Short-term, Void-filling Innovative Marine Nuvo 10 Gallon Black Rimless Aquarium Build

[PugsAndFish]

Haven't heard back from the vendor yet about a replacement tank but thought I'd play with the rocks in the meantime. I got 8 pounds of BRS Reef Saver and came up with this. Hoping to hear back tomorrow!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Haven't heard back from the vendor yet about a replacement tank but thought I'd play with the rocks in the meantime. I got 8 pounds of BRS Reef Saver and came up with this. Hoping to hear back tomorrow!

Very nice! That top rock pointing up seems a little out of place to me. Just my opinion of course. Maybe take that rock and lay it alone in the open area front right. In general though I like it.

 

[PugsAndFish]

My replacement tank came in yesterday, and it looks fine.

I also started building my stand! I can probably use an existing piece of furniture or buy an IKEA shelf for a 10 gallon tank, but I decided to build an ADA style cabinet. Although I'm planning for a 36 inch long tank (40 breeder or Red Sea Reefer 250), I may end up going with an Innovative Marine Nuvo 25 (if my next place has a size limit) or do a sump setup with a Nuvo 40 Black. Therefore, I'm making the dimensions of the stand to accommodate a 24" x 20" tank just in case.



Late night build session shot!

 

[PugsAndFish]

Just won the Synergy Reef raffle here on R2R! I was going to pick up a bucket or something for an ATO tank but I will have something nicer now!

 

[PugsAndFish]

Progress picture. Cabinet put together. I still need to hang the door and paint the stand but am stuck on how to do this. You can follow my confusion here lol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cabinet-hinges.431651/#post-4985304

I have mixed feelings about the cabinet. I think it looks okay but it's not perfectly square at every joint. There are some parts where it's off by a degree or two or maybe even 3 or more so that worries me. For example, the top is 23 15/16 inches long but as you go down, it narrows to 23 13/16 inches since I didn't join all of the panels perfectly at 90 degrees. I know this is perfectly fine for a 10 gallon tank but there may be a 25 gallon or 40 gallon tank up there one day. My guess is that this stand is still good enough even if each corner or joint isn't exactly 90 degrees but not 100% sure.

 

[PugsAndFish]

Stand is done! I'm happy overall but there are a few things I would've done differently. It kind of looks like a mini fridge with the semi gloss oil paint lol.


Making my first batch of RODI water right now and rinsing my Reef Saver rock with the waste water. Biospira should arrive today.

 

[PugsAndFish]

So I can home after work and the power was out when I checked my tank. The HOB filter and power head was off. My planted tank lights,co2, filter and heater were off too. I have no idea how long everything’s been off but all of my fish in the planted tank seem ok and I’m hoping my cycle didn’t get messed up for my nano.

 

[PugsAndFish]

I'm having some nitrite and nitrate issues...

After months of reading that patience is the key to success, I made the rookie mistake of getting overly excited during a big LFS sale and decided to overstock my tank. After my nitrite level dropped to 0, I dosed pure ammonia every other day for a week to ensure both ammonia and nitrite would go to 0 within 24 hours. After seeing ammonia and nitrite go down to 0 several times, I picked up a pair of clownfish and a few frags (hammer, gsp, zoa, mushroom).

Ammonia is still at a 0, but my nitrites are at 0.1-0.5ppm. I can't tell the exact value because the shade of light purple on the Salifert tests is hard to determine. I've been doing daily 30% water changes to combat nitrites.

I'm also having trouble with nitrates. When I first added BioSpira, I detected over 100ppm of nitrate. I thought my Salifert test was inaccurate since there could be no way nitrates could be over 100ppm within a day or two. So I used API (which I now know is inaccurate) and saw nitrates were 5-10ppm which made more sense. During the LFS sale, I picked up a Red Sea kit just to confirm and it seems like my nitrates were indeed that high. As mentioned, I've been doing daily water changes but nitrates aren't moving. Should I continue with water changes or try something like NoPox? Also, how did nitrates get so high so quickly with BioSpira?

