[Innovative Marine Nuvo 24] April Giveaway Build Thread

[defender.TX]

I just got off the phone with the incredibly friendly Stephen Nguyen from Innovative Marine who called to verify my identity as the Facebook Nuvo Nano 24 April Giveaway winner! Honestly, I couldn't be more excited about winning the Nuvo 24 as I've wanted one for quite a while now. I also have to admit that this build with the Nuvo 24 will be my first ever saltwater tank. I've got experience with a freshwater nano that I've had up and running successfully for about 6 months now but I've been really wanting to get my hands salty with a nano reef.

While this will be a build thread to showcase the Nuvo 24 that I should be receiving in the next two to three weeks, I'm also going to welcome criticism and suggestions considering this is going to be my first reef. I want to make sure I do the tank justice and build something great with the tank the wonderful people at Innovative Marine are sending me.

Updates are going to come slowly as I'm still waiting on the tank and wrapping up a few projects at work with tight deadlines but I do have big ideas for this tank.

Current Full Tank Shot:



Update (03/30/2014):

Tank has a new aquascape.

Contents:

• Planned Equipment
• Tank Delivery
• Tank Backing Removal
• Initial Setup
• Cleanup Crew
• Clowns!
• Finally, Coral!
• Zoas
• LPS
• Screen Top and Auto Top Off
• Firefish and new Photos
• New Aquascape

Equipment:

• Innovative Marine Nuvo 24 All-In-One Aquarium
• Innovative Marine Skkye Light Dimmable Dualstrip
• Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 100 watt
• Hydor Koralia Nano 425
• Tunze Osmolator Nano 3152 ATO
• Aqua Gadget SpinStream (2)
• BRS Screen Top
• InTank Poly Filter Floss
• Boyd Chemi-Pure Elite 11.74oz Bag
• Seachem Purigen 100mL in Bag

Planned Equipment:

• Apex Lite
• Aqua Gadget SkimMate Protein Skimmer
• InTank IM24 Media Basket
• InTank IM24 Fuge Basket
• JBJ Nano Glo Refugium Light
• Aqua Illumination Hydra FiftyTwo with AI Director

Livestock:

• 2 Blue Leg Reef Hermit Crabs
• 1 Fighting Conch (Mr. Crowley)
• 1 Margarita Snail
• 1 Zebra Turbo Snail
• 1 Nassarius Snail
• 1 Cerith Snails
• 1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
• 2 Ocellaris Clownfish (Crockett and Tubbs)
• 1 Firefish goby
• 1 Blue Green Chromis

Coral:

• Ricordea florida
• Caulastrea curvata (Candy Cane)
• Euphyllia glabrescens (Torch)
• Actinodicus sp. (Metallic Red Mushroom)
• Briareium sp. (Murpho-Metallic Green Star Polyps)
• Assorted Zoanthids

[SerenityReef]

Nice grab!

[TristanC]

Nice!

[defender.TX]

So one of the first things I need to decide is what I'm going to use as a stand. I know already that I'm going to use a microcontroller (probably Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper) to automate the lights and top off (to start) so I need something with a cabinet underneath where I can organize the top off water reservoir, mount the electronics, and keep some supplies.

 

I'm open at this point to pre-built furniture, buying something and hacking it to suit my purposes, and even building my own stand (though this is the least desirable for me). Does anyone have any ideas?

[jgpico]

Congrats! This is going to be a sweet tank. I hate you btw, I wanted to win this tank so bad!!!!!!!!!!

[TristanC]

Building your own is definitely the cheapest way, quality depends on how patient you are with it.

[defender.TX]

Congrats! This is going to be a sweet tank. I hate you btw, I wanted to win this tank so bad!!!!!!!!!!

 

I honestly jumped up and down a few times when I saw that I had won .

[bageezus]

Congrats! I would build your own. Figure out what you would like to have as a reservoir and build around it. Not only can you save some money by building your own, you can customize it to fit your needs. There are so many custom stand builds out there. I have taken small ideas here and there and turned them into my own custom design.

