Nuvo 14 build.

[reefwiser]

While freshwater tanks can handle 50 to 75 % water changes. But saltwater does better at 10%. This is especially true with small tanks

 

[Reef.]

Will get some pics up soon but at the minute there is not much to look at, tank still dry, rock still curing, will need help deciding how to scape my tank as the rock came in only two big pieces so I’ll have to break 1 piece up...

Bought a few more items from my list and a couple that were not even on there, decided to go with a powerhead, got a mp10, I’ll not bother with the spin stream or RFG, save a few £££ there, my way of justifying the mp10

 

[js_marra]

I’ve been meaning to get into this lark for a good few years now, I’ve finally stopped dreaming and pulled the trigger on the Nuvo 14g peninsula, it’s a lot smaller than I always thought I would go for but a bigger tank just had me feeling it would be to much to handle, not to mention the cost of a larger setup, the cost does shoot up quickly, all those little items soon adds up.

Really happy with my choice on the Nuvo.

So my planed build is as follows, please suggest changes if you feel there is a better alternative.
Planning on mainly, if not all LPS corals, 2 clowns and an undecided 3rd fish

Nuvo 14 gallon peninsula
Kessil a80 with controller
Eheim 50w (not sure if 50w will be enough so got 2)
Inkbird temp controller
Tunze nano ATO or micro ATO
Sicce .50 return pump or would I be better with the 1.0? Changed to the Eheim compact 1000 as I had trouble getting the Sicce.
Spinstream as not planning on a power head , now changed to the RFG as been recommended over the spinstream.
Media basket replacing the stock filtersock
Salt Red Sea
Real reef rock 5kg
caribSea Arag-alive pink sand 5kg, any input on this would be great as I know this is important to make the correct choice, slightly concerned that as it’s alive I maybe adding unwanted life into the tank, when I could just buy dry sand and cycle for longer?

For the cycle I am thinking Dr Tim’s with ammonia?

All comments on the above would be fantastic as I’m a total beginner here!

All suggestions on the miscellaneous items such as test kits brands et
all the items that don’t get a lot of mentions but are important to have, will be also very much welcomed.


Thanks.

Looks good! Small recommendation, instead of running two 50w heaters, you should get 1 75w or 100w heater so as not to take up more space in your sump area. Overtime, as you want to add more equipment or run a refugium, etc, space will become a premium and 2 heaters is just taking up space. The one 50w heater could be just fine if you keep your house on the warmer side.

I highly recommend some kind of bottled bacteria to start with like Dr. Tim's. Bio spira, or fritz turbo start. Also be sure to add A LOT of bio media to your sump area. It is really important on nano's especially to have a lot of bio media for good bacteria to grow as it is easy to overstock a nano tank. Good bacteria is key to stability and you will really enjoy the hobby a lot more if you have a system that is forgiving because it has good biological filtration. I highly recommend marine pure spheres or gems for this.

Definitely RFG over the spin stream. The sicce 0.5 is not that powerful and the spinstream kills your flow by a lot

 

[Reef.]

Looks good! Small recommendation, instead of running two 50w heaters, you should get 1 75w or 100w heater so as not to take up more space in your sump area. Overtime, as you want to add more equipment or run a refugium, etc, space will become a premium and 2 heaters is just taking up space. The one 50w heater could be just fine if you keep your house on the warmer side.

I highly recommend some kind of bottled bacteria to start with like Dr. Tim's. Bio spira, or fritz turbo start. Also be sure to add A LOT of bio media to your sump area. It is really important on nano's especially to have a lot of bio media for good bacteria to grow as it is easy to overstock a nano tank. Good bacteria is key to stability and you will really enjoy the hobby a lot more if you have a system that is forgiving because it has good biological filtration. I highly recommend marine pure spheres or gems for this.

Definitely RFG over the spin stream. The sicce 0.5 is not that powerful and the spinstream kills your flow by a lot

Thanks for the comments.

I was thinking in case one of the two heaters were to fail? but yeah makes sense as I would like to run a refugium, will buy a 75w. I’m going to use Dr Tim’s one and only and ammonia.

I’ve managed to fit 9lbs of RRR in the tank, I would prefer more but can’t make it fit, I’m adding a box (270g) of siporax would you suggest more?

The Sicce return I couldn’t get ahold off so swapped it to the Ehiem compactoN 1000, and also dropped the RFG for a MP10w, maybe overkill but just feels the right way to go.
Thanks again for the comments.

