uhuru's return to nano reefs Elos Mini
 

I have been "setting up" a 250g system in a dedicated fish room for almost a year now. In the mean time, I kinda missed having a nano tank. I came across a used Elos Mini and couldn't resist.

Here is the tank after it was delivered (by the original owner - a very nice guy!).
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02097.jpg

I spent a good 8 or 9 hours setting the tank up. There was a good amount of coralline to scrape. Getting up close and personal with the tank I really appreciated the craftsmanship that went into the Elos. I couldn't find a single flaw. After that I installed a GFCI outlet and then started with the rockwork and such. After setting it all up last night:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02156.jpg

The tank is still a little cloudy. I was going to do V/S/V and Prodibio but I decided to go with Zeovit because I already have all the supplies and stuff was gonna start going bad soon. I may have overdosed start2 last night but no biggie. Zeolith rocks and carbon are run passively in the sump.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02171.jpg

As I anxiously await my MP10 I am temporarily running an MP40w that is for my bigger tank. I have a small wave going with short pulse mode.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02170.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02169.jpg

Full frontal shot, it was mentioned on another forum that this might spell out "Elos" hehe:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02166.jpg

Everytime I see new Elos get setup, I start counting my pennies... one day I will own one of these beautiful systems. Right now considering the Elos 70 for when we move in November...

With regards to stock uhuru, what do you have planned?

Any reason why no ZEOreactor? I'm running ZEO on my 12g system, and so far I'm getting some good results - but the overdosing can be a PIA, lol

I am planning to keep mostly LPS with this tank, but that top shelf will have an acro as the flow and lighting is really intense up there. In the shaded regions I may attempt some non-photosynthetics as I have really been blown away by them lately and it seems people are really getting down what works and what doesn't.

For fish I am not sure yet, but I am thinking a small group of chalk basslets and maybe a pair of clownfish if I'm brave enough to try an RBTA in a tank this small. If anyone has other suggestions that would be great. I don't want anything that kicks sand everywhere though due to the high flow environment.

I don't have a zeo reactor because the sump is really cramped as it is... I know sapphire aquatics makes a nano reactor that I could convert into a zeo reactor so that is a consideration down the line. With a tank this small though I'm a little curious to see if it's necessary.

Already looks very good! :) Your stocking plans sounds very promising :)

Leonardo

Thanks Leonardo... glad to see your tank disaster was not a complete disaster :)

switched out the mp40 for the mp10 yesterday... the mp10 is so much better suited for a nano, and this is why:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02214.jpg

took me less than 2 minutes to dial in this wave:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b.../wave_mp10.jpg

updated FTS:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02217.jpg

The elos skimmer is nice for a nano skimmer, probably equal to a tunze 9002 with much more adjustability (could be a good or a bad thing), but after using the tunze 9005 on another 20g tank and being very impressed, I decided to try this other skimmer which I was gonna use on my other QT tank. Only thing is, I had to do the unthinkable. I drilled holes....

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02244.jpg
... in the stand!! hehehe

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02246.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02248.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02242.jpg

Sweet Mini uhuru! :thumbsup:

Just picked mine up last week and will be doing my 'downsizing transfer" this week at some point.

I also have some coraline on my overlfow - how'd you get it off? IIRC you used hydrochloric acid? I bought a bunch of Vinegar last night and a scrub-brush and was planning to go to town later tonight...

Austin, HCl will do the job, vinegar will not. Depending on how thick it is it comes off a thin layer at a time. So repeatedly spraying, letting it soak, then wiping with a damp towel actually worked better than scrubbing...also prevents scratching up the overflow which you don't see until it fills with water and the light shines on it. So just let the chemicals do the work for you. Also place towels all along the bottom to absorb the hcl as it drips down.

I have no idea what to do now that there is water in the tank other than religiously scrubbing the overflow even before I see any coralline. I think one thing elks should have done on the new model is make the overflow smooth.

Cool, I'll grab some acid after work... did you put in a spray bottle striaght-up or did you dillute it?

I know my local hardware carries Muriatic Acid, which I've gotten all kinds of Ca build up and coraline off with in the past, hopefully this will suffice.

Looks good

Austin - I diluted it but don't remember how much. Still strong enough to burn my nasal epithelium though...

Victor - thanks! Wouldn't an ATB external be nice on this tank? :) This skimmer is nice but the sedra pump sounds like a freight train.

Thanks uhuru... I found out that Muriactic Acid is a kind of HCl Acid ;) and man you weren't kiddin'! It worked like a champ! I figuired it was going to take a couple hours of spraying and scrubbing - NOPE! About ten minutes later I had removed all of the coraline :D I didn't dilute it at all :lol:

Tank is up and running with all coral and my fish moved over from my AGE, keep an eye out for a thread... thanks for the help uhuru :thumbsup:

Cool glad it worked out for you. I started out with vinegar and scrubbing and wasted a lot of time.

Hurry up and start a thread I'm looking forward to seeing how everything looks! I'm going to start stocking next week or so.

I hope this guy makes it, he's just showing a decent feeding response, but tank temp shot up to 85 this weekend due to the heat wave. I need to get a fan.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02285.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02287.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02304.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02306.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02264.jpg

DFS Aquacultured duncans shortly after feeding PE mysis to each head:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02302.jpg

crummy FTS:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...DSC02322-1.jpg

Looks great man! :thumbsup:

If the dendro is accepting food, just keep feeding the hell out of him, he'll pull through!

Just fed him some Rod's Predator Blend today, he is stuffed right now. Looks like his condition is improving. I'm impressed. If this were an sps it would be a skeleton by now.

I got 3 of these guys. They're so cute.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02332.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02341.jpg

close up of my open brain
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02340.jpg

your tank looks awesome. what type of light is that? (brand, make, model)

thanks! It is an elos e-lite, it comes with the tank.

When I bought this dendrophyllia the head next to it was pretty much dead from fragging... now you can see polyps growing back on it!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02381.jpg

This firefish was sent to me by accident
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02354.jpg

1/2 of my ORA sharknose goby pair:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02373.jpg

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02377.jpg

ORA Birds of Paradise
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02383.jpg

ORA Red Planet
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...h/DSC02368.jpg

great pics...love the aquascape..are you worried about the firefish jumping?

Thanks! Yes, definitely worried about him jumping. At this time he's more inclined to hide in the rocks than jump out of the water when startled, but it's pretty risky. I've seen plenty of people keeping them in their rimless tanks but I may have to make a screen top just for when the lights are off.

Awesome tank. I am considering getting it in case my boss makes me bring my 14BC home.

How do the eLite controls work? Can you adjust the kelvin rating like some other LEDs?

You mentioned heat in your tank. Was that from the pumps or does the eLite put out lots of heat also?

The noisy pumps, were those stock or something you added on later?

Unfortunately the e-lite has no controllability at this time. It's either on or off. Elos has been developing some really cool lighting for the e-lite but it's not out yet and no know really knows if it ever will be. I have been trying to find the thread here where someone had LED spotlights mounted above their tank. I want to do the same, to add some blue highlights to certain parts of the tank. I can't find the thread though.

The pumps that come with the elos are not noisy at all. The system itself is extremely quiet. However I'm running an external euro reef skimmer in place of the stock elos skimmer, and the sedra pump is pretty loud.

The heat was from the heat wave we had here, and lack of circulation in my house. I have since bought an industrial fan which blows directly at the tank, and temps stay at room temperature... so the pumps and e-lite really don't add any heat to the tank.