Nuvo 10 build- Updated. Now with 10 extra gallons!

[SDK]

Quick update and photo. Will post a more comprehensive one on Sunday.

The cycle is going quickly and painlessly (so far) with the use of the Red Sea Reef Mature. According to the directions and my test results I could probably add a fish or two by this weekend, Although I feel like that will be closer to a month away.

AI Prime HD light is up and programmed. I used the BRS settings and proportionally toned it all down to 15% power. Keeping it low for the time being.

I got the fuge setup and the light timed to a reverse daylight cycle. Should know soon if the light will grow the Chaeto, but it sure looks bright enough.

This weekend I will finalize the rock arrangement and go on a cord taming/organizing mission.

Here is a very blue and very dimly lit picture. Need to work on my reef photography skills as well it seems.

 

[btmedic04]

I'm not sure what phone you have for taking pictures but I'll share my samsung galaxy s8+ settings for you bud.

I still want to tweak it some more, but here's the results of those settings.

View attachment 20181230_162903.jpg



View attachment 20181230_162918.jpg

 

[btmedic04]

Sorry for the multi-pic spam. I'm not sure what happened there. Was only supposed to be 2 pictures =/

 

[SDK]

Sorry for the multi-pic spam. I'm not sure what happened there. Was only supposed to be 2 pictures =/

No problem at all. The more pics the merrier. I have an iPhone and will fool around with setttings over the weekend. Thanks so much for your continued help!

 

[Converted to Saltwater]

Hey there, I myself have also been in the freshwater side of things for quite a while. I have had two very successful nano reefs though. I did not intend on getting back into SW hobby side for a while due to cost but long story short I wanted to save a pair of about to be gone cinnamon clowns. Now I have saltwater fish might as well build a reef tank. Now I, like you, am a bit rusty and my female clown was sick, much better now. I found that some people have veryvstromg opinions on smaller tanks and I can tell you for a fact my second tank was so balanced I did not have to even have to do water changes. No exagertion. I did not have much animal life but what i had was beautiful.
Finally, after it cycled I messed things up BAD and it took a while to correct. I wanted a skimmer, bad idea. Then I got a UV sterilizer in my filter. Bad idea. It wasn't until I went all natural and tried my hardest to mimic the ocean season changes and all my tiny little tank took care of itself. I even made sure what i had came from the same area. 2 sea dragons and coral but that's exactly what i intend on rebuilding.
Yours looks great is love to see more pics as it comes along good luck.

 

[SDK]

I can tell you for a fact my second tank was so balanced I did not have to even have to do water changes. No exagertion. I did not have much animal life but what i had was beautiful.

Thanks and am looking forward to seeing a pic thread from you...

The above statement is the crux of success with small tanks. You have to be realistic about what you can fit in them. That's where some maturity and time in the hobby can be a big help.

 

[SDK]

Initial cycle is complete and I have added some cleanup crew. I also had a few last pieces arrive from BRS. Supply pics are below, and a complete water parameter and photo update is coming this weekend.

 

[Converted to Saltwater]

Initial cycle is complete and I have added some cleanup crew. I also had a few last pieces arrive from BRS. Supply pics are below, and a complete water parameter and photo update is coming this weekend.

Really coming together fast. Looks like good work.

 

[SDK]

Really coming together fast. Looks like good work.

Thanks!

Quick progress shot. I still have to finalize rock placement. That will be my Sunday snowstorm project.

 

[SDK]

Update

All is going well for the most part. I did some initial testing when I got to the end of the nitrogen cycle last Tuesday. The tank came out of it with 20 ppm Nitrate and 1 ppm phosphate, both of which I wanted to get on top of. I dropped in a bag of Phosorb and prepped for a larger water change.

I added 4 small Astrea snails and 2 small Banded Trochus snails Tuesday as well. The tank had the beginnings of some algae, and possibly a touch of cyano starting to develop. The snails cleaned it all right up and appear to be doing great.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 10 ppm (Red Sea) Down from 20 ppm
PH- 7.6 (Red Sea)
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .1 ppm (NYOS) Down from 1 ppm
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

The Nitrate and Phosphate both dropped significantly in five days, so I think I’m on the right track. I’m going to continue letting the Phosorb and water changes do their work. I am not adding anything to the tank that requires feeding or more intense lighting until I get everything stabilized and in proper ranges.

Concerns (minor at this point)

One thing that jumped out is the 7.6 PH reading. I will be watching that carefully, but will give it a week or two to drift up on its own.

