Maxreefer's Elos System120 build....

[MAXreefer]

I always have been excited about my Elos Mini and the unmatched quality of the Elos sytems I decided it was time for something "bigger"
Well the tank arrived last week and I invite you to tag along my new tank journey...

 

[Skimmy]

SWEET!! welcome to RF!!
used to sell elos systems at the store i worked at, lmk if u have any Q's.

what kind of lights and flow are you using in this system?

 

[MAXreefer]

Thanks for the welcome Skimmy

A little more info about the setup.
Once again I decided to go with the Elos brand. I really like the sleek and modern design and if you see an Elos tank you will notice it is top notch quality. The glass is even superior to "Starphire glass" we see mostly here in the US. The edges are perfectly polished and the seams are perfectly cut and put together.
Of course the most important is what happens "inside" the tank but I also see it as a nice piece of furniture I can enjoy when I relax on the couch.

Equipment:

• Elos system 120 (47.24 x 22.5 x 19.69)
• Elos cabinet with black doors
• Elos sump
• Skimmer: Elos PS1000. This is the brand new Needle wheel skimmer from Elos released at the InterZoo2010. I realize there are real good skimmers on the market who have proven to perform but after long talks with Jesse the Elos guy here in the US I really got the feeling they are standing behind this skimmer and it will perform extremely well. I like to try new things out and therefore willing to test and give this skimmer a shot.
• Return pump: Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0
• Lighting: Elos Aquatop with 3-4 LED stripes
• ATO: Elos Osmocontroller Digital
• Additional filtration: 2 NextReef MR1 Shorty Media Reactor. One will be for the carbon and the other one for the Filtra M Zeolith
• Water movement: Tunze Wavebox and 1 x MP40
• Controller: Apex
• Rock: For the first time ever I decided to go with Dry Rock. So far I used 70lbs. Quite a challenge doing the aquascaping having front and back from the tank visible. Pics will follow soon

Some of the equipment (Lights and skimmer) are stuck at customs in SFO but should be on the way very soon. Once I have everything the tank should look a little like this one:

 

[Skimmy]

oh man, you got that LED aquatop... it looks so sweet!!

and fwiw, im sooo glad elos is doing a pinwheel aspirating skimmer now instead of the regular post pump venturi skimmer...
im sure it will work great with the new sicce syncra pump, and cool that they are using a sicce syncra silence for the return pump now as well,
excellent pumps that rival eheim, imo..
and yeah, you'll have water splashing on thre flor with a wavebox and mp40! awesome!! u setting it up penninsula style?? gyre??
it'll be cool to see coseups pics of ther new skimmer and light.

 

[dtd87]

The freshwater tanks elos has on display look AMAZING. The reefs are great too!

 

[NaTe R]

is this your first time with Zeo or are you already doing this on your current tank?

 

[MAXreefer]

Some progress from the weekend...
Installed the cabinet lighting
Put sump in place

Figuring out now how I will do the plumbing and need to build a small cabinet next to the sump for all the electrical stuff.

Another view from the tank

Got those at Lowe's. Perfect for the bottom of the cabinet

Top view from the sump

Some LED's for the cabinet lighting

Sump in the cabinet

Still looks messy but you get an idea...

 

[Skimmy]

that looks excellent!
only thing i would do is get some black background for the wall end of the peninsula.

also, just curious why you went with a wave box and a mp40 instead of 2 mp40's??
im guessing you have a good reason,
and dont get me wrong, i would have probably chose tunze powerheads if it were me,
but just from asthetics, 2 mp40's seems more visually pleasing(or 1 mp60).

the led's in the stand illuminate the sump great, it looks slick!

 

[Somethings Fishy]

cant wait to see what you end up putting in it! nice tank so far

 

[MAXreefer]

that looks excellent!
only thing i would do is get some black background for the wall end of the peninsula.

also, just curious why you went with a wave box and a mp40 instead of 2 mp40's??
im guessing you have a good reason,
and dont get me wrong, i would have probably chose tunze powerheads if it were me,
but just from asthetics, 2 mp40's seems more visually pleasing(or 1 mp60).

the led's in the stand illuminate the sump great, it looks slick!

I am planning on the black background. Will move also the box also probably.
I have an mp40 and mp10 on my frag tank and like them but only in the lagoon and crest mode. I hate them when it comes to the short pulse mode to create waves. The noise they make when they ramp up and slow down is really annoying and loud. Therefore I decided to go with the wavebox. As I have an MP40 here already I will place him on the wall side and use for additional random flow (lagoon, reefcrest) to see if I like it. If not I will get Tunze again. I had a few of them and they are amazing.

and btw. I never take something wrong. I am always open for any hints, tips and comments. I learned a lot from the people sharing their comments.

 

[Krish]

Wow!! Amazing looking tank!! Always loved the Elos tank...Just a bit pricey if you think of shipping one to the Bahamas and paying an extra 57% or so import duty on top of it! . Good luck with the build and welcome to RF!! :welcome:

 

[MAXreefer]

is this your first time with Zeo or are you already doing this on your current tank?