[livewyr25]

I plan on getting the Nuvo 38, and i don't trust the stand that they sell with it. I'll be starting the construction of a custom stand this weekend. ( I have no wood working experience so this should be an adventure)

[defender.TX]

I plan on getting the Nuvo 38, and i don't trust the stand that they sell with it. I'll be starting the construction of a custom stand this weekend. ( I have no wood working experience so this should be an adventure)

 

I know how you feel, I think that I'm going to end up building my own stand as well and I have minimal woodworking experience. I think I'm going to build a pretty standard tank stand using 2x4's. The look I'm going for is minimalist - sort of like the silver ADA style stands if you've ever seen those but with an espresso stain to match the rest of my furniture. I'm going to be using 2.5 Gallon F-Style Polyethylene jugs for my RO water reservoirs, so I won't have any problem fitting them in the cabinet. Hopefully I can get a model done in Sketchup soon and start planning it out.

[novice]

For a cheap cabinet, I would get a salvaged kitchen cabinet from a remodel. They can be had online or sometimes they have floor models on sale at Lowes or Home Depot. Then go to a supplier and look online for granite remnants. If you're cutting a square or rectangle, you can do it yourself with the help of a friend using an angle grinder and a hose.

 

I'm going through the same thing myself. My plan is to get a kitchen base cabinet, cut down the depth, then trim some granite I have sitting around from my kitchen remodel and put my tank on top of that. I'm planning to spray paint a classic white finish on the cabinets, have some black granite on top, and then my tank. I'll have a drawer for the small stuff and storage for some of the bigger times underneath.

 

If you want your tank sitting a bit higher than counter height, just build a base and have the cabinet sit on top of the base. It's really not much work if you have the tools.

[Deleted User 4]

Yeah, I saw that you won. It's me Illu IIX on facebook lol.

[defender.TX]

For a cheap cabinet, I would get a salvaged kitchen cabinet from a remodel. They can be had online or sometimes they have floor models on sale at Lowes or Home Depot.

 

My wife actually suggested this and we looked into it a bit but in the end if I build my own it's more customizable and I have an excuse to buy a saw. I've almost got the plans done, ill post them as soon as they are finished.

[Deleted User 4]

What are your stocking plans? You can check out Ikea for some decent stands.

[defender.TX]

I've been looking for stands for quite a while and nothing really is fitting the bill of what I'm looking for. I decided to build a custom stand and put some plans together. It's going to be built using standard 2x4's, wood screws, and 1/4" Plyboard. I'm going to stain the outside espresso and paint the inside a light business grey to make it brighter inside the cabinet. I'll probably install a LED strip from IKEA inside the cabinet as a work light. I want it to be about 3 feet tall for easy viewing and the tank should fit almost perfectly on the top if I build it correctly. I used the measurements off Innovative Marine's website for the Nuvo 24; I'll probably wait until my actual tank shows up to start building. I doubt there will be a discrepancy in the dimensions from the specs on the site, but I'll feel more comfortable if I measure the actual tank I'm going to be putting on top of it before I start cutting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are your stocking plans? You can check out Ikea for some decent stands.

 

I plan on going easy at first since this is my first reef. Less demanding corals like Zoanthids and Palythoas, a clean up crew, some dwarf clowns, and maybe a softie or anemone for them to host.

 

I'm totally open to suggestions! What do you think would be good for this size tank? I live very close to Austin Aquadome, which has an amazing saltwater livestock inventory, so I can probably get almost anything locally.

[Deleted User 4]

Nice. Umm, honestly zoas and palys are good as starters. Just make sure if you ever decide to frag them, wear goggles lol. They're known for dangerous casualties due to their natural palytoxins.

 

Some other easy corals are ricordias, and some of the lps. Photosynthetic gorgonians are a good addition to the tank as well. Oh, and you should start with live cycled rocks. Perhaps ones with established coraline already.

[defender.TX]

Oh, and you should start with live cycled rocks. Perhaps ones with established coraline already.

