Nuvo 20 gallon

[RcManChild]

decided to start somewhat of a blog with some questions along the way.

Here is what I have:
20 gallon Nuvo w/ lights.
Carib Sea Black live sand - 20 lbs.
15lbs live rock 10 was cured, 5 uncured.
Koralia Nano by Hydor for added circulation.
Protein skimmer - Skim Mate Ghost skimmer from IM.
IM tank stand.
Heater - Marine Land 100W heater.

Day 1 - mixed Salt water and added the recommended start up tank additives to start the cycle of the tank.

Day 3 - tested water just to see. Saw 1 ppm of ammonia.

Day 7 - My girlfriend tested the water with 0's all across the board. Not too sure I trust her eye on shading, the the API chemical test is difficult to tell.

Day 8 - Today - Came home tested water just to be sure, Ammonia and nitrites all at 0. Nitrate between 5 and 10 ppm. So went to LFS and got 5 crabs and 5 snails. All seem to be doing pretty good. Salinity is a little low 1.23. PH is at 8.1.

If the crabs and the snails do well, next week I plan to add some fish. Rather safe than sorry right. Ultimately I would like 2 clowns and a royal gamma. Any thoughts on which I should add first due to territorial reasons?

Also I am not sure that the protein skimmer is setup correctly, Do I want the bubbles going over top of the tube and into the catch bin (See Pic) or Do i want the bubbles to pop just below the round hole in the middle?

I also noticed that you can adjust the height of the top part of this. I pushed mine all the way down to make it look cleaner. Any thoughts?

Last and not least is the Rock scaping. I am ok with it for now as it will really help with filtering the tank. I have seen other tanks that have way less rock than what I have and I only have 15 lbs. The question here is is the layout okay for a few corals eventually or when I'm ready take some rock out? I would like a anemone and a few other really colorful corals...

Also if anyone has advice on upgrading anything let me know... I do plan to get the IM Media reactor eventually with a automatic top off and some sort of power backup system.

 

[RcManChild]

So, woke up this morning and the over flow box was almost empty... Thats a ton of water evaporating over night wow....

Anyways went and bought a ATO system, listening to the LFS went with the TUNZE nano, while this thing works the thing is deperately annoying and is turning on every 2 minutes it seems like..

Any advice here?

 

[Babydaull]

Is the feed tube from your ato in the water?

 

[ssick92]

If your feed tube from your ATO is in the water, when the pump stops pumping it will back siphon your tank water into your RO/DI reservoir which will cause your tank to go below the float sensor and will kick on the pump again. Make sure your feed line is above the waterline. Mine kicks on about 3-4 times a day in my 10g.

Regarding the skimmer, you will want to raise your collection cup slightly. You want the bubbles to be about 1/4"-1/2" below the top of the tube. Might not look as sleek in the back of the tank, but at least it will be doing its job correctly.

With your skimmer overflowing, and your ATO backsiphoning into your reservoir, you should double check your salinity is still in check.

 

[ssick92]

Also, just noticed, but I'd turn your heater down slightly. I like to target 79F which gives me some wiggle room if it gets hot out and the tank heats up (Southern California).

 

[RcManChild]

Regarding the pump, I understand the back syphoning.

However I have found that if I do not leave the tube in the water the pump does not seem to have enough power to pump the water to the tank...

Thanks for the tip on the Protein skimmer. Tank is now lowered and seems to sit around 77 degrees ferenheit.... These heater are terrible and innaccurate as hell, I just got the stick on temperature reader...

 

[RcManChild]

Went back the LFS and the TUNZE pump just can not seem to pump the water to the top of the tank... super annoying.

I do not know what to do here..

 

[Babydaull]

Went back the LFS and the TUNZE pump just can not seem to pump the water to the top of the tank... super annoying.

I do not know what to do here..

I have the same ato system as you. The pump cant pull water from more than 5-6 feet. The company says 6 but I think the system still struggles at 5. I contacted tunze myself because I was having pump issues as well. My pump couldn't pull water from reservoir and put it in the DT. With in a few days I got a new one and it works perfectly. Went you first put the pump in the water shake around a little bit and tilt is upside down to get any air bubbles out. if you can.. run the pump upside down as well to get water in it. This helped me the most and I hope it helps you.

 

[RcManChild]

The pump seems to be fine now. On our third pump from the LFS. Only time will tell.

 

[BADPAPI]

if it dosent work let me know I was having issues with mine hydrofill titanium and aqualifter. an dended up getting a big pump to use for ato .
the avantege of the hydro is I can get a ac pump instead of dc one .

 

[BADPAPI]

btw I have the same tank . I just finished installing my ligh when from a regula prime to a 24" ati dimable 6bulbs.

 

[RcManChild]

I really need to upgrade the lighting for the corals...

A few questions I had:

1) currently using fluval sea salt, should I switch soon for corals in 2-3 months?

2) what light do people recommend for this tank? I like the Radeon 30w pro but seems expensive for a tank setup that worth as much as the light.

3) I need to move this tank about 12 feet from where it currently is...
I was going to do it the same day as the water change.
So
Empty rock, empty 10 gallons of water..
Move and replace 5 gallons of the same water and use 5 new gallons. Any advice?

