Ky's Nuvo 30 Build

Mmm. Yeah probably will get more Chaeto but I have hardly any algae growing as it is couldn't hurt though. Would be a lot easier than cleaning sponges twice a week.

 

One problem with frags is that they are really easy to move. I bought these zoanthids for $5 from the LFS because they had fallen off the main colony and were growing on the ground of the frag tank. I placed them in a low flow area hoping they would attach over a couple weeks. Well after a few days a very tiny snail knocked them off the scape. So I found a nice little rock and glued them down. I will probably let them spread on this rock and then try to frag the rock into smaller pieces so I can glue them to the main scape as flat as possible.

 

My wife bought me the ATO I have been eyeing for a while for valentine's day, the AutoAqua Smart ATO. I did have a little trouble getting this thing working properly but after finally getting everything dialed in I am extremely happy with it.

It comes with almost everything needed out of the box, magnetic water level sensor, pump, tubing, tank mount for tubing and power cords. The only thing I had to add was the water resevoir.

The sensor is photo optic (may be incorrect term), meaning the part that attaches outside of the aquarium must be able to see the part that attaches inside the aquarium. This meant I had to cut a hole out of the back vinyl where the water level switch would be placed. I cut the hole out of the vinyl and hooked up all connections and plumbing. I worked at first and then on its next fill gave me an error message. It turns out this sensor does not like bubbles. In the picture in the following post you can see where I originally cut the vinyl for the sensor. Having the water level here was causing a lot of bubbles to form in the return chamber. I had to move the sensor up to where it is in the picture to stop the bubbles from forming in that chamber. Once I got rid of the bubbles the ATO has been working flawlessly.

An additional note. The pump for this ATO is extremely small. It fit inside the hole of the bottle I am using with no problems. I am also impressed by the amount of water this little guy can move. It puts out a really nice flow at about 4.5ft of head space. The manual says it will even pump up to 6.5ft of head space.

Overall I would highly recomend this ATO. It does have problems with bubbles, which can be a negative for some. Other than that though it works very well.

 

ATO install pictures.

 

I did some tidying up with the power cords, which took forever...

I picked up a Red Sea test kit so I can start getting the water chemistry correct.

And found a baby snail

 

congrats on getting that all done! Looks very tidy and organized - the key is how long will it stay that way

 

Isn't that the truth.

 

Looks like I am getting my first algae bloom. Yay Diatomes...

 

A current FTS and close up pic of one of the first corals in the tank.

 

love your rockwork!