Nuvo 30G Long SPS Only Build

[SmugglersReef]

Hi all. New member, long time Reefer here. I am setting up an IM30 Acropora tank. I assembled the stand last night and patched the wall above the tank.

 

[Tahoe61]

Hi and welcome to R2R.

IM 30s are great tanks.

 

[SmugglersReef]

Ok tank is wet. The intake deflectors are cool. I was able to add another gallon of saltwater. The VCA RFGs are great. They do make random flow but I had to turn the included DC pump up to max since they cut down on flow.

I

 

[SmugglersReef]

The Hydras are gone. I ended up getting a pair or Red Sea reef 50s. Very good for this tank. And yes it is 30 gallons if you filled it to the brim.

 

[SmugglersReef]

So I made some changes. I didn’t care for the white bare bottom. I ended up adding 20 pounds of sand. I sold the hydra and bought red sea reef 50 leds. They match more with the aesthetics of the tank. I’m cycling with Dr. Tim’s ammonia and bacteria. I have a Tunze 9001 and Seachem matrix in the rear chambers. I’m starting to see some nitrites so all is well. the right side face a window so I blocked it from the light.

 

[SmugglersReef]

No activity? Is anyone following. Maybe my post it to boring?

The tank cycled with Dr. Tims ammonia and one and only bacteria. The live rock was cycled from my LFS so it took about 11 days total. I moved the clowns over from a 10 gallon holding tank. I’m going to keep the lights off for a bit since their are no corals in the tank. I am debating whether to go all SPS down the road or maybe just some colorful LPS. A few Reefers said it will be hard to do SPS in this tank, too small. Here are some more pics.

 

[sas226]

Not sure what they mean by too hard to do an SPS 30g, I can show you some very successful nano tanks that are all or mostly SPS. Do what you like just have to know the right approach to take.

 

[SmugglersReef]

Not sure what they mean by too hard to do an SPS 30g, I can show you some very successful nano tanks that are all or mostly SPS. Do what you like just have to know the right approach to take.

HI. Thanks for replying. They say stability will be an issue. I plan on dosing esv bionic like in my 100 gallon or maybe 2 part from BRS and doing bi weekly water changes. I think the 2 Red Sea reef 50 lights should be enough par for a 12 inch height aquarium.

 

[JRAD]

That is a nice tank! I have the 30l also but not set up yet. I’m sure those lights will grow anything you want in a tank that shallow.

 

[SmugglersReef]

OK here’s an update on the tank. I removed the Tunze 9001. It started producing skimate but I just didn’t care for it. Maybe a ten gallon tank it would be fine. I added an Aquami powerhead on the right side. I really like the presets. On the left side I have the an olde Jaebo RW 4 but it’s too much to keep on constantly, so I just use it for blowing the junk off the rocks once a day. I would prefer another Aquami.

I love the innovative marine tank. Water changes are a breeze. I like the Red Sea Lights too. The brackets kind of suck because they tilt down and I am getting a little algae in the back by the bag of seachem matrix rocks. I am using Purigen and chemipure elite in the included media basket. Outside of that I just have a heater in one of the inside compartment and the RFG nozzles on the returns.

The original plan was to go sand less and only SPS but I can’t stand looking at an empty tank for at least 4 months while I work all day. So I stocked her after the cycle period, first with fish, then some corals, then another fish. All fish are juveniles and corals are fragged from my bigger tank. I removed the pair of domino clowns. The female was a beast and harassing my baby Royal Grama. Here’s what I have and I will probably add just one more small passive fish.

Baby Snowflake Ocellaris Clown
Baby Royal Grama
Tiny Yellow Watchman Goby

The Goby eats like a pig, the clown finally started taking small NLS pellets.

Pink hammer frag
Green Frogspawn frag
Bright green hammer frag

I think I’m just going to trim back a couple more hammers in my 100 gallon and cultivate them in this 30 gallon, until the tanks settles down many months away. Then I can revisit the whole SPS thing. I attached an image of my thriving SPS colony in my 100 gallon, but that tank has been up for 3 years now. I have the lights on 50% blue and 15% white to hold back some of the uglies for now.

 

[Max_nano]

There’s a lot of pros and cons with going sps focused on a small tank. I’m sure people have shared their thoughts on the cons. Here are some pros from someone with a 25g AIO frag/display tank:

• Supplements are doses based on total volume so there are nice savings there, but 2 part in bulk and it’ll last for ever
• Flow doesn’t require thousands in pumps, I’m using a sicce 1.0 and a Nero for now and will probably add another Nero but definitely better than needing multiple MP40 or MP60 pumps
• Lighting won’t break the bank since you’re dealing with a shallower tank, my tank is just 8” so high par is easy

I will say the key to my success so far is highly attributable to my KH guardian which tests my alkalinity multiple times a day so I can keep it consistent, but with manual testing I’m sure you can find a reliable schedule it just will require some tweaking from the start since it is easy to over do it in a small tank and raise the alk. Calculators are your friend for small volume since there isn’t much room for mistakes.