I am also getting no growth in the refugium, and the cheato appears to have actually faded a bit. This may explain both the Nitrate and Phosphate readings, as I added this instead of a skimmer. There is no room for both in a Nuvo 10. The Red Sea Reef Mature included carbon dosing which I have now finished.

I’m going to give the chaeto a few weeks to kick start but am not taking a skimmer off the table just yet.

Plans

I am setting up a quarantine tank this week so I can get a few fish into protocall while taking my sweet time with the display tank. This really feels like the smart play. I will get some pics up.

It’s going to be odd that my standard 10g quarantine tank will probably hold a few more gallons than the display lol.

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

One of the large rock pieces is now residing in my quarantine tank. What’s left is much more appropriate for the tank size, so I glued a nice arch. I still want to fiddle with the placement a bit. Enjoy!

 

[reef-rc]

PH - I have the same with my WB10. It's currently @7.67. Highest it'll go with light on is 7.8ish. Seems typical @ the beginning. I would not chase PH # if everything is going fine.

Refugium - there may not enough bio-load for both as you said.

I like your the new arch look. Lots more negative space for coral growth and flow later on.

 

[SDK]

PH - I have the same with my WB10. It's currently @7.67. Highest it'll go with light on is 7.8ish. Seems typical @ the beginning. I would not chase PH # if everything is going fine.

Refugium - there may not enough bio-load for both as you said.

I like your the new arch look. Lots more negative space for coral growth and flow later on.

Thanks for the feedback on the PH and revised aquascape. I picked up extra rock with the thought that some would wind up in the quarantine tank. I agree that it looks much better now....

 

[Converted to Saltwater]

Update

All is going well for the most part. I did some initial testing when I got to the end of the nitrogen cycle last Tuesday. The tank came out of it with 20 ppm Nitrate and 1 ppm phosphate, both of which I wanted to get on top of. I dropped in a bag of Phosorb and prepped for a larger water change.

I added 4 small Astrea snails and 2 small Banded Trochus snails Tuesday as well. The tank had the beginnings of some algae, and possibly a touch of cyano starting to develop. The snails cleaned it all right up and appear to be doing great.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 10 ppm (Red Sea) Down from 20 ppm
PH- 7.6 (Red Sea)
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .1 ppm (NYOS) Down from 1 ppm
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

The Nitrate and Phospahte both dropped significantly in five days, so I think I’m on the right track. I’m going to continue letting the Phosorb and water changes do their work. I am not adding anything to the tank that requires feeding or more intense lighting until I get everything stabilized and in proper ranges.

Concerns (minor at this point)

One thing that jumped out is the 7.6 PH reading. I will be watching that carefully, but will give it a week or two to drift up on its own.

I am also getting no growth in the refugium, and the cheato appears to have actually faded a bit. This may explain both the Nitrate and Phoshate readings as I added this instead of a skimmer. There is no room for both in a Nuvo 10. The Red Sea Reef Mature included carbon dosing which I have now finished.

I’m going to give the chaeto a few weeks to kick start but am not taking a skimmer off the table just yet.

Plans

I am setting up a quarantine tank this week so I can get a few fish into protocall while taking my sweet time with the display tank. This really feels like the smart play. I will get some pics up.

It’s going to be odd that my standard 10g quarantine tank will probably hold a few more gallons than the display lol.

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

One of the large rock pieces is now residing in my quarantine tank. What’s left is much more appropriate for the tank size, so I glued a nice arch. I still want to fiddle with the placement a bit. Enjoy!

That DT really looks good. I can tell you've really been enjoying yourself with it. Nice!

 

[SDK]

That DT really looks good. I can tell you've really been enjoying yourself with it. Nice!

Thank you and yes I am!

 

[SDK]

I set up my QT tank today. Ice storms make for a perfect aquarium themed day. I used the 2.5 gallons I pulled out of my display along with 7.5 gallons of freshly mixed seawater.

Tank is a standard 10 gallon. Added an Aquaclear HOB with Matrix and GAC, a large sponge filter, and a chunk of cured live rock. The bag in the display area is more Matrix that had been in my display tank for the sole purpose of seeding the quarantine tank. I’m expecting it to cycle quickly.

After spending a ton of time planning and executing the display, I spent about two hours slapping this together with equipment I had on hand. I’m sure that means this is the one that won’t give me any headaches

 

[SDK]

Update

Continuing to move along. All parameters are holding steady or moving in a good direction. I also made a few alterations on Friday.

I added a Sochtang Oxydator to the system, and am hoping it enhances the O2 levels and biological processes in my small system.

