Kilich's 16 Innovative Nuvo Journal

[Kilich]

Hey guys! Just wanted to say hey and its a pleasure to be here and thank you for your time and stopping by!



MY STORY

I'm a 27 year old production photographer, I've had a reef tank before several years back, I rushed things, and never got the established tank I've always wanted. Now I'm starting over and taking things slower.

Thank god for Craigslist, I found a used Innovative Nuvo 16 Gallon for $50! All of the silicone seams looked great and everything runs as expected with no leaks! The guy was just trying to get rid of his tanks asap.

It did come dirty as hell, but my lovely girlfriend and I cleaned it up, I wish i got photos of that process! XD



THE START

Last time I started a tank, I purchased all Live rock, and live sand, I encountered many problematic hitchhikers, like coral eating worms, bubble algae, hair algae, etc.

This time around I decided to use some cleaned Live fine pure white argonite sand, and caribsea south sea base rock.






THE TANK

16 Gallon Innovative Nuvo
6 mm Bent Glass
Tempered Glass Lid & Clips
Acrylic Pedestal

07/17/2018




THE GEAR

Kessil A350W - Tuna Blue - Kessil hands down makes the best led lights ever! I wish I had the remote version, but I jus t have the manual for now which is still superb.

Ecotech Mp40 Water Jet - Best jet I've ever used hands down. its on the lowest wave maker setting, because of the size of the tank. I love the varied speeds it goes through, it imitates real waves.





Stock Return Pump with Dual Flare Nozzles



THE FILTRATION

Acrylic Filter Wall w/ Dual Overflows
(2) Media Baskets
Mechanical Sponges
Activated Carbon Sponges
Phosphate Sponges
(2) Flare Nozzles
Designated Heater Column
Designated Refugium Column







I have bioballs and 2 extra media baskets. I plan on getting rid of the filter baskets and using that compartment for a refugium.


THE PLAN

First 3 Months - I Just bought a ton of biospira, and corraline growth supplement with additional vitrifying bacteria, and other supplements, it will arrive tomorrow in mail. Currently shadow feeding. In a week, I will add 5000 copepods and cheato together. Leaving lights on during the whole cycle to promote diatom growth for the copepods. Will at this point only add CUC.

After 3 Months - I will start stocking tank with corals, not sure which yet. I want to start slow with softies. Open to suggestions



I NEED YOUR HELP! I ALWAYS WELCOME CRITICISM, AND SUGGESTIONS

I need a light strip that can fit behind the white wall, and be somehow shaded to be on 24/7 for the refugium, or is this not necessary?

I plan on taking out the 2 clear media trays on the left compartment, which should be for the refugium. I was planning on putting in cheato in there, should i put anything else in there?

I use redsea pro salt, is there a better blend you would use over red sea?

Is there anything you would change about my setup?

Thanks again for stopping by!

Kris

 

[Kilich]

FYI. Still undergoing a lot of editing on this post.


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[Kilich]

CHEMICALS & MISC

Instant Ocean BIO-Spira Water Treatment for Aquariums

Instant Ocean Reef Accelerator Salt Water Conditioner, 250-ml

Coralline Algae in a Bottle + Nitrifying Bacteria For Saltwater Aquariums, Purple Helix Strain

Seachem Prime 500ml

API 5-IN-1 TEST STRIPS Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Test Strips 100-Count Box

API AMMONIA TEST STRIPS Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Water Test Strips 25-Test Box

AlgaeBarn 5280 Pods :: Live Copepods :: Three Pod Species Tisbe + Tigriopus + Apocyclops :: Clean Your Tank & Mandarin & Finicky Fish Food (10,560+ Pods) - Adding in a week after I dose Biospira twice.

OceanMagik Live Phytoplankton Blend - Tetra x Nanno x Iso x Thal Phyto Food for Coral and Copepod (32oz)

Cheatomorpha from my LFS

Cobalt Aquatics 31003 Neo-Therm Heater

Zacro LCD Digital Aquarium Thermometer Fish Tank Water Terrarium Temperature

I plan on buying all the Salifert Tests when I'm ready to stock the tank.

Im also looking at the CPR aquafuge 2, to hang on the back for extra fuge space.

 

[Bpb]

Following


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[Kilich]

Following


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Thanks mate!

 

[Kilich]

EDIT: After further research, the CPR AquaFuge2 Hang-On Refugium, would weigh in at about 15 lbs full. which my thin glass on the nano wouldnt be able to support. I have decided to go with a Marina Hang on the Back Breeder box! they are only $10, cant beat that.

 

[Kilich]

Journal Entry - About Me 07/17/2018

A bit about my past with fish tanks, I was first introduced to fresh water by my friend who was studying marine biology. I started a fresh water 20gal long tank, it didn't take long from there and several trips to LFS store to convince me to get into the saltwater game.

Saltwater is a perfect home for me, I've always loved gear and gadgets, and it combines that with the aesthetic beauty of fish, live rock, sand, and corals.

My first saltwater tank was a 26 gallon bowfront, with a 10gallon sump, for my first tank I thought i did average.

Overtime I started off well, but as school and life got busier, my parameters were suffering, and I started dealing with a lot of unwanted hitchhikers. I found myself only topping off, and neglecting my tank after a year of usage. BIG MISTAKE, algae grew out of control, and nothing i would do would help. Eventually I shut down the tank when i moved out of the apartment.

The next tank I had was this 120gallon long, with a 35gallon sump. This was the most beautiful tank I could have wished for. I set it up nicely it was my first half way DIY system. It came with PVC piping i had to put it back together, after a few months it ended miserably. In my parents house the check valve failed on a power outage, and the sump isnt big enough to handle the backflow. it leaked 60gal of water in 2 hours, over our wood floor into the basement, no lasting damage though thank god. Regardless to say, that was the end of that tank, my parents wanted me to discontinue the tank. I wish I set it up in the basement with a proper sump that could have handled the backflow... I guess you live and you learn.

