IOWL's IM Nuvo 200 EXT build

[QuickrdenU]

Cookie monster

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Tank has been chugging along for the last few days. Had a couple more pinhole leaks at a few elbows so I shut it down, removed the affected section,, reapplied cement around the joint, and turned the pumps back on 3 hours later. So far so good, and it's been 48 hours without any leaks.

Touching on earlier conversation with a friend regarding oxygen exchange: I'm fortunate that both my wife and I like the sound of bubbling/running water, so I've had both sets of return nozzles pointed right at the surface (with an MP40 providing additional agitation). Also, given I'm not running filter socks yet, I've gotten additional agitation and gas exchange from the water running through the filter sock holes.

I also went ahead and ordered a Feeding Portal for the top of the tank a few weeks ago, and decided to install it. Noting you can probably print one of these yourself, but I opted to go for the premade and installation was super easy: bottom half on bottom of screen, top half on top, screw it down to clamp it, and cut the screen out of the hole. Took about five minutes.

I've been busy with work and other obligations the past few days, but I've started working on cable management and control board layouts as well. I went ahead and ordered a cable management organizer kit to help me get everything nice and tidy behind the tank, so I'll have more pictures when I get that done later this week. Also, requesting input on where people mount their dosers/put 'platforms' inside their sumps. I'd like to minimize the amount of stuff I have sitting on the sump (paranoia about leaking stuff into the sump), so I'm looking for ideas.

Finally, after ~4 days of adding bacteria, the ammonia to 2 ppm, the ammonia zeroed out. 7 days into the cycle, I'm reading 2 ppm nitrite (as of ~10 pm last night), and hoping it'll finish up later this week so that I can go pick up the first additions to the tank. In the meantime, here's a full-tank shot with perfectly clear water!

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

"C is for Coral, and that's good enough for me."

 

[tritonpower]

How far below the top of the tank is the water level?

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

How far below the top of the tank is the water level?

It's 1.75" below the rim.

 

[tritonpower]

Still coordinating help for moving the tank, so I figured I'd chip away at some other projects. First off: the stand.

Thanks to a friend for the heads up on the base measurements (~6" between each one for even spacing). Made it one heck of a lot easier. I love the stand: it looks good, it's lightweight, it's solidly built, it's easy to assemble, and as an added bonus...

God bless competent new construction + perfectly level floors on a concrete slab. Checked it multiple ways, because I'm *super* paranoid after my Red Sea's near-failure, and it's bang-on level in every way.

Now that the stand's up, I can start tinkering around with equipment layout and organization as well. I'm trying to prevent the rat's nest of wires that have plagued my prior builds, so I've kept our 3D printer running pretty much constantly to make power brick mounts for XR30s/Vortech/Vectras, as well as controller mounts for the MP40s and Vectras. In addition to the Adaptive Reef controller board, I'll probably mount a small piece of MDF on the back of the tank stand and mount the power bricks there.

Finally: aquascaping and plumbing. I'll need to wait for the weekend and when my wife has some free time to do this together, but I've been noodling around with a few designs.

Manifold, showing off our plumbing color scheme:

Random portion of scapes (fortunately, that table is almost the exact size of the tank):

Did you use the 4 stick on pads on the 4 corners per the instructions? If so, does it seem odd to you that all the weight would then be on the 4 corners? It seems like weight will also be on the front and back middle/bottom sections (i.e. under the doors) as well. Shouldn't there be some contact points/pads there as well?

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Did you use the 4 stick on pads on the 4 corners per the instructions? If so, does it seem odd to you that all the weight would then be on the 4 corners? It seems like weight will also be on the front and back middle/bottom sections (i.e. under the doors) as well. Shouldn't there be some contact points/pads there as well?

Not something I'd considered; I'd assumed it would compress to the point it was all touching the floor, but not sure. IM might have a better idea than I do.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Every cycle I've had has progressed through a similar sequence of events: "Boy that ammonia got digested quickly" > "Wow that's a lot of nitrite" > "Man I really hope I didn't stall the cycle with high nitrites" > "Oh right, nitrites take a while to come down."

