swissbutcher
Premium Member
Looks very good!!!
Elos 160XL Build
- Thread starter pch90265
- Start date
pch90265
Premium Member
What a difference a day (or two) makes!
Got the rock in the tank and the skimmer fired up. More pics later, but here is a shot from last night:
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/18636913423" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/439/18636913423_e6e9d8d95d_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
And now, 24 hours later... water is looking very clean! I need to get the inside of the glass "dusted off" from the sand that clung to it, but it is looking very good in there.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19274663871" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/361/19274663871_68ae78e97a_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19270775585" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/395/19270775585_98fef591fb_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
Two notes: 1) That is the lights running at 10% power, wow the Hydra 52's are bright!!! 2) I have do NO aquascaping whatsoever... just put the rock in there so as not to have a landslide that would take out a panel of glass . . . aquascaping will come later in the week.
:-D
Got the rock in the tank and the skimmer fired up. More pics later, but here is a shot from last night:
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/18636913423" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/439/18636913423_e6e9d8d95d_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
And now, 24 hours later... water is looking very clean! I need to get the inside of the glass "dusted off" from the sand that clung to it, but it is looking very good in there.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19274663871" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/361/19274663871_68ae78e97a_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19270775585" title="image by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/395/19270775585_98fef591fb_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="image"></a>
Two notes: 1) That is the lights running at 10% power, wow the Hydra 52's are bright!!! 2) I have do NO aquascaping whatsoever... just put the rock in there so as not to have a landslide that would take out a panel of glass . . . aquascaping will come later in the week.
:-D
MBC2012
life gets better daily
Beautiful tank. The low flow through tank was a question for me as well. Had the same tank up til a few weeks ago. Front seam failed and came home to about 80 gallons of water in my basement. Make sure you have a plan. Thats all i can suggest. I wondered if Elos did euro bracing if it would have helped the integrity of their seams. GL
pch90265
Premium Member
@MBC2012 -- extremely sorry to hear about you losing a tank! My last acrylic tank cracked (fortunately above the water line) and had to be torn out. It was a really depressing situation...
Sadly, back-up planning is a big part of the hobby. I do concur with the need for one.
Sadly, back-up planning is a big part of the hobby. I do concur with the need for one.
pch90265
Premium Member
Hope all of you in the USA had a great 4th of July Weekend! I spent my weekend organizing around the new house, and that included a little bit of work in the tank...
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19275234319" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_1 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3897/19275234319_abf29870ff.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_1"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19273789918" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_2 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/394/19273789918_8289035a56.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_2"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19465645301" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_3 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/366/19465645301_6285f45628.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_3"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19273789368" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_4 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/547/19273789368_8ab8644e09.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_4"></a>
Got 75 kg of Live Rock from our friendly LFS -- the rock they sell is in held in tanks that are under spray bars that are part of their display circulation and filtration loop, which includes UV sterilization and heavy skimming... really nice not to have tons of die-off happening in MY tank.
Lots of really nice pieces. Obviously without much coralline algae, it's hard to see the texture of the rocks, but there are some lovely pieces.
I am shooting for a "coral head" on the left, and one on the right with a "valley" between the two that goes from the front left to the back right. Clearly I've got some rearranging to do to accomplish that, but I like where it is going so far. Probably need another 25-30 kg of rock to get home with an arrangement I like.
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19275234319" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_1 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3897/19275234319_abf29870ff.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_1"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19273789918" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_2 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/394/19273789918_8289035a56.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_2"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19465645301" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_3 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/366/19465645301_6285f45628.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_3"></a>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19273789368" title="Base_Rock_4July2015_4 by pch90265, on Flickr"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/547/19273789368_8ab8644e09.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="Base_Rock_4July2015_4"></a>
Got 75 kg of Live Rock from our friendly LFS -- the rock they sell is in held in tanks that are under spray bars that are part of their display circulation and filtration loop, which includes UV sterilization and heavy skimming... really nice not to have tons of die-off happening in MY tank.
