|
10/25/2018, 11:22 PM | #1 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
btmedic's nuvo 20 build thread
Hello and thanks for stopping by. After a few years out of the hobby, this is going to be the build thread to my triumphant (hopefully) return! Anyway, on to my equipment choices and pictures!
Equipment on hand: IM Nuvo 20 IM Nuvo 20 APS Stand Sicce 1.0 return pump Cobalt Neotherm 75w heater Eshopps nano skimmer IM minimax desktop reactor 12lbs reef saver rock 20lbs bimini pink sand Hand pump primed siphon Equipment still to be ordered: Ecotech Radion XR15 G4 Pro Ecotech RMS XR15 mount Ecotech MP10QD Trigger systems 5 gallon ATO reservoir Autoaqua Smart ATO Micro 120p Flipper nano magnetic cleaner InTank media basket x 2 Marinepure Spheres Ancillary equipment still needing to be ordered: new sediment filter, carbon block, ro membrane and di resin for my ro/di. during its last year in operation, it was on well water and has sat dry for the better part of 3 years. Red Sea Coral Pro salt Refractometer calibration fluid Dr Tims one and only Dr Tims ammonium chloride Future upgrades: Apex Jr Plan: Mixed reef with a lower requirement maintenance schedule.
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
10/25/2018, 11:24 PM | #2 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
I left space for a piece of live rock to seed the dead rock and I may grab another piece to put on top of the left island. Thoughts? Also some shots from leak and level testing. I think its close enough to level for government work but the perfectionist in me wants to perfect the level. What about you folks?
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) Last edited by btmedic04; 10/25/2018 at 11:30 PM. |
10/26/2018, 11:09 AM | #3 |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
Looks like a cool little set up!
Good luck! What kind of corals and fish are you planning on keeping?
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
10/26/2018, 04:25 PM | #4 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Quote:
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
|
10/26/2018, 07:37 PM | #5 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
Quote:
Have you played around with SPS before? I have had some other large tanks with SPS and a few nanos with SPS nothing like having some colorful sticks added to other cool zoas, lps and shrooms.
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
|
10/26/2018, 07:51 PM | #6 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Quote:
my last time in saltwater consisted of purely softies. I had a toadstool leather, zoas, a large purple mushroom, a ricordia and xenia. Here's a picture from my first tank
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
|
10/27/2018, 03:19 PM | #7 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
Quote:
1. Making sure you use a real high quality RO/DI set up to give you crystal clear water for top off and water changes. 2. Using a good qulaity salt for your water changes and on such a small tank I would suggest 3-5gallons weekly. 3. When messing with SPS the ones you mentioned are good starter ones but they still can give you a head ache.... Main thing to pay attention to is Alk.... Maintaining a consistent Alk level around 8.0-8.5 would be ideal. I found getting the Alk Hannah Meter test kit the best for checking this. I use Bionic 2 part dosing liquid and I dose using a 2 channel doser pump. Right now I am dosing 5ml a day of Alk and CA and dosing Mg as needed to keep my level around 1300ppm. 4. LED lighting is tricky and can really bleach your corals and kill them so learn it well. You probably have a good understanding of this all but making sure everything is stable is really ideal. From Salinity to Temp to Alk.
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
|
10/27/2018, 05:51 PM | #8 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Quote:
As far as salt, I originally was looking at Red Sea Coral Pro, but that alk of ~12 kind of put me off to it. I am now considering HW-Marinemix Reefer. According to BRS its calcium is at 445-450 ppm, alk of 9.0 dKH, and mag at 1380 ppm. I figure slightly elevated levels will give me a little bit of buffer between planned weekly 5 gallon water changes until I get to the point where I need to start daily dosing. Also from what I've read, this salt doesn't leave residue in your mixing containers. Thoughts on it? Regarding the leds, I was planning on using ecotechs AB+ corallab settings and seeing about borrowing the par meter from my local reef club (that list is fairly long though) Until I can borrow it, would it be a safe plan to start intensity at 20-30% and slowly increase it 5% per week until I see bleaching, then back it off to the last setting?
