[Innovative Marine Nuvo 24] April Giveaway Build Thread

[defender.TX]

Back to the stand discussion - i just put it together. Very easy. Wife also commented that it does not look too bad.

 

Are you able to "move" the stand with the tank. I will have this against the wall and at times might want to push it away from the wall a few inches to work on stuff. I am wondering about putting some sliders underneath.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Not easily or confidently. The stand "slides" fairly well on the floor but the tank is so heavy I would really be afraid to slosh water all over and mess things up. I have my stand permanently about 5 inches from the wall and it doesn't look bad at all. Also gives me some room to work behind the tank if I need to.

[defender.TX]

I saw a $9 Ricordea frag at the LFS today and picked it up. It's in the tank right now. Looks pretty good, green mouth but not much other color because the tank it was in at the store didn't have a lot of Actinic Lighting. I'm actually not really sure what level I should set my lights at to try and acclimate it. The holding tank at the store had 4 Current USA TruLumen Pro strips over it (3 10K White and 1 453nm) and my tank has a Innovative Marine Skkye Light Dimmable Dual Strip. I have both channels at about 3/4 power right now and the Ricordea on a small rock in the sand bed. Hopefully that's good for the first week or so and then I can go back to full power on my light?

 

I'll take some pictures tonight.

[Jay Wee]

I'm no expert here but for me I just dim the lights at 20% for the first day and ramp it up gradually the 2nd and 3rd day and never had a prob. All my corals are doing freat except for this pink stylophora that's starting to white out a little bit. Our tanks are shallow and so I never have my lights at full power. I feel it's too strong.

[defender.TX]

I'm no expert here but for me I just dim the lights at 20% for the first day and ramp it up gradually the 2nd and 3rd day and never had a prob. All my corals are doing freat except for this pink stylophora that's starting to white out a little bit. Our tanks are shallow and so I never have my lights at full power. I feel it's too strong.

 

Yea, that could be the case for your lights. I have no idea how my lights compare to the Razor. I wish I had a PAR meter so I could get a better idea how much light I was actually putting in the tank. For now, I have the lights on about a third power on both channels. The Ricordea frag looks good; colors are popping under my actinics and it's spreading out nice and open. I guess I'll just keep it at a third power or so for a week and take it back to where it usually is at roughly 80%. It's tough to know exactly where I'm at because the Skkye Light uses analog potentiometers so I kind of just have to eyeball it.

[whysoserious]

I must say that this build thread as convinced me to get a IM Nuvo 24 myself. Most likely will be upgrading from a JBJ 28G..

 

Subscribed for more updates!

[defender.TX]

I must say that this build thread as convinced me to get a IM Nuvo 24 myself. Most likely will be upgrading from a JBJ 28G..

 

Subscribed for more updates!

 

You won't be disappointed! It's an awesome tank with tons of space to work with. If I may, I would just suggest removing the stock filter media from day 1 and running Poly Filter Floss on top of both baskets, Seachem Purigen in one, and the ~11 oz Boyd Chemi-Pure Elite bag in the other. My water is absolutely beautiful since I switched to that setup.

[whysoserious]

Thank you for the advice!

 

I have a question for you. I am running 02 Phosban reactors. One reactor has GFO and the other has Carbon. My ideal design would consist of incorporating both the reactors, removing all of the media inserts and only keep the Filter Floss on top. On the both of the media baskets, I am open to suggestions since I will have free space. What do you think?

 

Lastly, I wanted to run a filter sock in one of the chambers. I see that alot of companies have a small - medium size filter sock with a hang on capability. I have yet to see the Nuvo 24 in person (saw the 16 already), but do you think there is any room in the back for it?

 

Thanks again

[defender.TX]

I have a question for you. I am running 02 Phosban reactors. One reactor has GFO and the other has Carbon. My ideal design would consist of incorporating both the reactors, removing all of the media inserts and only keep the Filter Floss on top. On the both of the media baskets, I am open to suggestions since I will have free space. What do you think?

 

Lastly, I wanted to run a filter sock in one of the chambers. I see that alot of companies have a small - medium size filter sock with a hang on capability. I have yet to see the Nuvo 24 in person (saw the 16 already), but do you think there is any room in the back for it?