Ive Learned from my mistakes. Being older, balancing going to the gym, working full time, preparing meal prep every day, has prepared me for great success with determination in achieving my goals as a reef keeper and other areas of my life.

26 Gallon Bowfront - 2011

















PS - I hate xenia now lol... that stuff spreads like wildfire.



120 Gallon Long - Didnt last long

 

[Dsekula]

That looks like a nice start, sorry it ended that way. You'll just have to make this set up even more awesome.

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[Kilich]

That looks like a nice start, sorry it ended that way. You'll just have to make this set up even more awesome.

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I don't think it's possible to be a noob in this hobby without some heartbreak.


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[Bpb]

You've got some spectacular camera skills


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[Kilich]

You've got some spectacular camera skills


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Thanks man! I studied photography and advertising at ccs in Detroit, now I work for a production media house in tangent with ad agencies.


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[Dsekula]

Ah... So what your saying really *don't mind my paraphrasing. Is that you will trade photography classes for engineering classes . I get busted all the time because my pics suck.

Thanks man! I studied photography and advertising at ccs in Detroit, now I work for a production media house in tangent with ad agencies.


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[Kilich]

Kilich's 16 Innovative Nuvo Journal

Ah... So what your saying really *don't mind my paraphrasing. Is that you will trade photography classes for engineering classes . I get busted all the time because my pics suck.

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Haha I'd definitely be down to give you pointers! We could start with talking about a camera body and lens. I use a d800 with a variety of lenses, but you don't need to spend that much to get good photos!


My biospira as well as reef growth supplement came in today. I bought three bottles of each and will supplement when necessary. I had a little ammonia spiking with phantom feeding so I dosed half a bottle tonight.

 

[Dsekula]

Lmao I think that's where the problem starts, I have the camera on my cellphone

Haha I'd definitely be down to give you pointers! We could start with talking about a camera body and lens. I use a d800 with a variety of lenses, but you don't need to spend that much to get good photos!


My biospira as well as reef growth supplement came in today. I bought three bottles of each and will supplement when necessary. I had a little ammonia spiking with phantom feeding so I dosed half a bottle tonight.

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[Kilich]

Fresh and hot out of the printer, I'm going to be the water parameter officer.

 

[Kilich]

THE PHOTOGRAPHY

I Photograph with a Nikon d800 in my professional career, i will upgrade camera bodies within the next 10 years to an even better body.



My suggestion for Manual settings for these images:

If you're a beginner with a DSLR, try putting the shooting setting on Aperature Priority or A. This will automatically adjust your shutter speed and meter it according to where your point of focus is.



The point of this is to Manually adjust Aperature only, while the camera figures out the shutter speed for you.


- I suggest shooting Wide shots of your fish tank at either f5.6 or f8 and setting your focus point on your aquascape. If the image is still appearing bright, try f11 on shutter priority or lower your ISO if its over 200.

if Youre shooting over f5.6 Adjust your ISO settings to at least 600 if youre hand holding to avoid long shutter speeds.

- If youre shooting vignettes of the tank or simply details, put your aperature at f2.8 if possible, if it wont go that low, go to the lowest fstop possible. some lenses can only go down to 3 or 4 or even 5.6. If you want a good shallow depth of field i'd suggest buying a lens that can open up to f2.8.

This will give you the nice blurry depth of field. When youre shooting details, try and photography on level with the detail, or at a 45 degree keeping an eye on whats in the background to frame your subject nicely.

LIGHTING IS KEY, Everyone wants to show off those nice blue lights, except the blue light doesnt photograph too well in the spectrum of the sensor usually. IF YOU CAN TRY AND TURN OFF OR TAKE THE BLUE LIGHT DOWN TO 10% of NORMAL, this will give you a nice neutral daylight which in my opinion is more aesthetic


THE EDITING

Its always best to expose for highlights so they arent fully blown out then bring back shadows. This is called pushing and pulling the film (its a film reference)

Download yourself Adobe Lightroom, its the only editing app you will ever need for these photos.

To push and pull the contrast to increase detail Id set my settings something like this. Nothing here is in stone, these are general guidelines, id adjust each image properly with fine adjustments. just know these are the directions you want to take the image in.



I warm up the image even when i turn off the blue light, it still is really blue, so i give it a bit more warmth. I didnt put it there, but I adjust exposure to be the most aesthetic for each image. I give a generous boost to contrast, while bringing back highlight detail, and brightening up the shadows.

Clarity, Saturation, and sharpness are a must. PM Me if you want to go more in depth with editing or photography or leave me a message here.

 

[Kilich]

HACKED BREEDER TANK REFUGIUM INSTALL

 

[socalRW]

Very descriptive posts! So thorough!


And I appreciate the primer on photography. Nice photos too

 

[MK3_LUV]

This thread is phenomenal, the attention to detail in both the tanks and equipment themselves, as well as the posts is absolutely top notch.

However, those Innovative Marine 16gal tanks are known for the glass breaking/blowing out. Just do a quick search and i'm sure you will find far more info than you are comfortable with on how many of those tanks have broken.
Just in case you werent aware. I'd hate for you to invest so much time, emotion, and money into the build just for it to all come crashing down one day

 

[Kilich]

I appreciate the love on this whole thread, I scraped it for a larger tank, I went with a 32gal biocube, it's much more roomy. I'll make a new thread about it.

I got many more new toys too to help out with the consistency of the tank.


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