Pro-Clear 80 Cylinder Reef New Build Thread (60 Gallons)

whitcory · Jan 16, 2021

Hey everyone. I am a new reefer but long time follower of R2R. I did a lot of research and finally decided to take the plunge headfirst into the hobby. I was looking for a sleek, clean, contemproary different type of tank. I have a narrow corner in my house and needed a tank to fit. I came across this unique design in the form of cylinder. I noticed not a lot of good reviews and certainly only 1 true reef tank. I was determined to make it work. It is a true AIO solution. I ordered and it arrived within a week (seemed largely sold out at the time). It arrived well packaged in really 3 large pieces. The base (which included the sump, and a power outlet, etc), the top tank (including all lines in the back of the black part), and a cover up top (with a feeder hole). It came with a weak LED light (not enough for a reef), as well as pump (just OK), filter socks, and all pipes necessary. I set it up and you can see what it looks like. Its cylinder so the sump is on the small side and sort of tight but I made it fit! Off and running!

whitcory · Jan 16, 2021

OK, so off and running. I went with CaribSea Arag-Alive Pink sand (I know very popular). I liked the look and didn't want anything to thin causing a cloudy mess, but also didn't want anything thick. I like a lighter color sand so this was the best.

I am not an expert with regards to rockscaping and found this carib-sea Life Rock Tower. Given my tanks tall vertical shape I wanted something that would work in the middle of the tank to host corals and give hiding spaces for the fish to swim in and out of. I thought this would fit the bill. Played with it in my garage to get to a design that I liked.

whitcory · Jan 16, 2021

Got it up and in the tank with sand, rocks, and basic lighting. You can see it as it was cloudy and then afterwards when the sand settled the next day. Looks good to me but the rock work is not perfect for me. I ended up changing it and will post shortly. Will let the tank cycle for several weeks before putting in my first fish and eventually corals. My number 1 notice is that the tank is really deep. I am tall and need a small stepladder to get down to the bottom. I have to get my wife to watch for me as I reach to the bottom. I think it looks sleek and cool overall. What are your thoughts so far? Any feedback or suggestions so far. This was a few months back and I will update more as I get time.

whitcory · Jan 17, 2021

OK I ultimately decided I hate the stock light, pump, and needed to add Power-heads. Also needed to add a protein skimmer etc. So here is what I have done/added to the tank:

2 Echotech Marine MP10Ws Powerheads
1 Echotech Vectra S2 Pump
1 Echotech SR30 Pro
1 Reef Octopus SSS Internal Protein Skimmer

As you can see I went all with Echo-tech Marine devices. I did a good amount of research online and figured I may as well automate all of them via the same manufacturer. I loved the MP10 Powerhead above other options. I decided to upgrade the pump which has the capacity to push much more water than my tank would ever need. It is all controlled via the "Mobius" app which is not the most user friendly thing but OK once you get the hang of it. Anyone have any experience with this app. I love the SR30 Pro light. As you can see I don't have a space to put a stand so I elevate it above my plastic cover. I know...It looks weird and should not work but it does. It works well and penetrates all the way to the bottom of the tank. I have worked to try and dial in the protein skimmer. Its the only one that fits inside my sump which is quite tight. Trying to get this thing to come together! Overall I love the fact that I can control all the devices via and app and they work together as one.

whitcory · Feb 13, 2021

OK I finally have this thing up and running for some time now. I attached all the devices and have a few fish going. A few things to note about my setup. First of all it is very tall. Tending to everything is tough. I am a tall guy but literally go to my armpit to service the bottom of the tank. But I love the look. Also rock-scaling was a challenge as you are basically going vertical. I like but don't love mine. I may change it. I wanted a 360 swimming area for my fish. 2 other challenges I noticed are flow and lighting. For flow I do like the echo tech marine MP10 Powerhead. Again with my tank it is so tall that the flow is odd. I wonder if anyone has ideas for how to tackle this. I will add another one I think. And the light looks good but has to penetrate the depth of the tank. I think it looks good but we will see. Noticing a little new tank algae also. It is what it is and will try to stay on top of it. Thoughts?

As for fish, I of course added a few clowns, a royal gamma Basslet, and a red head fairy wrasse. All seem to be doing OK. Just ordered some coral. Looking forward to that. Let me know your thoughts given my tanks unique shape.

whitcory · Feb 14, 2021

Finally went out and took the time to get some corals. Got a few LPS corals from Austin Aqua Farms. Check them out. I got me a torch from my LFS, and another torch/frogspawn/hammer/brain from the online store. I put some on the sand and a few glue directly to the rock. The flow looks great and is really coming together nicely. I have noticed more algae recently and have done water changes etc. along with weekly applications of this Vibrant stuff from Underwater Creations. People swear by it. Anyways, the cleaning of the long cylinder tank is a bit of a pain but again I love the look. Trying top play with my lighting to get the balance. Let me know your thoughts!
balance. Let me know your thoughts!