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
|
10/27/2018, 06:09 PM | #9 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
Quote:
As for salt I always use Tropic Marin Pro..... Works great and my corals seem to love it! Yea the AB+ is really good I use that but I modified it slightly.... I dialed down the whites to around 18% from the scheduled 24% I left everything else the same.... On small tanks like ours the whites can get pretty powerful and plus I like the more blue look.... Really shows off the corals. The light has an acclimation period as well which you can set and it will automatically adjust as time passes... A great feature. What light mount are you using? I have my light suspended 16" off my waterline and run it at 100% intensity but if I lower it I would totally bleach corals... I like the light hanging higher as it blends the LEDs more and gets rid of the "disco" affect.
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
|
10/27/2018, 06:13 PM | #10 |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
This was my 180 back in the day, miss this tank but I am not going to lie the 25G is just as fun and not so stressful!
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
10/27/2018, 06:34 PM | #11 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
oh wow! your 180 was beautiful! I hope to have a tank as beautiful as that one day! I think I'll try out your modification to the AB+ as I prefer a more blue look as well. I live in an apartment and cant drill into the walls so I'll be going with the Ecotech RMS mount. From what I've found, It holds the light about 8 inches above the top of the tank or approximately 9 inches above the surface of the water. If the disco effect is too distracting, I'll pick up the diffuser.
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/06/2018, 07:29 PM | #12 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Swung by my LFS to pick up refractometer calibration fluid, RO water and salt and ended up leaving with that plus an MP10WQD, and a 1lb piece of live rock to help seed. Also my Dr Tims one and only and ammonium chloride showed up today as well. So I'll begin my cycle tonight as I'm currently mixing saltwater and I'll pick up my ATO and light next week
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/10/2018, 12:28 AM | #13 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Little update. I'm day 3 into my cycle and am getting very faint nitrite and nitrate readings. Ammonia is still around 2ppm after dosing dr Tim's ammonium chloride and dr Tim's one and only. I started my skimmer yesterday to break it in and I'm glad I did that now as my display is full of microbubbles. My icecap ato and marinepure gems arrive Monday so im pretty excited about that. My intank floss holders and floss has arrived today so I'll be cutting those into 3x3 squares. I'll have to figure out what to do with the 20x2 and 10x1 strips left over. Maybe I'll stitch them together with some fishing line. Waste not, want not right? Lol
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/12/2018, 07:30 PM | #14 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Day 6 into my cycle. My ph his hovering around 8.0 to 8.2. Ammonia is around 0.5ppm, nitrite around 1ppm and nitrates are 10-20ppm. My marinepure gems and icecap ato arrived today. I'm not going to lie, when I saw the tiny box the gems came in, my first thought was "is that it?" Lol. Still though, 135 m2 is a huge amount of surface area when you think about it. Also, how did I run a reef tank without an ato before? By far the best investment one can make into this hobby. I also installed my IM minimax reactor. I'm currently not running any media in it, but figured I'd break that in while I cycle. My skimmer is still putting microbubbles into the display, but it's a lot less than what it was before. I also scored an ecotech reeflink from a local reefer for $50 and set up my mp10 on a schedule. All I have to do now is order my radion xr15, the rms mount and wait for my cycle to complete. Anyone want to start kicking around ideas on what kinds of corals and livestock I should add?
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/12/2018, 09:32 PM | #15 |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
colorful zoas, shrooms, LPS and some colorful easier montis are good to go with IMO
my tanks doing great with these kinds of things and to be honest i dont miss the stress of having high end 1/2" sps frags dying lol.... not to say i might not dable in some again but for a small tank IMO keeping it super colorful but not so high stress is a good idea because things can get sideways fast on a small tank. Keep it up!
