Starting over - IM 20 NUVO Fusion Pro Build
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- Thread starter Jason Scalise
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Following! I just started setting up an IM 20 and I’m be dating on whether or not I should add a skimmer.
Lots of work obviously went into this. I’m an IM AIO junkie (I have the 20g and 10g and had the 40g and 120g in the past).
The 10g is our Co Sunburst Tank and the 20g is our African Dwarf Butterfly Fish tank (FW)
Sadly my 120g sprang a leak last weekend so we’re now in the process of ordering something new.
You obviously have your stuff together but I will warn you that on any of the smaller IM Nuvo tanks, which utilize the same overflow, the Achilles heel is the overflow strainer. They clog easily and mess with water levels in the back and can flood easily. It really takes very little to cause a flood -in my case an anemone flattened some tentacles against one and that did it. I had to use optical sensors to shut down the return and ATO if the front water level got too high.
The 10g is our Co Sunburst Tank and the 20g is our African Dwarf Butterfly Fish tank (FW)
Sadly my 120g sprang a leak last weekend so we’re now in the process of ordering something new.
You obviously have your stuff together but I will warn you that on any of the smaller IM Nuvo tanks, which utilize the same overflow, the Achilles heel is the overflow strainer. They clog easily and mess with water levels in the back and can flood easily. It really takes very little to cause a flood -in my case an anemone flattened some tentacles against one and that did it. I had to use optical sensors to shut down the return and ATO if the front water level got too high.
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- Thread Starter
- #24
OP
You don’t need a skimmer right away and it also depends on what your tank will be: fish only, mixed reef, etc.
I bought it after good reviews and some finding it hard to find in stock. That may have been a temporary thing at the the time. But when I saw it on sale, I picked it up.
- Thread Starter
- #25
OP
Livestock
With the tank now cycled, I added a couple of folks for the clean up crew as well as 2 fish.
I modified the scape a bit. All live rock.
Found some with a lot of pods already incorporated and added that.
Here are some more pics but CLICK EACH PIC TITLE FOR VIDEO
Updated scape
Updated Scape 2
Orange spot watchman goby with a pistol shrimp.
Another view
Longnose hawkfish
I wont add many more fish any time soon (or perhaps not at all).
Time to just let it settle in.
AWC is going to be set up next....
With the tank now cycled, I added a couple of folks for the clean up crew as well as 2 fish.
I modified the scape a bit. All live rock.
Found some with a lot of pods already incorporated and added that.
Here are some more pics but CLICK EACH PIC TITLE FOR VIDEO
Updated scape
Updated Scape 2
Orange spot watchman goby with a pistol shrimp.
Another view
Longnose hawkfish
I wont add many more fish any time soon (or perhaps not at all).
Time to just let it settle in.
AWC is going to be set up next....
Last edited:
- Thread Starter
- #26
OP
Time for the AWC
I spent a bit of time today setting up the AWC.
Using a Neptune DOS for this purpose.
Given the lack of sump in this AIO 20g, then AWC will be in and out of the back chamber.
I will plan to change about 1g or 5% per week. Not super critical right now as 1) the tank is young and just getting settled and the only inhabitants besides bacteria are 2 fish, a pistol shrimp, a tiger conch and a CUC. But the 5% per week is a ballpark goal and will go up and down as I start to populate with corals.
Mixing station in garage. Water lines (including ATO) run beneath it and through the wall and to the DT.
Top DOS is for AWC. Bottom is for Alk and Ca...but is dormant right now. I wont need that for a while.
Water lines and cables go through PVC pipe that is a conduit through the drywall as the room where the DT is on the opposite side.
In the room with the DT, the lines and cords are concealed fairly well before they travel to the stand and DT.
On the back of the DT. The clear 1/4" tubing is for fresh RODI water for the ATO. Blue is new salt water mix and black is for old salt water waste. The waste water goes right into the laundry room drain which is in the other room adjacent.
Dosing tube bracket holds the lines in place and has more spots for nutrient dosing down the road.
Black waste water is submerged whereas blue new salt water mix line is above the water line. I may redo this set up down the road as it is bulkier that I would want but it was the parts I had.
I boiled the 1/4" tubing for a few seconds so I could contour it into these curve and reduce the torque on the bracket.
Extra style points for the black 90deg push lock elbows that match the black DT colors better than stark white.
Why bother?....because.
with the ATO done and now the AWC....this is the "no more buckets" strategy.
The next step is really just waiting for biologic stability while monitoring if my set up has any unforeseen issues that cause fluctuations or other issues. with a small tank volume, small adjustments can lead to substantive changes of parameters, as we know.
I spent a bit of time today setting up the AWC.
Using a Neptune DOS for this purpose.
Given the lack of sump in this AIO 20g, then AWC will be in and out of the back chamber.
I will plan to change about 1g or 5% per week. Not super critical right now as 1) the tank is young and just getting settled and the only inhabitants besides bacteria are 2 fish, a pistol shrimp, a tiger conch and a CUC. But the 5% per week is a ballpark goal and will go up and down as I start to populate with corals.
Mixing station in garage. Water lines (including ATO) run beneath it and through the wall and to the DT.
Top DOS is for AWC. Bottom is for Alk and Ca...but is dormant right now. I wont need that for a while.
Water lines and cables go through PVC pipe that is a conduit through the drywall as the room where the DT is on the opposite side.
In the room with the DT, the lines and cords are concealed fairly well before they travel to the stand and DT.
On the back of the DT. The clear 1/4" tubing is for fresh RODI water for the ATO. Blue is new salt water mix and black is for old salt water waste. The waste water goes right into the laundry room drain which is in the other room adjacent.
Dosing tube bracket holds the lines in place and has more spots for nutrient dosing down the road.
Black waste water is submerged whereas blue new salt water mix line is above the water line. I may redo this set up down the road as it is bulkier that I would want but it was the parts I had.
I boiled the 1/4" tubing for a few seconds so I could contour it into these curve and reduce the torque on the bracket.
Extra style points for the black 90deg push lock elbows that match the black DT colors better than stark white.
Why bother?....because.
with the ATO done and now the AWC....this is the "no more buckets" strategy.
The next step is really just waiting for biologic stability while monitoring if my set up has any unforeseen issues that cause fluctuations or other issues. with a small tank volume, small adjustments can lead to substantive changes of parameters, as we know.
- Thread Starter
- #27
OP
On the biodiversity side....I would not say it is yet diverse. But I do have all the initial signs of progress.
Here is a close up shot (mediocre) of the glass showing pods pretty much everywhere.
Click on this video as it shows it a bit better.
A good sign as this was during the day and at night, there are even more. The live rock is paying off as it usually does.
Getting there.....
Here is a close up shot (mediocre) of the glass showing pods pretty much everywhere.
Click on this video as it shows it a bit better.
A good sign as this was during the day and at night, there are even more. The live rock is paying off as it usually does.
Getting there.....
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Nice work. You must be a mechanical engineer of some type to think of such unique solutions to your problems.
Thanks for posting such detailed pics and explaining precisely what you are doing.
I have a big mess of wires from all the equipment on my Nuvo 20 and just starting to think about the best way to
handle all these wires and cables.
Thanks for posting such detailed pics and explaining precisely what you are doing.
I have a big mess of wires from all the equipment on my Nuvo 20 and just starting to think about the best way to
handle all these wires and cables.
- Thread Starter
- #30
OP
Thanks for the comments.
Mechanical engineer?? No, not quite.
But I do appreciate the clean and “squared away” look of things.
If you wanted any unsolicited advice, I would say, just take it one bite at a time.
If only SPS cared as much about it and appreciated it as I do….
Mechanical engineer?? No, not quite.
But I do appreciate the clean and “squared away” look of things.
If you wanted any unsolicited advice, I would say, just take it one bite at a time.
If only SPS cared as much about it and appreciated it as I do….
I'm starting a nuvo up also. Has been running just RO thru for a longer leak test because of a chipped corner. My problem is with adding a protein skimmer. The tank is super quiet without the skimmer in place, but when added it makes a waterfall sound. Only way to quiet that is by raising water level in return section to match the height of second chamber. Any ideas?
I tried facing it both ways and making sure power cord is near chamber one.
I tried facing it both ways and making sure power cord is near chamber one.
- Thread Starter
- #32
OP
where is the waterfall sound coming from? the weirs going into the the initial chambers (right and left side)? or are you saying it is coming from the skimmer itself?
if the former...I had the same thing but resolved it.
On the left side, I have an aftermarket filter floss holder from Intank Aquatics.
Nothing magical about this floss holder. But I like it as it is low profile, easy to remove. I and I prefer not to have filter socks and much prefer to throw away the floss when done instead of cleaning a sock.
I use bag of poly-fill from the craft store (or amazon). I just throw out the used poly-fill every couple of days. One $10 bag lasts me more than a year.
On the right side, I have the IM media "chamber" and in the top section also have a handful of poly-Fill.
No more waterfall noise for me. completely silent actually (other than pump noise).
Early on, I did adjust water height a bit too but adjusting baffles and volume of water in take and that seemed to reduce water falling sounds too.
hope this helps.
if the former...I had the same thing but resolved it.
On the left side, I have an aftermarket filter floss holder from Intank Aquatics.
Nothing magical about this floss holder. But I like it as it is low profile, easy to remove. I and I prefer not to have filter socks and much prefer to throw away the floss when done instead of cleaning a sock.
I use bag of poly-fill from the craft store (or amazon). I just throw out the used poly-fill every couple of days. One $10 bag lasts me more than a year.
On the right side, I have the IM media "chamber" and in the top section also have a handful of poly-Fill.
No more waterfall noise for me. completely silent actually (other than pump noise).
Early on, I did adjust water height a bit too but adjusting baffles and volume of water in take and that seemed to reduce water falling sounds too.
hope this helps.
My noise is coming from the water leaving the skimmer chamber and going into return pump area. Crazy, with this second (skimmer) chamber empty it is completely quiet. Adding the skimmer makes the noise. I assume it makes the water flow faster around the skimmer corners causing turbulence.
Water leaving "C" chamber into pump area.
Water leaving "C" chamber into pump area.
- Thread Starter
- #34
OP
ok. If I am understanding the issue correctly, I might try adding more water volume in the tank itself to see if that helps. it will shorten the distance between water level in "C" and the pump chamber.My noise is coming from the water leaving the skimmer chamber and going into return pump area. Crazy, with this second (skimmer) chamber empty it is completely quiet. Adding the skimmer makes the noise. I assume it makes the water flow faster around the skimmer corners causing turbulence.
Water leaving "C" chamber into pump area.
and it is loud when the skimmer is just siting in there and turned off?...meaning it has nothing to do with the function of the skimmer....just the presence of its bulk in the chamber...correct?
Correct, it is noisy with the skimmer just sitting in the chamber. On the previous post I included the water levels. I did raise the level to quiet it tank, but it did not fully work.
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