Nuvo 10 Flow Improvement

[JDowns]

I recently picked up a Nuvo 10 for the corner of my desk at the office and quickly came to the same realization as everyone else. The stock pump is basically worthless for a reef tank. I tried the MJ400, MJ900, and MJ1200 and was presented with the Goldilocks scenario. The pumps were either too weak or too strong. The MJ400 puts out about as much flow as the stock pump. The MJ900 and MJ1200 put out to much of a directional stream that even the Spin Stream Nozzle couldn't overcome.

So I set out to design a "GASP".... spray bar that could improve flow. Now I know what your thinking, SPRAY BAR?....

I went through a few designs and eventually came up with a spray bar and elbow that pushes flow from the back center towards the front left, creating a circular pattern throughout the tank. There are a total of 11 slots - 11mm x 1mm. Two down the center and two rows of three at 25 degree offsets from center. The slots are grooved towards the left wall, directing flow towards that direction along with the natural flow of pump in that direction. The video below will illustrate this and is broken into 30 second intervals. MJ1200 side view, MJ900 side view, MJ1200 front view, and MJ900 front view.

The spray bar can be rotated to direct flow towards the top or the bottom.

Build thread for this tank to come at a later date. Still working on a custom skimmer and powerhead.

https://www.reef2reef.com/media/nuvo-10-spray-bar.1638/

Since embedding here is glitchy, this is the YouTube Version.

 

[AdamNC]

If it works it’s not dumb.

I’d say if your planning on an sps tank then use the mj1200. Mj900 if your planning lps or mixed.

 

[JDowns]

If it works it’s not dumb.

I’d say if your planning on an sps tank then use the mj1200. Mj900 if your planning lps or mixed.

The MJ900 should be more than enough even flow for an SPS tank. The MJ1200 might just blast things around a bit too much.

Next weekend I'll put a few Corals from my main tank in there to get some coral movement shots. A few Millie's and torches should be good indicators.

Right now the tank is cycling with water change water from the main tank.

 

[BlakeP]

I too have a Nuvo 10 that I am setting up. How did you make your spray bar? Do you think it could work well enough that there would be no additional flow needs? i.e. powerheads. My other option was a VorTech but they have a pretty large footprint for such a small tank.

 

[JDowns]

I too have a Nuvo 10 that I am setting up. How did you make your spray bar? Do you think it could work well enough that there would be no additional flow needs? i.e. powerheads. My other option was a VorTech but they have a pretty large footprint for such a small tank.

Sorry for missing this.

It was 3D printed.

It would largely depend on your types of corals and layout. For a softy tank it would be enough flow, it just didn't create the random flow I wanted when I switched to adding acros to the top of the tank.

It's a challenge to get random type flows on this tank while balancing a powerful enough pump that doesn't drain the pump chamber. The new IM Mighty Jet is a great pump, but I will say the pulse mode is pretty much useless since there is no real variability since you cant determine the time between pulses.

I ended up with the IM Mighty Jet and a Vortech MP10 with a custom outlet.

This produces a nice gentle flow against the opposite two panes of glass, and with a MP10 on the opposite side, I ended up with some nice random flow without blowing things around the tank.