New Nuvo 20 Thread

[Aaron Soliz]

Hello my fellow reefers!

I received a 20 gallon Nuvo for Christmas and am ready to set this bad boy up. It’s in the perfect spot in my living room and I just purchased the AI Prime HD from a member on this website.

My question is what other things do I need to set it up to get it going? I purchased a custom Caddy for one of the chambers and I was thinking of adding filter floss up top, chemipure elite in the 2nd chamber and 3rd chamber having MarinePure spheres.

I am debating on changing the other chamber to a custom caddy as well and putting filter floss up on top and actually doing a Refugium in the 2nd and 3rd chamber but do I need that right this second? The light is not expensive but I need to still buy the live rock and sand which LR could add up quickly. Can I just leave the filter sock in there for now then get that a month or two later?

I was debating on going rock that was live but I don’t want to have to go through the bleaching stage so LRock would be easier.

Also, I would like to purchase the ghost skimmer as well but do I need that right this second too? Again, trying not to dump money all at once.

What are your thoughts as I would like to get some advise on the matter.

Thank you!
Aaron

 

[glb]

Hello my fellow reefers!

I received a 20 gallon Nuvo for Christmas and am ready to set this bad boy up. It’s in the perfect spot in my living room and I just purchased the AI Prime HD from a member on this website.

My question is what other things do I need to set it up to get it going? I purchased a custom Caddy for one of the chambers and I was thinking of adding filter floss up top, chemipure elite in the 2nd chamber and 3rd chamber having MarinePure spheres.

I am debating on changing the other chamber to a custom caddy as well and putting filter floss up on top and actually doing a Refugium in the 2nd and 3rd chamber but do I need that right this second? The light is not expensive but I need to still buy the live rock and sand which LR could add up quickly. Can I just leave the filter sock in there for now then get that a month or two later?

I was debating on going rock that was live but I don’t want to have to go through the bleaching stage so LRock would be easier.

Also, I would like to purchase the ghost skimmer as well but do I need that right this second too? Again, trying not to dump money all at once.

What are your thoughts as I would like to get some advise on the matter.

Thank you!
Aaron

If you can afford it, going with wet live rock will save you a lot of time because the tank cycles more quickly.

You probably don’t need a skimmer in a 20g tank. Water changes should keep things under control. If you do a fuge you shouldn’t need the Marine Pure imo. I’d invest in good test kits. Here’s what I use:

Salinity: Refractometer
Alkalinity and Phosphate: Hanna Checkers
Ca, Mg, and Nitrates: Salifert
Temp: I have one on my Apex but there’s plenty of glass ones that work fine.

Filter floss can become a nitrate trap if it’s not cleaned frequently. What are you planning on keeping in it?

 

[Aaron Soliz]

If you can afford it, going with wet live rock will save you a lot of time because the tank cycles more quickly.

You probably don’t need a skimmer in a 20g tank. Water changes should keep things under control. If you do a fuge you shouldn’t need the Marine Pure imo. I’d invest in good test kits. Here’s what I use:

Salinity: Refractometer
Alkalinity and Phosphate: Hanna Checkers
Ca, Mg, and Nitrates: Salifert
Temp: I have one on my Apex but there’s plenty of glass ones that work fine.

Filter floss can become a nitrate trap if it’s not cleaned frequently. What are you planning on keeping in it?

Thank you so much for your fast reply!

Luckily, I have bought myself a refractometer yesterday. Test kit as well, the legit one not the test strips.

How many times would I need to change the filter floss if I were to use? I guess buying a lot if I go that route.

Should I do the spheres first then switch them out once I get the Refugium set up?

I plan on keeping Storm Clownfish (2)... hopefully the orange ones. I know pricey but I love my clownfish lol.

Bought the temp as well. Digital one.

Yes in the Live Rock. I def rather spend my money on LR then Dead.