I hit the "Oh right" stage today. I added bacteria and ammonia to 2 ppm on 6/4; by 6/8 I had no detectable ammonia and nitrites at ~4 ppm. I was pretty sure nitrites have been in the ~2 ppm range for the past week or so (or at least the color hasn't changed appreciably), but they finally noticeably dropped today to sub-1 ppm. Success!

No huge updates, but a couple minor points/cool things:

Temperature controllers are important. I knew this already, and didn't really care about the exact temp of the tank, so I just set the built-in temp controller on my heater to 80. When I got my Apex set up, I saw the temp was actually over 83. Have a backup and a failsafe.

I got the iPad on the front of the tank connected, and loaded up Reef Tiles. I'm not too worried about the pH because 1) low salinity, and 2) the probe was shipped dry, so I don't really trust it. (BRS has already sent me a replacement, and I won't be using this one to monitor anything of importance).

We started some work on the backyard, which - in addition to the patio - also means the foundation for the shed (i.e. water storage/mixing center) will be poured tomorrow! The tank is on the other side of the window closest to the camera, and I'm still toying with whether I want to have a hole drilled in the wall for a direct feed or not for an ATO.

Finally: some cool pictures of the tank from the sides, since I don't think the frontal view does the rockwork justice.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Cable management is coming along. Got the secondary control board set up with the M2 and L2 controllers, and I'll be adding a second MP40 on the right when it arrives from Ecotech support. The third one is currently running the holding tank, so that one will need to wait until I break that tank down.

I also forgot about this cabinet I got from a fellow reefer, which matches the stand and can be tucked unobtrusively in this little corner. to minimize clutter, I'll probably run most of the power cords from the heaters, skimmer, etc. into this, and mount an EB832 in there on one of the preexisting mounts.

Shots with the hood open:

Also, nitrites hit zero a few days ago. Dosed ammonia again, and it processed to nitrate within 24 hours, so I'm comfortable moving forward now. First order of business: copepods and phytoplankton. I've gotten dinoflagellates in every single tank that I've started from dry rock (I suspect due to limiting phosphates), so I went ahead and ordered the 4-pack of Ecopods, 1 pack of GalaxyPods (free with my order), and some phyto from AlgaeBarn. My rationale is that the phyto should provide a source of to feed both the copepods and the microbiome, the copepods will help scavenge, and - as it'll be a couple weeks before I add fish - they'll have time to multiply free of predation.

And, speaking of fish: I should be able to pick up fish for the first wave from High Tide Aquatics on July 1st, so I'm excited! Additionally, as I have some fish I'm fond of (specifically, several green-blue chromis and a lawnmower blenny), I'll be taking my first foray into QT.

Starting this part off with a warning: formaldehyde (a major component of formalin) causes cancer. It is not "haha this artificial sweetener is 'known by the state of California' to cause cancer", it is an internationally recognized carcinogen. Be extremely cautious when handling it, wear gloves, work in a ventilated area, and label/do not cross contaminate anything used to measure or store formalin.

Several fish I've had for a while now were not QT'd. Also, given how prone chromis are to uronema, and that going fallow does not rid a tank of this parasite, I am being extraordinarily paranoid about it. My wife wants a larger school of chromis as well, so I figure this is a good time to QT everything at once.

My strategy, based on Humble Fish's recommendations, is as follows:

Day 1: 45 minute formalin bath. Transfer immediately into QT tank (20 gallon system pre-seeded with bottled bacteria, a HOB filter, AmmoniaAlert badge, with copper at 2.0 ppm) Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin after adding fish.
Days 2-3: Raise copper to 2.3 ppm. Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin every 24 hours. Feed food soaked in MetroPlex.
Days 4-18: Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin every 24 hours. Feed food soaked in MetroPlex.
Day 19: Perform large water change and add CupriSorb to remove copper from the water. Begin monitoring, and (if the fish are healthy) feed API general cure + Focus-soaked food for prophylactic deworming.
Days 19-33: Monitor.
Day 34: Add to DT (hopefully!).