 

I'm not sure about the Phosban reactors and how you plan to plumb then in. You could probably drop an MJ1200 in the larger of the rear open chambers and run them externally with the return line coming back into the return chamber in the sump. I'm sure it's doable if you plan to mount them externally in the cabinet, but it might not be the prettiest solution. Or you could sell those and buy two of the MiniMax reactors as the Nuvo 24 has room for two (or one + the Skimmate Skimmer). Really though, I would make use of the filter baskets. With Boyd Chemi-Pure (which is basically GFO and carbon in one bag) and Seachem Purigen (a synthetic organic absorbant) you may not even need the reactors depending on your load. Also, I would definitely not do a filter sock and just run the Poly Filter Floss from InTank - it's ridiculously cheap and so easy to replace I put two fresh pads in every few days.

 

Finally, Coral!

 

I know that to many of you a green Ricordea frag is no big deal but for me this is a big moment. It's my first coral frag ever! I picked it up for $9 at the LFS Sunday and I'm really happy with it. It's coloring up under my Actinic lighting. It would be nice if the colors came out a little more over time but even if I don't see a huge improvement I think that's fine.

 

 

[C Lo Slice]

Are you a member of the Austin Reef Club? If you become a Premium Member, there is a section for equipment out on loan from other members. Last I checked (I moved from Austin in October, so I haven't been too active on their forums), there was a PAR meter available for only a $50 deposit. I've met quite a few of the people from the club, and they're all awesome, down to earth folk. May be worth checking out since you're in the area.

 

By the way, I love your tank. Just read the entire thread. The Dome is great, especially for being practically the only LFS in South Austin. Have you checked out River City Aquatics yet? The owner, Jake, is absolutely awesome and all of his guys are very knowledgeable.

 

I wish I had a PAR meter so I could get a better idea how much light I was actually putting in the tank.

[Cameron6796]

 

 

Finally, Coral!

 

I know that to many of you a green Ricordea frag is no big deal but for me this is a big moment. It's my first coral frag ever! I picked it up for $9 at the LFS Sunday and I'm really happy with it. It's coloring up under my Actinic lighting. It would be nice if the colors came out a little more over time but even if I don't see a huge improvement I think that's fine.

Cool what are your plans for coral and powerful is that light may need some supplementing

Any more fish going into this tank? Fire fish are cool and very active one of my favourite also you could maybe do a cherub angel but only if your willing to have a fish that may nip corals and keep water quality good since it is pushing your bio load

[defender.TX]

Cool what are your plans for coral and powerful is that light may need some supplementing

Any more fish going into this tank? Fire fish are cool and very active one of my favourite also you could maybe do a cherub angel but only if your willing to have a fish that may nip corals and keep water quality good since it is pushing your bio load

 

The light is plenty powerful, in fact I'm worried about it being a little too powerful and bleaching out the Ricordea if I turn it all the way up. I won't be needing any supplementation for lighting but I may be trying to hang this light n the future because I really hate how it sits right on the top of the tank. My personal preference is to have the lights above the top of the tank so I can do maintenance a little more easily.

 

I do have more fish plans - I would like to get a shrimp/goby pair at some point and also a Mandarin Dragonette if I can get my Fuge going so I have a pod population.

[defender.TX]

Are you a member of the Austin Reef Club? If you become a Premium Member, there is a section for equipment out on loan from other members. Last I checked (I moved from Austin in October, so I haven't been too active on their forums), there was a PAR meter available for only a $50 deposit. I've met quite a few of the people from the club, and they're all awesome, down to earth folk. May be worth checking out since you're in the area.

 

By the way, I love your tank. Just read the entire thread. The Dome is great, especially for being practically the only LFS in South Austin. Have you checked out River City Aquatics yet? The owner, Jake, is absolutely awesome and all of his guys are very knowledgeable.

 

I am not a member, but I probably should look into it. I love Austin Aquadome. I haven't had a single thing from there get to my tank sick. All the livestock is really healthy and everybody is really helpful. They never try and sell you something that isn't a good fit for your tank. I've never been to River City Aquatics or Austin Aquatek but I have plans to check out both!

[Cameron6796]

Very cool if you get a dragonet look around for one that will eat prepared foods as well as pods just as an added bit of redundancy what dragonet are you looking into

[C Lo Slice]

I am not a member, but I probably should look into it. I love Austin Aquadome. I haven't had a single thing from there get to my tank sick. All the livestock is really healthy and everybody is really helpful. They never try and sell you something that isn't a good fit for your tank. I've never been to River City Aquatics or Austin Aquatek but I have plans to check out both!

 

Aquatek is okay. Easily one of the pricier fish stores in Austin and, quite frankly, I never cared for the guys working there (this was about 1.5-2 years ago). They do tend to get more uncommon species than the other stores, though.

