Ben Treitl
Community Member
Hello and thank you for taking the time to have a peak at my tank thread.
The concept of this system began in 2013 after i was struggling to reach into my system at the time, the tank was 30" tank and mounted on a tall cabinet.
I had fallen into the SPS pit and my addiction needed to be fed so i drew out plans for a system that would work for me. I approached numerous tank builders and was getting frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm and decided i would just get on and build it myself.
Now id be in the hobby since 2010, and had learned fast, i could build tanks, sumps etc so how hard would it be to build something just a little bigger for myself. Well it proved harder than expected as over the course of 15 months i juggled with my young son, a new born daughter a nagging wife and this build project with in the walls of my home I wish id have had a work shop....
Here's what i had in mind. I wanted open easy access from above. It had to be for SPS and being built for SPS meant it had to be wider and shallower than my previously taller system. So i settled for something no bigger than 63" in width this was due to the space/alcove i was allowed (thanks wife) to use. I pushed for a greater depth than i was allowed giving me 31" front to back. The water depth i had in mind was 20" from water to sand so i settled for 26" tall from base to rim. Now i also wanted to hide the weir so i went with an external weir and sacrificed 6" on the left side of the tank to hide plumbing. Given that the tank would sit against the left wall and rear wall of my front room i didnt see this being an issue. The display tank therefore is 57" x 30" x 24" approximate internal measurements with a total size of 63" x 31" x 26". I fit the display with a double 10mm base, incorporated mitred corners and used optiwhite glass for the front, right and rear panels (why the rear? well if i wanted to switch the tanks position should i move house then i would have optiwhite glass on either side. I also designed the plumbing, the cabinet etc so that this tank could potentially be used as room divide and be visible from both sides.
The appearance i wanted was open water, my previous system had used the depth to create a reef wall effect and i was never happy with that look. I wanted a spaced out singular structure or serious of structures and in the end i settled with just the one structure. The thought behind this was two fold, I create an elevated platform in which my SPS and Clams can bathe in flood lit water, and yet keep a large body of water for fish to utilize for swimming space. The reef built above also gives the fish sanctuary.
I had a wish list of fish, i knew exactly what i wanted to house so i decided on the fish i would keep and wrote a structured list so i knew which order to add them due to aggression and other issues. I had a back up of secondary potential additions as well.
Having always gazed upon Zeovit tanks with wonder and admiration i knew that this was what i wanted. This was going to be my time to trial the Zeovit method.
I picked up equipment as and when i could while the build progressed. This is what i had implemented:
10 x 54w KZ T5 lighting
KZ Zeovit Reactor
KZ Revolution S skimmer
Bubble Magus 100 Reactor with Activated Carbon.
Flow was going to prove to be my biggest challenge, i had wanted no visible wires, pumps or any equipment for that matter on display. Because of this i initially set out to incorporate a CLS (closed loop system) utilizing the Derkroon DFD (digital flow diverter). Having spoken via email to Lucas van Derkroon i mapped out the plans for the CLS and decided to bring the water in from the weir. This meant drilled 6 holes in the bottom of the left side panel as well as numerous holes in the base of the weir. I also had to have custom pane cut to incorporate a weir that would allow enough water to be sucked in in order to feed the CLS. But after numerous issues and costly ones with several modification to the plumbing i finally ripped out the unit and sealed up the pipe work. I simply added 2 Jebeo wp60's knowing full well the Maxspect Gyre would be available soon. To date the larger Gyre isn't available so I'm still running the twin wp60.
As for elements, i set up with the idea of using a calcium reactor. But i love Balling and after speaking to a company regarding elements i decided to stay with what i knew best. I now run Balling classic and am happy with the way things are.
Unfortunately i switched out the Zeovit system as growth appeared stunted. I was very happy with coral colours, polyp extension and general health but a new tank, relatively large stocked with small frags looked seemingly impossible to fill. A boost of nutrients and a change in tactics has seen my fastest growth rate yet. I will however return to Zeovit in due course and when i feel the corals have reached the correct proportions.
My current system sump is laid out as so:
Chamber 1: Algae bed
Chamber 2: Reef Octopus Skimmer, return feed from water change tank
Chamber 3: return, heater (aqua medic titanium 500w on STC 1000), BM 100 reactor with Carbon, small amounts of PO4 remover.
My return pump feeds the display tank through 2x TMC eyeballs which fit neatly into the weir pane. It also feeds a water change tank via a D&D 750 chiller (now disconnected). The water change tank holds 150L and as its own heater, pump designed for mixing fresh saltwater. Through a series of ball valves i can close the feed, ditch the water and fill directly with fresh ro. I simply add the salt and wait for the mix to be completed before reopening the valves on the circuit.
I have a 30+ Litre RO reservoir, glass, lidded and drilled to fit direct RO feed. This requires a fill every 4 or 5 days.
