ReefOctopus Octo LUX T90 Build

[JNalley]

Hello everyone, I'm starting up a new build. My other build was for my 2-year-old daughter, this one is for my room. I landed on a 48 Gallon Display from ReefOctopus.

Comes with:
48 Gallon Tank w/ Unique Slim Overflow Design which houses a 1.5 Gallon Gravity Fed ATO Reservoir.
Stand (Comes in black and white, I chose black) (Also, it's built like a Mercedes)
Sump (ReefOctopus OS-30B, which is a 30A in reverse I think, has return on the left and intake/filter sock on the right)
Skimmer (ReefOctopus Classic 150-INT)
Return (ReefOctopus AQ-3000)
Media Reactor (Bio Churn 90-INT) (This was left out of the order, I've reached out to ReefOctopus and CoralVue to see if they will send it)
Plumbing (PVC Drains with Flexible Tube and Ball Valve)


Other Equipment:
Swapping returns for a Sicce Syncra SDC 3.0
Sicce Xstream SDC x2
Dual Titanium Heaters
InkBird Temperature Controller (Dual Probe, Dual Socket)
AI Hydra 26HD x2 with Stiff Mounting Arms

Substrate and Rock:
100lbs CaribSea Ocean Direct Sand
50lbs CaribSea Moani (Real, mined rock, with painted bacteria)
10lbs Live Rock from LFS Bin to seed

Stocking List:
I currently have no earthly idea what I want to do with it, suggestions are welcome.

Considering:
UV Sterilizer
Open to suggestions on other equipment


The tank arrived on Wednesday, and I just set up the stand today, I must admit it looks sharp.

 

[JNalley]

 

[JNalley]

Sand and rockwork in, went with a deeper sandbed than usual, it's about 2" deep, I have another bag of sand, was wanting to go for 3-4 just to give sand sifters, burrowers, etc something to do. What do you guys think? More sand? Leave it?

 

[dvgyfresh]

It looks good!! I think 2inch sandbed is enough but it also depends on what you want to have. 4 inches would be good for sand burrowing wrasse / LtA and sand shifting star. Aqua scape looks good only thing I would change is the rock connecting the two islands. I like to have them separate

 

[JNalley]

Changed out the sand for Original Grade instead of Oolite (Did not mean to order Oolite, there was just confusion from a previous purchase). Have another bag of Original Grade coming just in case I decide to go 3-4" sandbed. I really like the thought of Sand Dwellers. Installed some infra-red activated LED strip lighting in the sump area. Got the ReefBreeders Prism ATO installed, tank is running super silent.

 

[JNalley]

Currently trying to source some black, corner, wire concealers that won't take till the middle of March to get here. Want to contain all of the wires in the back right corner, and then use a notched concealer along the back wall to drop wires into the sump where they need to go to give it a clean look.

Will be adding a second power strip directly underneath the one in there already, and then once the wires are cleaned up and out of the way, I am looking at shelving to hold dosing liquid bottles. If I can't fit the dosing liquid bottles (Red Sea) on a shelf in there, then I may resort to putting them on the floor to the right of the sump and mounting the Dosers just underneath the pump controllers.

I have a Skimmer stand on the way (the water level was too high in the sump for the skimmer) to raise it up so I can actually use the refugium chamber on the left. I also have a refugium light on the way.

Does anyone have a good source of Pods? I am 3 for 3 DOA Pods with Algaebarn, so don't really wanna go that route if I can avoid it. Reef Nutrition seems like another option, but I'm hesitant without some input.

 

[JNalley]

Fish coming tuesday

 

[dvgyfresh]

Wow , sorry about the algae barn , did you try to message them ? I got dead phyto once and they resent it with an extra order and an order of pods free of charge!

 

[JNalley]

Wow , sorry about the algae barn , did you try to message them ? I got dead phyto once and they resent it with an extra order and an order of pods free of charge!

Naa, someone suggested I buy a jeweler's loupe to make sure I really don't have any pods, so I did, waiting on it to arrive, I'll check the glass with it once I receive it just to make sure... they are tiny after all... but I always hear people saying "I can see them on my glass all the time" and either I'm not looking hard enough, my eyes just can't see them, or they were DOA, I will reserve judgement until I verify.

 

[dvgyfresh]

No worries , I’ve messaged them and they have always had great customer service in my eyes. Once added to the tank I never see them lol except big amiphipods in sump

 

[braysky]

Hey, I have the same tank setup - just started my cycle on it this weekend. I see you're planning on using that lower left for a refugium - i was thinking the same thing (and/or trying to grow a lot of copepods in there too to support a mandarin) but i'm not sure how good it would work that close to the return pump.

Curious to see how it works out for you.

 

[JNalley]

Hey, I have the same tank setup - just started my cycle on it this weekend. I see you're planning on using that lower left for a refugium - i was thinking the same thing (and/or trying to grow a lot of copepods in there too to support a mandarin) but i'm not sure how good it would work that close to the return pump.

Curious to see how it works out for you.

technically, that is the 'fuge chamber according to ReefOctopus, even though it's kind of tiny. I put some bioballs in the bottom to act as a sort of substrate that the copepods could breed in/latch on to, and put the intake of the return towards the rear of its chamber. This should work as planned, it's just a really small chamber.

 

[JNalley]

 

[JNalley]

Hey, I have the same tank setup - just started my cycle on it this weekend. I see you're planning on using that lower left for a refugium - i was thinking the same thing (and/or trying to grow a lot of copepods in there too to support a mandarin) but i'm not sure how good it would work that close to the return pump.

Curious to see how it works out for you.

tried chaeto today, the flow is too great through the small area and just shreds it apart... So, gonna have to see what else I can put in there that won't break apart so easily.