 

[js_marra]

Thanks for the comments.

I was thinking in case one of the two heaters were to fail? but yeah makes sense as I would like to run a refugium, will buy a 75w. I’m going to use Dr Tim’s one and only and ammonia.

I’ve managed to fit 9lbs of RRR in the tank, I would prefer more but can’t make it fit, I’m adding a box (270g) of siporax would you suggest more?

The Sicce return I couldn’t get ahold off so swapped it to the Ehiem compactoN 1000, and also dropped the RFG for a MP10w, maybe overkill but just feels the right way to go.
Thanks again for the comments.

I think 9lbs is plenty. I personally don’t go with the 1lb per gallon rule and compensate by adding a lot of bio media to my sump areas and then using live sand. I am not sure what siporax is, so can’t comment on that.
MP10 will probably need time be turned down quite a bit but that’s am amazing pump and can’t go wrong there

 

[Bigbaby]

Awesome start. Great choice on the nuvo 14g hehe. I live in southern california and I dont run a heater at all. The heat generated from my return pump and kessil keeps temp steady at 79F degrees. I currently have Sicce 1.5, but it's been the same with the stock and mj1200. Took the heater out for good since it could be another part that can fail and also needed space in the chambers. That VCA rfg mentioned earlier is also worth a look. Spinstream can get noisy and doesn't break in with time.

 

[Reef.]

Awesome start. Great choice on the nuvo 14g hehe. I live in southern california and I dont run a heater at all. The heat generated from my return pump and kessil keeps temp steady at 79F degrees. I currently have Sicce 1.5, but it's been the same with the stock and mj1200. Took the heater out for good since it could be another part that can fail and also needed space in the chambers. That VCA rfg mentioned earlier is also worth a look. Spinstream can get noisy and doesn't break in with time.

Wow no heater,it’s 44f here!
Think I’ll need to up the 50w to atleast 75w or even 100w
Just going with a powerhead now; the RFG wou”d have needed a drop attachment so I was worried there wouldn’t have been enough surface movement.

 

[Reef.]

On the homeward straight now, only (I think and hope) the last couple of items to buy, just got my RO unit.

 

[Reef.]

When people say take it slow I’ve taken it to heart!

Decided the table I was going to use for the tank is not big enough , so I’ve ordered a new one, but won’t get here till Dec 11th, least I now have a firm date for wetting the tank.

Rock is still cycling so at least that will have a good months head start, I was going to add the sand but the container is not big enough.
This delay has allowed me to setup the RODI unit, that was a bit embarrassing as I didn’t realise the filters were wrapped, so was slightly concerned when the water was coming out with more TDS than the in going water

Really can’t wait to get this set up now, I don’t think I’ll even mind if it needs to cycle for 2 months, just to be progressing with it.

 

[Reef.]

So finally started the build, Just making the water, took a few pics of the tank, still empty but it’s a start.

Sand has been washed, will rinse that in rodi water, some say it’s not needed but with it being a nano thought best be safe.

 

[Bigbaby]

So finally started the build, Just making the water, took a few pics of the tank, still empty but it’s a start.

Sand has been washed, will rinse that in rodi water, some say it’s not needed but with it being a nano thought best be safe.

Setup looks promising! Is the table/stand permanent? It looks nice,but where will you put your water reservoir and gear? Have you started rock work yet?

 

[Reef.]

Setup looks promising! Is the table/stand permanent? It looks nice,but where will you put your water reservoir and gear? Have you started rock work yet?

Table is permanent, my plan for the ato reservoir is a smart looking container under the table, need to source one so will make do for now, I couldn’t find a small solid table that could take the weight and that I liked, I also want a low stand, really didn’t want a solid stand that was too high but that may change, as the wires are irritating already.

Rock has been cycling for about a month, rock scape has been done to a fashion, the rock came in 2 big pieces, I broke one up, this gave me a couple more options, I prefer the rock to look like it’s not had much done to it, so it’s basically just going to be 3 pieces of rock

I was concerned I needed caves etc so asked, people didn’t seem to say that was needed, but will take advice on that still, there are a couple of spaces at the base of both the big pieces, one being more of a hang over, here’s a pic, hard to get good pics of the scape...be kind lol

Edit scape has been slightly changed from the below pics, when I added water I realised I didn’t have much of a flat surface on any of the rocks.

