Nuvo 20 build

[Dl0reef]

Hey Reef2Reef I am starting my first ever reef tank. I’m going to start from the beginning. So basically a bit after Christmas I went to the lfs and was looking for a reef tank to buy. I was originally looking at the nuvo 40 because of its size but then I saw the 20. It had the 2 skkye led’s with clamps, 2 filter socks, came with 25 gallons worth of salt mix, and was 185.00 dollars. I decided to buy and well that’s how I got the tank. Let’s fast forward to yesterday. I went to the lfs and saw that they were selling the caribsea dry rock for 2 bucks a pound. They let me build a aquascape there and I left with 18 pounds of rock and some Hawaiian black sand. I then put the rock work in and added the sand. Now I’m waiting on my order of the Red Sea test kits to come in before I start the cycle. As some of y’all know on the back of the nuvo’s there are sections for the heater and filter socks. My plan is to put a mini refugium, innovative marine custom caddy, filter sock and maybe the im ghost skimmer. (That slot is still up to debate). What would some of y’all recommend in place for the skimmer.

The stock list I am looking at right now is:
Royal gramma
Fire fish
Yasha/pistol shrimp pair
2 snowflake clowns.
(Fish will be added in that order)

I have a current USA loop wave maker and plan on adding a Neptune apex in the near future and quarantining/dipping anything that is wet. Keep in mind I am working off of a budget that a 14 year old makes (not much).

Is there anything y’all would recommend before I put the water in?

Thanks for reading and wish me luck.
*Pic of aquascape below*

 

[Dl0reef]

Extra pic

 

[bronsond99]

Okay welcome to the reefing hobby!! I’m dakota and I️ recently got into the hobby myself and have had the honor of knowing someone who can guide me on my journey and teach everything that I️ need to know; she has 30 years of experience. Anyway, for your tank I️ would add about 5-10 more lbs of live rock to your aquascape because it a good rule of thumb to have 1-2 lbs. of live rock per gallon. Also, when it comes to cycling I️ would go ahead and add the water while you wait for your test kit just to speed your process. If you don’t have a dosing bacterial product, like Stability, I️ would buy a cheap fish to help cycle your tank; there needs to be bacteria added to help the nitrate cycle. I️ would recommend buying the product Stability and following the directions on the bottle and it should cycle your tank within 7-15 days. You can add fish and corals whenever your ammonia and nitrates are LOW, PH is high and NITRITE are at ZERO. Nitrites will kill fish the quickest. I️ would also recommend having a biological filtration such as a Marineland Biowheel 350. I️ would test your water every 3 days while adding the stability to your system. Make sure to run your lights on the aquarium for 6 hours a day while cycling. Anyway, this is the first steps in the process. Keep your temps around 74-76 degrees F! This is my 20 gallon nano below!! Let me know of any questions or concerns you have. Again, welcome!!

 

[bronsond99]

Hope this helps!!

 

[Dl0reef]

Okay welcome to the reefing hobby!! I’m dakota and I️ recently got into the hobby myself and have had the honor of knowing someone who can guide me on my journey and teach everything that I️ need to know; she has 30 years of experience. Anyway, for your tank I️ would add about 5-10 more lbs of live rock to your aquascape because it a good rule of thumb to have 1-2 lbs. of live rock per gallon. Also, when it comes to cycling I️ would go ahead and add the water while you wait for your test kit just to speed your process. If you don’t have a dosing bacterial product, like Stability, I️ would buy a cheap fish to help cycle your tank; there needs to be bacteria added to help the nitrate cycle. I️ would recommend buying the product Stability and following the directions on the bottle and it should cycle your tank within 7-15 days. You can add fish and corals whenever your ammonia and nitrates are LOW, PH is high and NITRITE are at ZERO. Nitrites will kill fish the quickest. I️ would also recommend having a biological filtration such as a Marineland Biowheel 350. I️ would test your water every 3 days while adding the stability to your system. Make sure to run your lights on the aquarium for 6 hours a day while cycling. Anyway, this is the first steps in the process. Keep your temps around 74-76 degrees F! This is my 20 gallon nano below!! Let me know of any questions or concerns you have. Again, welcome!!

