innovative marine 8g build thread

[maxb]

Hey everyone

I just purchased a Nuvo 8g system for my home and wanted to start a build thread. This is what I currently have on order:

Second 8w Innovative Marine LED light
Innovative Marine nano skimmer
Koralia nano
50w heater
Digital Aquatics reef keeper lite
purigen
lifeguard filter pad
mag float nano
10lb of pukani dry rock (I wanted to add some to my 72g as well)

This will be mostly a coral and invert tank, but I may add a fish

All I did so far was test it for leaks and added egg crate to the bottom

 

[Beengirl]

Looks nice so far!! Keep us posted on progress!

 

[Convict2161]

Looks good so far. Check out my album I have the same tank only on white.

 

[maxb]

Hey convict, nice setup. Do you run the moonlights at night? They seem to be too bright, I set them up to mimic sunrise an sunset.

 

[Convict2161]

Hey convict, nice setup. Do you run the moonlights at night? They seem to be too bright, I set them up to mimic sunrise an sunset.

I have them set to come on at 8am then the whites at 10am. Whites off at 8pm and then the blues off at 1am. Total darkness until cycle repeats. It's in the living room so I let the natural light hit it in first then I have the blues etc come on.

It's not getting direct light but you get the point. Indirect light that fills the room.

 

[Convict2161]

Hey btw... Any updated pics? Have you upgrade anything? I love the upgraded pump. It has more gph and less heat which is a plus.

 

[maxb]

Here are some updates. I purchased the innovative marine nano skimmer and it fits into the 8g. I did modify the bracket though as you can see in the pics. You can use it the way it is but it bows the divider a bit so it's better if you cut it. The only issue I had was the nipple for the air hose on the pump broke off, it's kind of cheaply made so if anyone gets the skimmer, just be careful! I should be receiving a new pump tomorrow, and I will post a picture of the skimmer in the tank.

 

[maxb]

Convict, what pump did you get?

 

[maxb]

Here is the rock work so far, but I'm afraid I stacked it too high. Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, I'll get better ones when the tank is set up

 

[Convict2161]

Convict, what pump did you get?

http://micro-reefs.com/controllerspowerheads.html?

Scroll down, it's the pico pump. 180gph

 

[Convict2161]

Here is the rock work so far, but I'm afraid I stacked it too high. Sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, I'll get better ones when the tank is set up

I like it! Can't wait to see this thing come alive!!

 

[maxb]

Pump ordered, thanks for the advice! Does it fit into the stock hose?

 

[Convict2161]

Pump ordered, thanks for the advice! Does it fit into the stock hose?

Yup! No modification needed. And your very welcome

 

[maxb]

Are you using any auto topoff system on your 8g?

 

[Convict2161]

Are you using any auto topoff system on your 8g?

Nope, I just use distilled water and top off every day at the same time or around the same time. When I get home from work I top it off.

 

[maxb]

Got a pretty big update here.

After a lot of cabinet searching I settled for the ikea Besta series composed of these pieces:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20134051/

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00134052/

The cabinet is very sturdy and you can mix and match different components like doors, drawers, handles, etc. as you can see in the pictures it fits the 8g quite nicely and has a lot of potential to install a sump, chiller and a auto top of system.

Next I installed the protein skimmer with the new pump innovative marine has sent me and so far I'm impressed. I haven't adjusted the silencer yet so it's a bit on the loud end but it's forming a nice foam already. The good thing is that it will probably fit a number of other nano cubes like the jbj rimless for anyone interested in adding a skimmer. Let me know if you guys need any dimensions.

The water and the live sand are in and now I'm playing the waiting game until the tank cycles. Hopefully it won't be too long since I used water from my established reef! I will post some more pictures of the rock work once everything is settled down.