Fishnugget
Active Member
Hello,
Just wanted to share the build progress of my Elos 160XL I picked up in Arizona. This site has been a great resource and I continue to learn from everyone's builds so I thought I would post my tank. Its great to finally be a part of the Large Reef Tank Club. For the longest time I kept a 40 breeder SPS tank and would always tear it down because I moved a lot. However, now that we bought a new home a couple years ago and have settled I am happy to start building what I always wanted.
Tank and Stand finally at my house but not without some problems
I got a chip inside the silicone seam near the bottom of front glass pane some time during the ride from Arizona to California. I took every step necessary to ensure it was well padded down. I was able to remove the broken glass piece and fill it in with some good quality silicone. I had to order the stuff from europe. You can't even see the chip anymore unless I point it out.
I took over the laundry room and built my mixing station. I had a SpectraPure Max Cap and decided with a 200 gallon tank it would be easier to setup a Mix Station to store large amounts of water. So I ordered the Ace Roto Mold 55 gallon containers. The stands are water boiler stands bought at Home Depot for about 40 bucks. I painted one of them with rustbullet and recommend this because they are made of galvanized metal and will rust with water. Rustbullet paint offers the best protection and adheres to galvanized metal unlike most other paints.
Next came designing my sump. The Elos stand has a board that splits the stand and most of the dreambox from Royal Exclusiv did not fit in my tank. I also wanted to the option for a refugium so I knew I had to go custom. I contacted Advanced Acrylics and worked with them for my sump design. We came up with a split sump design with a 30 gallon refugium that will drain to main sump via gravity.
Here is the sophisticated blue print. lol.
My little guy approves
John at Advanced Acrylics did a superb job building my sump. It did take a while but I was not in a hurry to get the sump done. These PVC sumps he builds are built like tanks, I decided to add the sock silencers, probe holders, and four 1/4 tubing bulkheads for future use.
The tank sits in the dining room area so I had to have it silent. Everywhere I read, everyone recommend the Bubble King Skimmers just not the price. It did hurt my wallet a little but I am glad I did it. The skimmer is really nice and the RD3 Speedy pump is silent. I plan on upgrading my return to a Red Dragon as well.
Size reference. Bubble King Double Cone 200
I did have a broken part during shipping, but Royal Exclusiv was quick to send a new one.
This little guy found a new toy! I finished my plumbing.
I bought dry rock from reef cleaners, I read their rock was cleaner than others and cycled faster. We will see...I ordered 100lbs. I may add some real reef rock pieces later or keep it that way. I am a bit undecided.
I also used Tropic Eden Reef flakes, about 160lbs.
Any comments, questions, suggestions are welcome.
I still need to clean up the wires, add heaters, and decide on lighting. I am looking at adding the ATI t5 hybrid LED or the Pacific Sun Diuna. I can't decide. I was going to go with kessil AP700 but then it gets complicated hanging multiple fixtures and doesn't look as nice as the ATI or Diuna. I also plan on using Siporax for my refugium. I was initially going to go with Macro algae but have decided on Siporax.
Just wanted to share the build progress of my Elos 160XL I picked up in Arizona. This site has been a great resource and I continue to learn from everyone's builds so I thought I would post my tank. Its great to finally be a part of the Large Reef Tank Club. For the longest time I kept a 40 breeder SPS tank and would always tear it down because I moved a lot. However, now that we bought a new home a couple years ago and have settled I am happy to start building what I always wanted.
Tank and Stand finally at my house but not without some problems
I got a chip inside the silicone seam near the bottom of front glass pane some time during the ride from Arizona to California. I took every step necessary to ensure it was well padded down. I was able to remove the broken glass piece and fill it in with some good quality silicone. I had to order the stuff from europe. You can't even see the chip anymore unless I point it out.
I took over the laundry room and built my mixing station. I had a SpectraPure Max Cap and decided with a 200 gallon tank it would be easier to setup a Mix Station to store large amounts of water. So I ordered the Ace Roto Mold 55 gallon containers. The stands are water boiler stands bought at Home Depot for about 40 bucks. I painted one of them with rustbullet and recommend this because they are made of galvanized metal and will rust with water. Rustbullet paint offers the best protection and adheres to galvanized metal unlike most other paints.
Next came designing my sump. The Elos stand has a board that splits the stand and most of the dreambox from Royal Exclusiv did not fit in my tank. I also wanted to the option for a refugium so I knew I had to go custom. I contacted Advanced Acrylics and worked with them for my sump design. We came up with a split sump design with a 30 gallon refugium that will drain to main sump via gravity.
Here is the sophisticated blue print. lol.
My little guy approves
John at Advanced Acrylics did a superb job building my sump. It did take a while but I was not in a hurry to get the sump done. These PVC sumps he builds are built like tanks, I decided to add the sock silencers, probe holders, and four 1/4 tubing bulkheads for future use.
The tank sits in the dining room area so I had to have it silent. Everywhere I read, everyone recommend the Bubble King Skimmers just not the price. It did hurt my wallet a little but I am glad I did it. The skimmer is really nice and the RD3 Speedy pump is silent. I plan on upgrading my return to a Red Dragon as well.
Size reference. Bubble King Double Cone 200
I did have a broken part during shipping, but Royal Exclusiv was quick to send a new one.
This little guy found a new toy! I finished my plumbing.
I bought dry rock from reef cleaners, I read their rock was cleaner than others and cycled faster. We will see...I ordered 100lbs. I may add some real reef rock pieces later or keep it that way. I am a bit undecided.
I also used Tropic Eden Reef flakes, about 160lbs.
Any comments, questions, suggestions are welcome.
I still need to clean up the wires, add heaters, and decide on lighting. I am looking at adding the ATI t5 hybrid LED or the Pacific Sun Diuna. I can't decide. I was going to go with kessil AP700 but then it gets complicated hanging multiple fixtures and doesn't look as nice as the ATI or Diuna. I also plan on using Siporax for my refugium. I was initially going to go with Macro algae but have decided on Siporax.
