My first reef tank, an IM 30L

[the_chef_pierre]

After having had a freshwater tank for years, I've gained the opportunity and some time to try having a saltwater tank. Planning on making this a reef with mainly coral and a couple fish. I'll try and document my way through as I go.

So far, I'm working with a 30 gallon Innovative Marine tank (the 30L). I bought this tank second hand so I'm not totally sure if the pump is stock or upgraded.

For those familiar with this style of tank, there are basically 5 compartments in the attached sump area at the back of this AIO. Heres how I've set mine up so far:

1) IM Custom Caddy with filter floss (the area in the back is open to light and I have purchased a small refugium light from amazon and plan to make this compartment work as a refugium like on of the previous owners of this tank did)

2) Empty for now (might choose to put in a skimmer, but its a very small space to work with and not sure if I really need a skimmer on this size tank based on the fact I'm going to try and do mainly coral with only a couple fish)

3) The pump (I think its a micro Sicce but I'd have to check)

4) Heater

5) Filter media ( top level has filter floss, middle houses Chemipure Blue, and bottom houses Purigen)

I'll try to update you guys with more about my tank as I get it going. So far I've added in live sand, 20 lbs of dry rock that I got second hand and was likely used in another aquarium (not sure if it was salt or not) and 10 lbs of live rocks i purchased. Still in the process of getting my tank cycled before I add anything to it, but I did see a couple bristleworms make their way out at night.

I'm excited to get into this hobby and would love to hear any suggestions or idea from anyone in a similar situation or with a similar tank.

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Here's a pic of how I've got my tank looking for far. Still not sure if I like how I've put these rocks and might move then around yet again lol

 

[LiveWire]

I have an IM 30L and really like that tank. I just moved all my corals out of it as the wife wants to set it up as her Anemone system. I would not worry about a skimmer on that size system and instead I would use that money for an auto top off unit. I would also recommend using the IM Custom Caddy on both sides. Great tank. Keep us updated with your progress!!

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Oh, forgot to mention I have an ATO setup on it already. Thanks for reminding me. To be honest, I lucked out and got gifted a bunch of stuff from a family member who was doing corals but decided to get out of the hobby. I also have a Glo T5 light that fits over the top but have purchased a Fluval marine 3.0 bluetooth LED that I'm still waiting to get in the mail. I figure the LED would be good since its more energy efficient and has the whole sunrise/sunset feature

 

[New&no clue]

I just started my Nuvo 30L as well. I’m hoping to put a refugium in one of the chambers, but I’m just not sure how to do it.

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Apparantly you can use a small exacto blade to cut a slit in the back area and then slowly pull the film off the back glass to reveal the area you want to allow light into. I read somewhere online that its best to do the refugium in the second chamber, but the person I had bought the tank from had done it in the first chamber for some reason so I'm going to try doing it there and see how it works. I know they sell a specific refugium caddy thing that fits the second chamber but cant remember who sells it exactly. I feel like its not through innovative marine.

Any ideas what you plan on putting in yours? I plan on doing mainly corals, and probably a pair of clowns with a watchman goby and pistol shrimp. Someone told me that this tank may be too small for clowns but I've seen lots of other people do it with tanks of this size so I'm thinking it should be ok.

 

[New&no clue]

I’ve seen several people who peel the film off one chamber and shine the light through the back, very smart idea. However, my tank is already against the wall and filled so I don’t want to move it.

For clown fish there are two types
Percula Clownfish and Ocellaris Clownfish. One grows bigger than the other so one is okay for a smaller tank. I can’t remember which is which.

I plan to have a clown pair, yellow watchman and pistol shrimp pair, pink streak wrasse, and one more. I started a thread for stocking if you want to check it out, a lot of people posted suggestions

Nuvo 30L stocking list... fyi I was already told this was a bad list so looking for a second.. third.. fourth.. until someone agrees with me opinion

Hi, Cycling a Nuvo 30L right now and have an ideal stock list... I'm assuming, because this always happens, that I wont end up with whats on the list because someone doesn't get along with someone else, or because someone is too aggressive, or too shy, or just not a great tank mate. So without...

www.reef2reef.com

also not sure if you’ve seen this thread but there is a group for nuvo 30 owners

AIO Build - Innovative Marine Nuvo 30L Club/Index/Resource Thread

I've decided to start this thread because while these tanks seem pretty popular and I have notice quiet a few others getting them second hand or even new. When making my build thread and commenting on others, there were some comments about making us a club. This is that club. Much of this is...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Thanks. I'll definitely check this out. On a side note, I decided to do a water change today and I'm wondering if you or anyone else knows of a way to syphon out all the dust and detritus that somehow finds its way into the bottom of the small sump area at the back of the tank. Seems like this will be a bit of a challenge.

 

[CasaReefer]

Hi Chef... Welcome to R2R... Love your rock work... Looks like your cookin up something GOOD... Thanks For Jumping In I am Glad you Did..

