My AIO build IM Nuvo 20

[fishguy242]

Nice little project...:)

 

[kevgib67]

Looking forward to seeing the finished project and see how far you wander from your original plan, I know it’s going to be great!

 

[steveschuerger]

Yep nice little tanks. Something similar to what you had in the other tank would look good I think.

 

[exnisstech]

I decided to go with sand in this tank to give me more surface area for bacteria since I'm not planning a bunch of rock but all of my plans are subject to change lol. Hopefully I can keep the sand looking good. I'll add a bunch of nassarius snails in the future. When I had them before I always enjoyed watching them rise up out of the sand at feeding time. I went with arag alive vs dry but mostly because they had live in 20lb bags and dry only in 40lbs at my go to lfs. I was going to rinse it then decided against it and just dumped it in. I doubt I'll known if it helps any or not as far as the bacteria it is supposed to contain.

I rigged up a canister filter so all the dust from the sand didn't end up in the back chamber.

I put the cup in so the return didn't blow sand all over. The theme is fitting since we got freezing rain last night. Tank cleared up overnight.

I pulled a couple of rocks out of my WB sump and put in but I see one has palys that are coming to life so I have to pull that one and back to the sump it goes.
Those plays have been in total darkness for 11 months and as soon as they get any kind of light they start to come back to life. I don't think they ever die but just go dormant. I definitely don't want them in this tank.

Heater and ATO arrived yesterday so todays plan is to get them in and finish filling the tank then wait. I'm going leave the lights off for a while. I have a small container of sand that has been in another tank seeding and am going add that. Hopefully the uglies won't get too bad with the live sand, old live rock and lights off. Not sure how long I'll leave the lights off, I can be impatient at times :face-with-hand-over-mouth:

More to come once its filled.

 

[kevgib67]

I decided to go with sand in this tank to give me more surface area for bacteria since I'm not planning a bunch of rock but all of my plans are subject to change lol. Hopefully I can keep the sand looking good. I'll add a bunch of nassarius snails in the future. When I had them before I always enjoyed watching them rise up out of the sand at feeding time. I went with arag alive vs dry but mostly because they had live in 20lb bags and dry only in 40lbs at my go to lfs. I was going to rinse it then decided against it and just dumped it in. I doubt I'll known if it helps any or not as far as the bacteria it is supposed to contain.

I rigged up a canister filter so all the dust from the sand didn't end up in the back chamber.

I put the cup in so the return didn't blow sand all over. The theme is fitting since we got freezing rain last night. Tank cleared up overnight.

I pulled a couple of rocks out of my WB sump and put in but I see one has palys that are coming to life so I have to pull that one and back to the sump it goes.
Those plays have been in total darkness for 11 months and as soon as they get any kind of light they start to come back to life. I don't think they ever die but just go dormant. I definitely don't want them in this tank.

Heater and ATO arrived yesterday so todays plan is to get them in and finish filling the tank then wait. I'm going leave the lights off for a while. I have a small container of sand that has been in another tank seeding and am going add that. Hopefully the uglies won't get too bad with the live sand, old live rock and lights off. Not sure how long I'll leave the lights off, I can be impatient at times :face-with-hand-over-mouth:

More to come once its filled.

Looking great! You really need to leave that coffee cup in there, it really ties your scape together! Perhaps swap it out with a different seasonal one quarterly. Anyone else agree?

 

[exnisstech]

Well it's filled and running sans coffee mug :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: The stock pumps have a hum that is a bit annoying but I don't think I'll worry about it for now. Maybe they'll quiet down a bit after running. I sleep with a noise maker and I won't hear them over that. My Hydra 26hd crapped out. It will work for a bit then stop. If I cycle the power it comes back on. I'll see if I have another PSU and see if it's that's the problem but that can wait. Fortunately I have 3 Gen4 XR15s so radions and Mobius it is. Be a bit easier anyways since the light and PH are both in Mobius. I just need to remember to keep the time/date synced so the lights don't come on in the middle of the night which is the reason the radions were shelved.

EDIT: this post is useless without pics :zany-face:

I was able to get both bags of seeded ceramic media in the two rear chambers so that's cool.

,

Heater and controller are in and working. I mounted the controller outside of the cabinet so I can see it without having to open the door and look inside. It's a basic controller with no alerts or cool stuff but for $50 for everything I'm not complaining.

ATO is in and working. I only put 1g in the reservoir for now until I get confident in the unit. I'm not digging the bright blue LED but I can only see it when I'm standing so I may or may not address that in the future.

I think I'll hang piece of shrimp in so I get some ammonia to feed the bacteria.
Now the fun part, waiting.

 

[Merry]

We have a BioCube 32 in our bedroom and my husband loves watching it before falling asleep, I do too! Good luck to you!

 

[X-37B]

Nice system! I have an IM 15 I'm going to setup in my room. I had same tank before I moved 2 years ago. Keep the pics comming.

 

[exnisstech]

Not much going on.

