gahumphrey's Nuvo SR-80

[gahumphrey]

Hi All! I decided to start a thread on my IM Nuvo SR-80 that I started in December 2013

What's in or on the tank:

Innovative Marine SR-80 AIO Shallow Reef tank
100 LBs dry rock
80 LBs sugar fine white crystal sand
Neptune Systems Apex
Cadlights new pipeless 100PLS protein skimmer
CadLights PLS50 Nano Skimmer
IM MiniMax full size media reactor
Apex Controller
Ecotech Vortech MP 40
2 150 Watt Cobalt heater
2 AI Vega's
AI Director
AutoAqua ATO
Green Killing Machine 24W UV Sterilizer (Only used for 24 hrs to clear up bacteria bloom)

Livestock:


Green Frogspawn
Joker Frogspawn (neon green and purple heads on deep purple tentacles)
Green Torch with Neon Green Tips
Lobophyllia
Symphylia
Deep Red Acans
Hulk Acans
Neon Green Acans
Nuclear Green Acans
Mega Orange Acans (huge colony)
Blue/Orange Acans
Green/Red Acans
Red Mushrooms
Eagle Eye Zoas
Fire and Ice Zoas (struggling with these puppies)
Ultra Palys (unidentified)
Orange Darth Maul colony
Green Button Polyps
Teacup Polyps
Pink Palys
Mega combo rock (PPE, Eagle Eyes, Watermelons, Neon Green Zoas, etc)
Bright green Montipora Digitata
ORA Red Montipora Capricornis (Plating)
Neon Green Star Polyps (hiding since my bacteria bloom)
Yellow Toadstool Leather (still wilting since bacteria bloom)
Crazy cool white/orange/green with purple tip BTA
2 Ocellaris Clowns
1 Blue Velvet Damsel
1 Golden Head Sleeper Goby
1 Pigmy Angel
Male/Female Blue/Green Mandarin pair
Diamond Goby (to keep sand clean) Suicide Jumper
1 Fire Shrimp
100 Nassarius snails
30 Blue leg hermits
10 White leg hermits They all disappeared. Not sure what happened but i'm convinced White legs don't do well in a reef tank.
Orange Linckia Starfish
Black Brittle Starfish

Here are some pics (having a heck of a time with the uploader - will add more once I figure this out):

 

[gahumphrey]

[attachment=66420:name]Pics:

 

[Labsalesguy]

Nice! you already had picks--my bad. So what setting on the MP40 do your corals like?

 

[gahumphrey]

Nice! you already had picks--my bad. So what setting on the MP40 do your corals like?

LOL. Right now I have it on RCM with the dial on the third LED. I'm being super cautious because I cranked it up to 40% about three weeks ago and a bunch of my corals got really upset, mostly the Euphyllia and some of the softies. After tons of research and a lot of banging my head, I've come to somewhat of a conclusion that it was my media. I'm using NPX Bioplastics. I'm pretty sure they stripped out all the nutrients in the water. In the BioCube I only fed once every other day and still struggled with algae. I use the same principle when I set up this tank but after everything i've read, the bioplastics will really deplete the nutrients. I started upping the feedings to twice a day. Three weeks later and almost everything has fully recovered. I've started to tick back up the speed on the MP40 slowly but surely. Even with the dramatic increase in feeding, and the addition of a bunch of fish, i'm still having zero algae issues which is pretty cool.

 

[gahumphrey]

Gonna take a shot at adding some pics via photobucket...[attachment=66428:name]

 

[Nmertz1]

Any pics of the actual tank? I'm thinking about buying this one and curious to see how you like it?

 

[gahumphrey]

Any pics of the actual tank? I'm thinking about buying this one and curious to see how you like it?

Sure thing. Here are some of the unboxing and setup shots. [attachment=66524:name]

So far I really love the tank. The glass is perfectly aligned and sealed. No goofy corners. The rear chambers are very spacious. The stand is really very high quality. I'm super impressed with the stand. It not only looks great it's highly functional. There are three doors and inside each is an adjustable shelf. There are big openings for cords in the top and bottom of all three sections. It is not solid wood, rather high density fiber.

The only thing that is frustrating me is getting the right skimmer in this thing. It's quoted at being 80G. With my rock it is really running about 67G which puts it out of the range of skimmers that really work well with All In One tanks. I first tried a modded Cadlights PLS 100. Love the skimmer but too many micro bubbles. Then I tried the PLS 50. I think I got a defective one because after three weeks still too many microbubbles. I may go with a good Hang on Back like the AquaC Remora Pro-S.

