SliceGolfer's IM Nuvo 20 - Skimmer went ROGUE!

[SliceGolfer]

Great build. Beautiful tank..

Thanks!

 

[treedog5]

Really nice tank man, I'm starting my Innovative Marine 20 gallon peninsula this week and I was debating on going bare bottom or not. After reading your thread and some others I think I will be going bare bottom. Hope it turns out as nice as yours!!

 

[SliceGolfer]

Really nice tank man, I'm starting my Innovative Marine 20 gallon peninsula this week and I was debating on going bare bottom or not. After reading your thread and some others I think I will be going bare bottom. Hope it turns out as nice as yours!!

Thanks much! Appreciate the compliment. Good luck on your build!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

What made you switch from the primes to reefbreeders?

 

[SliceGolfer]

What made you switch from the primes to reefbreeders?

PAR, shading, and hot spots.

I had the AI Prime HDs mounted 8" off the water surface at 75% intensity and was getting 250 PAR near the top of my rocks. Not bad. However I was getting shadowing at the corners of the tank, so naturally you would move the lights higher and maybe apart some. Raising the lights required me to drive them near 90% to get 250ish PAR. This caused a lot of light spill into the room.

I read a lot of great reviews on the Reef Breeders Photon V2+. I think I'm getting better spectrum and PAR out of the unit, and the spread is great. I've noticed better growth and color and I'm running the unit at 40%.

 

[WiscoFishNut]

Awesome build thread! It's inspirational to see what can be done with these smaller footprint tanks. I'm already thinking of upgrading the new 7.5g I recently threw together lol. How frequently do you test NO3 & PO4 to make sure the #'s don't get too low? Or do you have enough historical data that the dosing schedule keeps things pretty consistent?

 

[SliceGolfer]

@WiscoFishNut I test dKH on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s. P04 I test Saturday only. I find I need to adjust my Alk dosing every now and then but it stays quite stable at 8 dKH. I find I need to dose P04, which I do on Sunday’s along with MicroBacter7. Have you seen Aquatic Log? https://www.aquaticlog.com

 

[WiscoFishNut]

@WiscoFishNut I test dKH on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s. P04 I test Saturday only. I find I need to adjust my Alk dosing every now and then but it stays quite stable at 8 dKH. I find I need to dose P04, which I do on Sunday’s along with MicroBacter7. Have you seen Aquatic Log? https://www.aquaticlog.com

Thanks for sharing your test results and the link. I'll definitely sign up on that site since my current logging method is just my memory which doesn't have a lot of retention/accuracy lol. I'm happy to see your #'s are pretty similar to what mine are. Gives me a bit of reinforcement that if I'm not screwing up too bad in other areas I might have a chance at achieving similar results as you some day

 

[sh@rkB@it]

Excellent build thread. I also have an IM 20 with nearly the same setup and is considering replacing the AI Primes with the Reefbreeders. I am glad to hear that the new lights are working out for you. Let us know the PAR readings once you get those done. Great job.

 

[SliceGolfer]

The Skimmer went ROGUE!

I woke up Thursday morning to a beeping sound. Nope, this wasn’t my alarm. As it turns out, my Smart ATO alarm was triggered. I thought that was odd, since I added 2 gallons of RODI to the ATO the night before. So I clear the alarm and start poking around. The lights were just starting to ramp up and the tank looked ok. So I pop open the cabinet and sure enough, the ATO container is empty. Odd. I’m looking around and I don’t see anything out of sorts, all equipment is running, everything seems fine. So I pull the cover off the sump are and check the internals. There’s the skimmer, cup filled to the top. I peek down the back of the cabinet and crap, the skimmer cup overflowed behind the cabinet.

By now panic mode kicks in as I’m more interested in where 3-4 gallons of water went, and what impact it had on the tank. So the water dripped onto the floor, and then downstairs to my basement. I guess if there is an upside, it dripped through the subfloor into the laundry room and onto the concrete floor. Wet dry vac and fans to the rescue. It was a small amount of water (thank goodness) but water is still water and this type of damage can be devastating.

After getting the messes cleaned up and fans running on the tank, cabinet, carpet, and basement floor, I pull out the refractometer. Water tests at 30ppt SG. I normally run 35ppt so this was alarming. I didn’t make any rash judgements or changes, and let the tank ride until this weekend. Today I performed my full gambit of water tests. SG, dKH, and Mag took the biggest hits. Everything else seems “in range” which is a loose interpretation of “eh, it’s ok-ish.”

I’m very, very surprised that the tank is unaffected. I lost zero corals. If anything I have noticed a color change in coralline algae and it’s not as pink or purple as it was before. Otherwise, I may have sidestepped a bomb. My plan is to stabilize salinity back to 35ppt, which will also gradually raise dKH, Ca, and Mg. I’m still running my doser, keeping the same levels of Alk, Ca, and Mg that I dosed previously. I’ll spot check dKH with the Hanna Checker on Monday, just to be sure of no surprises.

I don’t know what caused the skimmer to go nuts. I disassembled it, cleaned it, and find nothing wrong with it. No blockages, no deaths in the tank, no changes, just a normal every other day sort of the week. So I’m building a plan that will incorporate an AutoAqua Smart Skimmer power relay. Pics will follow once I get the materials and build it out.

Crazy how crazy crap happens when you least expect it...

 

[InvaderJim]

Sounds like you dodged a bullet though. I've noticed the smart ATO can be temperamental sometimes, I actually had to switch mine to a different chamber because it was running too much and bringing down my salinity.

 

[Bells>Waimea]

@SliceGolfer I’m upgrading the lights on my 20 as well. Wanted to go the LED/T5 combo route but having a tough time finding the cart light I want.

I’m also running an sps tank and want the best light for them to flourish. One of my issues with my current light is shading.

How is the shading with the reef breeders as opposed to say, T5’s. Finding a lot of spread with the full array of LED’s?

Leg mount and light spread into the room working out alright too?

Thanks for any help. And love the tank been following along!

 

[bozo]

How’s the tank going?

Recovered back to 35 I hope?

Just wondering what cover you’re using for the filtration section.

Thanks!

 

[Lenett]

Thanks all for the welcome!


It’s possible. Initially my concern was a powerhead that could push the head pressure. After installing the reactor, I realized access was important for cleaning and maintenance. A happy accident is how well it lights the hallway during the night. I also wanted to leave the cabinet space reserved for a dosing pump and reservoirs once that time comes.


Thanks for letting me know. I’ve double checked the links and all sharing permissions look correct. I will check on another device to be sure.

I see the pics! Congrats on your new baby!

 

[Robertellis30]

Amazing tank! Curious what’s your light settings? For the hd prime?