Nuvo 40 Aquaforest reef

[goober]

Hello, I began reefing in 2007. Coming back after a few years absent from the hobby while we had two kids, and moved a couple times. This is my 3rd tank build. I started with a 90g mixed reef which was a great tank to learn about the hobby. After that I decided I wanted a dedicated SPS tank running zeovit. The 50g display cube was amazing and it broke my heart to sell, when we had to move.

So here we are today and after a lot of discussions with the wife I had convinced her that we should get a 10g Nuvo with some LPS in it. Something that would be easy enough to maintain while raising our 3-1/2 year old boy and 9 month old daughter. However during the planning phase of the tank, my excitement of getting back into the hobby got the best of me, which could have easily led to a 200g+ tank. In the end I managed to convince my wife that 10g was too small and we "agreed" that a 40g would be a much better size.

Tank was cycled 18 months ago 8/26/2017​

Current specs:

IM Nuvo 40g AIO tank - 35lbs macro rock and 20lbs argonite sand
eshopps psk-75 skimmer
Icecap ATO
2x Vortech Mp10
STC-1000 temperature controller with a fluval heater
2x TLF Phosban reactor hanging on back running AF Life Bio Fil
Marine pure balls in sump chamber
TLF Kalkwasser reactor

Lighting:

2x AI Prime HD - BRS AB+ schedule for 12 hours rise/set
4x LET t5 retrofit - 7 hours during peak

ATI bulbs - 2x blue plus 2x coral plus (second AI Prime HD added)
​

Current Fish/Inverts:

Six line wrasse
Black comb blenny
2x Clown fish

Miagi Tort when first introduced to the system​

Currently dosing: (updated 2/5/2019)

25ml AF component 123 daily
Kalkwasser every 2 hours via ATO

AF Build 1x drops every other day
AF Vitality and Amino 1x drops every other day


I also do a 10% Water change every 2 weeks with Fritz RPM salt

Thank's for checking out my build!

 

[Krzydmnd]

Looks great! Hopefully your wife will enjoy it too!

 

[Tahoe61]

Really nice!

Beautiful stand and floating canopy, very nicely done!

Good choice on the 40 gallon, the scape is awesome.

 

[Streetdoc77]

Super clean ! Love the over all concept.

 

[goober]

Really nice!

Beautiful stand and floating canopy, very nicely done!

Good choice on the 40 gallon, the scape is awesome.

Thanks! I will try to get a better FTS posted later today for sure.

 

[goober]

Here are a couple pictures

 

[teller]

Beautiful!
Following.

 

[teller]

I have one question regarding the Coral Box QP-5.
Can you control the flow intensity for every mode?
Thanks.

 

[goober]

Beautiful!
Following.

Cheers!

I have one question regarding the Coral Box QP-5.
Can you control the flow intensity for every mode?
Thanks.

Yes. The flow goes from 1-20. I keep it on a "reef crest" style setting at 15 or it kicks up too much sand at the front of the tank.

 

[goober]

Received one of my boxing day purchases today! First impression on the coral box dosing reservoir is that it seems really well constructed and good quality. Should be able to start balling component 1+2+3 soon.

 

[goober]

The rest of my boxing day loot arrived early. IM ATO reservoir, the rest of the ingredients I need to make my own Component 1+ 2+ 3+ balling solution, and something to help me dial in that ALK. I plan on using my BRS 2 part for adjustments and the 123 to maintain them.

 

[goober]

Had to make a trip to a LFS today for some dry goods and picked up a few random SPS that caught my eye while I was there

​

This is a 3 month old Bird of Paradise frag. It has had some decent growth despite healing from an LPS sting a month ago.

 

[goober]

Today im trying to figure out where to mount this frag:

Does anyone have an ID on this and a recommendation on placement? Does it like to be higher up in strong light?

 

[goober]

A little update on the dosing pump and IM reactor install.

Here's a before shot:

And After:

I used some 90's to run the tube into the back othe tank:

​

I think the "sump" area of my build is mostly complete. Id like to figure out how to incorporate some kind of power solution so that all the plugs are in power bars outside the stand, however I don't think I can fit much more in here without making a mess.

Just a couple more shots stand:

 

[goober]

Just an update on my dosing experience. After 3 days of monitoring ALK with my hanna tester I figured out my tank consumes around .1 DKH per day and would require 9.4ml per day of component 1+2+3 . I used my BRS 2 part to bring my ALK back up to 7.3 and started my automated dosing. So far every day my ALK has maintained a stable 7.3 which is really awesome! Now to keep an eye on calcium and magnesium over the next week.

I am getting a little anxious now because I leave for a 1 week vacation on the 21st and will have a family member visiting my tank once per day to feed my fish. I don't think any reefer likes to leave for any extended time!

 

[Tahoe61]

Today im trying to figure out where to mount this frag:

Does anyone have an ID on this and a recommendation on placement? Does it like to be higher up in strong light?

Perhaps Acropora austera.

 

[Tahoe61]

The tank is really coming along nicely.

 

[eric.battani]

I love the setup. I too went from a larger tank down to a nano. (125g to a 24g Cardiff nano) and have loved the choice ever since! What is greatest of all is that with smaller tanks you don't lose frags the way you do with larger tanks.

 

[goober]

This sunday my family leaves for a vacation for one week. First time I will be leaving this tank for an extended period and im getting more anxious about it every day! I have a family member coming to feed the fish every day and do any maintenance required such as filling up the ATO. They will also be dosing Pro Bio S and -NP pro for me daily.

This person loves my tank and would never do anything to cause it harm, however they do not know anything about reefing. I know im not the first person to be in this position so what kinda tips can you guys offer me in this situation?

I've made a spread sheet with things they need to do daily. I will be preparing zip lock bags in my freezer of food they will feed each day.

 

[goober]

Back from vacation update!

Im happy to say that I didn't have any losses! However some things changed in the tank while I was gone. First thing I noticed was a little bit of cyano developing on the top right side of the rocks. Im not sure what caused this but im sure it was starting right before I left. I did a 10% water change and replaced my GFO media. I dosed an extra daily amount of AF build and added 4ml of KZ coral snow to help the battle.

After testing my major elements my ALK had dropped to 6.2 from 7.3 while I was gone. I had stable ALK for 2 weeks before leaving with no adjustments to my dosing pumps, and after testing the calibration on the pumps, the only thing I can think of that caused it was an increase in growth in the tank. Since starting component 1+2+3 and having more stable major elements I have noticed increased growth in my sps. I increased my daily dose and will continue to monitor.

Perhaps it was the ALK dropping to 6.1 that also encouraged the cyano.