 

[JNalley]

Update:

Current Stock:
1x Flame Hawkfish (transplanted from my Flex)
1x Yellow Watchman Goby (transplanted from my Flex)
1x Japanese Pistol Shrimp (transplanted from my Flex)
1x Orchid Dottyback
1x Lawnmower Blenny
2x Green Chromis (Supposed to be 5, 3 died due to shipping delay)
2x Black Ice Ocellaris Clownfish

CUC:
5x Mexican Red Leg
4x Scarlet Hermit Crab
4x Thin Striped Hermit
2x Tiger Conch
2x Bumble Bee Snails
3x Dwarf Trochus
2x "Imported Hermits" (ReefCleaners)
5x Astrea Snails
2x Blue Eyed Hermit
3x East African Cerith
3x Limpets
3x Nerite Snails
3x "Assorted Hermits" (ReefCleaners)
Copious amounts of Copepods

Coral:
1x 2-headed Duncan (transplanted from my Flex)
1x 5 Mouth Micromussa Lordhowensis (transplanted from my Flex)

 

[JNalley]

I made a mistake and transplanted the Hawkfish, YWG, and Pistol Shrimp first, and then ordered the other fish. The Hawkfish is giving the Blenny a hard time... so I might put it in an acclimation box for a bit until the Blenny gets established.

 

[Gabe]

@JNalley Looking good. I got this tank back in the summer of 2020. It didn't come with the nicer sump then, but only an old school acrylic Reef Octopus tank with a single movable baffle. Would love to see some updates as you have chosen some different equipment options than I did. I don't want to spoil any enthusiasm as I am overall happy with the tank, but I do have a few gripes with the tank myself. Not having access to the back of the tank (overflow area and topoff reservoir) is a miss from RO. I'm over a year and a half into this tank and worry about the inability to clear the supply or return lines. Metric makes finding different plumbing options a huge pita too, but not impossible. My complaints about the sump seem to be moot since they are putting a proper sump in now.

For reference, I am using an mp40 on the left side closest to the return with an mp10 on the right. I'm not completely satisfied with that arrangement, and really with I could move an additional mp10 to the back wall (right of center). I have thought about a gyre or some sort, but the tank is two sides viewable for me, and I would rather not put anything else on the right side glass. lighting is 2x kessil a360x for me. The mounting is a little tight because of the overflow section (had to trim the plastic screws that hold the rigid kessil mounts). Also managed to run a tube from my RO/DI to the top-off section on the tank. Had to cut the provided back cover though. I did manage to fit an optical sensor in there and have the top off on a controller to fill that section automatically every day.

Thanks for sharing. One of these days I'll get around to doing a build thread also.

 

[JNalley]

@JNalley Looking good. I got this tank back in the summer of 2020. It didn't come with the nicer sump then, but only an old school acrylic Reef Octopus tank with a single movable baffle. Would love to see some updates as you have chosen some different equipment options than I did. I don't want to spoil any enthusiasm as I am overall happy with the tank, but I do have a few gripes with the tank myself. Not having access to the back of the tank (overflow area and topoff reservoir) is a miss from RO. I'm over a year and a half into this tank and worry about the inability to clear the supply or return lines. Metric makes finding different plumbing options a huge pita too, but not impossible. My complaints about the sump seem to be moot since they are putting a proper sump in now.

For reference, I am using an mp40 on the left side closest to the return with an mp10 on the right. I'm not completely satisfied with that arrangement, and really with I could move an additional mp10 to the back wall (right of center). I have thought about a gyre or some sort, but the tank is two sides viewable for me, and I would rather not put anything else on the right side glass. lighting is 2x kessil a360x for me. The mounting is a little tight because of the overflow section (had to trim the plastic screws that hold the rigid kessil mounts). Also managed to run a tube from my RO/DI to the top-off section on the tank. Had to cut the provided back cover though. I did manage to fit an optical sensor in there and have the top off on a controller to fill that section automatically every day.

Thanks for sharing. One of these days I'll get around to doing a build thread also.

Hey, thanks for sharing your experience. I've been quite busy lately and not really able to do a lot with the tank, and so I don't really have any updates (I had to move houses over spring break, so other than the rockscape looking a little different, everything is the same), but all of the equipment is up and running, so if you have any specific questions you'd like answered, I'd be more than happy to. I dislike the EcoTech MP's because you cannot direct them, which is why I opted for the Sicce XStream SDC's. I have no deadspots in my tank as it stands, and once a day for about 30 minutes, I have them cranked all the way up, creating a vortex in the tank that lifts all the detritus into the water column and I find that works for me. The tank is currently going through an ugly stage with Bryopsis and Hair algae, as soon as I get that under control I'll post some update pics.

 

[JNalley]

I know it's been a while since I updated... It was an extremely busy Spring Semester, and my daughter is turning 3 in July so she's becoming more active and we've just been hanging out and have educational experiences.

However, I just bought some new fish for the tank. I lost my YWG that was transplanted from my daughters tank, no clue what happened, just one day it was gone, not under any rocks or anything. I'm thinking the Pistol Shrimp made a meal of it, but who knows, they never really bonded.

I just added:

1x Rainford's Goby
1x Banded Sleeper Goby
1x Tiger Jawfish

Old Stock:

2x Black Ice Oscellaris Clowns (I think they're black ice)
2x Blue/Green Chromis
1x Orchid Dottyback


Flame hawkfish is in a breeding box, he's going to get traded with the Pet store for a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse and another Blue/Green Chromis

I may also trade the Dottyback for some Banggai Cardinals... It depends on how it acts with the addition of the Rainford's Goby.

 

[PlowboyReefer]

Any updates on your tank? Does detritus build up in the slim overflow at all? If so is it hard to clean or does the flow into sump keep it clean?