Lots of really nice pieces. Obviously without much coralline algae, it's hard to see the texture of the rocks, but there are some lovely pieces. I am shooting for a "coral head" on the left, and one on the right with a "valley" between the two that goes from the front left to the back right. Clearly I've got some rearranging to do to accomplish that, but I like where it is going so far. Probably need another 25-30 kg of rock to get home with an arrangement I like.
pch90265
Premium Member
Have made a good bit of progress on the tank in the past week, but haven't had much time to post. Got my Apex up and running, and LOVE the VorTech and AI modules! Worth the Apex purchase for the programming interface to those alone, in my opinion.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19436572299/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/265/19436572299_6e58434f46.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="image"></a>
Also moved out the temporary ELOS sump which looked like this:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19627573641/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/343/19627573641_0985bcf438.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="image"></a>
For my new custom sump from the LFS:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19596996646/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/492/19596996646_cb5ba5054b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="image"></A>
That allowed me to significantly bump up the sump volume, and the flow in the tank. My large PanWorld runs about 1100 GPH, and I've had to throttle it back to about 80% output. I have a second smaller pump plumbed to the same return manifold for an on-line backup in the event the main pump fails. You can see both of those on the right side of the sump. On the left side of the sump I have the skimmer stand and have plumbed in my Iwaki for the AquaC skimmer. Will get that up and producing foam in the next 48 hours!
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19002232653/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/19002232653_de085c7a68.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="image"></a>
And, lastly, I have ordered a stand for my old acrylic QT, which will become a Fuge, and for the Elos Sump, which will become my QT. [They are stacked in the pic above] The stand will get the Fuge up about 35 cm off the ground (a little over a foot) so the outlet will clear the lip of the sump, and will have top of the quarantine tank just a little below eye level. I have an AI Prime on the way to light up the QT, and am debating having the fuge cryptic vs macro algae . . .
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19436572299/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/265/19436572299_6e58434f46.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="image"></a>
Also moved out the temporary ELOS sump which looked like this:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19627573641/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/343/19627573641_0985bcf438.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="image"></a>
For my new custom sump from the LFS:
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19596996646/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/492/19596996646_cb5ba5054b.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="image"></A>
That allowed me to significantly bump up the sump volume, and the flow in the tank. My large PanWorld runs about 1100 GPH, and I've had to throttle it back to about 80% output. I have a second smaller pump plumbed to the same return manifold for an on-line backup in the event the main pump fails. You can see both of those on the right side of the sump. On the left side of the sump I have the skimmer stand and have plumbed in my Iwaki for the AquaC skimmer. Will get that up and producing foam in the next 48 hours!
<a data-flickr-embed="true" data-header="true" data-footer="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/19002232653/in/photostream/" title="image"><img src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/19002232653_de085c7a68.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="image"></a>
And, lastly, I have ordered a stand for my old acrylic QT, which will become a Fuge, and for the Elos Sump, which will become my QT. [They are stacked in the pic above] The stand will get the Fuge up about 35 cm off the ground (a little over a foot) so the outlet will clear the lip of the sump, and will have top of the quarantine tank just a little below eye level. I have an AI Prime on the way to light up the QT, and am debating having the fuge cryptic vs macro algae . . .
pch90265
Premium Member
Hi Dave,
Great call out, I completely concur!!! I have them, that was a picture of a dry-fit of the skimmer return. :-D
Got the hose clamps on, and the AquaC EV-240 producing foam last night... that thing is a beast!
Will get a pic up later of the amount of skimmate it pulled in just 12 hours of operation... I am totally impressed!
Great call out, I completely concur!!! I have them, that was a picture of a dry-fit of the skimmer return. :-D
Got the hose clamps on, and the AquaC EV-240 producing foam last night... that thing is a beast!
Will get a pic up later of the amount of skimmate it pulled in just 12 hours of operation... I am totally impressed!
dg3147
Active member
A couple tips from my 160xl system:
The overflows on elos tanks are textured and a pain to clean, you can build a removable black acrylic shield for easy cleaning. Pretty easy to build one and saves a lot of time.