Anyway, let me know if you'd like some more pictures. I'd be happy to take any shots you'd like to see.

 

[gahumphrey]

Any pics of the actual tank? I'm thinking about buying this one and curious to see how you like it?

Here's a current FTS with the AI Vegas mounted over the tank.
[attachment=66525:name]

 

[Nmertz1]

Looks great thank you. I currently have a nuvo 38 gallon and love it. I had issues with the skimmers too, but I switched to a tunze 9004 and it's been flawless. I plan on getting the 80 in a couple months after my house is done being built. Where do you get yours at? Was it shipped to our house?

 

[gahumphrey]

Looks great thank you. I currently have a nuvo 38 gallon and love it. I had issues with the skimmers too, but I switched to a tunze 9004 and it's been flawless. I plan on getting the 80 in a couple months after my house is done being built. Where do you get yours at? Was it shipped to our house?

Thanks and you're welcome! I bought mine from aquacave.com when they had a 15% off everything sale. I bought it the week they came out so there was a little bit of scrambling between them an IM to get the order fully processed. both places were super friendly - i think it was just a logistics thing. If I were to buy again i'd probably get it from Marine Depot or Bulk Reef Supply. They both seem to be a little more established with online orders and they have really well run customer support teams. Shipping is basically a flat $200 fee. They have to have a freight company deliver it. It's freaking huge and extremely heavy. They'll usually only deliver curbside. They sent this on a truck with one guy so I slipped him some cash to get it in the door for me.

 

[Jeremiah]

They keep them in stock at Aquamart. In case you wanted to see one in person. I'd definately give the local shop/sponsor a chance to price match the online prices. You might even could see if you could make a deal for delivery to your place.

Looks great thank you. I currently have a nuvo 38 gallon and love it. I had issues with the skimmers too, but I switched to a tunze 9004 and it's been flawless. I plan on getting the 80 in a couple months after my house is done being built. Where do you get yours at? Was it shipped to our house?

 

[gahumphrey]

They keep them in stock at Aquamart. In case you wanted to see one in person. I'd definately give the local shop/sponsor a chance to price match the online prices. You might even could see if you could make a deal for delivery to your place.

Great point. When I got mine, they weren't avail at local shops. I did give a buddy of mine with a local shop a chance to match but at 15% off he just couldn't do it. Also good point on the shipping. They'll likely cut you a break on that and help you get it set up. There were a couple of these set up at ReefStock and they looked great. I've also read that a ton of stores are starting to use them for display tanks because they really do show well.

 

[Balz3352]

That's a gorgeous tank!

 

[gahumphrey]

That's a gorgeous tank!

Thanks!!

 

[FinsUp]

Looks great thank you. I currently have a nuvo 38 gallon and love it. I had issues with the skimmers too, but I switched to a tunze 9004 and it's been flawless. I plan on getting the 80 in a couple months after my house is done being built. Where do you get yours at? Was it shipped to our house?

Good to know. I've got the nuvo, too, and am currently running skimmerless because the one that came with it was kinda useless. I need to find a tunze, apparently!

THIS tank looks OUTSTANDING! Can't wait to see more pics.

 

[gahumphrey]

Good to know. I've got the nuvo, too, and am currently running skimmerless because the one that came with it was kinda useless. I need to find a tunze, apparently!

THIS tank looks OUTSTANDING! Can't wait to see more pics.

Thanks for the kind words Cindy! FYI, I'm using a Tunze 9002 in my BioCube 29G with a IM Media Reactor. Some days I love my Tunze, some days not so much. I've found the key is that an ATO is a must to keep the water level incredibly stable. Even changing the filterfloss messes with the skimmer.

For the SR-80, I just ordered an AquaC Remora with the Danner 5 pump. It's a hang on back so should be more forgiving with water levels and, from what i've heard, no microbubbles (will believe it when i see it).

 

[gahumphrey]

Some more pics
[attachment=66552:name]

 

[gahumphrey]

Looks great thank you. I currently have a nuvo 38 gallon and love it. I had issues with the skimmers too, but I switched to a tunze 9004 and it's been flawless. I plan on getting the 80 in a couple months after my house is done being built. Where do you get yours at? Was it shipped to our house?

Hi, wanted to give you a heads up that I just saw that Aquamart is running a 10% off sale on the SR-80 right now. If you got it from them you could save $200 off the tank price and most likely not have to worry about the $200 shipping fee.