 

[Rakie]

Good questions! Here's my 2 cents

1) You could switch to anything from Instant Ocean purple (non reef crystals) or Aquaforest Probiotic reef. Depends on what you want to keep. I used Red Sea Coral Pro and was happy, switched to Tropic Marin and was happier, and so far totally loving my new Aquaforest salt.

The true best answer is the salt that fits the parameters you like most for your tank.. But if you're new, you probably don't truly know the answer to that question.

I'm not the biggest Instant Ocean fan... But I'd say start there. It's a nice safe starting salt. Depending on what you want to keep and all that, it may be the only salt you ever need. It's also very fairly priced!

2) The light is the *most* important part for corals. I Spent $400 on a Radion XR15 for my Biocube, and my regret is not getting the XR30, or not just getting a nice 6 bulb T5.

Again, this all heavily depends on what you want to keep coral wise. If you want a no questions asked light that you can just plug in and have it grow any coral you could ever want -- Get a nice T5 fixture. ATI, or Geisemann. You can't go wrong with either. You'll need 4+ bulbs. It's also expensive... But the good news is no matter what you decide you will want to grow in the future, that light will be ready. You wont need to play the upgrade game. The downside is replacing bulbs every 9-12 months, yeah, kinda sucks. But nothing in perfect.

3) Your plan for moving the tank sounds just fine. If you want to make it easier, take out even more water, and the rocks which may fall over during the move.

It's okay to do a very large water change, upwards of 100% like some people do right after their tank cycles. If you don't want to change that much, just get another couple 5 gallon buckets, save more water and put the rocks in there while you move things around. If it takes you a long time to make the move, you might want to just get a small trash can (brute) for your rocks, and put a small powerhead and heater in there while you figure out where you want things to go. It sounds like a bigger deal than it is.

 

[RcManChild]

Good questions! Here's my 2 cents

1) You could switch to anything from Instant Ocean purple (non reef crystals) or Aquaforest Probiotic reef. Depends on what you want to keep. I used Red Sea Coral Pro and was happy, switched to Tropic Marin and was happier, and so far totally loving my new Aquaforest salt.

The true best answer is the salt that fits the parameters you like most for your tank.. But if you're new, you probably don't truly know the answer to that question.

I'm not the biggest Instant Ocean fan... But I'd say start there. It's a nice safe starting salt. Depending on what you want to keep and all that, it may be the only salt you ever need. It's also very fairly priced!

Recently 3 LFS have closed in the city where I live. There is not a lot of options for salt. Need to order from somewhere that ships to Canada...
This is what they carry and what I am using... looking at the parameters it looks okay..
http://www.fluvalaquatics.com/ca/product/A8279-marine-salt/#.V_7cc-ArJhE


2) The light is the *most* important part for corals. I Spent $400 on a Radion XR15 for my Biocube, and my regret is not getting the XR30, or not just getting a nice 6 bulb T5.

Again, this all heavily depends on what you want to keep coral wise. If you want a no questions asked light that you can just plug in and have it grow any coral you could ever want -- Get a nice T5 fixture. ATI, or Geisemann. You can't go wrong with either. You'll need 4+ bulbs. It's also expensive... But the good news is no matter what you decide you will want to grow in the future, that light will be ready. You wont need to play the upgrade game. The downside is replacing bulbs every 9-12 months, yeah, kinda sucks. But nothing in perfect.


The light I would like:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/radion-xr30w-g4-pro-led-light-fixture-ecotech-marine.html

Would I get good coverage with this.. I like things to look clean..


3) Your plan for moving the tank sounds just fine. If you want to make it easier, take out even more water, and the rocks which may fall over during the move.

It's okay to do a very large water change, upwards of 100% like some people do right after their tank cycles. If you don't want to change that much, just get another couple 5 gallon buckets, save more water and put the rocks in there while you move things around. If it takes you a long time to make the move, you might want to just get a small trash can (brute) for your rocks, and put a small powerhead and heater in there while you figure out where you want things to go. It sounds like a bigger deal than it is.

Wondering if there was something special I should do especially since I have fish. Move shouldn't take longer than 20-40 minutes.

 

[RcManChild]

Also Do I need this media basket holder? what it help at all?

Is there a decent way to get rid of these filter socks, they are terribly annoying to clean..

 

[shelleyBoston]

Just take them out not only they are annoying to clean they are a nutrient collection trap, I had them on my old tank and had the worst algae bloom I got so frustrated with it I took the tank down and sold it...
I just bought another Nuvo 20 after 6 month without it lol...:celeb1:

 

[RcManChild]

You must use some sort of filtration... what do you use?

 

[shelleyBoston]

Well I have not set up the new tank yet, it just arrived today actually but I plan to use a media basket in those chambers with a combination of carbon and gfo, I may put some chaeto in one of the immediate chambers or a couple mangroves and save the remaining chamber for a skimmer.

 

[shelleyBoston]

I am just wondering now what to do with the top plastic white mesh cover, I wonder how much light it will block.

 

[ssick92]

I am just wondering now what to do with the top plastic white mesh cover, I wonder how much light it will block.

I just left mine off, I like the look of the rimless with no cover, and none of my fish are likely to jump out (clowns & yellow watchman goby).

As long as you don't have a firefish or a wrasse, you shouldn't need the cover.