16G Nano tank Build

G

gibs

New member
Hi guys I am new to this hobby though I have been furiously reading and learning over the past few weeks. Finally decided to buy a tank and get it started last week so here is a few pics.


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Its been up for a little over a week with 10lbs of cured live rock and a bag of pink live sand, (why is it advertised pink I seen nothing but white? Oh well I wanted the white look anyway not pink so guess its a good thing LOL). My dealer suggested for me to just set the tank up and let it run a week and then bring him back a water sample, he wanted me to not test the water myself for the first few week and use the premixed salt water he provides till the aquarium was fully cycled. He is planning to show me hands on tomorrow how to use the test kits with the water sample I bring in and if everything looks good I am going to buy my first piece of coral and some bacteria feeders. I will post any new pics of new members once I get them :rollface:
 
Looking good, Brand new to salt too and have been on the computer for countless hours. What type of tank do you have, it looks like an innovative marine, correct me if i'm wrong.
 
kinkylizard said:
Looking good, Brand new to salt too and have been on the computer for countless hours. What type of tank do you have, it looks like an innovative marine, correct me if i'm wrong.
Click to expand...


Exactly the nuvo 16 to be exact. I plan on moving up to a much bigger one in 6 months or so if I can get this one going good :twitch: . I have read 2 books in the past week and have 3 more ordered lol. I have been reading stuff on this forum and few other websites since 3 p.m. today LOL its almost one now so fixing to go get some shut eye. I am really excited about adding a few live pieces tomorrow....I don't think I have been this excited since my kids were born LOL.
 
Welcome to the world of addiction!

I just set up my first nano for my newborn son's room and it just happens to be the same 16 gallon nano as yours. I cant really give any nano advice since I've been into larger reefs and FOWLR tanks for years.

All I can say in general is stay patient. There will always be losses and sometimes its your fault while other times there really isnt anything that one could have done differently.

The first thing you need to do if you are planning on getting a larger tank at some point is buy a RODI unit. It will save you time and money. Then the next little bit of advice would be to set up a little station somewhere that will house top off water and mixed water. Having your maintenance supplies setup correctly will make life so much easier and reefing that much more enjoyable. If something happens and you need to do a water change, having everything ready will make it a peice of cake. And since you are starting with a nano you are going to be spoiled with how easy topping off and changing water will be compared to larger tanks. I thought I would get by with just buying water from the store for both mixing and topping off when I setup my first 55g FOWLR. Needless to say I was frustrated more of the time than I was enjoying the tank until I got organized.

Then came QT issues and I just wasnt prepared for that either. I thought setting up a little 10g with hang on filter would be a breeze but I was once again frustrated trying to go about it the cheapest way possible (I was in college so that cut into my beer money).

Now that I've rambled so long. Make sure to plan out all your maintenance needs with long term hassle free goals in mind. Setting everything up correctly the first time will spare many headaches in the future.

I would like to see some setups of these tanks that have sumps incorporated in them.
 
Nice choice, I freaking LOVE my Nuvo 16. I've got a thread detailing it around here somewhere, just click on my name to find it. I'm about a month ahead of you in build time.
 
JayGatsby said:
Nice choice, I freaking LOVE my Nuvo 16. I've got a thread detailing it around here somewhere, just click on my name to find it. I'm about a month ahead of you in build time.
Click to expand...


Thanks Jay I looked over your post your tank looks AWESOME!

Unfortunately I tested my water on Friday and my Ammonia was almost nonexistent but my nitrites were still pretty high so waiting a few more days before I get some cleanup crew. Still planning on next weekend getting my first piece of coral though!
 
Bah went back last Friday to the LFS and still had some ammonia and very high nitrites. Went back yesterday and ammonia o but still some nitrites so still no life in the tank. I know it is the best way to go but I am getting antsy to see something alive in here! LOL Anyways going back this weekend and hopefully its fully cycled and I can get some clean up crew in so I can start thinking about the what coral I want to buy first!
Any good suggestions?
 
alford35 said:
Welcome to the world of addiction!

I just set up my first nano for my newborn son's room and it just happens to be the same 16 gallon nano as yours. I cant really give any nano advice since I've been into larger reefs and FOWLR tanks for years.

All I can say in general is stay patient. There will always be losses and sometimes its your fault while other times there really isnt anything that one could have done differently.

The first thing you need to do if you are planning on getting a larger tank at some point is buy a RODI unit. It will save you time and money. Then the next little bit of advice would be to set up a little station somewhere that will house top off water and mixed water. Having your maintenance supplies setup correctly will make life so much easier and reefing that much more enjoyable. If something happens and you need to do a water change, having everything ready will make it a peice of cake. And since you are starting with a nano you are going to be spoiled with how easy topping off and changing water will be compared to larger tanks. I thought I would get by with just buying water from the store for both mixing and topping off when I setup my first 55g FOWLR. Needless to say I was frustrated more of the time than I was enjoying the tank until I got organized.

