gsgentry Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 So Santa got my daughter a Innovative Marine Nuvo 24 for Christmas, so I am going to help her finish it up and get everything setup. Her and I have some big plans for this tank and she is super excited. Here is what we have thus far. Equipment: NanoBox Custom 24" Duo EcoTech VorTech MP10ES Aquatic Fundamentals 30/38/45 Stand Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 100 Watt Heater InTank Media Baskets - Filter Floss and Purigen Neptune Systems Apex Lite w/ pH Probe Neptune Systems Break Out Box DIY ATO for Apex DIY AWC for Apex Tunze 9002 Skimmer Innovative Marine MiniMax Desktop Reactor Innovative Marine MiniMax Midsize Reactor SpectraPure Maxpure 90GPD RO/DI Substrate: 30 Lbs. Reefcleaners Florida Reef Rock 20 Lbs. CaribSea Arag-Alive - Fiji Pink 5 Lbs. Live Rock Chemical Filtration: Purigen (Media Basket) GFO (Reactor) Carbon (Reactor) Misc: Innovative Marine AccuDrip Acclimate BRS DIY 1/4 Screen Top BRS Refractometer Red Sea Test Kits Fish: 2 - Naked Clownfish Corals: Torch Tip Green Duncans White Tubastrea Sun Polyps Green Bridsnest Time Machine Zoas Sunny D Zoas Rastas Zoas Tangelo Zoas Red Hornet Zoas Vivid Rainbow Zoas Yuma Ricordea Dragon Soul Favia Acans Acan Bowerbanki Mushroom Pink Rock Flower Red Rock Flower Inverts: Cleaner Shrimp Dwarf Ceriths Snails Ceriths Snails Nassarius Snails Nerite Snails Zig Zag Periwinkle Snails Thin Stiped Hermits Scarlet Hermits Blue Leg Hermits Future: More Corals Stay tuned for updates, pictures and more. I am going to try to document this all the best I can and welcome all comments and suggestions. FTS: 3/15/14 Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 I have to say that I was skeptical on this stand after reading some of the reviews on it, but I have to say that it is amazing. And thanks to those who I have contacted about it. At time of purchase, it was $82 online with free shipping from Petco. Great Deal! That being said, I did not care for the back being mostly open, thus lacking places to mount things such as the Neptune Apex components, my Aiport Express, etc. So I decided to place a back on it. I left a few inches at the top for wires, lines and everything to go through. Then painted it in black with a textured paint from Lowe's which ended up coming pretty close to the stand (I used the crappy side for the back, you will see in upcoming pictures how close it looks). I also took this opportunity to remove the backing for the fuge light. I opted not to remove the entire backing as the tank would get a lot of extra light from the windows behind it and I wasn't sure if that would create any algae issues. So played it safe. I plan on placing my ATO tank and saltwater tank in the stand. These 2 items would have pretty much taken up all of the space, so I decided we needed a shelf too. I simply took a 1x2 and cut it into 4 equal lengths and glued them to the corners. The shelf just rests on these 4 strips which allows me to lift it up out of the way if needed. (Yes, I had the back on and strips installed already... the shelf didn't fit through the door which I never thought about. Had to remove the top of the stand off to get it in. UGH.. lesson learned.) The finished product. You can see the space I left for wires and lines to the tank as well. Please there is about a 1" gap between the shelf and back of the tank that I installed which will allow for the lines to run to my tanks below as well. And my little helper checking out the quality of my work here. So that pretty much wraps up the stand and my progress so far. I have all the dimensions saved if anyone would like to add a back and/or shelf as well. Just let me know and I will be happy to share them with you. Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Wow lucky kid, how is she affording the rest of the stuff, or did you get it Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 She chipped in some of her Christmas money, but of course I am helping with the rest. She is a great child and deserves it. Link to comment
TeamIM24 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Looking forward to seeing your progress. Link to comment
Sunar357 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Should be a nice setup there. Link to comment
RL206 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Right on, I'll be following this. You're cat is awesome, that pattern is the most unique I've seen! Link to comment
Eckozulu Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Don't forget your intank media baskets. Waaaaaay better flow, and easier to change media. And that cat is so freakin awesome! Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Very cool can't wait to follow this one Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 Thanks everyone! She is a Bengal cat. We actually have 3 of them. They are extremely high energy and totally nuts!! The first night I set the tank up, one of the knocked the light off and started pawing in the water. So in the middle of the night, I woke up and placed a sheet of aluminum foil over the tank to deter them. Well the very next night, one of them thought they could walk on the foil and ended up going for a swim. What a mess! Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Wow, that sucks but is so cute, do Bengal cats have any special needs from a regular cat. Hope There isn't cat fur in the tank now. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 2, 2014 Author Share Posted January 2, 2014 They are a mix of domestic cat with a Asian Leopard Cat. The only difference really would be their energy level. They are like regular cats, but on crack! There was some hair in it, but I have since drained it. I was just doing my leak test on the tank. Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Lol just wondering because my sister want one. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Got some goodies in the mail today!! I have been working on the DIY screen top tonight, for obvious cat reasons. I should have final pictures and posting tomorrow. It has been a little bit of a struggle, but I will give all the details in the post and hopefully help others prevent the same issues I went through. I will also include the dimensions of what I cut the actual metal framing to. Link to comment
