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Sangheili's Innovative Marine Nuvo 4


sangheili

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Hey everyone!

 

Just getting started with saltwater. Picked up a Nuvo Pico 4g on craigslist for a good deal since I loved the way the tank looked. I'll get some pictures up soon but I wanted to get a thread started to get down my details.

 

 

Equipment:

Innovative Marine Nuvo Pico 4 gallon


IM Nuvo 8 gallon Pump (upgrade from stock)


Marina 10w Heater

 

Stock 4w LED Light

Tunze 3152 nano osmolator

Carib-sea Live Sand


Couple pounds of live rock and dry rock

 

Chemi-Pure Elite and Purigen

 


Livestock (Planning):

1 x Some form of Clownfish (probably cheap ocellaris)

 

1 x Gold Coral Banded Shrimp

 

1 x Porclean Crab

 

1 x Red Hermit Crab

 

Several snails of varying types

 


Coral:

 

Various Zoas/Palys

 

Other Softies

 

 

 

FTS (08/04/13):

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FTS (7/20/13):

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i would do 1 goby. Anything smaller than 15 gallons I wouldn't do a clownfish. They get really big, you don't notice it till they're 3 inches long and an inch thick. Even a prawn goby/watchman goby is going to be too large for a 4 gallon. Stick with little guys (neon gobies, trimma gobies, etc).

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I am in agreement with the others regarding the clown fish. The tank is too small for a clownfish and would only cause the fish and system stress as it grows. Other suggestions include a neon blue goby or the very fun and comical tail spot Blenny. The Blenny,s looks and behavior will not disappoint. I like the idea of adding a decorative shrimp such as the cleaner or even fire shrimp. They add great color and are interesting too look at with their legs and antena moving around. Caution to adding then emerald and especially the sally light foot crabs. Both can turn on corals like zoanthids and the sally lightfoot grows big and may even catch and eat fish or shrimp. This is from first hand knowledge from my beginning days in the hobby. I watched as colonies of zoos were eaten and a firefish mortally wounded by the light foot. Keep reading and getting advice. Be patient and your sure to enjoy the new tank.

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How long would it take a tiny Clown to outgrow the tank? I'm not opposed to keeping it for a bit then donating back to a LFS.

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Depends on how much you feed it and if the aquarium has good water quality? My experience is that most clowns can grow between .5" to 1" per year. The ocellaris tends to grow on average to 3.5 inches. Some species get rather large and wide.

 

As many of us have stated in this post, we hesitate at placing a clown in an 8 gallon aquarium. We want you to enjoy your aquarium and stock it with fish and inverts you find interesting and fun. Many of us either have had poor experiences with doing what you are thinking of doing or read and know someone who had poor results with placing a clown in a smaller aquarium.

 

If you must get a clown for the tank, stick with the ocellaris, it will be your best bet. Try to get one that has been tank raised as it will be less of a shock for the fish.

 

If you have any additional questions please don't hesitate to ask any of us. Best of luck and keep the community posted.

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Would a Diamond or Yellow Watchman Goby work in a tank this small? Initial research is telling me no. I really want a cool goby + shrimp pair and the GF really liked the Diamond Goby's colors.

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Your research is telling you correctly. These will get to large for your aquarium. I can recommend the Yasha shrimp Goby and tiger pistol shrimp pairs. I am currently in the market for this same fish/shrimp pair. The Goby is really colorful and interesting with a long top fin. Check them out online and hopefully both you and your girlfriend will approve of this recommendation.

 

There are also a few other great fish I would suggest.

 

Neon Blue Goby - Adds great blue color to the aquarium and can perch on rocks or swim in the water column.

 

Tail spot Blenny - One of my personal favorites. Comical personality and interesting swim patterns and behavior.

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Will the Neon Blue Goby match with a pistol shrimp? I don't see it on my "match" list. Cool fish nonetheless.

 

I will probably get a Yasha Goby thanks to your recommendation. They look cool!

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No, the neon blue goby will not match with any shrimp. I like them because they are small, have a great neon blue color and can act as a cleaner for other fish. The price for these fish is inexpensive as well.

 

I,m glad to hear that you like the Yasha Goby. It is a really cool fish. Lets just hope the girlfriend likes it.

 

I have a red scooter Blenny in my nano and it is one of my wife's favorite fish. Check out the pic of the scooter and orange spotted shrimp goby.

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Can someone confirm that my tank is cycled? I see brown algee starting to grow. I added live rock and live sand on July 8th. Just tested the water today (July 20th) and I have 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrite, and 30ppm Nitrate. I used Seachem Stability for the first week or so. pH is 7.8ish. This seems fast for a cycle, no?

