Elite in the return pump chamber since the unit bag is WAY too big to fit anywhere. Threw in an upgraded MJ900 return pump and a Koralia Nano in there for flow. Also have a Tunze ATO which I believe has paid for itself in need and simplistic-coolness in just the last week.

 

So I picked up the package yesterday... Two boxes... About 6ish pounds of sand and the first batch of rock... Maybe 4 pounds or so. (Attached some pics).

 

The thing came alive immediately! Haven't really ID'd anything yet, but I have some kind of decent sized star (2" or so), a few snails and something lurking under a rock... Not sure yet... Don't want to start prodding. The rocks themselves have a bunch of little brown-ish flowy-flower like things popping in and out.. (again, haven't really ID'd yet...)

 

Just going to let this thing cycle then come part 2 of the package with more rock and the critters. Not really sure what I want to do with this yet... just taking it slow... Probably beginner type corals and a single small fish (and no, Nemo will not be lliving here). A few questions right off the bat that I'd LOVE some feedback on.

 

1) Is there such a thing as too much flow? The return does good by itself and the nano on the side really gets things going. I know flow is good, but it there a limit?

 

2) The rocks sit pretty well in and on each other. Is there a need to epoxy the pieces together? How much of a reality are these rock slides?

 

3) Will I ever stop reading forums or spending money on this hobby? ;)

 

That's all for now...

 

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Hi! Congrats on taking the plunge. ;)

Very nice looking tank and rock work.

 

1. As long as there is no direct flow on a soft coral then no. :) Good flow keeps the "nasties" away like Cyanobacteria.

2.I do not have my rocks epoxied. As long as you do not have a fish, shrimp or other creatures that burrow under rocks it should be good. :fingerscrossed:

3. Welcome to the world of a bottomless money pit and countless hours spent reading, gazing and Googling! :lol:

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flow- helps in the filtration obviously and tank cycles faster with flow. How much you want depends on if the corals you want require low, med or high flow but you may get all 3 depending on how you position your flow. sometimes you won't know until you get some coral in there. I just bought some green star polyp- depending on how i positioned my Koralia 240 the grasses could be upright or waying completely horizontal to where there was no movement to sway them the other way.

 

rock- you don't have to epoxy rock together if it's a strong formation. You may decide after getting some coral that the layout isn't conducive to it....yet. And if you have something bad happen, it'd be much better to take out one rock and dip for example, rather than the whole thing.

 

If you add more rock later you might get a bit of change in cycle. I didn't get any snails except for what came hitchiking along- when my cycle was over I got a couple astreas and my lfs said I might have a mini cycle. If you have live rock and live sand cycle can be short- mine was 2 wks but that just depends- I have an Evo 8, pics coming soon- my tank will be 5 wks old Sat and after 4 wks went by I got 3 corals. After Easter I'll get a fish and maybe a couple corals and wait and see what happens- how the chemisty changes with the fish.

 

Hope that helps- the Identification forum is great for checking/guessing/researching what might have hitchiked along. Most forums all have a major thread that covers just about everything and what you don't see you can ask. There's also a nice abbrev guide- I'm still new here but there is a wealth of info. Enjoy- yes, you will be addicted to your tank. I find I'd rather watch my gsp sway than watch tv. And watch things grow out of your rock and wonder what kind of wonderful they are. Enjoy.

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Islandoftiki

Great looking setup. I've seen a number of these tanks set up and running. No extra powerheads or anything. You can do quite a bit with a totally stock setup if you aren't going for high-flow corals. Most beginner corals don't need a lot of flow, but there are a number of good nano-powerheads on the market today that will work well in that tank.

 

Those brownish flowery things sound like feather duster worms. Nice little hitchhikers. You'll probably find stomatella snails, micro brittle stars and asterina stars as the most common hitchhikers. Amphipods and copepods are also common. Bristle worms as well. All good freebie clean-up crew members.

 

No need to epoxy the rocks if you put them in a stable configuration. They won't go anywhere.

 

As far as your wallet goes, well... you're just scratching the surface. You haven't gone crazy buying high-end named zoas and chalice corals yet. Yet...

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diverseyboats

Thanks guys... Awesome to officially part of the club!! I just keep staring at it. Luckily, I got a "oh, this is cool," from the wife.... Night two and I just noticed what appears to be a very small urchin hanging out on top of the rocks. New hitchhiker! Is this good? Bad? Looks like I got about an hour of google ahead of me...