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
11/13/2018, 10:45 AM | #16 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Thanks Murph! I'll definitely look into those corals. I do want to try my hand at sps but like you said, things get sideways fast in a small tank. I'm really looking forward to the brs black Friday sale. That's when I'm going to pick up my radion xr15
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/13/2018, 12:32 PM | #17 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: simi valley
Posts: 3,208
|
Quote:
Let me know when you get it and if you need help setting up the light I can give you some input. Fun times!!
__________________
Justin Current Tank Info: 25G cube (finally back in the hobby in a small way) |
|
11/13/2018, 01:11 PM | #18 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Quote:
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
|
11/16/2018, 06:48 PM | #19 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
I got my ecotech radion xr15 pro and rms mount today. Holy smokes its powerful at full tilt. I should probably let my neighbors know I'm growing coral and not something else! I also tested my cycle today. Currently at:
PH: 8.2 Ammonia: 0.25 Nitrite: 1.0 Nitrate: 30 The xr15 is going back off until nitrite hits 0 as theres no point growing algae in the meantime lol
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/23/2018, 09:49 PM | #20 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Just wanted to post an update. My tank can now completely process 2ppm of ammonia in a 24 hour period with zero readings for ammonia and nitrite. I have also started getting diatoms beginning to show on my rockwork and film algae on the glass so tomorrow I'll be picking up a pair of trochus snails and picking up fish later on in the week. Should I get my clowns first or the royal gramma? I was going to wait until tomorrow to do my water change, but decided to do it tonight since I had the motivation (funny how diatoms in a new tank can do that lol.) I ended up doing a 10 gallon change out of the 14 gallon total volume since my nitrates were ~40 ppm. I found hitchhikers on the glass that are either hydroids or baby aiptasia on the glass, so they were vacuumed out. Ill be keeping a close eye out to see if they return and if so, will take appropriate measures (wait out the hydroids or get a peppermint shrimp for the aiptasia)
Current test readings PH 8.4 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5-10 (guess the color with API kits is always fun) Also this coming Monday, my red sea reef foundation test kit and algae control test kit arrives so I'll have more accurate numbers going forward. hitchhiker shots if you want to give me your opinions on them
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
11/29/2018, 09:14 PM | #21 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Hey folks, so it turns out those hitchikers were bryopsis algae that must of came in on the piece of live rock and survived the cycle and lights off. It is spreading on my rock work but I have some fluconazole en route. Hopefully its here Saturday on time and I can begin treatment before this stuff explodes. Wish me luck!
in happier news, I have added 2 juvenile black snowflake clowns who seem really happy at the moment. Im also debating the merits of picking up a nuvo 10 and beginning to cycle it in case I need to move my clowns so I can tear down the 20 and restart it if the fluconazole doesn't work. Thoughts on this? Heres a few shots of my clowns and Forest inspecting the new roomates
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
12/01/2018, 06:21 PM | #22 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Just finished weekly maintenance and rewarded myself with a diffuser for my Radion XR15. The visual quality improvement is quite pronounced! Like I think the diffuser should be included in the package right from the factory. Here are my aquariums chemistry readings post water change
Phosphate: 0 (undetectable on red sea pro kit. maybe time to invest in ULR Hannah checker) Nitrate: 3 (color was between 2 and 4) PH: 8.2 Calcium: 430 Alkalinity: 8.1 Magnesium: 1360 Fluconazole arrived today and will be going in tonight after lights out. I had to keep telling myself this at my LFS because they had a very nice piece of rock with rasta zoa's and a bit of a green lepto on it as well
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
12/02/2018, 07:59 AM | #23 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 546
|
I used fluconazole in my tanks a few months ago at twice the dose and it got rid of my bryopsis algae. I had bubble algae but the med didn't kill the bubbles. Yeah, zero phosphate seems impossible. I use the Hannah checker, I like it.
|
12/02/2018, 06:24 PM | #24 | |
Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 256
|
Quote:
__________________
Current Tanks: New build in progress :) |
|
12/02/2018, 09:22 PM | #25 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Naperville, IL
Posts: 546
|
I had some macro algae which didn't make it after the treatment.
|
|
|