 

Definitely check out the club. Another bonus to becoming a Premium Member is getting a 10% discount on most things through the club's many sponser (except live rock, sand, and water). And the Dome is one of the sponsors! You should document your build on ARC. When I did mine, any issues that I ran into, I had multiple offers from people to swing by my house to lend a helping hand. Plus the monthly meetings are pretty fun.

 

Anyways, good luck with the tank. Like I said before, I love what you're doing with it so far. I'm dying for one these Nuvo 24s, but I just don't have the space or the time right now. So I guess I'll have to live vicariously through you and the others on here!

[defender.TX]

Just a quick update - I tested Nitrates last night since I'm almost due for a water change and they wouldn't even register on the Red Sea Nitrate Pro test kit. Normally by this point in my water cycle I've got between .5 - 1 ppm Nitrates registering on that test. So, I would say that swapping to Seachem Purigen and Boyd Chemi-Pure Elite had a pretty positive affect on the tank. I haven't tested Phosphates but considering I've seen a drastic reduction in algae on the glass I would assume they have also dropped accordingly.

 

The one hiccup is that my water got extremely cloudy over night 2 nights ago. I'm attributing it to a bacterial bloom, possibly because I threw away the old Innovative Marine foam media that was in both media baskets. Those foam media blocks probably contained a lot of my biological filtration and when I removed them the live rock/sand became my only biological filtration. I'm assuming the bacterial bloom is new Nitrifying bacteria that is replacing what I lost on the foam media blocks and will eventually settle on the rocks/sand. Does this sound reasonable? It's my best guess. Either way, the water started clearing a bit this morning so I'm hoping it's just temporary and will deal with itself.

[chswkt]

Love the cabinet. Wish I had that kind of wood crafting skill!

[defender.TX]

Love the cabinet. Wish I had that kind of wood crafting skill!

Sadly I ended up not building the cabinet I planned on mostly because I just didn't have the space to store the tools after I'd used them. I bought an aquatic fundamentals stand. It's nice, but I think I will build the one I originally planned when I move into a bigger space.

[HOTWATER]

Tanks lookin beautiful!

[defender.TX]

Tanks lookin beautiful!

 

Thanks! I can tell you I'm working hard on it. I have to figure out what my next purchase is going to be. I feel like there's so much I still need I'm having a hard time prioritizing. I think I'm just going to wait until the InTank baskets are ready for this tank and get those next.

 

On the Ricordea, I've got my lights back up to 100% on both channels for 8 hours a day. I see a lot of new growth and the new growth is much more colorful than the existing tissue. The new growth is bright green under the actinics. I'm hopeful that this coral will turn out to be quite the steal at $9!

[SaltyVT]

Trying to catch up on the progress!!so far looks awesome!!

[whysoserious]

Good price on the rich!

 

And I dont think it will get bleached out. he light should be suitable. I also believe they can live without full 100% lights as well.

 

What's next on the purchase list?

[defender.TX]

Good price on the rich!

 

And I dont think it will get bleached out. he light should be suitable. I also believe they can live without full 100% lights as well.

 

What's next on the purchase list?

 

I'm either going to wait until the InTank Media Baskets are finished and order the whole set (2 media baskets + 1 fuge basket) or the Digital Aquatics RKL Plus.

[Stussi613]

I'm either going to wait until the InTank Media Baskets are finished and order the whole set (2 media baskets + 1 fuge basket) or the Digital Aquatics RKL Plus.

 

I have had th RKL Plus since day one and I don't think I could live without it...just the alarm when temps get too high if the AC isn't on in the house is worth it.

[defender.TX]

So, pretty bad news from the tank's perspective. I found out Thursday I'm going to have to move out of my current rental. The landlord claims he is being pressured by his family to let another family member live here and I have a month to month lease, so I'm out. Of course this means I have to tear down the tank and set it back up at the new location. So far, here's the plan:

• Move livestock into bags like you would receive them from the store
• Move live rock into 10 gallon rubbermaid with some tank water
• Move sand into 5 gallon bucket with some tank water
• Siphon remaining tank water into my 5 gallon jerry cans
• Move everything...and put it all back together

[Cameron6796]

That sucks good luck hopefully nothing bad happens this tank was coming along and hopefully will again. Atleast you hadn't added tons of corals to the point your rocks were really encrusted and hard to get apart. Probably a dumb question but have the Jerry cans been used for gasoline before