jp1986
Active Member
After years of reefing, I finally was able to get my dream tank...the Innovative Marine Nuvo INT 150. I've had wide tanks, tall tanks, but always really wanted a deep tank. Here is how the process went!
Equipment:
Aquarium - Innovative Marine Nuvo INT 150
Stand - Innovative Marine APS matching stand
Canopy - DIY floating canopy
Lighting - Reef Breeders 32 v2
Sump - Trigger Systems sapphire CR44
Return Pump - Reef Octopus Varios 8
Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus Regal 150 INT
Heater - 2x BRS 200 watt titanium heaters with BRS temp controller
Powerheads - 2x Vortech MP40s
ATO - Tunze Osmolator
Controller - Apex Lite
The day before the tank was supposed to arrive, I received a phone call while at work from a number I didn't recognize. Being at work I just silenced the call and thought nothing of it. Got another call a couple minutes later and they left a voicemail. Finally got a chance to check the voicemail and it was the freight carrier driver saying "Uh Hey, I'm at your house and you're not home...please call me!" Thankfully I was able to contact him and quickly run home and take care of it. He was nice enough to bring it into the garage for me but he refused to stay while I inspected it. He ended up notating the delivery slip "pending inspection" and was gone. Knowing I had to get back to work, I got the lid off and inspected what I could quick and everything looked great. Back at work nothing productive was done the rest of the day as all I could think about was getting home to get this thing fully unpacked!
I started assembling the stand as soon as I got home. Instructions were decent and I had my son Logan to help me too. Amazed at how light it was but yet still very sturdy. Loved the side doors that open up. Makes access to the sump so much nicer. Wish the front doors were maybe just two big doors instead of three smaller ones because with the one brace that has to be installed, it can make access from the front a little tight. After getting it all assembled, Logan of course had to double check my work!
After that was done, it was time to move in the tank. Took four big guys to muscle this thing downstairs. Not horribly heavy just kind of awkward being so wide and deep. We ended up using an appliance dolly to move it. Two guys on top holding straps that were through the dolly handles and two guys on the bottom for support. That way it could just slide down the steps. Went smoothly and got it up onto the stand.
Plumbing the sump was up next. Not my first time working with pvc, but still it had been awhile. Went with the blue pvc from BRS. Also made sure I had plenty of unions for easy maintenance. Screwed up when gluing it all together...I forgot to put the screw cap thing on one of the unions before I glued it! Had to cut the pipe then and order a replacement union. Always order more than you need for plumbing for situations just like this! Once it was all glued and had time to dry, I filled with RODI water for a leak test. Some small drips so had to tighten some bulkheads.
Next was on to my canopy. With using the lights I had on my current system, a Reef Breeders 32 v2, I knew I couldn't just use the legs that came with it as they wouldn't be wide enough. A floating canopy was the way I wanted to go. I figured it would look a lot nicer, plus I could hide the cords for the light making it look even nicer. The wall the tank was going on was opposite my storage/utility room. I knew I would have 3 studs I could mount the canopy too. I made the frame out of 1x4s with the back piece that would mount to the wall being a 2x6. I made the sides and front cover with just a 1/8" MDF board I cut to the size I wanted. Six 3 inch lag bolts were used to secure it to the stud. Turned out better than I thought it would.
With all that taken care of, I could now start getting everything out of the old tank. Water was drained into buckets that then was put into a 40 gallon breeder with a heater so the fish could be in there while I figured out my aquascape. I first drained a lot of the water and then grabbed the fish out before removing any rock. That way the water was clearer and cleaner. Was worried I wouldn’t have enough rock for the new tank, had about 70 lbs, but actually was just the perfect amount. I tried to do a lot of swim throughs and leave a lot of room all around the perimeter of the tank. Really liked how it turned out.
Got the rock set up, the new dry sand in, and the new saltwater I had previously made pumped back into the new tank. I did put in a cup of established sand from the old tank and did add some bacteria additive to help seed the new system. Also moved a marine pure block I had in the 65 gallon aquarium to the new sump to help as well. Checked the tank temp and salinity of the new tank and it matched exactly to the tank the fish were currently in so I didn’t even acclimate the fish or inverts. Just transferred to the new tank. Finally, the new system was all set up and running. Very happy with how everything turned out!