 

[tritonpower]

Cable management is coming along. Got the secondary control board set up with the M2 and L2 controllers, and I'll be adding a second MP40 on the right when it arrives from Ecotech support. The third one is currently running the holding tank, so that one will need to wait until I break that tank down.

I also forgot about this cabinet I got from a fellow reefer, which matches the stand and can be tucked unobtrusively in this little corner. to minimize clutter, I'll probably run most of the power cords from the heaters, skimmer, etc. into this, and mount an EB832 in there on one of the preexisting mounts.

Shots with the hood open:

Also, nitrites hit zero a few days ago. Dosed ammonia again, and it processed to nitrate within 24 hours, so I'm comfortable moving forward now. First order of business: copepods and phytoplankton. I've gotten dinoflagellates in every single tank that I've started from dry rock (I suspect due to limiting phosphates), so I went ahead and ordered the 4-pack of Ecopods, 1 pack of GalaxyPods (free with my order), and some phyto from AlgaeBarn. My rationale is that the phyto should provide a source of to feed both the copepods and the microbiome, the copepods will help scavenge, and - as it'll be a couple weeks before I add fish - they'll have time to multiply free of predation.

And, speaking of fish: I should be able to pick up fish for the first wave from High Tide Aquatics on July 1st, so I'm excited! Additionally, as I have some fish I'm fond of (specifically, several green-blue chromis and a lawnmower blenny), I'll be taking my first foray into QT.

Starting this part off with a warning: formaldehyde (a major component of formalin) causes cancer. It is not "haha this artificial sweetener is 'known by the state of California' to cause cancer", it is an internationally recognized carcinogen. Be extremely cautious when handling it, wear gloves, work in a ventilated area, and label/do not cross contaminate anything used to measure or store formalin.

Several fish I've had for a while now were not QT'd. Also, given how prone chromis are to uronema, and that going fallow does not rid a tank of this parasite, I am being extraordinarily paranoid about it. My wife wants a larger school of chromis as well, so I figure this is a good time to QT everything at once.

My strategy, based on Humble Fish's recommendations, is as follows:

Day 1: 45 minute formalin bath. Transfer immediately into QT tank (20 gallon system pre-seeded with bottled bacteria, a HOB filter, AmmoniaAlert badge, with copper at 2.0 ppm) Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin after adding fish.
Days 2-3: Raise copper to 2.3 ppm. Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin every 24 hours. Feed food soaked in MetroPlex.
Days 4-18: Dose 0.9 ml/10 gallons of formalin every 24 hours. Feed food soaked in MetroPlex.
Day 19: Perform large water change and add CupriSorb to remove copper from the water. Begin monitoring, and (if the fish are healthy) feed API general cure + Focus-soaked food for prophylactic deworming.
Days 19-33: Monitor.
Day 34: Add to DT (hopefully!).

sump area looks great. I am working on a controller board now. Not easy.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Achievement unlocked: cable wrangler. Still not as clean as I was hoping, but good enough and a far cry from the usual rat's nest behind my tanks. I ended up rearranging a bit and putting the Vectra controllers into the control cabinet, though.

Also, allow me to introduce 3/4ths of my Tang Gang, courtesy of Kenny (@under.water.ninja) at High Tide Aquatics. He was kind enough to directly speak with his contact and get them to pick me out some extra-nice hybrids (achilles x white cheek and powder blue x white cheek), as well as a juvenile desjardini! They're currently in QT at his shop, and I can't wait to get them home.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

So, in spite of looking information up everywhere I could and finding no clear contraindication, I've learned that chromis do not do well in Copper Power. I lost all six of them a couple days ago. Please learn from my mistake.