I ran the Zeovit system for about 2 years on another tank and was really pleased with it. The only thing I hated after a while is the fact you have to shake the Zeolites for a certain amount of time twice a day and also it becomes difficult when you have to travel a lot for work..

This time I am going to experiment with the Elos Purist line system. It is not as agressive as the Zeovit system and requires less products and dosing.
A short explanation of the purpose of this system from Elos:

• A system to feed and improve your entire biomass reducing the nutrients
• Improves the activity of the bacterial flora and biological structure.
• Promotes coral growth and the production of bacterioplankton increases.
• Allows for low nutrient and high water quality (low levels of PO4-NO3).
• Stimulates the Natural Pigmentation of Corals

 

[MAXreefer]

Little more done this weekend.

Didn't wanted to drill a thousand holes in the original cabinet and therefore we placed another back and sidewall with laminated panels into the cabinet.
I like also to keep the electrical as far away from the sump as possible and therefore we build a small cabinet next to the sump. Top part will hold all the electronics and at the bottom will be the dosing pump and containers.
Hope I can fill the tank with water later today....

Full shot of the cabinet. Still need to clean up all the wires but will wait until I am sure everything will stay the way it is now.
The top part has the display panel for the Apex and the Wavebox controller.

The front display panel opens to the side and behind will be the the electrical stuff nicely covered by the display panel when closed.

Close-ups

Mounted the 2 small reactors (carbon/Zeolites) at the back of the cabinet

Really like those magnetic probe holders from AvastMarine

 

[Skimmy]

wow... quite spiffy... A+!!
so your running the elos zeolith media in a reactor instead of the provided area in your sump??
im assuming for better flow/control of your media... yes??
also, I would suggest start with about half to 2/3 as much zeolith and additives as they suggest, and ramp up slowly.

oh, and the other avast marine product you should check out is "the davy jones skimmate locker"
skimmate collector and pump auto-shutoff in one...a great way to spend $120 for more peace of mind.

love wot u did to the sump there for your electrical...

 

[MAXreefer]

wow... quite spiffy... A+!!
so your running the elos zeolith media in a reactor instead of the provided area in your sump??
im assuming for better flow/control of your media... yes??
also, I would suggest start with about half to 2/3 as much zeolith and additives as they suggest, and ramp up slowly.

oh, and the other avast marine product you should check out is "the davy jones skimmate locker"
skimmate collector and pump auto-shutoff in one...a great way to spend $120 for more peace of mind.

love wot u did to the sump there for your electrical...

Thanks a lot. Still a lot to do but thinking twice before I am going to put water in the tank. Don't want to have to change things a lot.

This system requires also some kind of Zeolites but they don't need to be shaken twice a day as with the Zeovit.
The Elos Zeolites require a flow around 120 GPH which will be easier to achieve with this small reactor.

 

[Skimmy]

yup yup, i kno about the elos "zeovite" method...
my question was why you were using the reactor as opposed to the provided area in the sump for the zeolith media that is powered by the water outlet of the skimmer... do they not know how much water the new skimmer processes?? or is it innapropriate for running the zeo in that chamber with the new skimmer??

 

[MAXreefer]

yup yup, i kno about the elos "zeovite" method...
my question was why you were using the reactor as opposed to the provided area in the sump for the zeolith media that is powered by the water outlet of the skimmer... do they not know how much water the new skimmer processes?? or is it innapropriate for running the zeo in that chamber with the new skimmer??

They mention you can run the Zeolith in a filter bag in a high flow area in the sump or in a reactor.
Me personally I like to have control over the flow. At some point I might need more or less flow depending how the corals react and it is just easier to do this with the reactor.
Besides that I am not a big fan of having filter bags floating around in the sump. Just traps more dirt etc....
Just my personal preference.

 

[MAXreefer]

Some work done this week.
Water is in the tank, reactors connected etc. Doing a test run now to check for any leaks.
More electrical crap in the compartment and ready to get the dosing pumps also.
Aqua E-Top and skimmer will be here on Wednesday.

Tried to keep all the wiring clean (all the power cords are in the grey split loom) and connected the 2 reactors

Still a mess...:bowl:

Ready for the dosing pumps. Really like those space saving jugs. They hold 1 Gallon each

 

[MAXreefer]

Yesterday the Aqua Top E-Stripe fixture arrived!! :biggrin1:

I saw pictures and videos of it but seeing this fixture in real just blows your mind away.
Not only does it look very sleek over the tank but it achieves everything I wanted:

• NO fixture hanging from the ceiling
• Covering the tank as I am planning on some "jumping" livestock
• Being able to view the corals from the top without having to remove anything
• As the glas panels can be easily opened it is very easy to do maintenance

I took those quick pictures just with the blue led's on.

 

[Somethings Fishy]

very modern looking and clean. next step is putting some good stuff in the tank!