Then came QT issues and I just wasnt prepared for that either. I thought setting up a little 10g with hang on filter would be a breeze but I was once again frustrated trying to go about it the cheapest way possible (I was in college so that cut into my beer money).

Now that I've rambled so long. Make sure to plan out all your maintenance needs with long term hassle free goals in mind. Setting everything up correctly the first time will spare many headaches in the future.

I would like to see some setups of these tanks that have sumps incorporated in them.
Click to expand...


Hey Alford thanks for the advice the nuvo 16 I have has a built in overflow sump that is part of the tank that holds about a gallon of water. Not sure if that is exactly what you are referring to I am still working on trying to figure out all the different types of filtration that is out there. Also congrats on being a dad man! My kids are the best thing that ever happened in fact my oldest is 10 and we are going over different fish and invertabrates every night together to fill the tank :rollface: Hoping to make this a good father/daughter hobby for us both to get into!
 
JayGatsby said:
Awesome. What piece you thinking? I have a full tank shot I need to upload and share...
Click to expand...

Still not sure yet Jay my daughters are coming back this friday from their aunts and me and the oldest have been looking at few different ones that we really like but (frogspawn seems to be a popular choice but not sure how hardy it is for a beginner), I obviously want something that is going to live so I think we are going to go the LFS I have been using and look at some and let them guide us to a hardy starter piece...and probably a false ocellaris :bounce2:
 
gibs said:
Hey Alford thanks for the advice the nuvo 16 I have has a built in overflow sump that is part of the tank that holds about a gallon of water. Not sure if that is exactly what you are referring to I am still working on trying to figure out all the different types of filtration that is out there. Also congrats on being a dad man! My kids are the best thing that ever happened in fact my oldest is 10 and we are going over different fish and invertabrates every night together to fill the tank :rollface: Hoping to make this a good father/daughter hobby for us both to get into!
Click to expand...

I was talking about a seperate sump. I like the AIO of this setup but a sump with enough room to house some macro and a skimmer is what I was interested in. I've been looking at the aqua c nano skimmer for my nuvo but just dont know yet as this is my first nano. I'm thinking that water changes once or twice a week will do just as good and since I have larger tanks there will be pleanty of water always on hand to do changes.

I am new to the LEDs as well and dont quite know what I should have these little lights set at just yet. I'm thinking like 9am blue come on then 11am turn the whites on then turn white back off at 6pm then blues back out at 9pm. But I truly have no clue as the blues really light up the tank pretty good so dont know if that will be too much light or not.

I'm thinking about either adding another stock light or getting a dimmable LED unit that can be programed. Who knows. Just need to learn a little more about these little LEDs to be honest.

So any suggestions on what hours to set these little lights at?
 
A separate sump? Save a lot of money and build your own tank, then... AIOs cost so much because they're all done for you... that's my opinion anyway, it's probably wrong :)
 
JayGatsby said:
A separate sump? Save a lot of money and build your own tank, then... AIOs cost so much because they're all done for you... that's my opinion anyway, it's probably wrong :)
Click to expand...

I'm not saying its a right or wrong view just saying adding a sump for macro growth could help, no? There isnt enough room for any type of algae in the nuvo 16, maybe the larger one though?

I'm new to the nano world and just thinking of what may be needed for this little tank once its full of coral. As of now I am planning on adding a third light if needed but if really frequent water changes seem to work then I'm all for skipping the sump. Just curious how far water changes will take me is all. I would like to literally fill it full of coral and keep the back of it clean looking. A small skimmer may even be an eye sore to my wife and me included.

I have never tried to build a tank so dont really know how hard it would be but I imagine I wouldnt be happy with the first few so probably not really any savings by building my own. I'm rather picky and cant cut a perfect piece of wood on my $500 cheap table saw or $600 track saw more less acrylic. I'm sure there are ways of sanding them down to be perfect but would spend more learning than by purchasing.

So, I guess that brings the question of other than these smaller nuvos having a clean look for water circulation and a heater, how will it thrive once its full of coral when only frequent water changes are being done? Dont get me wrong I really like it just dont know how well it will do in the long run? I dont want to be doing water changes more than every 5 days at max in a completely stocked tank thats for sure. I'm a noob and am just throwing my questions and ideas around is all.
 
My skimmer tucks in nicely in the back w/o being above the sight line of the tank and is pulling some nasty ish out of the tank. It's nice. There's one user here... mike somebody? who has chaeto growing in his rear partition... I think he posted in my build thread.
 
Looking great!

Wish I was getting that extension with my new Hammer! I dont know why its so unhappy other than the heat from shipping. It didnt look too good when it arrived but has had time to recover by now.
 
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