Thank you Dakota for everything that you mentioned above for me. For the cycling my lfs owner is really cool and he gave me some of dr tims one and only to help speed up the process. I was thinking maybe this Friday when I'm going to pick up my first fish (either a firefish or royal gramma) i would go pick up some more rock. As for the 5-10 I have to honestly say I don't think that is possible. The rock work is already cramped. I was wondering if on Friday when i pick some more rubble rock would the 2-3 pounds of rock cut it or would i have to redo my aquascape. I would like to thank you for the warm welcome I received and the advice. Btw how is the damsel doing. Is it showing any signs of aggression at all?

 

[count krunk]

I would ditch the apex and the mini refugiem. The equipment that would help you stay the most stable is an ATO. I would get that next as far as equipment goes. The apex just isn't needed in such a small tank. Eventually you will probably need to dose to keep ca/mg on etc on track. That is if you really start to pile the coral in. So on a slower budget probably no need to dose until 6 months to a year has passed. Regular water changes will keep the levels good.

I say ditch the refugiem bc it would be so tiny it wouldn't really do much. The skimmer is a good idea, any one that has good reviews and fits in your chamber should work fine. That ghost looks like a good choice.

 

[bronsond99]

Thank you Dakota for everything that you mentioned above for me. For the cycling my lfs owner is really cool and he gave me some of dr tims one and only to help speed up the process. I was thinking maybe this Friday when I'm going to pick up my first fish (either a firefish or royal gramma) i would go pick up some more rock. As for the 5-10 I have to honestly say I don't think that is possible. The rock work is already cramped. I was wondering if on Friday when i pick some more rubble rock would the 2-3 pounds of rock cut it or would i have to redo my aquascape. I would like to thank you for the warm welcome I received and the advice. Btw how is the damsel doing. Is it showing any signs of aggression at all?

That’s good! I️ was starting to worry that you didn’t have a bacteria to dose with. I️ would advise not to add a fish just yet and to let your tank run while adding your bacteria dose everyday until your nitrites are at ZERO! And for the rock work, you could cut a piece to fit on top of your rock work to make it taller. Or you could just replace a smaller rock in your tank with a bigger one.

My Damsel has done fairly well and leaves my clown alone for the most part. Just around feeding time he gets a little grumpy with my clown when they’re both trying to eat. I️ just put food on one side then on the other so they’re away from each other when they’re eating. He is only a bully when there’s food [emoji23] Yeah for the most part the Damsel is just fine. I️ love his colors !

I️ hope you take my recommendations into consideration so you can have the best tank possible. PATIENCE IS KEY [emoji360]GOOD LUCK!!

 

[Dl0reef]

I would ditch the apex and the mini refugiem. The equipment that would help you stay the most stable is an ATO. I would get that next as far as equipment goes. The apex just isn't needed in such a small tank. Eventually you will probably need to dose to keep ca/mg on etc on track. That is if you really start to pile the coral in. So on a slower budget probably no need to dose until 6 months to a year has passed. Regular water changes will keep the levels good.

I say ditch the refugiem bc it would be so tiny it wouldn't really do much. The skimmer is a good idea, any one that has good reviews and fits in your chamber should work fine. That ghost looks like a good choice.

The hard part about the skimmer is that there isn't one that works great in such a small chamber. The only one that I have considered is the ghost desktop skimmer and i heard it really isn't that good. For corals I plan on having mostly softies and lps for the coral (primarily zoas and acans). The reason why I liked the fuge so much was the fact that I have some open chambers that I don't know what to do with. Anything else you would recommend???

 

[Dl0reef]

That’s good! I️ was starting to worry that you didn’t have a bacteria to dose with. I️ would advise not to add a fish just yet and to let your tank run while adding your bacteria dose everyday until your nitrites are at ZERO! And for the rock work, you could cut a piece to fit on top of your rock work to make it taller. Or you could just replace a smaller rock in your tank with a bigger one.