On the other side of the QT front, both the lawnmower blenny and the kole tang have been doing well in the QT tank. The kole tang is still EXTREMELY shy, but hopefully he'll come out of his shell in the DT.

Also, in preparation for the first tester piece of coral on Saturday, I opted to measure PAR levels. I currently have two Gen 6 XR30s mounted on the RMS rail (~10" above the tank) running AB+ at 60%. These were the PAR values I measured at various points of interest:

Color me impressed at the spread over a six foot tank. Strictly speaking, I probably don't NEED to add the two G5 XR30s, but I'm a fan of more light and more even spread for growing SPS. Also, as a firm believer that boys never really grow up—we just get bigger and better toys—all I can say is

 

[tritonpower]

Achievement unlocked: cable wrangler. Still not as clean as I was hoping, but good enough and a far cry from the usual rat's nest behind my tanks. I ended up rearranging a bit and putting the Vectra controllers into the control cabinet, though.

Also, allow me to introduce 3/4ths of my Tang Gang, courtesy of Kenny (@under.water.ninja) at High Tide Aquatics. He was kind enough to directly speak with his contact and get them to pick me out some extra-nice hybrids (achilles x white cheek and powder blue x white cheek), as well as a juvenile desjardini! They're currently in QT at his shop, and I can't wait to get them home.

Crazy thing is drreef has quarantined fish at the same price as my LFS. I am going to order a desjardini soon as well. Beautiful fish

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Added:

• Bicolor foxface
• Firefish
• Watchman goby + pistol shrimp
• 5x bimaculatus anthias
• Banggai cardinal

Let there be life.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Update 7/7

Finished up the last few odds and ends I can do before I set up the calcium reactor in a few weeks. Got everything ready for the refugium, since I should be getting my order of clean chaeto from AlgaeBarn tomorrow. Had to use the Kessil Extended Slide Mount to get it centered over my refugium, but it worked out:

Our big goober decided he wanted attention, too, while I was taking pictures:

Since adding the fish and feeding the tank, I started using filter socks (well, Reef Diapers). So far so good with them; they've lasted about as long as filter socks have before, and - given my wife would shoot me if I tried to wash filter socks in the wash - they've been a good compromise. I also LOVE the filter sock silencers I ordered with my sump from Synergy Reef:

Diatoms have finally started kicking in. Got the UV sterilizer going now, and hopefully they'll burn out before too long:

Fish are getting along pretty well. Can't thank @under_water_ninja enough for recommending the bimaculatus anthias. Beautiful, pretty chill so far, and they've made friends with the foxface (who seems to think it's an anthias, too, given it schools with them).

Now I play the waiting game again. The algae blenny and kole tang will be done with QT (modified it to match Kenny's process) a week from today, and I'll be adding them along with the royal gramma + three tangs in Kenny's QT a week from Sunday.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Update 7/16
Second round of fish and inverts added to the tank:

• Hybrid achilles/white cheek tang
• Powder blue tang (unfortunately the hybrid didn't make it through quarantine)
• Desjardini sailfin tang
• Yellow eye kole tang (QT'd myself)
• Algae blenny (QT'd myself; added Friday)
• Copperband butterfly
• Royal gramma
• Tuxedo urchin and halloween urchin
• Nassarius snails
• Conchs

Out of all the issues I could have foreseen when adding this group of fish to the tank, "Algae blenny entering a rage state, grabbing nassarius snails, and just chucking them across the tank" was not one of them.

Pictured: the face of a stone-cold killer.

The other fish are getting along pretty well: the powder blue and the desjardini are roughly the same size, and seem to be engaging in multiple dominance displays to sort out pecking order. So I'll keep an eye on that. Surprisingly, the hybrid achilles (by far the biggest fish in the tank) is acting as a peacemaker and seems to break the two of them up whenever they start squaring up.

