We’ve already seen the sexy single bent-glass front of the Nano 16 and Nuvo aquariums by Innovative Marine and we know that they won’t cost too much either, but we were definitely withholding an impression of the entire kit until we got a good look at the layout of the filtration. In this example the Nano 16 seen in Marine Depot’s Reefapalooza booth is lucky to have a fairly versatile filtration system that incorporates a good bit more features than you’d expect to see in a 16 gallon all-in-one nano aquarium.
The Nano 16 is endowed with a sufficient amount of mechanical, chemical and biological filtration pulling from two surface overflows in baskets that are easily removed for servicing. Furthermore the rear filtration of the Nano 16 has two combination bubble baffle and constant volume compartments as well as a sizable reservoir. The included water pump that runs the entire system is diverted to two return nozzles but it would be better to see it pulling lower down from the reservoir so that more of the reserve water can be used. However the two compartments are a perfect place to place one small heater and one small air driven protein skimmer and it might even fit a sapphire protein skimmer.
As surprisingly thoughtful as the filtration of the Nano 16 is, the one thing that stings a bit is that the Nano 16 is not available for purchase without the Skkye LED lights. Although the included 8-watt LED lights do look decent over corals, at $100 a piece for the included Skkye LED lights this potential $150 aquarium is locked in to a higher price, discouraging would-be nano reefers from buying the tank alone and using a different LED light with more features and control. That issue aside, the choice of white and black colors with matching lights and pedestal will appeal to many design-design conscious reef aquarists and the rear filtration area definitely seems more than capable of being suited to a variety of applications, including being a temporary holding area for GloLite danios.