drmdvl · Feb 27, 2021

Looks great!!
Good for you for turning this into a reef. I have the larger proclear and agree with you servicing the bottom of the tank is not fun but totally worth it - I bought some long plastic forceps to help me do things like flip a snail, etc... Your scape looks awesome. Lighting is going to be your challenge and is the main reason I did a FO system, you should do some PAR measurements for appropriate coral placement.
For flow - I have three powerheads - one top left rear corner shooting back to front parallel to my return - creates good downward flow down the front of the tank so I dont have stagnant water in the bottom, a powerhead right rear mid tank shooting across the back of the tank from right to left and a third one about 5" below the second one (so bottom 3rd of the tank) shooting diagonal from rear right to front left - this really kills all the dead spots in my tank especially on the sand bed, has good turbulence, and varying flow pattern which my tangs absolutely seem to love. Place your powerhead, turn them on and hold an air hose to it to see where your flow may be lacking.
Servicing the inside walls takes me no more than 2-3 minutes every other week with the flipper - get one!
Algae - you're gonna have it until it really matures - diatoms I assume? Get some competing bac going - MB7 is excellent.
Killing deadspots with flow will help, add some CUC or utilitarian fish.
A diamond goby will turn that sand and keep it pristine for you - since reach for maintenance is a PITA.
Vibrant is amazing but will kill your macro if you decide to go that route - which is so valuable in my tank with a high bioload. I prefer nopox dosing.
Congrats - cant wait to see it come along!

whitcory · Mar 8, 2021

drmdvl said:
Looks great!!
Good for you for turning this into a reef. I have the larger proclear and agree with you servicing the bottom of the tank is not fun but totally worth it - I bought some long plastic forceps to help me do things like flip a snail, etc... Your scape looks awesome. Lighting is going to be your challenge and is the main reason I did a FO system, you should do some PAR measurements for appropriate coral placement.
For flow - I have three powerheads - one top left rear corner shooting back to front parallel to my return - creates good downward flow down the front of the tank so I dont have stagnant water in the bottom, a powerhead right rear mid tank shooting across the back of the tank from right to left and a third one about 5" below the second one (so bottom 3rd of the tank) shooting diagonal from rear right to front left - this really kills all the dead spots in my tank especially on the sand bed, has good turbulence, and varying flow pattern which my tangs absolutely seem to love. Place your powerhead, turn them on and hold an air hose to it to see where your flow may be lacking.
Servicing the inside walls takes me no more than 2-3 minutes every other week with the flipper - get one!
Algae - you're gonna have it until it really matures - diatoms I assume? Get some competing bac going - MB7 is excellent.
Killing deadspots with flow will help, add some CUC or utilitarian fish.
A diamond goby will turn that sand and keep it pristine for you - since reach for maintenance is a PITA.
Vibrant is amazing but will kill your macro if you decide to go that route - which is so valuable in my tank with a high bioload. I prefer nopox dosing.
Congrats - cant wait to see it come along!

Wow, thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I wish I had gotten the larger one but you live and you learn. I just have the 2 powerbeads and do have a few dead spots. I wish my powerbeads could be tilted. I will likely get another one. Does your FLIPPER scratch the acrylic? I had a similar model which did so I gave up on it due to scratching.
I will put up a new post soon but i eventually had 2 things come at once. A bad case of slime red algae followed by some horrible green hair algae. I then had my 2 clowns come down with brooklynella disease and perished within a 10 day period. I had to treat the tank to rid it of the disease and allow to run clean for a month. I got a quarantine tank and put my fish in there and started over. Its looking better. My corals all survived and began to restock the tank slowly over time. I think my light was too high (I dialed it way back). I adjusted my rocks a bit and am now much more careful about things. Will see how it goes. Will re-post soon. Would love to see your tank and how it looks.

Zach B · Mar 8, 2021

Beautiful tank, very cool!

whitcory · Mar 8, 2021

OK, so a lot of updates here. Some good some bad...
First, I added a few new corals. I mostly love the look of movement so added a few LPS corals (Torches, Frogspawns, and Duncans). I also got free from my LFS a Birdsnest branch. I hate the look of plus so I glued them my rock. I think they are coming along fine. I periodically use this RedSea AB+ green solution which seems to be working well (More on that in a bit). All was coming along well and I was getting a bit confident...over confident. Then...