 

[Bigbaby]

Hehehe my rock work is quite similar, but I was able to make a cave around the big rock. I find the 14g shape a bit awkward to get a decent scape going. Cjsaquarium had a really nice scape on his office nano that is worth a look!

 

[Reef.]

Hehehe my rock work is quite similar, but I was able to make a cave around the big rock. I find the 14g shape a bit awkward to get a decent scape going. Cjsaquarium had a really nice scape on his office nano that is worth a look!

That went better than I was expecting. Lol

Can you remember how much rock you used? I’m using about 9lbs. I like how open yours looks., wondering if I can get away with less?

I’ve tried looking for cjsaquarium can’t find him, you got a link?

 

[Bigbaby]

His was a 9 gallon peninsula, but such an awesome scape. I wish I saw this video before I set up my tank. If I were ever to overhaul the rock work, I'd go in this route. I never weighed my rocks so I have no clue. I also removed a bit over time due to unwanted palys. One thing I regret is that I never attached the rocks to each other to retain the original shape. It has moved quite a bit from my original scape. As for the mount needed, I think it all depends on the bioload you would like to keep. Im sure once your tank matures, you can get away with less, but for assurance of stability, I'd put in a fair amount. From the looks of it, you have a good amount already. I'd take measures to introduce as much(diversity) beneficial bacteria and provide a long enough time for them to spread. Your slow approach will aid in that. Also, I think my sand helps too. I clean the sand bed once every month or so and have been doing this from the start. I ended up taking about half the sand I started out with cause I hated the look of a thick sand bed at the bottom of the tank.

 

[Reef.]

Well I’ve gone and done it, the tank and half the living room is wet!

How you guys with big tanks manage is beyond me.

Just heating the tank, I added the RO water to the tank and then added the salt, I have the return on half power so I guess that gives me 700 litres per hour turn over and the MP 10 on reefcrest at 50% not sure what that equates too tho but I guess I have e plenty of flow, as yet the sand is not blowing which is surprising, I could increase it is needed?

I ended up needing to buy a booster pump for the RODI unit as my water pressure was only 30, with the pump it’s 90, giving me 60-65g per day from a 50g membrane so a good buy there, as without it I was barely getting a dribble.

Still a few items I need to add to the tank, such as the temp controller and ato but that can wait for tomorrow.

I’m going to add a prawn t ,get the cycle started, will use Dr Tim’s ammonia for the later stages but it’s not readily available online from the couple of shops I use for gear, which is surprising, no rush though.

Again you guys have my total respect as my pics are terrible.

 

[Reef.]

Think I might need to look for a new return pump, there is an annoying hum coming from it, I’ll wait to see if it settles in, if not I’ll go for the Sicce.

Doesn’t seem to be vibration so much but coming from the motor, as it does it even when holding it.

 

[Reef.]

Got the ato set up, very easy to do, looked slightly daunting on opening the box as there were a lot of wires.
Need to source a reservoir, making do with a coke bottle!

Oh and whilst on here my CaribSea Fiji Pink sand is if anything blue, have not seen a hint of pink! Still looks good though.

Just have the Inkbird temp controller to set up now...well that’s the next thing to do, apart from a small issue of cycling, buying fish and coral.

 

[Ratvan]

Glad I found this thread. My exact plans for home reef upgrade, including LPS, Clown Pair. Look forwards to seeing what you do

 

[Reef.]

Glad I found this thread. My exact plans for home reef upgrade, including LPS, Clown Pair. Look forwards to seeing what you do

Another Nuvo 14 build, that’s good not too many about. If you do a build thread let me know as it’ll be good to watch yours too.

Ordered the Sicce 0.5, one of the shops I use has just started stocking them, as it was the pump I originally was planning on I thought I’d give it a try, to be fair the Eheim is not too bad, but there is a slight hum, it can only be heard when the room is quiet. Handy to have a spare anyway.

I’ve also ordered a new heater, the Eheim I have fits in the middle chamber but the top sticks out a little so I’ve ordered the smaller Eheim thermopreset hoping it fits in the last chamber with the return pump so that would leave more room in the middle chamber for the Siporax media.

I’ve also got a bottle of Fritz 9 coming to help with the cycle, I will have to wait for the ammonia to build before adding, I tested that today and it’s showing 0, I only added the prawn yesterday but still surprised it’s at 0 24 hours later, not sure if that’s down to the speed the prawn breaks down or that my rock had been cycled for a month, the sand was dead sand so I guess it’s just not had time for the ammonia to build yet. I cant see the cycle has even started yet.