Elos 160XL set up

[roscoe]

If your looking for a good mix of fine and coarse substrate, check out Indo-Pacific Black. It's a good mix of white and black sand. Has a really cool salt and pepper look. I have used it now in 2 different tanks and it works pretty good. My MP20's are mounted on the back of my display and they do push the sand back a little from the front, but not so much that its bare.

There is a huge difference in flow stepping from the 20 to the 40. I have had both.

 

[Bricky]

If you do plan on having acros, I really think your rock work is quite tall and crowded. Just my opinion. Things grow and fill in quicker than you think. I say this as I'm wishing I had gone so tall with some of my rock and your's is almost crawling out of the water as it is.

 

[roscoe]

If you do plan on having acros, I really think your rock work is quite tall and crowded. Just my opinion. Things grow and fill in quicker than you think. I say this as I'm wishing I had gone so tall with some of my rock and your's is almost crawling out of the water as it is.

I totally agree with you! I am a SPS guy. I like my aquascape the way it is now with all the caves and overhangs but I think most of my rock work is too tall for SPS as the SPS grows. I say 75% of my SPS frags are only 6-8'' from the surface. Some SPS will grow that much in a year. I am contemplating about redoing my aquascape. I don't know when that will happen though as it is a huge undertaking.

 

[Chichas01]

There is a huge difference in flow stepping from the 20 to the 40. I have had both.

Agreed, but my tank isn't 31.5" from front to back like this monster :lol:
So relativley speaking, it gives an idea of what might happen.

 

[dragoneggs]

Actually the rockwork in the pics is probably a bit deceiving. The two large rocks that make the peaks are near the back and there is two thirds of the rock around 8 to 10in from the surface. It is very impressive in person because of the 31in depth I can play with. So there is a ton of locations for SPS, more probably than I will be able to fill. I will post some more pics later today that hopefully will show what I am talking about. Thanks for all the input!

 

[dragoneggs]

If your looking for a good mix of fine and coarse substrate, check out Indo-Pacific Black. It's a good mix of white and black sand. Has a really cool salt and pepper look. I have used it now in 2 different tanks and it works pretty good. My MP20's are mounted on the back of my display and they do push the sand back a little from the front, but not so much that its bare.

I will check that out, thanks! I just don't want the dull pale color but want it fine enough that gobies, wrasses, etc like it.

 

[roscoe]

Agreed, but my tank isn't 31.5" from front to back like this monster :lol:
So relativley speaking, it gives an idea of what might happen.

Mines is almost 5'' wider than his and I get that problem. So............

 

[dragoneggs]

Mines is almost 5'' wider than his and I get that problem. So............

I hear you! If I have mass quantities of acro's beaching, I will be one happy dude and it will be frag time.

 

[dragoneggs]

FTS

Okay it bit bored... so I decided to stitch together an FTS, not the best quality but oh well (better coming later)... did get my Octopuss controller fired up and the probes seemed to have survived the two year hiatus. Got temp, pH, and ORP readings now. Still need to calibrate them. Also got some of my auto water change plumbing routed. Keep in mind the tank length is 63in... note the rocks are truly boulders! Tomorrow is Spot Prawn time again so we will be out on the canal in the morning!

 

[roscoe]

Cool pics looks like you 2 rock island blew it's top with the LEDs shimmering above it.

 

[Bricky]

Is it me or do the rocks look like they're at the top of the water level?

 

[tamarindthai]

looking real good,just about ready to Rcok'nroll with animal for not too long,,yeah,,i like the LED shim effect.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay put a few snails and crabs in... and a little sand. But, before I go any further I need to work out a drain issue!!! All you ELOS owners, please comment. I will post basic problem here. I am gravity draining a 1.5in return flex pipe about 25ft to 30ft run with an 8ft drop (unpressurized) to my sump/filter. Pumping back up through 1in line with about a 10ft head. Tried several different pumps but that isn't the problem, it is with the drain not being able to keep up.

Looking for other Elos owners that have a similar drain setup as the 160XL, please chime in or PM me.

 

[dragoneggs]

Is it me or do the rocks look like they're at the top of the water level?

Ha ha... no actual height from top of mountains to surface is about 4 to 5 inches. Most of the rock in the front half is only half of the water height so there are tons of locations for large acro's, etc. The depth, front to back gives me sort of two shelves, one high near surface and one in the middle, with lots of faces.

 

[dragoneggs]

Cool pics looks like you 2 rock island blew it's top with the LEDs shimmering above it.

Yeah the lighting is making a good photo tough with all LEDs on. I will try to post some more with lower light levels.

 

[dragoneggs]

Okay been awhile since I posted but I thought I should at least introduce my first pair of picasso clowns. These 'guys' are juveniles about 9 months old. Haven't named them yet other than plus and double plus for differentiation purposes. They are cool little ones hanging mostly near the top corners and eating dry pellets with mysis as a treat. Buggars are a little quick to photograph but here are a few attempts...

 

[dragoneggs]

Since this thread is in the design thread I should also probably update that matter too. Still having issues getting good tank turns with the stock overflow. Been working with Jesse and Eric and no solution yet. Tank is supposed to keep up with an Eheim 1262 at four feet of head but isn't doing it. Right now I have a bone to pick with Elos. Jesse is supporting but this isn't working as advertised.

 

[DolphinLVR]

Sorry to hear you are still having issues with the overflow Mark!

On a side note, those clowns look great!!!!!

 

[Chichas01]

So, the overflow won't handle the return pump? What about moving down to a 1260?

 

[dragoneggs]

So, the overflow won't handle the return pump? What about moving down to a 1260?

The problem is I am getting less than half the advertised flow... less than 300 gph. This is not enough tank turns for this size tank.