Reef aquariums show off live marine coral invertebrates and the fish above them, which means that this kind of aquarium requires a coral reef environment of bright lighting, strong water currents and accurate salt water chemistry. It’s trickier than a fish-only aquarium. For that reason, reef aquariums are more expensive. But, Innovative Marine, a division of Yimco Incorporated out of Cerritos, California, makes a bent-glass 38-gallon (144-liter) aquarium reef ready kit that’s less expensive than most, yet manufactured with dependable quality.
Tanks are made either of glass or acrylic. Acrylic is light and easy to drill, an action needed with reef tanks, since water must be moved between the tank and the refugium, or an area dedicated to the cultivation of beneficial microflora, microfauna and macroalgae that feed the coral. But, acrylic tanks scratch easily. The Nuvo aquariums crafted by Innovative Marine consist of eight millimeter bent-glass corners and a rimless top. In other words, they look sleek and benefit from the toughness of solid glass, so scratching isn’t an issue.
The dimensions of this glass aquarium are 23.64 inches (60 centimeters) wide by 19 inches (48 centimeters) deep by 19 inches (48 centimeters) high. This Nuvo Aquarium Mini 38 Reef Ready Kit also has a tempered glass lid that covers the 38-gallon (144-liter) glass aquarium.
Adequate light is important for keeping coral alive. The Nuvo Mini 38 kit comes with a Skkye light, also made by Innovative Marine, which features Light-Emitting Diode (LED) lighting that doesn’t eat large quantities of electricity. Fit in a 24-inch (61-centimeter) by 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) by 3-inch (7.62-centimeter) streamlined fixture, this 26-watt dual LED strip features one watt, high illumination LED bulbs that produce up to 120 lumens of light per bulb.
Each bulb has its own reflector. LED lighting operates without a sound. It also illuminates without giving off heat. A microcomputer controls the output of these LED light bulbs to imitate changes of light intensity in the natural world. There are three cycles with this LED strip that are similar to daylight, dimmer sunrise and sunset lighting and lunar lighting. Rotary dials give you the option of selecting different colors of light and various lighting intensities, which is an important feature for reef aquariums.
The filtration of the Innovative Marine Nuvo Mini 38 features an acrylic filter wall with dual overflows and two media baskets.
The three-stage filter pack on this filtration is performed with mechanical sponges, activated carbon sponges and phosphate sponges. A heater column and refugium column is also built into the filtration system on the Mini 38.
Water over coral reefs is not placid and calm. At times, wave action is downright violent, creating vast amounts of water current and flow. In order to keep those little critters that make up a piece of coral alive, you must imitate the wave action in your reef aquarium. Innovative Marine lets you do that with what they call a Spin Stream rotation nozzle. As water pushes out, this nozzle randomly changes to different 40° angles to imitate the circular motion of wave action.
With the Spin Stream nozzle in your Nuvo Mini 38 reef aquarium, you can watch your corals sway to and fro, similar to how coral move with wave action in a natural setting in the ocean. This kind of imitation wave action boosts oxygen levels in the aquarium water. Your coral grow and live better because of the Spin Stream. And, waste gets removed from the coral quicker with the Spin Stream. The flow rate on your tank needs to be between 52 and 600 gallons per hour for Spin Stream to operate correctly. The best part about Spin Stream is that its operation is dependent upon the flow of your water, so it doesn’t require extra electricity.
With the Innovative Marine Nuvo Aquarium Mini 38 Reef Ready Kit, you receive a mid-size show tank that sports a modern look with striking bent-glass corners. Since you also get state-of-the-art LED lighting which is dimmable to specific light intensities and color spectrum, two customized filtration columns, triple combo filtration media to give you crystal-clear water and a random flow nozzle that imitates wave action, you’re all set with this package.