 

[SmugglersReef]

There’s a lot of pros and cons with going sps focused on a small tank. I’m sure people have shared their thoughts on the cons. Here are some pros from someone with a 25g AIO frag/display tank:

• Supplements are doses based on total volume so there are nice savings there, but 2 part in bulk and it’ll last for ever
• Flow doesn’t require thousands in pumps, I’m using a sicce 1.0 and a Nero for now and will probably add another Nero but definitely better than needing multiple MP40 or MP60 pumps
• Lighting won’t break the bank since you’re dealing with a shallower tank, my tank is just 8” so high par is easy

I will say the key to my success so far is highly attributable to my KH guardian which tests my alkalinity multiple times a day so I can keep it consistent, but with manual testing I’m sure you can find a reliable schedule it just will require some tweaking from the start since it is easy to over do it in a small tank and raise the alk. Calculators are your friend for small volume since there isn’t much room for mistakes.

I guess my biggest fear is I will invest in a bunch of expensive sticks, and they are expensive, and then something goes wrong I lose them.

 

[LRT]

I'm in sorry if I missed it but what kind of rock are you using?

 

[SmugglersReef]

I'm in sorry if I missed it but what kind of rock are you using?

I’m using the kind of reef rock you can’t get anymore. It’s all real. I rummaged through my LFS bottom of their tanks and sumps since I only needed small pieces.

 

[LRT]

I’m using the kind of reef rock you can’t get anymore. It’s all real. I rummaged through my LFS bottom of their tanks and sumps since I only needed small pieces.

 

[samnaz]

Following ;-)

 

[SmugglersReef]

It’s late now. I will take some pictures tomorrow. I’ve just got a bunch of hammers in there from my 100 gallon that I had to thin out a little. I wouldn’t even attempt to put SPS in there for at least 4 to 5 months, maybe longer.

 

[SmugglersReef]

Scroll down if you just want to see the pictures.

Ok here are some pics on the tank. I love the simplicity. No skimmer no reactor no refugium. Just 10% weekly water changes with either Red Sea blue bucket or NSW if I happen to go to the LFS that weekend. I feed the 3 small fish once a day. The corals get some cut up table shrimp once a week. I do use Seachem stability, one capful after each water change. Using dr Tim’s ammonia and bio spira was the most painless and cleanest way to cycle the tank, although the rock and sand were cycled already (more on that below.)

I have 2 media baskets. One has a sponge at top and nothing else in it. The other has a sponge at top and chemipure elite nano and purigen. I have a small bag of Seachem Matrix biomedia in one of the inner compartments. I have a heater and the original mighty jet turned on constant stream with RFG nozzles from Vivid Aquatics. I have an Aquami pump (smallest one) set on Black Lagoon max and an micro ATO. My ato container is a 5 gallon rimless I got for half price at petco. I can go almost two weeks with that. I make my own RODI because I have a 100 gallon mixed reef also.

My lights are the Red Sea 50 reef LEDS. The small brackets droop down and I hate that but they swing out easy for maintenance. the hammers seem to love the light. I have them set on 50% blue and 20% white for an 8 to 5 day with a one hour ramp up. I do think the Hydras and Primes have better color but I have to admit, the reef LEDs do the trick and are absolutely silent. There is some spill over into the rear filter compartment but I am keeping my eye one that. I tried an Orphek OR3 90 blues plus led bar but it stuck out at the ends of the tank and I would need 3 bars to replace the reef 50 leds.

The sand was a 20 pound bag of figi pink. I tried bare bottom since I thought I was going full SPS, which I may eventually, but I did not like the look of it. I even tried a 1/4 inch white starboard sheet but because of the tank silicone sticking out I had to have it cut short to lay flat. Then all this dietrus accumulated In the crevices against the glass so I have the board sitting in the garage and it’s curling up. If I did it again I would go 1/2 inch black but would have to seal the board down along the glass with black silicone. I vacuum the sand once a week.

The rock is all live natural reef rock. The real stuff. Myself and one of the salesman at my local LFS went through all their tanks and sumps and grabbed these smaller pieces. My 100 gallon is also real rock that I have had for years and I still have a bucketful in the garage. All of this ordered one line years ago when it was available or what I found at the LFS that people trade in.

 

[SmugglersReef]

Here’s an update. The tank has been up and running for at least 4 months now. I sold the Red Sea LEDs and went with T5 and a reef brite actinic strip. I tried a couple of large birds nest frags but they are bleaching. I am keeping the tank too clean with nitrate and phosphate reading zero. So I removed the chemipure and now I am feeding reef roids. Today I bought some Fuel and another fish.

 

[KonradTO]

Any updates on the tank? Did you make the switch to SPS?