 

The local fish shop I go to has a big shallow tub with "live rock" in it under lights and a continuous flow of saltwater. I don't remember seeing much purple coralline on it, but I figured if it was wet right up to the point that I picked it out that would probably be a good start?

[Deleted User 4]

Yeah. That'll help establish the rightful cycle for the tank. Try to find some with coraline algae though if there is. And make sure you select ones with no pests such as aiptasia, etc. to be on the safe side.

[Passaggper]

I've been looking for stands for quite a while and nothing really is fitting the bill of what I'm looking for. I decided to build a custom stand and put some plans together. It's going to be built using standard 2x4's, wood screws, and 1/4" Plyboard. I'm going to stain the outside espresso and paint the inside a light business grey to make it brighter inside the cabinet. I'll probably install a LED strip from IKEA inside the cabinet as a work light. I want it to be about 3 feet tall for easy viewing and the tank should fit almost perfectly on the top if I build it correctly. I used the measurements off Innovative Marine's website for the Nuvo 24; I'll probably wait until my actual tank shows up to start building. I doubt there will be a discrepancy in the dimensions from the specs on the site, but I'll feel more comfortable if I measure the actual tank I'm going to be putting on top of it before I start cutting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I plan on going easy at first since this is my first reef. Less demanding corals like Zoanthids and Palythoas, a clean up crew, some dwarf clowns, and maybe a softie or anemone for them to host.

 

I'm totally open to suggestions! What do you think would be good for this size tank? I live very close to Austin Aquadome, which has an amazing saltwater livestock inventory, so I can probably get almost anything locally.

The frame seems overkill. I would take a 2x4 out of each corner at the very least. It will still be a heavy beast. Are you going to add a shelf or anything?

[defender.TX]

The frame seems overkill. I would take a 2x4 out of each corner at the very least. It will still be a heavy beast. Are you going to add a shelf or anything?

 

You're probably right - I may only build it with 1 2x4 in each corner. I also think I'm going to change the cabinet doors to recess into the cabinet instead of cover the entire front like I have them now. I probably will cut an extra bit of 1/4 plyboard to use as a shelf over half of it, but I haven't figured that all out yet.

 

I'm not going to be able to start on this until next weekend since I'm going to be out of town this weekend.

[Yeobe1]

Very interested to follow this build. I currently don't have a set up, just doing as much research as I can. I really like the the design of this tank, both aesthetically as well as the large area in back for components.

 

Hope everything goes well for you. If you could list all the additional products you are running with it and your thoughts on them it would be appreciated. Still trying to nail down my shopping list for what I want to start with, as well as future purchases.

 

I will keep researching the nuvo 16 as well as there is just more information right now, but will check back often.

[defender.TX]

Since I'm still waiting for the actual tank, I spent some more time on my stand design. I want to get it right the first time so that I don't feel the need to redesign the stand later which would obviously be very disruptive for the tank. I've thrown out the 1/4" hardwood plyboard recessed into the frame and moved to 1/2" hardwood plyboard outside of the frame. I'm also going to finish the front corners with 1/2" by 1/2" quarter round - the idea here is that, since the Nuvo tank has rounded edges, the frame will more closely match the tank. I may not even cover the top of the frame since the tank should cover the entire thing. As suggested earlier in the thread I'm only putting 1 2x4 in each corner since 2 is just overkill. Finally, I've moved to a single 3/4" cabinet door because the opening won't end up being large enough to merit two doors in my opinion. Updated pics:

 

 

 

Can't wait for the tank to show up!

[Deleted User 4]

No tank hasn't shown up yet? ....:/

[Drift Monkey]

They totally messed up and chose the wrong Austinite!

 

Congrats!

[defender.TX]

No tank hasn't shown up yet? ....:/

 

Nope, I haven't heard from anybody since I spoke with Stephen Nguyen, but he told me it could take longer this time since the Nuvo 24 is a new product launch.

 

UPDATE:

 

Innovative Marine just contacted me and said my tank will ship in the next 24-48 hours. Can't wait! I should be starting the stand this weekend as well.