I added a couple more pieces of live rock and pulled the one with the palys. I also added a cup or so of sand that has been seeding in the 330 for about six months to help give the bacteria another boost. I put in a piece of raw shrimp to get some ammonia to feed the bac.
I'm still running with no lights and still undecided on what I'm actually going to put in here. I think I'll start of with a blood red fire shrimp to add some color and it will give me something to feed to keep the ammonia present if I can find one at a lfs.

I ordered a couple of floss holders and some sheets of poly filter floss from in tank aquatics.

I don't see myself trying to clean these tiny little felt socks and I'm sure not throwing $20 in the garbage every time they're dirty like IM says to do.

The plastic hose that came with the ATO unit kinks where it comes into the tank so I replaced it with silicone tubing that doesn't kink. The ATO itself is working fine.

I haven't done anything water tests yet but think I'll test N and P along with alk just to make sure it's ready for livestock. I don't bother testing ammonia or nitrite when I cycle. I used to but now I just wait until I see nitrates then slowly move forward. With the seeded media in the back chamber and the live rock and I'll be surprises if I didn't see N and P when I test.
More to come.

PS: The return pumps did quiet down after running a while. Flow looks decent enough and it doesn't look like fun working in that little back chamber so I'm rolling with the stock return pumps.

 

[BryanM]

Nice!

I'm about to ditch the filter socks in my WB, and I'm not planning on putting anything in their place.

 

[Tahoe61]

Well it's filled and running sans coffee mug :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: The stock pumps have a hum that is a bit annoying but I don't think I'll worry about it for now. Maybe they'll quiet down a bit after running. I sleep with a noise maker and I won't hear them over that. My Hydra 26hd crapped out. It will work for a bit then stop. If I cycle the power it comes back on. I'll see if I have another PSU and see if it's that's the problem but that can wait. Fortunately I have 3 Gen4 XR15s so radions and Mobius it is. Be a bit easier anyways since the light and PH are both in Mobius. I just need to remember to keep the time/date synced so the lights don't come on in the middle of the night which is the reason the radions were shelved.

EDIT: this post is useless without pics :zany-face:

I was able to get both bags of seeded ceramic media in the two rear chambers so that's cool.

,

Heater and controller are in and working. I mounted the controller outside of the cabinet so I can see it without having to open the door and look inside. It's a basic controller with no alerts or cool stuff but for $50 for everything I'm not complaining.

ATO is in and working. I only put 1g in the reservoir for now until I get confident in the unit. I'm not digging the bright blue LED but I can only see it when I'm standing so I may or may not address that in the future.

I think I'll hang piece of shrimp in so I get some ammonia to feed the bacteria.
Now the fun part, waiting.

What brand is that little controller?

I hate socks, won't use them. It's so liberating.

 

[exnisstech]

What brand is that little controller?

I hate socks, won't use them. It's so liberating.

Which controller? The blue light is the optical sensor for the ATO.

 

[tbrown]

Which controller? The blue light is the optical sensor for the ATO.

I think she was referring to the heater controller.

 

[exnisstech]

I think she was referring to the heater controller.

 

[exnisstech]

First hitchhiker :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

 

[exnisstech]

Worked on the scape a little. It's all live rock that has been kept in the dark.

Little tag along

Got the floss holders in. They fit perfect.

2/20 NO3 tested 1.1
PO4 0.17

2/22 Added first critter.


PS Also getting a biofilm on the glass already, enough to make the water look cloudy. I need to get scraper for this little tank. The tunze that I have are a bit much.

 

[kevgib67]

Worked on the scape a little. It's all live rock that has been kept in the dark.

Little tag along

Got the floss holders in. They fit perfect.

Looking great! Thats the same as the rock I started with, sat in a sump for decades in the dark. Worked like a charm.

 

[Anna K]

poly filter floss

This is going to be a dumb question, but does the poly filter floss do the same thing as the felt socks? Did you keep the felt socks in after you added your poly filter floss? I'm getting my IM in tomorrow and your build is answering a lot of questions for me on what to expect.

 

[exnisstech]

This is going to be a dumb question, but does the poly filter floss do the same thing as the felt socks? Did you keep the felt socks in after you added your poly filter floss? I'm getting my IM in tomorrow and your build is answering a lot of questions for me on what to expect.

No dumb questions, dumb is not asking questions;) . The poly filter replaces the felt socks. The holder for the poly sits where the felt socks would be. I just couldn't see myself cleaning those little socks, 4" socks are bad enough. I think IM recommends replacing them but that's not happening at $11 each. The floss seems to be catching debris well enough and changing it out is easy peasy. Just pull it out and drop a clean piece in.

 

[Anna K]

No dumb questions, dumb is not asking questions;) . The poly filter replaces the felt socks. The holder for the poly sits where the felt socks would be. I just couldn't see myself cleaning those little socks, 4" socks are bad enough. I think IM recommends replacing them but that's not happening at $11 each. The floss seems to be catching debris well enough and changing it out is easy peasy. Just pull it out and drop a clean piece in.

I saw online that it said to change out the floss about 2-3x a week? Is that necessary? Have you experienced that much changing, or are you going by a set schedule/look to see if it needs changing when you check on it?