bens_tanks
New Member
Hey all!
I’m fairly new to Reef 2 Reef, but I’ve been in the hobby since 2017, so I figured I’d start to post. I always wanted a reef tank, and when I was in college I finally had some cash, and obviously too much time on my hands… I should’ve been paying off loans but coral’s more fun . My college had a 10 gallon limit and a friend was wanting to get rid of his Innovative marine Nuvo 10, so I picked it up, and cleaned it up!
I was brand new to the reefing hobby. The Nuvo 10 all in one was perfect for a beginner to learn on. Most people say the smaller you go the harder, but in my experience, use a good salt, and a weekly 50% water change did most of the work. I digress.
So I bought the tank while I was in Florida for spring break, and brought it up with me to southern Virginia where I was going to school. I set it up in my dorm room. Very basic at first, I don’t think I even had a heater initially. Tank, stock pump, some rock (beginners big cave), and a clip on light just to make it look not dead I used turbostart 900 to cycle the tank, then added a clown. It did well so a month later I added a second clown.
Kept it basic, that summer I went to Northern Virginia for work. I was working 80hr work weeks so I had some extra cash… I ended up getting an AI Prime (the OG one), and a reef glass protein skimmer.
That next month, it was time for some coral and back to college. I can’t get across how great this tank is for college… two 5 gallon buckets will fit all your water and rock perfectly
I could go on and on, but I’ll shorten it up. This tank has been to 3 dorm rooms, 3 states, 4 apartments, it’s gone through different coral, fish, pumps, etc. I’ll attach some eye candy, and also some things I’ve learned.
Info:
Tank: Innovative Marine Nuvo 10
Pump: Sicce 0.5
Light: Aqua Illumination AI Prime (original)
Filtration: Media Basket with floss, chemipure blue, and marine pure gems. Tons of marine pure balls in second chamber
Heater: cobalt NeoTherm
Parameters: to be honest, I have no clue anymore
Maintenance: weekly water change of about 50%
Dosing: none
Feeding: minimal… I went almost a year without feeding a thing… even with a clownfish…
Stand: IKEA Sektion 30x15x12 kitchen cabinet. It’s $60 and fits the tank and an ATO Jug perfectly. I screwed some planks to the back for extra stability.
Keep it simple guys. I tried dosing, I’ve tried skimmers, media reactors, and pretty much anything else you could think of that fits, at the end of the day… simplicity. Leave it alone.
Auto top off is a must. Don’t skimp out on this, get one. Period.
For your light I’d recommend at least an AI Prime, not a Kessil A80. Kessil is fine, for smaller tanks, it just has less overall power, especially if you want to do any sort of SPS. Find a schedule you like, and don’t touch it. There’s tons of presets out there, I’d be happy to share mine. But I think this is part of why it does so well, it’s been the same for years.
Do water changes, in such a small system, that’s going to be your dosing. I use bright well neo marine. I used Red Sea coral pro for a while… until it drove my Alkalinity so high my corals started to burn… with such high elevated levels, unless you’re space heavy, it just won’t consume enough.
Use bio media. Use tons of marine pure gems or balls. With such a small tank, there’s not as much space for beneficial bacteria, so adding a bunch gives tons of space for bacteria, pods, and all sorts of other life. My middle chamber is exclusively filled with bio media at this point and it’s honestly doing so well.
And again, all this is MY experience. Make sure you either cycle for a long time, or buy pre-cycled rock, but know it may come with pests… at the very least with your cycle, buy a seeded bio ball, or piece of rock, most LFSs will have them.
Don’t rush things, I’m still terrible at this, but I will say, when I was patient and just let what I had grow, and did my water changes, it thrived like crazy.
I’ve got several tanks now, most still small, but my Nuvo 10 is the one that’s always the most stable and does the best.
OH! And things get ugly… I’m still sometimes disgusted by how my tank looks without lights… it’s part of it. Watch out for algae, an ugly stage is inevitable. Mexican turbo snails, and blue legged hermit crabs are your best friend.