My Damsel has done fairly well and leaves my clown alone for the most part. Just around feeding time he gets a little grumpy with my clown when they’re both trying to eat. I️ just put food on one side then on the other so they’re away from each other when they’re eating. He is only a bully when there’s food [emoji23] Yeah for the most part the Damsel is just fine. I️ love his colors !

I️ hope you take my recommendations into consideration so you can have the best tank possible. PATIENCE IS KEY [emoji360]GOOD LUCK!!

Thank you for wishes and that's good to hear about the damsel.

 

[Dl0reef]

Continuing with the build.

Clean up crew
So with every reef tank I understand it is important to have a good clean up crew but i was wondering what would recommend for my tank?
Personally i want to have these:
Pistol Shrimp for the yasha goby
Cleaner Shrimp because it's cool
Emerald Crab
Pom Pom crab
*side note* Is everything compatible?

Now the snails is the part that i need the most help in. I have a deep sandbed that is 2-3 inches for the yasha and pistol shrimp so i will need some sand sifting snails. Can yall recommend me anything for the cleanup crew?

 

[bronsond99]

Yes, you don’t need to add a cleanup crew right away bc there will be almost nothing for them to eat. I️ places my first members of clean up crew around 20 days after I️ got my nitrites to zero and added fish. I️ recommend 2 snails or hermit crabs per gallon. It sounds like a lot but it is what it needs. Now, you don’t go and add all of those at once. You add them slowly but by end of a year you should have around 50 snails and hermits. And yes I️ believe all of those compatible but it takes time before you can actually add the sand sifters, etc.

 

[Dl0reef]

Yes, you don’t need to add a cleanup crew right away bc there will be almost nothing for them to eat. I️ places my first members of clean up crew around 20 days after I️ got my nitrites to zero and added fish. I️ recommend 2 snails or hermit crabs per gallon. It sounds like a lot but it is what it needs. Now, you don’t go and add all of those at once. You add them slowly but by end of a year you should have around 50 snails and hermits. And yes I️ believe all of those compatible but it takes time before you can actually add the sand sifters, etc.

I knew that adding all at once but 50 snails and hermits seems like a lot lol. I watched a brs video and they said around 2 snails per ten gallons of one type. How is your cleanup crew and how many snails/hermits do you have?

 

[bronsond99]

Yeah it does but it works. In my 20 gal I️ have 10
Snails and 10 hermits right now already. There’s many different ways and methods for keeping salt water aquariums. Everyone has a unique way that works for them. Just personal preference and there’s not just ONE way to do it if that makes since

 

[Dl0reef]

Yeah it does but it works. In my 20 gal I️ have 10
Snails and 10 hermits right now already. There’s many different ways and methods for keeping salt water aquariums. Everyone has a unique way that works for them. Just personal preference and there’s not just ONE way to do it if that makes since

What type of snails are you using?

 

[bronsond99]

A few trochus and cerith

 

[count krunk]

i have always gotten my all snail CUC from reefcleaners.org. Just the quick crews. I don't seem any issues that jump out at me with the shrimps n pom pom. Maybe some aggression between the pistol and cleaner but i don't think so. Let the tank cycle get some algae then get your CUC. Reefcleaners does a great job getting you a mix to keep the glass sand and rock clean as well as portioning them out for you.

 

[Dl0reef]

Hey guys so it’s like 3 months later and still no fish . Decided not too because me and my family were supposed to move to-a new house so I didn’t buy any fish so I would have to go through the hassle of moving the tank and fish. Well we didn’t ending picking the house and now im still were I left off. I am thinking as of rn if adding a tunse osmolater nano and an ai prime. Any thoughts???

 

[Dl0reef]

Hey, so I bet a lot of y'all thought this thread died, but I'm resurrecting it from the ground and I have a question about what the best powerhead for my tank would be. I'm hoping for something less than $50. I was debating over a Sicce or Koralia pump. What would y'all recommend?