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We would love to see pictures of Mr. Urchin. :) It may not be a bad thing depending on the type of urchin. Some urchins grow very fast and eventually out grow your tank. As they get bigger they may knock over small rocks and are also fond of rearrange you frags if they do not like your placement. :lol:

 

Clicking in your tank? Could it be a time bomb? :lol: Probably just a pistol shrimp or maybe a mantis shrimp. :eek: I do not know much about these. I am sure someone will chime in here and advise on those.

 

Good luck!

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diverseyboats

Morning update... and a few more questions!

 

1) It appears I have this snail that wants to jump ship. Takes about 10 minutes to crawl up the side of the tank, then just hangs out above the waterline. (Pic attached). Is there a reason he wants out? Water quality?

 

2) Speaking of which... The instructions with The Package tell me only to watch out for ammonia during the cycle.. Do water changes if it spikes to over 1, but ignore all other params. My Nitrite is high around 3ppm and the Nitrate is seemingly off the scale, somewhere between 80 and 160ppm. Should I really continue to ignore these? Note : SG 1.024, pH 7.8-8.0 and temp around 78. Thoughts?

 

3) The clicking went on and off through the night and I hear it now with the lights on sporadically. As there's really nothing in the tank now as far as livestock and the Tampa Instructions say NOT to feed until the Part 2 of the package comes in about another week and the tank cycles, I might try to lure him out via shrimp on a stick as the guys gotta be getting hungry.

 

4) Pic not possible of the Urchin... But I did discover a little purple tubular looking thing that measures about .5 inch... Thoughts? (Pic attached)

 

 

Thank you!!

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Those snails, Nerite snail, do that. They are tidal snail and love to be at the waters edge part of the time. However they will fall out of the tank. I just heard one drop this morning and there is only one little hole in my tank canopy! Silly snail!

 

Your water chemistry sounds about right for a tank that is cycling. A water change is not necessary if you do not have any fish or corals that will suffer from ammonia and nitrites. Doing a water change is said to slow down the cycle. As the bacteria that process the ammonia and nitrites establish themselves with time, those levels will go down. The nitrates are used up by algae so maybe a some nice macro algae in the display will help reduce nitrates at the end of the cycle. I like the red macros like Dragon Breath or Gracilaria attached to rock work with gel super glue. I have success with Shaving brush in the sand bed too. Chaeto is great for a refugium or in a back chamber with a submersible light, but if you try to put it in the display it will float around and get caught in power heads.

 

I would not try too hard to get the clicker out just yet as there is nothing that it can harm in your tank right now. Maybe someone else can weigh in on that with experience with those critters. I have read forum threads where those little clicker shrimp have lived in harmony with other tank mates.

 

That tubular thingy is interesting. I have no idea what it may be. You may try the ID forum.

 

Whatever you decide to do it will all turn out okay. Even if you do something wrong, no worries, because every mistake is a learning opportunity. At least that is how I like to see my many mistakes along the way. :)

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diverseyboats

OK - here's two more pics... One of my little urchin friend and the other of my googley-eyed shrimp visitor. Couldn't snap a pic of him out from the rock, but saw him once... about an inch and a half, I believe. Noises aside, curious if I should get rid of the guy? Part 2 of the package will have more creatures including snails, a pep shrimp, crabs, and whatever else he pulls out of the gulf hitchhiking on the remainder of the live rock. Within a few weeks, I'd like to get some hardy beginner type corals. Thoughts?

 

Thanks!

 

 

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The little urchin has got to be the sweetest little HH I've ever read/seen. Too cute. You should post him in the ID thread and maybe some one can tell what he is.

 

That shrimp looks like trouble! Hmmm... check out some Mantis shrimp pictures and see if that is what he is. If it is a Mantis then he will be a predator in your tank. Some people keep dedicated mantis tanks as you probably already know.

 

My first hardy corals I enjoyed a bunch are the Xenias, Mushrooms, Zoas and Palys (because they are so colorful) and the Kenya tree. Of all three the Kenya is the least trouble for me. They have no pests and if they drop any limbs to spread around they are easy to spot and remove. The Zoas have a few pest you got to look out for like nudibranchs which I found on mine. <_< The Xenia is lovely and it is a fast grower so it needs trimming once in a while. Mush rooms are easy to grow but not so easy to keep in one place. They will detach from rocks and float around if they do not like your flow set up (too strong or blowing directly on them.