 

[btmedic04]

Yes, you can run the filter sock in the other overflow and a custom caddy/intank media basket in the other. Just make sure you change out the floss and swap the filter sock. I currently have 2 intank floss holders on my nuvo 20 with marinepure gems in a media bag under one and nothing currently under the other. I change my floss every 3 to 4 days. I also run an eshopps nano skimmer in chamber 2 and an IM minimax reactor with rox 0.8 carbon in the other. I find that I have a hard time keeping detectable levels of nitrate and phosphate with the skimmer running but my corals (mix of zoas and LPS currently) look great and are growing. I also have quite a bit of coralline algae forming on my rock work which is a pleasant surprise given this tank is only 2 months old. I do weekly 4 to 5 gallon water changes.

Now with that said, I'd say keep the marinepure spheres as they will provide more surface area for your biological filter to live on. Skip the reactor since you are using a media basket. Go with a fuge and hold off on the skimmer. If the fuge + water changes cant keep up with nitrate removal, you can always add a skimmer later.

 

[ylreefer]

Thank you so much for your fast reply!

Luckily, I have bought myself a refractometer yesterday. Test kit as well, the legit one not the test strips.

How many times would I need to change the filter floss if I were to use? I guess buying a lot if I go that route.

Should I do the spheres first then switch them out once I get the Refugium set up?

I plan on keeping Storm Clownfish (2)... hopefully the orange ones. I know pricey but I love my clownfish lol.

Bought the temp as well. Digital one.

Yes in the Live Rock. I def rather spend my money on LR then Dead.

Hi Aaron. I'm no biologist by any means so plz wait for others to confirm but if you remove the marine pure after the tank is established you run the risk of removing much of the good bacteria you spent time on building. Depending how much live rock you have this could cause a mini cycle which you wouldn't want. I'd say If you were planning on removing them do it bit by bit and make the transition from Spheres to fug gradual. As everything in this hobby.

However from Experience a fuge in a small aquarium really doesn't amount to much. I belive you'd be better off sticking with the spheres as long as the maintenance is kept.

As for the floss, change or clean it with RODI water as much as you have the time for. Ill be rinsing mine every 2 days in RODI water and changing it out about 2 times a week. I use filter pad rather then floss as it seems less messy to deal with.

If you insist on a fuge just ask yourself what function you would like it to perform and if it's going to be of any benifit or just another thing to maintain. Keep it simple if you can, you'll enjoy the tank more. Good luck.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

YLReefer and Btmedico4,

You have really helped me out with this! I have been learning for the past few weeks and though I had a tank 5 years ago... I tend to learn more and more about the hobby.

Now I feel comfortable with what I need to go and get from the stores tomorrow or the next day in order to start my cycle. Regarding the Spheres... ill purchases those for now and then when I feel or need to get the fuge, maybe just having both instead of taking the spheres out wouldn't be a bad idea.

Again, you all have helped a lot and greatly appreciate it. I think I am ready to move forward now that I feel more confident.

Cheers to you all,
Aaron

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Step 1: Give us some pics of what you've got so far. We're all here because we like to see other people's tanks.
Step 2: Watch the BRS 52 weeks of reefing series on YouTube. This series will tell you literally everything you need to know about setting up a tank.
Step 3: Enjoy the hobby, and continue posting here.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Hello everyone! First let me start off my saying thank you to everyone they commented on this thread as when I needed help, answers were given.

For the past 3 days I have been picking up all the materials I need to cycle my aquarium. The tank is super cloudy but I did get a picture of my aquascape which I added a little more rock here and there but not enough to ruin what I had going on. It took a long one for it to firmly stay but worth it. What I have running right now is...