Could my elevated nitrite and nitrate be the reason my zoas are partially closed as well?

 

[grassy_noel]

I'm having some nitrite and nitrate issues...

After months of reading that patience is the key to success, I made the rookie mistake of getting overly excited during a big LFS sale and decided to overstock my tank. After my nitrite level dropped to 0, I dosed pure ammonia every other day for a week to ensure both ammonia and nitrite would go to 0 within 24 hours. After seeing ammonia and nitrite go down to 0 several times, I picked up a pair of clownfish and a few frags (hammer, gsp, zoa, mushroom).

Ammonia is still at a 0, but my nitrites are at 0.1-0.5ppm. I can't tell the exact value because the shade of light purple on the Salifert tests is hard to determine. I've been doing daily 30% water changes to combat nitrites.

I'm also having trouble with nitrates. When I first added BioSpira, I detected over 100ppm of nitrate. I thought my Salifert test was inaccurate since there could be no way nitrates could be over 100ppm within a day or two. So I used API (which I now know is inaccurate) and saw nitrates were 5-10ppm which made more sense. During the LFS sale, I picked up a Red Sea kit just to confirm and it seems like my nitrates were indeed that high. As mentioned, I've been doing daily water changes but nitrates aren't moving. Should I continue with water changes or try something like NoPox? Also, how did nitrates get so high so quickly with BioSpira?

Could my elevated nitrite and nitrate be the reason my zoas are partially closed as well?

So, I also experienced really high nitrates after BioSpira. I think perhaps in addition to the ammonia you're adding being turned into nitrate, there may also be some die-off of the bacteria that eventually turns to nitrates, too. In total, I dosed 8 ppm of ammonia into my new system and after a half bottle of BioSpira my ammonia was zero, nitrites zero, and nitrates 50+. I did two ~65% water changes to lower the nitrates to ~10-15, and I've been using smaller weekly water changes to bring it down further.

Thus, I'm confused how your nitrates are not coming down if you're doing daily 30% water changes? How many have you done? If you've done 3 then you should only have about 35% of your original water remaining, meaning your nitrates should have dropped by ~2/3. Unless you're REALLY overfeeding your fish, you should not be accumulating new nitrates that quickly. Did you say the Red Sea test confirmed they were 5-10ppm? Or confirmed they were 100+ppm?

If they're 5-10ppm you're probably fine. That might be a bit high for a young tank, but it's a range many reefers are aiming for. If they're 100+ppm after three 30% water changes I'd ask someone else to test your water to make sure your method/kit isn't the issue.

 

[PugsAndFish]

I've done 3 water changes - prior to adding livestock, sunday, monday. Could my nitrates have been in the few hundreds? I also checked a freshly mixed batch of water and confirmed nitrates were 0. (Red Sea test confirmed my nitrates were very high.)

I haven't been feeding my fish that much. I only have 2 clowns and I tried feeding a few pellets. It seems like nopox isn't good for those without a skimmer so I think I'll stick to a few more daily water changes unless there are other options.

 

[grassy_noel]

Are you using the Red Sea Pro Nitrate test kit? If so, are you using the dilution method? The standard method only reads up to 4 ppm. If you do the dilution method, I think it will read up to 64 ppm. I’d be very surprised if after three 30% water changes your nitrates are still over 64 ppm.

It doesn’t sound like you’re significantly over feeding.

I have also heard that NoPoX without a Skimmer is risky and/or ineffective.

If nitrate is over 64 ppm, you could throw in a bag of Purigen for a while, which won’t lower nitrates, but should prevent them from getting any higher while you lower them with more water changes.

 

[PugsAndFish]

Are you using the Red Sea Pro Nitrate test kit? If so, are you using the dilution method? The standard method only reads up to 4 ppm. If you do the dilution method, I think it will read up to 64 ppm. I’d be very surprised if after three 30% water changes your nitrates are still over 64 ppm.