Also, for cleaning the back of the glass, glue a long PVC pole to a second flipper mag. U can unscrew the flipper mag when not in use.
The overflows on elos tanks are textured and a pain to clean, you can build a removable black acrylic shield for easy cleaning. Pretty easy to build one and saves a lot of time.
Also, for cleaning the back of the glass, glue a long PVC pole to a second flipper mag. U can unscrew the flipper mag when not in use.
pch90265
Premium Member
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22856548512/in/dateposted-public/" title="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5704/22856548512_b94f717e89_c.jpg" width="800" height="469" alt="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"></a>
Hi All!!!
I know it's been quite a while since I posted, but work has been insanely hectic the past few months, and while I have been photographing away, I haven't had time to process many of the RAW shots.
Above is a recent "wide" shot of the tank as it is evolving. If you take the time to zoom in you'll see a mixed bag of LPS/SPS corals, all of which are thriving at this point (touch wood). Among others, we have green branching Hammerhead that has gone from 7 to 12 branches, a pink Hammerhead that has grown from 4" to 6" wide in three months, two lovely Lobophyllia sp., some mushrooms/ricordia, a Turbinaria that picked up almost an inch in diameter, and -- most importantly for me -- a handful of Acropora sp.
Our Xenia are pulsing and growing like mad... here's a quick snap shot of 1/3 of the daughter colonies that have branched off onto the rock in the back of the tank. While I know Xenia are a plague to some, I'm not overly worried if they take over the hard to reach spots in the back rock work.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22247277814/in/dateposted-public/" title="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5726/22247277814_21bc776aa6_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"></a>
One of my favorite things about this tank so far is the LED's. I am really quite pleased with the AI Hydra 52's, especially in combination with the Apex. I start them out quite blue in the morning, ramp up through 14K to 10K at noon, and then back down through 14K to "pure blue" in the evening, with a "pure blue" moon cycle (at 3% power) late at night. Seeing the colors in the tank change throughout the day is fun, and awesome to look at in the night cycle. This shot below is the night lighting un-filtered from my Nikon (using a white balance setting of 14K). That's pretty much how the florescence looks to my eyes without the camera.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22451676447/in/dateposted-public/" title="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/620/22451676447_ebfe5658d2_z.jpg" width="435" height="640" alt="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"></a>
Of note, I am currently only running my lights at a max of 80% during the day for about an hour, and the Acros are doing really well under them. Most of the day they are running between 40% and 70% (for 4 hours on either side of high-noon). All of the Acros and the Seriatopora are young colonies (6-8 weeks) in our tank, and they are all showing excellent coloration/growth on the axial corallites under this lighting regime. I'll post more pics of the colonies later.
Last note before I end this update... I have been running low doses of Vodka, balling with Red Sea Part A/B additives, and keeping my alk pretty low (7.0-7.8 dKH). That's given me pretty good Nitrate (undetectable) and Phosphate (between 0.02-0.04 ppm) control. However, over the next couple of weeks I am going to be adding a reactor and switching over to the ZeoVit system. I love the colors of the SPS in ULN systems, and am going to give that a shot.
Hi All!!!
I know it's been quite a while since I posted, but work has been insanely hectic the past few months, and while I have been photographing away, I haven't had time to process many of the RAW shots.
Above is a recent "wide" shot of the tank as it is evolving. If you take the time to zoom in you'll see a mixed bag of LPS/SPS corals, all of which are thriving at this point (touch wood). Among others, we have green branching Hammerhead that has gone from 7 to 12 branches, a pink Hammerhead that has grown from 4" to 6" wide in three months, two lovely Lobophyllia sp., some mushrooms/ricordia, a Turbinaria that picked up almost an inch in diameter, and -- most importantly for me -- a handful of Acropora sp.