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Hahaha, thanks. Don't worry, none of my fish will be cooked (hopefully, unless somehow I mess up along the way and they cook themselves). Thanks for commenting on my rockwork. I've been mulling about changing it for awhile, since I'm not sure how good the setup will be for attaching corals. I'm loving the arch, but will definitely have to try to secure it somehow because I'm worried it will fall. I bought some of that fluval sea epoxy stick stuff but havent had the time to use it yet.

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Anyone have any recommendations for skimmers that fit the second rear compartment on this tank? I've been looking at different options and find it pretty hard. The again, I may not even need a skimmer for this tank. Any advice?

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Also, I havent stocked anything in my tank yet but am wondering when I should start dosing calcium and magnesium as my calcium and alkalinity levels are low. Should I bring these up before I add in any corals, or wait until right after I've added corals before I boost the levels?

 

[New&no clue]

Anyone have any recommendations for skimmers that fit the second rear compartment on this tank? I've been looking at different options and find it pretty hard. The again, I may not even need a skimmer for this tank. Any advice?

I'm using the IM Midsize Skimmer. It was made for the tank so it fits nicely. I just started to use it so I can't speak much on the performance of it. So far though it is quiet and making bubbles. I'm still trying to fine tune the height of it to get some good skimmate off it. Right now its mostly just cloudy water... however, I don't have much in my tank so there might not be much to remove yet.

As far as dosing what salt are you using and what salinity are you at? I would check a fresh batch of salt water and compare to what the your salt says it should be mixing at. For example Red Sea Coral Pro says at Salinity of 34ppt your levels should be CA 450, Mg 1350, and KH 11.5. It should say this right on the bag or bucket. If the fresh batches mixes correctly I would just do a couple water changes and then monitor it. If there is nothing in your tank, and you're doing water changes with good salt those levels should be fine until you start to really stock your tank. In my 75 I have mostly softies and a couple LPS and I don't dose, my levels say pretty good with just water changes.

 

[cameronh]

Hey it's looking good, keep it up.
Will be watching this

 

[the_chef_pierre]

thanks. its my first time doing salt to be honest, so i hope i dont mess it up. I used to have a red belly piranha for 10 years before it died

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Can anyone comment on my reefscape so far? I'm still debating on changing it and thinking about using putty to hold down the arch part so it doesnt fall. I also might pull the little rock I have attached to the bigger rock in the front centre since it has hydroids on it and a paly that came with it but might not be the best to have. Any opinions?

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Just got my refugium setup in the back now. Still debating on updating my return pump, since I think the one that came with it is super low flow. Might also change out one of my circulation pumps since it's super high flow (unless I put it in a higher area and try to put an sps there closer to the lights). I picked up the Fluval Marine 3.0 lights. Pretty good so far, just trying to figure out what settings I want to use for it.

Also, can anyone comment on my aquascape? I keep pondering switching it. I originally had the rocks basically touching the back wall, but I hear this is not good to do so I moved them forwards. That being said, doing that really reduces the available area in the front of my tank. Any opinions on this? Would I be better to put them right up against the back wall?

 

[the_chef_pierre]

So I'm not a happy camper right now I rearranged my rock work and am worried. First I used a grey epoxy stick from my lfs and it turned out not to hold. I ended up buying another green epoxy stick from a different lfs and tried coupling it with gorilla super glue gel to bind my rocks underwater using the sandwich method. Problem is I didn't think it will hold and it looks terrible. Hoping it will get grown over by coralline algae in the future and will look better once I add in some corals. Even if it doesnt hold, I'm hoping the rocks wont fall. They're positioned ok and my only concern might be if I do end up getting an urchin in the future which I kind of want to. Well, at least I learned not to rush things and that if I ever setup a tank again I'll be sure to build my reefscape and glue or bind everything with drilling and rods prior to having it in the tank. Way more difficult once it's been in the tank for awhile. Well wish me luck and I hope I didnt screw up too bad. It's a learning curve.

On a side note I also added a couple snails in so far including 2 nassarius snails. Coolest snails I've seen so far in my opinion and hoping they will keep my sandbed nice and clean

 

[Robertellis30]

I just started my Nuvo 30L as well. I’m hoping to put a refugium in one of the chambers, but I’m just not sure how to do it.

I have chaeto growing the back of mine. Bought this light works perfectly. Just use the regular caddy. Top portion filter floss the. Chaeto in the middle and last compartment.

Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget Chaetomax 2-in-1 9W Refugium LED - Marine Depot

Each LED of the ChaetoMax emits a specific spectrum that targets different areas of macroalgae cellular growth structure, meaning: faster growth, faster nutrient export, and cleaner water.

www.marinedepot.com

 

[the_chef_pierre]

Cool. Yup, I got chaeto in the back larger sized caddy with the filter floss on top. Cant be sure exactly what light I got, but I got it off amazon it it has red spectrum light in it for growth