Equipment:
Aquarium - Innovative Marine Nuvo INT 150
Stand - Innovative Marine APS matching stand
Canopy - DIY floating canopy
Lighting - Reef Breeders 32 v2
Sump - Trigger Systems sapphire CR44
Return Pump - Reef Octopus Varios 8
Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus Regal 150 INT
Heater - 2x BRS 200 watt titanium heaters with BRS temp controller
Powerheads - 2x Vortech MP40s
ATO - Tunze Osmolator
Controller - Apex Lite
The day before the tank was supposed to arrive, I received a phone call while at work from a number I didn't recognize. Being at work I just silenced the call and thought nothing of it. Got another call a couple minutes later and they left a voicemail. Finally got a chance to check the voicemail and it was the freight carrier driver saying "Uh Hey, I'm at your house and you're not home...please call me!" Thankfully I was able to contact him and quickly run home and take care of it. He was nice enough to bring it into the garage for me but he refused to stay while I inspected it. He ended up notating the delivery slip "pending inspection" and was gone. Knowing I had to get back to work, I got the lid off and inspected what I could quick and everything looked great. Back at work nothing productive was done the rest of the day as all I could think about was getting home to get this thing fully unpacked!
I started assembling the stand as soon as I got home. Instructions were decent and I had my son Logan to help me too. Amazed at how light it was but yet still very sturdy. Loved the side doors that open up. Makes access to the sump so much nicer. Wish the front doors were maybe just two big doors instead of three smaller ones because with the one brace that has to be installed, it can make access from the front a little tight. After getting it all assembled, Logan of course had to double check my work!
After that was done, it was time to move in the tank. Took four big guys to muscle this thing downstairs. Not horribly heavy just kind of awkward being so wide and deep. We ended up using an appliance dolly to move it. Two guys on top holding straps that were through the dolly handles and two guys on the bottom for support. That way it could just slide down the steps. Went smoothly and got it up onto the stand.
Plumbing the sump was up next. Not my first time working with pvc, but still it had been awhile. Went with the blue pvc from BRS. Also made sure I had plenty of unions for easy maintenance. Screwed up when gluing it all together...I forgot to put the screw cap thing on one of the unions before I glued it! Had to cut the pipe then and order a replacement union. Always order more than you need for plumbing for situations just like this! Once it was all glued and had time to dry, I filled with RODI water for a leak test. Some small drips so had to tighten some bulkheads.
Next was on to my canopy. With using the lights I had on my current system, a Reef Breeders 32 v2, I knew I couldn't just use the legs that came with it as they wouldn't be wide enough. A floating canopy was the way I wanted to go. I figured it would look a lot nicer, plus I could hide the cords for the light making it look even nicer. The wall the tank was going on was opposite my storage/utility room. I knew I would have 3 studs I could mount the canopy too. I made the frame out of 1x4s with the back piece that would mount to the wall being a 2x6. I made the sides and front cover with just a 1/8" MDF board I cut to the size I wanted. Six 3 inch lag bolts were used to secure it to the stud. Turned out better than I thought it would.
With all that taken care of, I could now start getting everything out of the old tank. Water was drained into buckets that then was put into a 40 gallon breeder with a heater so the fish could be in there while I figured out my aquascape. I first drained a lot of the water and then grabbed the fish out before removing any rock. That way the water was clearer and cleaner. Was worried I wouldn’t have enough rock for the new tank, had about 70 lbs, but actually was just the perfect amount. I tried to do a lot of swim throughs and leave a lot of room all around the perimeter of the tank. Really liked how it turned out.
Got the rock set up, the new dry sand in, and the new saltwater I had previously made pumped back into the new tank. I did put in a cup of established sand from the old tank and did add some bacteria additive to help seed the new system. Also moved a marine pure block I had in the 65 gallon aquarium to the new sump to help as well. Checked the tank temp and salinity of the new tank and it matched exactly to the tank the fish were currently in so I didn’t even acclimate the fish or inverts. Just transferred to the new tank. Finally, the new system was all set up and running. Very happy with how everything turned out!
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