So my tank went through a major algae outbreak of red slime algae and green hair algae. I tried everything and my measurements were all good (Nitrates were right, etc., weekly water changes, etc.) but still this happened. The only changes I noticed was that I added a new light which is much more powerful than my old one which I think led to the outbreak among other things. I also noticed my clown fish had spots on them which i thought was ick but later learned was Brooklynella. I panicked and bought a quarantine tank to treat but sadly was too late. Lost both clowns, and the fairy wrasse. I let the tank run clean for a month and lt it build up as a coral only tank while quarantine all new fish in my little tank first for weeks. I also re-aranged the rock formation to allow for better layout. I am happy with how it came out. I decided to go for function over form with my new re-set up. I got me a lawnmower blennny and diamond goby to start. I then quarantined some new clowns who I love their look. I'll post that soon. Here are a few pics of the corals and my setup. So far so good fingers crossed!! Fish are from TSM aquatics (which I HIGHLY recommend) and LFS.

whitcory · Mar 8, 2021

Overall the dimensions of the tank are interesting and different. The fish swim around the tank in circles going in and out of caves and rock work. They also go north and south a lot more than I thought. The way they move around a more vertical tank is interesting compared to a wider tank. Playing with the light is also interesting. The light at the top is intense vs down at the bottom with is dim. So with corals tough to find the right balance of par for each coral type. Not impossible. It's like if you took a normal rectangular tank and put it up on its side and you get what I have. I had space requirements plus liked the look. I would be curious to hear from others with this setup and what challenges and solutions you have with this. More to come soon...

drmdvl · Mar 8, 2021

whitcory said:
Wow, thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I wish I had gotten the larger one but you live and you learn. I just have the 2 powerbeads and do have a few dead spots. I wish my powerbeads could be tilted. I will likely get another one. Does your FLIPPER scratch the acrylic? I had a similar model which did so I gave up on it due to scratching.
I will put up a new post soon but i eventually had 2 things come at once. A bad case of slime red algae followed by some horrible green hair algae. I then had my 2 clowns come down with brooklynella disease and perished within a 10 day period. I had to treat the tank to rid it of the disease and allow to run clean for a month. I got a quarantine tank and put my fish in there and started over. Its looking better. My corals all survived and began to restock the tank slowly over time. I think my light was too high (I dialed it way back). I adjusted my rocks a bit and am now much more careful about things. Will see how it goes. Will re-post soon. Would love to see your tank and how it looks.

Sorry about your clowns. Looking great!! Nope, the flipper itself does not scratch the acrylic - what you have to be careful of is cleaning near the sand bed, picking up sand in the flipper will scratch it.

FREAKINRICAN69 · Mar 9, 2021

Love the tank looks awesome chief. Great job

JCM · Mar 9, 2021

very interesting tank. You did a great job with the rock work

whitcory · Mar 16, 2021

OK, so now that I got my tank back up and running with my utility fish, I have totally cleaned up my rocks and re adjusted them. I have glued my corals directly to rock and added a few more. In addition I have gone out and gotten this quarantine tank with a few clowns added and a Medal Blenny from TSM aquatics. I really like my little quarantine tank. I get it...I should not add sand to a quarantine tank but...It looks cool in my dining room so I did it anyways. We will see. I have posted my new rock setup with my quarantine so you can see the new setup. I also added a new powerhead on the other side to get some flow to the dead spots. I left the clowns and Midas Blenny in the quarantine for like 2 weeks. They are eating well and seem to be good. I moved them in the big tank and they seem to be thriving and more active than in the smallish quarantine (its only like 16 gallons). Oh well here you go...

whitcory · Apr 14, 2021

OK, lots of time has gone on and the tank is going through lots of changes. I have added many corals (More on that later) as well as several fish. Here is what I have started with:

-2 clowns (they are cool looking and oddly don't hang out with each other...they act independent in a weird way)
-1 Midas Blenny (he sort of rules the tank)
-1 Diamond Watchman Goby (This guy just cleans up the sand and makes a mess of everything...Cool fish)
-1 Malanarus Wrasse (Pretty fish..Kinda shy)
-1 Tailspot Benny (he gobbles up some of the algae - This was an impulse buy...He does eat some Mysis). He and the Midas don't get along that much but have an uncomfortable tolerance of each other.
-1 ignites Anthias (He is very shy but bigger than I wanted...Eats so aggressively but I only feed twice a day so I hope he works out)
-1 Blue Reef Chromis - (I was planning to get a blue green but saw this guy and was like "Cool!" He is very cool and unique colors. Bothers no one.
-Blue Star Leopard Wrasse - Very Very Cool looking fish. The star of the tank. Its female and is bold and assertive. Love this fish.

A peaceful tank overall. I like the color variation of all the fish in but a good amount of orange overall. Going through some Algae challenges. I dose NOPOX as well as vibrant. I think I am at the limit for a 53 gallon tank. I wish I could add something more but I am sort of stuck. The look great in the cylinder. Any ideas or thoughts on additions or is this too much already. My skimmer is loaded quickly, and my filter socks need changing every 2-3 days or so. Wish I could get another algae eating fish to help with algae. I hope it settles in over time. Here are a few pics of these guys.