It doesn’t sound like you’re significantly over feeding.

I have also heard that NoPoX without a Skimmer is risky and/or ineffective.

If nitrate is over 64 ppm, you could throw in a bag of Purigen for a while, which won’t lower nitrates, but should prevent them from getting any higher while you lower them with more water changes.

Yes, I am using the dilution method (15ml of rodi + 1ml of tank water). I tested again today (didn't do water change) to see if I made an error and both Salifert and Red Sea gave readings over their maximum levels.

I'm pretty sure I'm not overfeeding. Just a few pellets to get the fish to eat and I'm not putting too much because one fish is still not fully eating.

I put in some Chemipure Blue so maybe that'll help a bit. On the bright side, the almost all of the zoa polyps are now open.

 

[grassy_noel]

Hmm, I'm not sure. I guess it's possible your nitrates are that high.

Given how small your tank is, I suppose you could try a HUGE water change, like 90%. It'd only be 9 gallons of water, and it should lower your nitrates by a factor of 10. So if you are between 64-100 ppm right now, you'd end up between 6.4 and 10 ppm afterwards.

 

[TatorTaco]

Just wanted to jump in and see how the tank was doing? Did you get a chance to do the large WC to try to lower your nitrates?

 

[PugsAndFish]

Just wanted to jump in and see how the tank was doing? Did you get a chance to do the large WC to try to lower your nitrates?

I haven't done a large water change in the last 2 days but plan to do a few more.

Last night's nitrate test showed signs of a reduction. The shade for Red Sea seemed to be between 64 and 32ppm but the colors are difficult to see. I'm hoping the next few wc will do the trick.

 

[PugsAndFish]

Thanks for the help everyone. I got my nitrates down to about 16 ppm.

One store had a 50-60% off sale. Then another had a 30% off sale. Then another one had a 20% off sale. As a result, I somehow ended up with multiple frags.

Here are my pickups:

• Ocellaris clownfish ($10)
• Wide bar black gladiator clownfish ($20)
• 3 Blue legged hermits ($5)
• GSP ($10)
• Hammer ($20)
• Random mushroom ($20)
• Ricordea ($14)
• 13+ polyps of Blow pop or gorilla nipples zoas ($20)
• 11+ polyps of Rastas ($30)
• 10+ polyps of Utter chaos ($50)
• 15+ polyps of Bam bams ($20)
• 15+ polyps of Green bay pakcers ($10)
• 20+ polyps of Eyes of rah ($10)

 

[NY_Caveman]

Thanks for the help everyone. I got my nitrates down to about 16 ppm.

One store had a 50-60% off sale. Then another had a 30% off sale. Then another one had a 20% off sale. As a result, I somehow ended up with multiple frags.

Here are my pickups:

• Ocellaris clownfish ($10)
• Wide bar black gladiator clownfish ($20)
• 3 Blue legged hermits ($5)
• GSP ($10)
• Hammer ($20)
• Random mushroom ($20)
• Ricordea ($14)
• 13+ polyps of Blow pop or gorilla nipples zoas ($20)
• 11+ polyps of Rastas ($30)
• 10+ polyps of Utter chaos ($50)
• 15+ polyps of Bam bams ($20)
• 15+ polyps of Green bay pakcers ($10)
• 20+ polyps of Eyes of rah ($10)

They look nice and beefy!

 

[PugsAndFish]

I bought a Red Sea Reefer 170 Deluxe! I'm planning to upgrade once I move in a few months (or sooner if I decide to stay at my current place). I'll start a new thread for the Reefer later.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I bought a Red Sea Reefer 170 Deluxe! I'm planning to upgrade once I move in a few months (or sooner if I decide to stay at my current place). I'll start a new thread for the Reefer later.

Congratulations!

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

I bought a Red Sea Reefer 170 Deluxe! I'm planning to upgrade once I move in a few months (or sooner if I decide to stay at my current place). I'll start a new thread for the Reefer later.

Lucky guy!