Innovative Marine NUVO EXT 100 build

Atrumblood

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Greetings my fellow reefers!

I recently received my Innovative Marine NUVO EXT 100 Aquarium w/Stand last week, and I decided that I want to record my journey as I stumble my way into areas I have never set foot into.

Stay tuned for what I hope to be regular updates on the build. So far I have only managed to get the tank inside the house and onto the stand, but I am currently looking into what plumbing parts n pieces I need to purchase.

As I add more content from my new adventure, I welcome any feedback and or advice the community can offer me as I am sure I will need plenty of it.

The only progress I've made can be seen in this picture.

20220209_191157.jpg


The nightstand and bedroom items will be leaving and the tank w/stand will be moved out a bit from the closet which I will be using as a mixing station.
The sump is going to be simple. I am thinking of either a 30-gallon or 40-gallon tank for the sump with a drop in baffle kit.
I will be getting a fleece roller as well.

The color scheme for the plumbing will be blue PVC with grey schedule 80 fittings (yes I know, soo original s/ :) ), and ALL THE UNIONS!
I want to install two return pumps for redundancy, as well as a UV sterilizer.
I will be working on the plumbing sketch-up tonight to nail down the design.

I look forward to adding more content soon.
 

Nanojoe

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Greetings my fellow reefers!

I recently received my Innovative Marine NUVO EXT 100 Aquarium w/Stand last week, and I decided that I want to record my journey as I stumble my way into areas I have never set foot into.

Stay tuned for what I hope to be regular updates on the build. So far I have only managed to get the tank inside the house and onto the stand, but I am currently looking into what plumbing parts n pieces I need to purchase.

As I add more content from my new adventure, I welcome any feedback and or advice the community can offer me as I am sure I will need plenty of it.

The only progress I've made can be seen in this picture.

20220209_191157.jpg


The nightstand and bedroom items will be leaving and the tank w/stand will be moved out a bit from the closet which I will be using as a mixing station.
The sump is going to be simple. I am thinking of either a 30-gallon or 40-gallon tank for the sump with a drop in baffle kit.
I will be getting a fleece roller as well.

The color scheme for the plumbing will be blue PVC with grey schedule 80 fittings (yes I know, soo original s/ :) ), and ALL THE UNIONS!
I want to install two return pumps for redundancy, as well as a UV sterilizer.
I will be working on the plumbing sketch-up tonight to nail down the design.

I look forward to adding more content soon.
Nice! i love the IM tanks. Well built and well priced. Congrats on the new tank
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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I've made some rough plans for the plumbing. Please pardon my art style (can you call that an art style even?)
20220214_181838.jpg



As you can see, my tank will use the bean-animal style drain.

The primary will drain into the fleece roller, and the others right into the sump.

The primary will also have a gate valve necessary to control proper drainage.

All drains and returns utlize many unions to aid in disassembly and cleaning. The unions will also give me some flexibility in where the drains are positioned.

All bends except those noted will utilize 45° fittings to minimize the drop in head pressure for my pumps.

The UV sterilizer will be hooked in parallel with the return line and utilizes 3 gate valves to allow for fine tuning of flow thru the UV sterilizer.

The return ports are connected via a y-connector. Let me know if I am being silly with the y-connector or if there is a better way.

The return will feature two check valves for redundancy.

I should be able to get a parts list based on this drawing.

Let me know if I've missed anything important!

Thanks,
ATRUM
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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If you are running 2 return pumps, maybe consider using 1 to each bulkhead instead of the Y coupler
That may be the best way considering I am unable to locate a Wye connector (yes that is the real name it seems) in schedule 80 gray. My OCD wasn't pleased with having to settle for a white schedule 40 wye connector.
 

PanhandleReef

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That may be the best way considering I am unable to locate a Wye connector (yes that is the real name it seems) in schedule 80 gray. My OCD wasn't pleased with having to settle for a white schedule 40 wye connector.

Keith has a build thread on here with same tank and similar plumbing. He has pretty good pictures and works through his ideas. Maybe want to take a look at it.

 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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Keith has a build thread on here with same tank and similar plumbing. He has pretty good pictures and works through his ideas. Maybe want to take a look at it.

Thanks!, I appreciate the information!
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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Update:

I've got all the plumbing ordered from BRS and a few local pieces such as wye connectors which for some reason were a pain to track down.

I'm going to try and pick up the sump either this or next weekend as funds alow.

My goal is to get this build wet n salty by mid March! So stay tuned!
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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Greetings,

Well I've finally gotten all the plumbing together. Took me a bit to find some pieces, but here they are.

20220302_170744.jpg


Plumbing should be glued and ready by the end of this coming weekend.

I also picked up a 40 gallon breeder for use as a sump and a baffle kit is on the way. I figured the bigger the better.

The next post I made should be a completely plumbed dream (affordable) reef tank.
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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Plumbing is 80% done. I still need to build the pump and uv manifold.

The fleece roller I want is still on back order, but BRS has confirmed a new shipment should arrive by mid march.

I think things have gone rather well for my first time plumbing anything.

20220306_172400.jpg


20220306_220837.jpg


20220306_212557.jpg


20220306_220547.jpg



I under estimated the number of fittings I'd need so while I wait for those to get here, I figured I'd work on getting the baffles installed and some rockwork design started.

So far I am on schedule to have water in this tank by mid march.

I'll update again once the rest of the plumbing is completed.
 
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Atrumblood

Atrumblood

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Hello all. Just letting every one I am still working on this build. I struggle with squirrels, but I am getting back into it.

I really dread getting the rock design done. I have no artistic talent lol.

Stay tuned. I'll hopefully have a bit more progress to show soon.

Sorry for the delay.
 

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Hello all. Just letting every one I am still working on this build. I struggle with squirrels, but I am getting back into it.

I really dread getting the rock design done. I have no artistic talent lol.

Stay tuned. I'll hopefully have a bit more progress to show soon.

Sorry for the delay.

That was the part I was not looking forward to also but mine came out pretty good I think.
 

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Don't overthink it. Just make sure you have some holes and good spaces for the fish to swim and a few areas high for those corals that need more light and you're all set.

1649104983739.png
 
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Atrumblood

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Yea. Executive dysfunction is kicking my butt. I'm working on it tonight.

Good news though. The fleece roller I've been waiting on to get back in stock has finally arrived.

Maybe if I make a list of things that need to be done to get the tank put together I'll be more likely to do them.


1. Finish gluing baffles into sump.
2. Attach pump to plumbing.
3. Move tank to final position in the room.
4. Cobble together some rocks (don't overthink).
5. Put rocks and sand into tank.
6. Fill with RODI water.
7. Add salt.
 
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Atrumblood

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Ok. Got the baffles in the sump. The sizing on those fiji cube kits is rough. I ended up making a mess out of the silicone because there was a lot more play between the glass and acrylic so I had to use gobs to make a seal.
Hopefully a razor blade and a little touch up will fix that.

I also decided to omit the refugium and filter sock bits. The only baffles I installed is the weir between the return pump section and the filter section. I figure since I don't plan to run a refugium I can use that space for an algae scrubber or just more space for biological filtration.

I'll get some pictures soon as I have the tank moved to its permanent location and the pump installed. My new goal is to get the rock work done this week and hopefully full of water a few days after that. Filling with RODI is going to be slow af.
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

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