1) Custom Caddy with Filter Floss up top, chemipure blue in second chamber then left the bottom part open for whatever down the road. That’s the furthest left chamber.
2) Next chamber is biomedia called Sera Siporax. Couldn’t fit the whole bag so I had to take some out.
3) middle chamber is just where my 75 watt heater is and the stock return pump (debating on upgrading but this one isn’t bad and isn’t as loud as ppl say)
4) next chamber is empt for with my Refuge will be at down the road and the last chamber I left the filter sock in that one.
5) 20 pounds of LR (shelf and Pukani)
6) Bought a powerhead for my flow
7) Live Sand (15 pounds)
8) Added Bio-spira to jump start process (little bottle but dumped all of it in tank)
9) AI Prime HD light comes in Monday

I’ll post more once the water clears up but can’t wait to see as the scape turned out really cool!

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Excellent aquascape

 

[ylreefer]

Agree that scap is going to look awesome when it's covered in corals. Nice job. System sounds good to so I can't see any issues there. Just load slowly and you'll be fine. My cube was cloudy for over a week and cleared up within 3 day later. Just don't be tempted to adjust anything. You'll probably have a low PH to as the cycle runs due to the ammonia but just let it run its course and it'll settle out

 

[Gonebad395]

Welcome looks great so far

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Thank you all for the kind words. Water has cleared up, not 100% but getting there. Thought I share a picture. I added another shelf on the bottom right.

 

[reef-rc]

I like the aquascape...very nice. It has that look of an octopus with the center being the head and it's tentacles reaching out.

Curious question - is the rock work resting on the bottom of the tank or on sand? If it's on sand, keep in mind the stability of the rock work in case your sand shift long term. Just something to watch for if that's the case.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

I like the aquascape...very nice. It has that look of an octopus with the center being the head and it's tentacles reaching out.

Curious question - is the rock work resting on the bottom of the tank or on sand? If it's on sand, keep in mind the stability of the rock work in case your sand shift long term. Just something to watch for if that's the case.

Thank you and actually, I think you are right lol. I honestly don't know what kind of rock it is but it was in the live rock section so I thought it would be a great center piece then add rock around it.

At first, it was but then I pushed all the rock down to hit the bottom of the tank. I am surprised I have it so sturdy. It took 4 hours to get it the way I like. I even do a table test so I shake the table a bit to see if any of the scape moves and it is holding very well. Should be a fun scape to set corals on.

Aaron

 

[reef-rc]

kool

I am in the process of cycling my 2nd Fusion 20 and have not yet settled on the rock works just yet. Looking forward to seeing how yours come out.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

kool

I am in the process of cycling my 2nd Fusion 20 and have not yet settled on the rock works just yet. Looking forward to seeing how yours come out.

I am always curious on how other people scapes come out. Please send some pics trough here. Love to see it.

 

[reef-rc]

My aquascape is in a semi-rubble state at this time. Here's a pic from a few minutes ago. It's been cycling close to 2 months and so I have another month for myself before settling on the final aquascape. I am going BB. The plan for the tank is to support easy/medium difficulty SPS + LPS that require medium/strong flow + medium/high lighting.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Very cool! Are you going to do sand eventually or nah?

BTW everyone... does anyone have a surface skimmer for their tank? I noticed some oily skim on the top of my water this morning. Maybe just dust, I don't know but I have some really good water movement at the top but it won't go away. I was looking into getting two of these. What are your thoughts on this product?

https://intankaquatics.com/intank-all-in-one-surface-skimmer/

 

[reef-rc]

Very cool! Are you going to do sand eventually or nah?

I am going barebottom (BB) at the start and is the plan. On my other fusion, I had started with 1.5" or so inches of sand and have almost removed most of it within the last few months.

 

[Aaron Soliz]

Recieved the AI Prime HD light tonight. Not sure how to set the light. I was looking through YouTube and it’s kind of a pain to set during the day. Maybe it’s just me since I am new to it, no idea. I don’t want it too bright since I don’t have anything in there in the first place but it would be nice to have some light during the day as it looks nice on. Here is a picture of the tank with the light on.

Should I even have the light on during the cycle phase?