Our Xenia are pulsing and growing like mad... here's a quick snap shot of 1/3 of the daughter colonies that have branched off onto the rock in the back of the tank. While I know Xenia are a plague to some, I'm not overly worried if they take over the hard to reach spots in the back rock work.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22247277814/in/dateposted-public/" title="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5726/22247277814_21bc776aa6_z.jpg" width="427" height="640" alt="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"></a>
One of my favorite things about this tank so far is the LED's. I am really quite pleased with the AI Hydra 52's, especially in combination with the Apex. I start them out quite blue in the morning, ramp up through 14K to 10K at noon, and then back down through 14K to "pure blue" in the evening, with a "pure blue" moon cycle (at 3% power) late at night. Seeing the colors in the tank change throughout the day is fun, and awesome to look at in the night cycle. This shot below is the night lighting un-filtered from my Nikon (using a white balance setting of 14K). That's pretty much how the florescence looks to my eyes without the camera.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22451676447/in/dateposted-public/" title="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/620/22451676447_ebfe5658d2_z.jpg" width="435" height="640" alt="ELOS 160 21 Oct 2015"></a>
Of note, I am currently only running my lights at a max of 80% during the day for about an hour, and the Acros are doing really well under them. Most of the day they are running between 40% and 70% (for 4 hours on either side of high-noon). All of the Acros and the Seriatopora are young colonies (6-8 weeks) in our tank, and they are all showing excellent coloration/growth on the axial corallites under this lighting regime. I'll post more pics of the colonies later.
Last note before I end this update... I have been running low doses of Vodka, balling with Red Sea Part A/B additives, and keeping my alk pretty low (7.0-7.8 dKH). That's given me pretty good Nitrate (undetectable) and Phosphate (between 0.02-0.04 ppm) control. However, over the next couple of weeks I am going to be adding a reactor and switching over to the ZeoVit system. I love the colors of the SPS in ULN systems, and am going to give that a shot.
pch90265
Premium Member
A few growth shots of two of my favorite pieces are a pink/purple tipped Acropora sp. and a Green Seriatapora sp. in my tank. Both are growing well, with approximately 1 cm of axial corallite growth on the Acro and 2-3 cm of growth on many of the branches of the Seriatapora.
Here's the Acro colony (thoughts on species??? Maybe A. aculeus?)
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22546436798/in/dateposted-public/" title="Purple Tip Acropora Growth 30 Sept to 4 Nov 2015"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5764/22546436798_4ac5e930de_c.jpg" width="800" height="628" alt="Purple Tip Acropora Growth 30 Sept to 4 Nov 2015"></a>
And, here is the Seriatapora sp (quite possibly Seriatapora guttatus)
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22546390917/in/dateposted-public/" title="Green Seriatapora Growth 13 Oct to 8 Nov 2015"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/681/22546390917_281774a0c7_c.jpg" width="800" height="295" alt="Green Seriatapora Growth 13 Oct to 8 Nov 2015"></a>
Overall, I'm quite happy to be seeing this kind of growth early in introducing SPS into the tank.
Here's the Acro colony (thoughts on species??? Maybe A. aculeus?)
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22546436798/in/dateposted-public/" title="Purple Tip Acropora Growth 30 Sept to 4 Nov 2015"><img src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5764/22546436798_4ac5e930de_c.jpg" width="800" height="628" alt="Purple Tip Acropora Growth 30 Sept to 4 Nov 2015"></a>
And, here is the Seriatapora sp (quite possibly Seriatapora guttatus)
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mackirdy/22546390917/in/dateposted-public/" title="Green Seriatapora Growth 13 Oct to 8 Nov 2015"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/681/22546390917_281774a0c7_c.jpg" width="800" height="295" alt="Green Seriatapora Growth 13 Oct to 8 Nov 2015"></a>
Overall, I'm quite happy to be seeing this kind of growth early in introducing SPS into the tank.
Last edited:
pch90265
Premium Member
Hi Vinhle00,
Not much of an issue, really. The only place I get some splashing is near the returns that are plumbed in to the overflow by the factory. I find I have to turn down the flow quite a bit when I clean that area. Otherwise, I don't think it is any better or worse than any other rimless tank.
Not much of an issue, really. The only place I get some splashing is near the returns that are plumbed in to the overflow by the factory. I find I have to turn down the flow quite a bit when I clean that area. Otherwise, I don't think it is any better or worse than any other rimless tank.
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