I swapped out the dying Chaeto for a Tunze 9001 skimmer. It is the only model that both fits my tank (with some mods), and has a solid track record for performance. I will revisit this as the system matures.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 10 ppm (Red Sea)
PH- 8.2 (Red Sea) up from 7.6 last week
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .08 ppm (NYOS) Down from .1 ppm
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

The Nitrate is holding steady and Phosphate dropped, so I think I’m on the right track. I’m going to continue letting the Phosorb and water changes do their work.

Concerns

None at this point. I am hoping to see both the Nitrate closer to 5ppm and the phosphate drop a bit more.

Plans

Im going to add a nano sized shrimp to the tank this week and maybe drop a bit of food in to slowly continue the maturation process.

My QT tank should be ready for a fish or two next week. I figure that if I put them through the @HotRocks six week quarantine process, the display tank will be close to 3 months old before any fish are added.

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

Rock structure and placement are now 100% finalized. Enjoy!

 

[SDK]

Update

Continuing to move along. All parameters are holding steady.

The Oxydator seems to be doing its job. I was able to dial the lights up a bit. I get a very small dusting of diatoms by lights out and they are gone in the morning. The dial up was to make sure the CUC has enough to eat.

The Tunze 9001 skimmer broke in fairly quickly and is producing skimmate. Not much and a bit wet, but that is probably normal at this point in the tanks development.

I also got a deal on a Jaebo WP10 wavenaker and swapped it out for the standard one I had in there. Getting a really good random flow now.

I added a Gold Banded Coral shrimp and it’s doing great so far. I also had a small Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab sneak in on some LR. Going to keep him around after getting a positive ID.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 10 ppm (Red Sea)
PH- 8.2 (Red Sea)
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .08 ppm (NYOS)
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

They are all unchanged from last week, so consistent at least. Hoping the phosphate dips a bit more but not ready to start chasing it.

Concerns

None at this point. I am hoping to see both the Nitrate closer to 5ppm and the phosphate drop a bit more.

Plans


My QT tank is ready for a fish, so I will pick something up later this week!

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

The BCS is a bit shy, but the HC almost seems to enjoy getting his picture taken. Enjoy!

 

[flchamp89]

Update

Continuing to move along. All parameters are holding steady.

The Oxydator seems yo be doing its job. I was able to dial the lights up a bit. I get a very small dusting of diatoms by lights out and they are gone in the morning. The dial up was to make sure the CUC has enough to eat.

The Tunze 9001 skimmer broke in fairly quickly and is producing skimmate. Not much and a bit wet, but that is probably normal at this point in the tanks development.

I also got a deal on a Jaebo WP10 wavenaker and swapped it out for the standard one I had in there. Getting a really good random flow now.

I added a Gold Banded Coral shrimp and it’s doing great so far. I also had a small Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab sneak in on some LR. Going to keep him around after getting a positive ID.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 10 ppm (Red Sea)
PH- 8.2 (Red Sea)
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .08 ppm (NYOS)
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

They are all unchanged from last week, so consistent at least. Hoping the phosphate dips a bit more but not ready to start chasing it.

Concerns

None at this point. I am hoping to see both the Nitrate closer to 5ppm and the phosphate drop a bit more.

Plans


My QT tank is ready for a fish, so I will pick something up later this week!

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

The BCS is a bit shy, but the HC almost seems to enjoy getting his picture taken. Enjoy!

Everything is right on track. Looks great.

 

[SDK]

Everything is right on track. Looks great.

Thank you!

 

[SDK]

Update will be quick this week as I am loaded up with dad stuff. Mostly just a progress report.

A 25% water change was done last night and full testing performed today. Parameters are as follows:

Temp 78
Salinity 1.026 (BRS Refractometer)
Ammonia- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrite- 0 (Red Sea)
Nitrate- 8 ppm (Red Sea) Down from 10 ppm
PH- 8.2 (Red Sea)
Alk- 9 (Red Sea)
Phosphate- .05 ppm (NYOS) Down from .08ppm
Calcium- 425ppm (AF)

The Nitrate and Phosphate are both slowly dialing down while everything else is rock steady

Concerns

None currently. In fact, if anything I’m getting paranoid from how well everything is going lol

Plans

My next update will include frags!

I have a Darwin’s Occelaris Clown and a Talbots Damsel in QT. It will be March before they clear and get into the DT.

Ongoing

Weekly 25% water changes, testing and observation....

Pictures

None. But I will make up for it next update.