Think iv said enough for you to get an idea of what iv been up to, here is a few pics from the build:
This is the water change system:
The concept of this system began in 2013 after i was struggling to reach into my system at the time, the tank was 30" tank and mounted on a tall cabinet.
I had fallen into the SPS pit and my addiction needed to be fed so i drew out plans for a system that would work for me. I approached numerous tank builders and was getting frustrated at the lack of enthusiasm and decided i would just get on and build it myself.
Now id be in the hobby since 2010, and had learned fast, i could build tanks, sumps etc so how hard would it be to build something just a little bigger for myself. Well it proved harder than expected as over the course of 15 months i juggled with my young son, a new born daughter a nagging wife and this build project with in the walls of my home I wish id have had a work shop....
Here's what i had in mind. I wanted open easy access from above. It had to be for SPS and being built for SPS meant it had to be wider and shallower than my previously taller system. So i settled for something no bigger than 63" in width this was due to the space/alcove i was allowed (thanks wife) to use. I pushed for a greater depth than i was allowed giving me 31" front to back. The water depth i had in mind was 20" from water to sand so i settled for 26" tall from base to rim. Now i also wanted to hide the weir so i went with an external weir and sacrificed 6" on the left side of the tank to hide plumbing. Given that the tank would sit against the left wall and rear wall of my front room i didnt see this being an issue. The display tank therefore is 57" x 30" x 24" approximate internal measurements with a total size of 63" x 31" x 26". I fit the display with a double 10mm base, incorporated mitred corners and used optiwhite glass for the front, right and rear panels (why the rear? well if i wanted to switch the tanks position should i move house then i would have optiwhite glass on either side. I also designed the plumbing, the cabinet etc so that this tank could potentially be used as room divide and be visible from both sides.
The appearance i wanted was open water, my previous system had used the depth to create a reef wall effect and i was never happy with that look. I wanted a spaced out singular structure or serious of structures and in the end i settled with just the one structure. The thought behind this was two fold, I create an elevated platform in which my SPS and Clams can bathe in flood lit water, and yet keep a large body of water for fish to utilize for swimming space. The reef built above also gives the fish sanctuary.
I had a wish list of fish, i knew exactly what i wanted to house so i decided on the fish i would keep and wrote a structured list so i knew which order to add them due to aggression and other issues. I had a back up of secondary potential additions as well.
Having always gazed upon Zeovit tanks with wonder and admiration i knew that this was what i wanted. This was going to be my time to trial the Zeovit method.
I picked up equipment as and when i could while the build progressed. This is what i had implemented:
10 x 54w KZ T5 lighting
KZ Zeovit Reactor
KZ Revolution S skimmer
Bubble Magus 100 Reactor with Activated Carbon.
Flow was going to prove to be my biggest challenge, i had wanted no visible wires, pumps or any equipment for that matter on display. Because of this i initially set out to incorporate a CLS (closed loop system) utilizing the Derkroon DFD (digital flow diverter). Having spoken via email to Lucas van Derkroon i mapped out the plans for the CLS and decided to bring the water in from the weir. This meant drilled 6 holes in the bottom of the left side panel as well as numerous holes in the base of the weir. I also had to have custom pane cut to incorporate a weir that would allow enough water to be sucked in in order to feed the CLS. But after numerous issues and costly ones with several modification to the plumbing i finally ripped out the unit and sealed up the pipe work. I simply added 2 Jebeo wp60's knowing full well the Maxspect Gyre would be available soon. To date the larger Gyre isn't available so I'm still running the twin wp60.
As for elements, i set up with the idea of using a calcium reactor. But i love Balling and after speaking to a company regarding elements i decided to stay with what i knew best. I now run Balling classic and am happy with the way things are.
Unfortunately i switched out the Zeovit system as growth appeared stunted. I was very happy with coral colours, polyp extension and general health but a new tank, relatively large stocked with small frags looked seemingly impossible to fill. A boost of nutrients and a change in tactics has seen my fastest growth rate yet. I will however return to Zeovit in due course and when i feel the corals have reached the correct proportions.
My current system sump is laid out as so:
Chamber 1: Algae bed
Chamber 2: Reef Octopus Skimmer, return feed from water change tank
Chamber 3: return, heater (aqua medic titanium 500w on STC 1000), BM 100 reactor with Carbon, small amounts of PO4 remover.
My return pump feeds the display tank through 2x TMC eyeballs which fit neatly into the weir pane. It also feeds a water change tank via a D&D 750 chiller (now disconnected). The water change tank holds 150L and as its own heater, pump designed for mixing fresh saltwater. Through a series of ball valves i can close the feed, ditch the water and fill directly with fresh ro. I simply add the salt and wait for the mix to be completed before reopening the valves on the circuit.
I have a 30+ Litre RO reservoir, glass, lidded and drilled to fit direct RO feed. This requires a fill every 4 or 5 days.
Think iv said enough for you to get an idea of what iv been up to, here is a few pics from the build:
This is the water change system:
