Upgrading from Nuvo 10

[uhgster1]

Hello all! Well, the unavoidable time has come, my coral has outgrown their home. The Nuvo 10, which I have fallen completely in love with, has done it's job. I was hoping to keep the current stock levels for at least a year but the growth has been exponential and I don't want to lose a single colony. I had a JBJ 28 up in the attic and now that I finished closing on our new house decided to get it out of meh balls. It had been up there for about 3 years so not surprisingly most of the equipment that I was using for it is kaput. Luckily I was planning on upgrading the equipment all along so the only major worry I had was over the tank itself. I re-siliconed the upper frame just for peace of mind and leak tested the tank after it cured. So far so good. The funny thing is looking at the JBJ next to the Nuvo, the JBJ looks like a monster! My wife has given me the go ahead to get a 75 gallon later, which is what I really want but in the mean time the JBJ will do just fine. I'll include a couple of pics of the previous iteration of the JBJ so you can see how awesome it was before. This time i'm going to use a different landscape and make use of some of the knowledge I've gained over the years and really ramp up the SPS focus.

 

[uhgster1]

Here's the previous JBJ setup

 

[uhgster1]

Here's the Nuvo 10

 

[uhgster1]

Sooo, side by side

 

[Djhype97]

Always an exciting time when upgrading tanks! I can’t wait to see the jbj up and running!

 

[uhgster1]

I already had an AI Prime so I got the HD Prime for the Nuvo. The HD Prime over the Nuvo will go over the JBJ so I will have 2 AI's. I got 2 Cobalt MJ 1200's, two heaters, and will transfer the Jebao over also. I'm using dry rock for the initial cycle but if you look at the Nuvo, the center rock that has the SPS will be going on top of the shelf in the JBJ. I have a Remora S skimmer with an MJ1200 but it will be used part time for now because I can't fit it in the chamber I wanted. It will only fit in the media chamber so I could use any recommendations for a skimmer. The measurements of the chamber are about 2 and a half by 2 and a half inches. I'm using sand because I'm planning on adding a wrasse and my elegance needs a place too so for now the sand stays. I'm going to fine tune the amount over the as I do water changes. I also have a canister filter that I plan to use for media filtration on occasion as needed (GFO, etc..). I'm planning on keeping the nuvo as a softie tank and just keep LPS and SPS in the JBJ. I'll update as I start populate the JBJ with the transfers. Let me know what you think and have a great time reefing!!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Nice! I bet you will be ready for the 75 before the 28 is even all set up.

 

[uhgster1]

Nice! I bet you will be ready for the 75 before the 28 is even all set up.

Thanks! Hopefully it won’t take so long.

 

[uhgster1]

You got to love it when unexpected things go in your favor. I got the JBJ running and transferred all of the denizens of the Nuvo over. Peddling around the chambers in the back I discovered that the IM media basket from my Nuvo fit PERFECTLY into one of the chambers. So bam! Established bacteria, go! I also found out looking at a marine depot video that my ghost skimmer will fit too, 2 go’s!! Finally, the ATO also fit perfectly, 3 go’s !!! I still can’t use the skimmer without removing the JBJ media basket but I had already planned on using it only occasionally anyway. But here’s a question, should I take out the basket and just run the Remora S full time or just part time? I’m torn since the ghost skimmer is a better fit. But the remora is a better skimmer. Opinions?

 

[uhgster1]

Full Tank Shot!! So far so good, parameters are stable and everything is opened up. As of right now the stock list is: red monti, strawberry shortcake acro, can’t remember the name green acro, bird of para birds nest, Incredible Hulk lepto, recently acquired red Goni, green toadstool, Duncan’s, candy cane, war coral, frogspawn, hammer, elegance, 3 acans, blasto merletti, pink and green favites, gsp, utter chaos zoa, purple people eaters, Star lords, armor of god, two unknowns, yellow watchman gobie, tailspot blenny, pajama cardinal, cleaner shrimp, snails and some hermits.
More updates as they come.

 

[uhgster1]

Update on the 28. I swapped out the ghost skimmer for a Remora S I had from a previous build and added a Jebao 8. My acros are doing great and everything else is doing outstanding. I’m fighting the urge to add more stuff until I setup my next tank. Either a 120 (48x24x24) or a 65.

 

[uhgster1]

The strawberry shortcake is rocking too. The pic doesn’t do it justice but it looks like a fuzzy caterpillar.

 

[Electricianreefer]

You got to love it when unexpected things go in your favor. I got the JBJ running and transferred all of the denizens of the Nuvo over. Peddling around the chambers in the back I discovered that the IM media basket from my Nuvo fit PERFECTLY into one of the chambers. So bam! Established bacteria, go! I also found out looking at a marine depot video that my ghost skimmer will fit too, 2 go’s!! Finally, the ATO also fit perfectly, 3 go’s !!! I still can’t use the skimmer without removing the JBJ media basket but I had already planned on using it only occasionally anyway. But here’s a question, should I take out the basket and just run the Remora S full time or just part time? I’m torn since the ghost skimmer is a better fit. But the remora is a better skimmer. Opinions?

I have the same 28 G JBJ , I have the JBJ skimmer and it is such a hassle when you need to open the hood to work in the tank removing the skimmer every time. I watched the Marine depot video too. I would love to find a skimmer that allows you to open the hood without removing said skimmer.

 

[uhgster1]

I got rid of the hood and it opened up all of the possibilities. The remora that I use fits perfectly in the middle and the media basket from the Nuvo 10 fits perfectly in another chamber with the heater in the other. My ATO is in one of the return chambers and I have a bag of chemipure in the middle chamber suspended beneath the skimmer. The whole system is working like a clock. I upgraded the returns with cobalt mj 1200s so I had to arrange the rock work to keep the acros happy while not blasting my lps on the bottom.

 

[Electricianreefer]

I got rid of the hood and it opened up all of the possibilities. The remora that I use fits perfectly in the middle and the media basket from the Nuvo 10 fits perfectly in another chamber with the heater in the other. My ATO is in one of the return chambers and I have a bag of chemipure in the middle chamber suspended beneath the skimmer. The whole system is working like a clock. I upgraded the returns with cobalt mj 1200s so I had to arrange the rock work to keep the acros happy while not blasting my lps on the bottom.

I got rid of the hood and it opened up all of the possibilities. The remora that I use fits perfectly in the middle and the media basket from the Nuvo 10 fits perfectly in another chamber with the heater in the other. My ATO is in one of the return chambers and I have a bag of chemipure in the middle chamber suspended beneath the skimmer. The whole system is working like a clock. I upgraded the returns with cobalt mj 1200s so I had to arrange the rock work to keep the acros happy while not blasting my lps on the bottom.

I am a newbie to the salt world, I had a lot of fresh tanks growing up. I got the Wi-Fi LED lid so I think I'm stuck with it for a while due to cost but I love the changes you made and it's helpful to know what I can do to mod the JBJ.