 

Good luck!!

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Yeah that's a mantis. First bit of advise, don't try to get him out with your hands and don't stick them near him, mantis shrimp can cut up your hand pretty good. Do some research on him my advise though you may want to donate as he will kill snails and stuff.

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diverseyboats

OK - looks like I need to take care of this before getting the part 2 of the package. Is a brittle star vulnerable to the mantis? I had a a star hitchhike on the rock... maybe 2" stretched out... Haven't seen him since day 2, but not sure if he's just burrowed into the sand....

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diverseyboats

Raw shrimp on a skewer in the wifes hand, a claw pickup tool in mine. Humans - 1, Mr. Mantis - 0. Guy was (sorry, he's now past tense) a good two inches. I was hoping to find my brittle star while moving rocks and stirring things up, but he must be a goner. So much fun!

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diverseyboats

OK. Part 2 of The Package arrived today... Took about 2 hours to get everything in and I'm so impressed! (Although this is my first tank so I'm easy).

 

Haven't really started to ID and inventory everything but off the bat I have 3 sponges, 3 corals , an anemone, 2 cukes, a shrimp, about 10 or so assorted snails and about a half dozen baby hermits along with extra shells. Haven't really set things down yet, but I've attached a pic.

 

Two problems that I'd like suggestions on...

 

1) My shrimp, think its a pep, likes to get his body jammed into the overflow... It's not a suction thing... He's doing it even when it's off. Right now, I rigged in there a kitchen strainer to keep him out. Anyone else have this issue? What kind of mod did you put in place?

 

2) Unrelated to The Package, my Tunze ATO stopped working. The little relay box just clicks a few times when it gets power, the pump pulses for a sec, and then nothing. I've moved the sensor around and opened it up to verify the float floats. Suggestions? Are these prone to dying?

 

More to come!

 

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diverseyboats

Hmmm... Thanks for the response!

 

Not sure what it is... Does not appear to be a priming issue as the thing won't "run" for more than a fraction of a second. Will call Tunze. I'm getting ready a list of questions for the group that I'll post later today... Thanks again everyone for reading! I just stare at this thing for HOURS!

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My peppermint always hung out in the rocks and came out for food. It avoided the water intakes. IDK Maybe some plastic canvas they sell at the hobby/sewing stores. You could maybe use that to barricade the overflow?

package_of_6_white_7_count_plastic_canva

 

Good luck with the ATO. Darned machines!

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diverseyboats

Eitallent-

 

So simple... Excellent suggestion! Went to the craft store, described what I was looking for to a clueless woman, then spent about 15 minutes going aisle to aisle and found the stuff! Pep can't get in there anymore! Now I just need to find a black version to it blends in to the back.

 

AND NOW... Here's a bunch of other noob questions! Of course after typing this I'll Google it, but wanted to try here.

 

1) I have an orange sponge.. Think it's a Angelas sceptrum - maybe. What's the best way to "mount" sponges? Just bury it in the sandbed? Marine epoxy? Gel?

 

2) Same question for the purple color piece... Think it's a Bent sea rod - Plexaura flexuosa? Has a very non-descript base... How to mount?

 

3) I know this is common, but my Nitrates are through the f'n roof. Put Part 2 of The Package in two days ago. Have done 2 x 2 gallon water changes so far... one yesterday and one today. Before my last swap about an hour ago, the red was off the chart... 160+. Now it looks more orange but at least 80ppm. From reading about nanos and cheato, seems like the verdict is to just run Purigen and Chemipure Elite and be done with it - which is what I have in there. I'm also definitely starting to see more green growth on the established set of live rock that soft cycled the tank. Been doing tests about every 6 hours for the last 48 and everything else is, I THINK, under control for a new nano with a crap ton of livestock just added... PH went up a little to 8.2, Ammonia has been stable at .25 and Nitrites are somewhere under .25. Should I just keep doing the 25% water changes until it's under control? Burning through salt like crazy.

