8 gal. Nano

Just got my NUVO 8 last week! It passed the leak test. The pump is rated at max 95 GPH so I think I'll probably get about 50 GPH at best. I decided to upgrade to the MAXI-Jet 600 as my return, and I would like to have a fish or two so I'm going to run a skimmer as well. The light is decent but I like a more blue look so I also purchased a CREE PAR38 LED light that has 8 royal blue and 4 10k daylights on it. I've had it cycling for 4 days now and all my equipment is dialed in.

The only problem I am having now is the temperature. I have been monitoring it every time I walk by the tank and in the past 24 hours it has fluctuated from as low as 77.4° to as high as 79.7°. I modded a computer fan by wiring it to an old power adapter I had and that helped a lot. Now I'm still trying to get it tweaked on my timer to keep the temp more stable.


My question, is it ok to have some fluctuation in the temp throughout the day? If so, how much of a fluctuation? Or is it better to try and keep the temp stable throughout the day and night?

 

Stable throughout the day and night is ideal, however fluctuations of a degree or two are common in this hobby. A controller is great for this as it can turn on (or even control the speed) of a fan as needed, so you are not wasting energy by having the heater on at the same time as the fan. You also need an ATO if you don't have one, since you will lose a lot in evaporation using a fan.

 

I've been keeping a close eye on it and the evaporation isn't bad, because I have a lid on the DT. The fan only covers a small section on the back of the tank but it's just enough to bring the temp down. I also have a timer on the fan, I'm just working on tweaking it on/off at the right times to keep it more stable. Glad I'm doing all of this now while it's cycling so I don't have to deal with it when I have coral and a fish or two in here. Thanks for the input!

 

Just curious, is the tank in a "climate controller" room? Otherwise as the temps go up, you will frequently be needing to adjust the amount of time the fan runs.

But good stuff so far. Nice to see you planning for all of this while it is cycling and not after having issues with corals

 

PAR38 on an 8 gallon, 17 inch high tank??

Can you measure your sandbed? In such a minuscule tank, there should be a literal dusting of sand to prevent algae blooms especially with such a beastly light.

The IM Skkye light is fine for that tank for now....

As far as temperature goes, I agree with the person above. Is it in a climate controlled room?

And last but not least, what's up with skimmer and ATO on a nuvo 8 lol? Save your money people, you would never really need these for such a minuscule tank.

 

I have a skimmer and ATO on a Aqueon Evolve 8

Although a skimmer may or may not be needed on a nano (or pico), I do think an ATO is a must! You can have big swings in salinity with such a small volume of water, and stability is key in such a small tank.

IMHO, YMMV.

 

Ato is not a bad thing to have. Actually it is one of the main things I WOULD add. With that little water volume evaporation can swing the sg dramatically. I agree with you on the skimmer though, water changes will take care of that.
Nice looking tank, I like the scape

 

+1 I agree, with water changes you shouldn't need the skimmer, but the ATO is a must, made my life so much easier on my 29.

 

Temps in my tank range from 75-80 on a daily basis. I have a small heater. Your tank and everything in it gets used to a routine.

 

Yes, the tank is in our basement on my desk... the room has central air and heat all controlled by a thermostat. My first tank was a 120g. and I didn't know what I was doing so the tank did not thrive. This time around I've learned a lot from that tank and also have spent months planning this tank.