Cameron6796 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Happy New Years gift, what else do you need Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 I am hoping my rock comes in today from reefcleaners. Then I can get the aquascape built, pick up some live rock from the LFS and get this thing going. I checked the tracking and my InTank media baskets and media won't be here until Tuesday, but I could get things running before that with the old baskets if needed. Mainly waiting on the rock at this point. I do plan on picking up the tanks for the RO/DI water and saltwater to place in the stand this weekend. May go ahead and order a protein skimmer and ATO as well. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Finished up the DIY screen today from BFS. I am very happy with how it turned out, though I had some struggles. I originally measured the inside dimensions of the tank, then cut the metal trim to those dimensions. Well, I did not take into account the corners that slide into the trim which hold it all together, which make of for 3/4" on each side. So I ended up re-cutting them and removed 1 1/2" (3/4" on each side) and tried again. Well, still didn't fit. I now had to take into consideration the front corners of the tank being rounded and not square. FINALY!!! This simple project made me feel a little dumb. I do recommend a 32 or 33 tooth hacksaw blade for this. It cuts this thin metal so much easier. I got mine from Lowes for like $3. The frame... After laying the screen on the frame and rolling the rubber strips in (thought this would be a little more difficult to get even, but was pretty easy if you just take your time). Cut away the excess and placed it on the tank Close up I assume all the Nuvo 24's have the same dimensions. That being said, to prevent others from this frustration, here are the lengths that I cut the metal frame pieces to. 33" and 6 7/8" Hopefully someone can get some use out of that. Also, I will tell you that BRS provides enough screen and rubber to re-do the top several times if it ever tears or something down the road. I think that is an added plus. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 I also placed the Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm heater in the tank. Since I do not have water in it yet, I can not speak to the performance of this unit. But I will say, the quality appears to be amazing! It looks like it is going to be a great heater!! I really love the look and feel of it... SOLID!! Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 4, 2014 Author Share Posted January 4, 2014 Look what came in yesterday... John from reefcleaners was super helpful in getting the rock I wanted (sizes and shapes). He and I had several emails back and forth about this project, and he was always quick to reply and super helpful. I would highly recommend John if you are looking for base rock. That is not my aquascape... I simply stacked the rock to examine and take a picture. My daughter and I worked on the aquascape last night some and I continue to analyze it. I am about to say the heck with it and go with what we have. LOL You could spend a week changing this over and over and over. I did buy some acrylic rods that I wanted to create something with, but upon review, I feel the interior space of these tanks will make it a little more difficult. So I am just going to stack and epoxy them and create something a little more simplistic. Pictures to come soon! Link to comment
RL206 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 This thing is coming along great, and quick! My new tank should be here Tuesday, so I'm a bit behind you. I was just checking out that heater at my lfs yesterday, please post up on it, curious to see if its worth the extra moola. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I was just checking out that heater at my lfs yesterday, please post up on it, curious to see if its worth the extra moola. From all the people I spoke to about it, as well as the research, I would say that it is. Once I get the tank running, I will be able to provide more insight. I am sure some of the others can chime in as well. Link to comment
gsgentry Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Just placed another order for my Tunze Skimmer and Neptune Apex Lite. Also ordered the pH probe and the InTank cup for the Tunze. Link to comment
broodc2 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Looks good! You will like the neo-therm. Mine is always right on the money. I typically confirm the temperature once a week with two different kinds of thermometers and the neo-therm is always dialed in. Link to comment
gomen Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Nice looking stand. The combo looks classy. I wish I had the room. Link to comment
drfu Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Great thread, i just started up a Nuvo 8 to learn the hobby as though i have done fw, this will be my test set up. My question to gsgentry is how to you like the back column so far or is it it too early to tell? The reason ii ask this is im going to convert one if my fw to salt, the one tank I'm considering to change is amount the exact dimensions of the Nuvo 24. I am goint to fabricate, or have someone do it for me, the exact same back plate with the same columns & add the custom caddys, media reactor & protein skimmer from IM. I will also do a couple os spin streams and us a mj1200 for a pump. I will be curious on how you like your system and if any mods come up or ideas that you wish you could change let me know please. Also if anyone else has this tank please chime in, looking for all the advice I can get! Link to comment
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