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It does seem very fast but if you added live sand, quality established live rock, and the right chemical additives it can and will speed up the process. The brown algea you are seeing is probably diatoms. These will form on the sand bed, glass, overflows, and live rock. They are harmless and can be removed with a toothbrush, algea magnet, and siphoning of gravel. Of course the natural way is to get a cleanup crew with snails and a few small crabs.

 

As long as you are testing the water parameters and getting stable readings consistently, your tank is moving along well. Congrats!

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A quick picture. Just did a 1gallon water change so the water is a little murky. I removed the live rock from the front display (there is still a chunk in the back filter compartment). I bought that big rock thats currently in the tank from BRS and it has been in the tank + the live rock for a few days now. I think the big piece looks better than any configuration I could come up with from the live rock.

 

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Removed the stock phosphate and carbon filter media and replaced with Purigen and Chemi-pure Elite.

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Added a small hermit crab and astrea snail. Both went to work instantly cleaning up. Hermit crab climbed to the top of the rock in the tank in about 3 minutes and has been eating at the top since.

 

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Looking good! Slow and steady wins the race. Get to know all of you're reef creatures personalities. That hermit will be snacking on diatoms and helping keep your aquarium clear.

 

The Chemi Pure Elite and Purigen are excellent products. They will keep your water extra clean and clear of nasty organics. Should also keep algea blooms to a minimum. I use bio pellets, and clear Fx Pro from Blue Life. It's done wonders in both my Nuvo 16 and 220 gallon aquariums.

 

Today I broke down and transferred my Nuvo 16 to a Nuvo 24. I was well prepared and the entire process took approximately 2 hours. All the fish and corals are settling in and it looks like the aquarium is stable. Keeping my fingers crossed that all will remain this way. Just need to play with the aqua scape a bit tomorrow.

 

Keep me posted with updates.

 

 

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Nice Egginis! I will likely move to a larger Nuvo in about a year's time. The larger tanks look very nice! LFS is getting some Yasha Gobies and Pistol shrimp on Tuesday but I think I might give my tank some more time before adding those. Want to make sure the cycle is working well. I added a tiny bit more live sand yesterday and ammonia was at 0.25 ppm this morning - no nitrite. About 20 ppm Nitrate.

 

Trying to resist the urge to buy an InTank media holder. THe stock one doesn't do that well when filled with more dense media. Seems most of my water is flowing over the top.

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defender.TX

Trying to resist the urge to buy an InTank media holder. THe stock one doesn't do that well when filled with more dense media. Seems most of my water is flowing over the top.

 

If I had it to do over again I would immediately buy Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite. It makes a world of difference and I think it would have prevented my algae bloom in the first place. Buy the InTank basket, you won't regret it.

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If I had it to do over again I would immediately buy Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite. It makes a world of difference and I think it would have prevented my algae bloom in the first place. Buy the InTank basket, you won't regret it.

 

I think the Nuvo 24 will be my eventual upgrade if I can afford it when the time comes. Great tank defender! Buying the media basket today :-)

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I love the Nuvo 24 and do recommend it highly. The flow from the stock pump is great and the 3 foot length makes viewing more enjoyable. The fish also have more space to establish territories. Who knows what they will have a year from now. Someone may create some super nano tank that you can save up for.

 

Good idea about holding off on the fish. Better safe than sorry. A good local fish store would also order anything for you. My local fish stores hold the fish in their quarantine tanks for up to six weeks, make sure the fish is eating, and then sell it to me. If it does not meet their or my expectations they put no pressure on me to buy it. Now that's customer service.

 

It's been less than 24 hours and still no issues after the transfer from the Nuvo 16 to the 24. Keeping an eye very closely and testing regularly. Below are pics of the Nuvo 16 and then the 24. Still playing with the aqua scape and may bring in more live rock. Also still have not added the vortech mp10 pump. Trying to analyze flow patterns with the 2 spin streams which are on the tank.

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Beautiful setup Egginis.

 

Took a trip to the LFS again today and came back with another hermit crab and a pistol shrimp! Currently drip acclimating them. I bought some premixed saltwater the other day that I just tested and it was 1.028 - kind of high. But I also just tested the water that the crab/shrimp came in and it was 1.030! My water is sitting right at 1.025. Going to take the acclimation very slow.

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Added both to the tank this afternoon. The tiny pistol shrimp has gone into hiding, probably burrowing under the big rock. The hermit crab has joined the other one foraging algae from the top of the rock. Looking good so far.

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Angel<3Nanos

Looking good! :) im following. Make sure you follow my thread also.

 

When you are ready for corals I have some "oregon ducks zoas" that need fragging. Ill frag a freebie for ya! ;)

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