I’m fairly new to Reef 2 Reef, but I’ve been in the hobby since 2017, so I figured I’d start to post. I always wanted a reef tank, and when I was in college I finally had some cash, and obviously too much time on my hands… I should’ve been paying off loans but coral’s more fun . My college had a 10 gallon limit and a friend was wanting to get rid of his Innovative marine Nuvo 10, so I picked it up, and cleaned it up!
I was brand new to the reefing hobby. The Nuvo 10 all in one was perfect for a beginner to learn on. Most people say the smaller you go the harder, but in my experience, use a good salt, and a weekly 50% water change did most of the work. I digress.
So I bought the tank while I was in Florida for spring break, and brought it up with me to southern Virginia where I was going to school. I set it up in my dorm room. Very basic at first, I don’t think I even had a heater initially. Tank, stock pump, some rock (beginners big cave), and a clip on light just to make it look not dead I used turbostart 900 to cycle the tank, then added a clown. It did well so a month later I added a second clown.
Kept it basic, that summer I went to Northern Virginia for work. I was working 80hr work weeks so I had some extra cash… I ended up getting an AI Prime (the OG one), and a reef glass protein skimmer.
That next month, it was time for some coral and back to college. I can’t get across how great this tank is for college… two 5 gallon buckets will fit all your water and rock perfectly
I could go on and on, but I’ll shorten it up. This tank has been to 3 dorm rooms, 3 states, 4 apartments, it’s gone through different coral, fish, pumps, etc. I’ll attach some eye candy, and also some things I’ve learned.
Info:
Tank: Innovative Marine Nuvo 10
Pump: Sicce 0.5
Light: Aqua Illumination AI Prime (original)
Filtration: Media Basket with floss, chemipure blue, and marine pure gems. Tons of marine pure balls in second chamber
Heater: cobalt NeoTherm
Parameters: to be honest, I have no clue anymore
Maintenance: weekly water change of about 50%
Dosing: none
Feeding: minimal… I went almost a year without feeding a thing… even with a clownfish…
Stand: IKEA Sektion 30x15x12 kitchen cabinet. It’s $60 and fits the tank and an ATO Jug perfectly. I screwed some planks to the back for extra stability.
Keep it simple guys. I tried dosing, I’ve tried skimmers, media reactors, and pretty much anything else you could think of that fits, at the end of the day… simplicity. Leave it alone.
Auto top off is a must. Don’t skimp out on this, get one. Period.
For your light I’d recommend at least an AI Prime, not a Kessil A80. Kessil is fine, for smaller tanks, it just has less overall power, especially if you want to do any sort of SPS. Find a schedule you like, and don’t touch it. There’s tons of presets out there, I’d be happy to share mine. But I think this is part of why it does so well, it’s been the same for years.
Do water changes, in such a small system, that’s going to be your dosing. I use bright well neo marine. I used Red Sea coral pro for a while… until it drove my Alkalinity so high my corals started to burn… with such high elevated levels, unless you’re space heavy, it just won’t consume enough.
Use bio media. Use tons of marine pure gems or balls. With such a small tank, there’s not as much space for beneficial bacteria, so adding a bunch gives tons of space for bacteria, pods, and all sorts of other life. My middle chamber is exclusively filled with bio media at this point and it’s honestly doing so well.
And again, all this is MY experience. Make sure you either cycle for a long time, or buy pre-cycled rock, but know it may come with pests… at the very least with your cycle, buy a seeded bio ball, or piece of rock, most LFSs will have them.
Don’t rush things, I’m still terrible at this, but I will say, when I was patient and just let what I had grow, and did my water changes, it thrived like crazy.
I’ve got several tanks now, most still small, but my Nuvo 10 is the one that’s always the most stable and does the best.
OH! And things get ugly… I’m still sometimes disgusted by how my tank looks without lights… it’s part of it. Watch out for algae, an ugly stage is inevitable. Mexican turbo snails, and blue legged hermit crabs are your best friend.