 

4) Regarding the Nitrates, I have a slew of crabs, snails, a Black Brittle Star (bout 4 inch wingspan) and a pair of Furry Sea Cucumbers - - I know, right? The Package probably comes a bit too loaded. Are the high Nitrates going to nuke these guys?

 

5) And then there's the anemone... I think it's a flower one... Maybe an inch in diameter... Put it on a rock and the thing crawled to the underside of the rock in an arch and lodged himself into a crevice so he's "looking down". Just acclimation? I assume he'll come out when he wants light?

 

6) Finally... Food. I have Coral Frenzy freeze-dried Cyclopeeze along with Kent A&B Nano supplements. Now, I haven't added a single thing to the tank yet as I wanted to get water under control first. Is this correct? Will everyone have enough to eat? Note : other that a VERY little bit of green algae on two of the rocks, I don't see any growth.

 

I know this is a a lot to post, but I'd love any and all feedback!!!!

 

Thanks alot!

 

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I am glad you found the plastic canvas solution useful. :)

 

 

The first thing I would try is to take a water sample to a fellow reefer or a trusted LFS and have them confirm the results you are getting with their nitrate test kit. That sounds strange that you are doing 25% water changes and you have through the roof nitrates. :unsure:

 

I have read plenty of member's threads where faulty titration kits and equipment (refractometer) was the reason for trouble in tanks.

 

Hopefully someone can jump in here and offer more input on your questions. I am still a newbie myself so I can't offer as much help as the more experienced members. :).

 

Good luck.

 

Eitallent-

 

So simple... Excellent suggestion! Went to the craft store, described what I was looking for to a clueless woman, then spent about 15 minutes going aisle to aisle and found the stuff! Pep can't get in there anymore! Now I just need to find a black version to it blends in to the back.

 

AND NOW... Here's a bunch of other noob questions! Of course after typing this I'll Google it, but wanted to try here.

 

1) I have an orange sponge.. Think it's a Angelas sceptrum - maybe. What's the best way to "mount" sponges? Just bury it in the sandbed? Marine epoxy? Gel?

 

2) Same question for the purple color piece... Think it's a Bent sea rod - Plexaura flexuosa? Has a very non-descript base... How to mount?

 

3) I know this is common, but my Nitrates are through the f'n roof. Put Part 2 of The Package in two days ago. Have done 2 x 2 gallon water changes so far... one yesterday and one today. Before my last swap about an hour ago, the red was off the chart... 160+. Now it looks more orange but at least 80ppm. From reading about nanos and cheato, seems like the verdict is to just run Purigen and Chemipure Elite and be done with it - which is what I have in there. I'm also definitely starting to see more green growth on the established set of live rock that soft cycled the tank. Been doing tests about every 6 hours for the last 48 and everything else is, I THINK, under control for a new nano with a crap ton of livestock just added... PH went up a little to 8.2, Ammonia has been stable at .25 and Nitrites are somewhere under .25. Should I just keep doing the 25% water changes until it's under control? Burning through salt like crazy.

 

4) Regarding the Nitrates, I have a slew of crabs, snails, a Black Brittle Star (bout 4 inch wingspan) and a pair of Furry Sea Cucumbers - - I know, right? The Package probably comes a bit too loaded. Are the high Nitrates going to nuke these guys?

 

5) And then there's the anemone... I think it's a flower one... Maybe an inch in diameter... Put it on a rock and the thing crawled to the underside of the rock in an arch and lodged himself into a crevice so he's "looking down". Just acclimation? I assume he'll come out when he wants light?

 

6) Finally... Food. I have Coral Frenzy freeze-dried Cyclopeeze along with Kent A&B Nano supplements. Now, I haven't added a single thing to the tank yet as I wanted to get water under control first. Is this correct? Will everyone have enough to eat? Note : other that a VERY little bit of green algae on two of the rocks, I don't see any growth.

 

I know this is a a lot to post, but I'd love any and all feedback!!!!

 

Thanks alot!

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Islandoftiki

So, you were lucky enough to get a mantis shrimp hitchiker, I see. But you also have a peppermint shrimp? It's not going to last long since mantis shrimp are predators. Your picture isn't good, but I suspect it's a smasher and not a spearer. Do you plant to make this a mantis tank? I would encourage you to if you're so inclined. They're far more interesting than most critters.

 

And if you don't want that mantis, please don't kill it. Find someone who wants it.

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