I'll see how the rest of this goes. But, so far, it's beautiful. My wife, myself, and my stepmother spent over two hours just watching the tank tonight after adding all the new fish.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

Found a replacement H380 for my broken one. I got it installed, set up the calcium reactor...and discovered that my Kamoer FX-STP is borked. Sigh. At least I have all the equipment laid out now. Also, despite how it looks in this picture, that all appears to be phyto (or another powdery green algae) on the rocks and sand, and has been slowly clearing up over the past couple days.

Bright side, all the fish seem to be getting along reasonably well. There's some pecking amongst the tangs, with—surprise surprise—the powder blue being the biggest $4!+ stirrer, but nothing of any real concern. The big surprise for me has been that the hybrid achilles is by far the most laid-back tang in the tank and is the only one that hasn't pecked at another fish.

I knew why already, but I'm finally getting to experience why tangs are such a popular fish. It's hypnotic watching them and there's so much activity and movement now. Can't wait to start adding coral before too long, and—with the eventual addition of a mandarin pair, some manner of wrasse, and potentially a porcupine puffer*—the fish list will be complete!

A picture of the active corner this morning with a nori buffet:

*: I'm aware it is not recommended to have a porcupine puffer in a reef tank and it will be a gamble. However, both my wife and I fell in love with the one at High Tide Aquatics and, after thorough research online, we're leaning towards taking that gamble since porcupines seem to trend towards the 'safer' side of the spectrum.

 

[Ioncewaslegend]

So, I'm reasonably certain my encounter with velvet in my RSR250 gave me paranoia. My hybrid achilles started scratching its head and side; a little at first, then more frequently over the next 36 hours. Running through the various scenarios, my most likely guess was flukes: the only potential vector was the algae blenny and kole tang that I QT'd, and I realized 1) I'd fed them general cure (metro/prazi)-soaked food, not broadcast dosed prazi; and 2) the tank the algae blenny originally came from had had flukes at one point (with the kole's status unknown).

Probably overkill, but I went ahead and dosed the tank with PraziPro on Sunday afternoon following the recommended instructions. I kept the skimmer running with the collection cup removed and the neck covered, and also put a large airstone/sponge filter in the refugium to ensure proper oxygenation. Still not out of the woods yet, but I haven't seen the achilles scratch since Sunday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed extremely hard.

I'd waffled with the idea of how seriously I wanted to take biosecurity, but having a potential issue crop up so quickly on my prize fish nudged me over the line - particularly since I'm reasonably certain my velvet outbreak started from a piece of coral. So I'll be starting up a coral/invert QT tank following these guidelines.

I'm trying to tell myself that learning patience when buying coral will be a good thing.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Some really nice fish getting added to your tank!

 

[tritonpower]

So, I'm reasonably certain my encounter with velvet in my RSR250 gave me paranoia. My hybrid achilles started scratching its head and side; a little at first, then more frequently over the next 36 hours. Running through the various scenarios, my most likely guess was flukes: the only potential vector was the algae blenny and kole tang that I QT'd, and I realized 1) I'd fed them general cure (metro/prazi)-soaked food, not broadcast dosed prazi; and 2) the tank the algae blenny originally came from had had flukes at one point (with the kole's status unknown).

Probably overkill, but I went ahead and dosed the tank with PraziPro on Sunday afternoon following the recommended instructions. I kept the skimmer running with the collection cup removed and the neck covered, and also put a large airstone/sponge filter in the refugium to ensure proper oxygenation. Still not out of the woods yet, but I haven't seen the achilles scratch since Sunday, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed extremely hard.

I'd waffled with the idea of how seriously I wanted to take biosecurity, but having a potential issue crop up so quickly on my prize fish nudged me over the line - particularly since I'm reasonably certain my velvet outbreak started from a piece of coral. So I'll be starting up a coral/invert QT tank following these guidelines.

I'm trying to tell myself that learning patience when buying coral will be a good thing.

I've been pondering the same recently.