Ky's Nuvo 30 Build

love the black sand - I always have loved the look of it in reef tanks. Your tank is looking great!

 

That black sand change your tank looks

Looks great

 

Looks great.

Where did you get the idea to mount the light that way and with that hardware? Bang up job BTW. How high is the fixture off the water?

I have the same skimmer, how is it working out for you?

 

Thanks guys! It means a lot since I have been putting so much work into it.

I found the idea originally on google images. Then I followed it to a build thread in NanoReef. He listed the parts and amazon was still carrying them. He mounted his radion this way. I believe it is about 8 inches off the water. I have a really hard time getting light to outer edges of the tank so I had to raise it up. I haven't been able to get the LEDs to 100% yet so I "think" I'm good on PAR at this hight. Thanks So far I'm liking this skimmer over all. The air intake is LOUD to put it lightly. I really feel like it's pulling lots of air and that's why it is so loud. I made an improve silencer out of a chemical bottle I had left over from science class. It looks like the attached picture. I really like how adjustable it is. I can raise and lower the body and I can raise and lower the cup. I also like how the mount stays in place so I can easily slide out the entire skimmer for cleaning without losing the height I had set when I put it back. The pump is also pretty loud but it matches the loudness of my return pump. So the short answer is I am happy with it. I would like the ability to change out the pump to a quiter one but I can't be too picky with nano equipment.

How do you like yours?

 

More work completed on the tank I had a long 3 day weekend and I made the most of it. First up is a new DIY LED fuge light. The cost of materials came to about $50. Still a little expensive for a fuge light but compared to the $100 IM fuge light I figure it's a steal. Plus I really like the pinkish light given off by "grow lights." I used 2 luxion 3W red LEDs, 1 luxion 3W blue LED, 80 degree lense, Rapid LED heat sink, Luxdrive driver with included potentiometer and a 12V 1A power supply. The light is fully dimable with the attached potentiometer. I wanted to be able to dim or brighten the light to hit the sweet spot on growing chaeto or to just keep me from roasting them. This thing is really bright. I believe this could light a large fuge at full strength but I have not tested this. Unfortunately the light is bleeding through the back wall of the display still so I will have to address that seperately. Light is controlled at the outlet by timer. It would have been nice to have this conected to the Apex LED module but that isn't in the funds right now (maybe later )

 

The first day of the weekend was fun getting to work with electronics. The second day was a little more exciting because it will keep me from having to dose everyday. I installed a Jaebo automatic doser. I used the Jaebo doser, acrylic dosing pump shelf, 2 acrylic liquid containers, bubble magnus dosing tube holder and black aquarium air tubing. The shelf and the liquid containers were shipped in from china and they took forever to ship. A little over 2 weeks later they arrived and I couldn't be more happy with them. The containers are marked on the front to monitor liquid changes and they have a hinged lid to make refilling them easy. The shelf is pretty sturdy and I really like the clear acrylic theme I have going. Next I will have to find a clear acrylic freshwater container for the ATO.

 

Boy you got a lot done, and nicely done. Looks like reds are bleeding through?

Getting automated good for you and your tank.

 

I hate the red bleading through. The white background doesn't block any light at all. The promo videos for their tanks online didn't show "their" fuge light coming through the back wall. IM has really shown their true colors with all of their products. They have pretty gadgets and a good marketing scheme but that's about it. Performance is terrible which is what really matters to the animals.

 

I added my first fish on tuesday (well the first one in months). I can't get a picture of him because he can disappear anywhere at any time. Oh and he can change colors to blend in too. Well I'm actually not too sure if it's a boy or a girl yet since he is so shy. I'll have to upload the closest representative pic I can find since we must have pictures on this forum. I'll post a real pic as soon as I can get one.

I fed him some live ghost shrimp when I brought him home to ease the stress and I will begin trying to stick feed tomorrow.

 

very cool, I love lion fish