YOTN's Innovative Marine Nuvo 16g Reef

yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
Hello all,
I haven't been on the forums in a while, primarily because I left the hobby. Well, after realizing that I am too much of a work-a-holic / dad-a-holic, I have decided to do something fun for myself. As of 45 minutes ago, I ordered my Innovative Marine Nuvo 16g along with some sand and a heater. And so it begins! I'll take some pics when it all comes in the mail. This will most likely be a ricordea tank. I've always wanted to go that route.
PURCHASED SO FAR:
Innovative Marine Nuvo 16 Gallon All-In-One Tank
http://innovative-marine.com/nuvo-aquarium/nano16-0302.html

20 Lb's Caribsea Ocean-Direct Oolite
http://www.caribsea.com/itempage_marinesubstrate_oceandirect.htm

Fluval E-Series 100-watt Heater
http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo/fluvaleseries.cfm
Next on the list will be live rock and a test kit.... but the biggest question I'm asking myself is what skimmer I will go with..
Either the Tunze 9002 ($150) or the Aquatic Life 115 ($60). I am told they both do essentially the sam job, but the 115 is much more finicky and blows microbubbles into your tank for the first week during the break-in period. I am debating about whether or not to save myself the $90 and noodle with the 115 more or spend the extra money for something that won't be as much of a headache.
Thoughts?
Nick
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
I am leaning that way, but saving $90 is really tempting. If I save an additional $10, then I can get the 10-pack of ricordeas from swf's site for $100.....
....and so the scale continues to oscillate!
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
It's a 16g tank too... if it was a 29g, I'd get the Tunze... no question. But with 16g's, I may not need as elaborate a skimmer.
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
Well I just checked the specs on the 115 and that's out... it's too big for the back....
BUT - I learned that Reef Octopus came out with a Nano Skimmer and it's like $40. A Reef Octopus for $40? I'm a little surprised. I checked it out and it seems legitimate. Youtube videos show that it's pretty efficient too.
 
sweatervest13

sweatervest13

Active Member
Congrats on the 16g!!
I love the looks of those tanks. Should be a cool build to follow. Can't wait to see some pics when the new deal comes in.
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
I was reading some of the reviews on the Nuvo and apparently there's vinyl on the sides and back of the tank. I think I'll take it all off and spray paint it. I remember there being an aquarium-safe spray paint that I could use and I've done it before. I think it's appliance paint for spraying the counters of your refrigerator and stuff. It comes in two colors, white and black. Gonna give that a whirl.
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
Well apparently it will be delivered tomorrow... but the tracking number says that it was never shipped. I talked to the store I bought it from and they definitely shipped it. Could be a glitch with FedEx. Only time will tell. If it doesn't come tomorrow, I'll go on the war path and track it down.
 
stdreb27

stdreb27

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by YearOfTheNick http:///t/391507/yotns-innovative-marine-nuvo-16g-reef#post_3472870
Well apparently it will be delivered tomorrow... but the tracking number says that it was never shipped. I talked to the store I bought it from and they definitely shipped it. Could be a glitch with FedEx. Only time will tell. If it doesn't come tomorrow, I'll go on the war path and track it down.
I'd bet that the fedex is more likely to be right than the shipper. Fedex should scan that several times vs the one time that the vendor says...
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
Got it in the mail on Friday at about 10:15AM. Immediately took it out and set it up...


We're putting it in our bedroom on our dresser.


I actually like that it backs up to our mirror because then I can see the back chambers a lot more easily!

We went to a couple LFS's on Friday and I picked up about 10 lb's live rock. The heater works great and the digital readout is very accurate.
I took out most of the stock media and put two 6.5oz Chemi-Pure Elite's in each of the two chambers. I have filter pads resting on the top, above the yellow sponges.
I made the enormous mistake of pouring my live sand directly in with my saltwater. I really should have given the sand a quick rinse first because it was like a cloudy bubble bath for most of the evening. It had cleared up by this morning but the sand bed and rocks were coated with this super fine dust.
This afternoon, I broke the entire tank back down, cleaned the rocks and gave the sand a good washing with saltwater. I had to clean the back chamber (There was a coat of dust everywhere) and finally got it all back up and running.

My test kit is in the mail so at the moment all I know is that the salinity is 1.022.
The lights are awesome! Run really cool for the amount of output. I don't think I'll have any problem getting a wide variely of corals to grow under them.
 
yearofthenick

yearofthenick

Active Member
P.S. It was my wife's birthday today, so this project definitely took a backseat. I waited until we hit a lull today and took an hour to get it running right. She wanted to help too. We actually all got into it. I have two small kids and they're so excited about this tank that I may get a 4g for their bedroom. I would maintain it of course, but it would be really neat to throw one or two fish in there and have the moonlights in place of their night light when they go to bed at night.
 
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