Zyvo's Deep Blue 80g Lagoon

[Zyvo]

I was supposed to relocated to Australia for work so I painfully sold off my tanks & coral. The Australian government was taking WAY too long to have my visa processed so after about 4 months of waiting I decided to pull my application. This meant I got to start a new tank! I found an AMAZING deal on craigslist where a guy bought the tank brand new and never had a chance to even get it wet so here is what I went with...

Tank: Deep Blue 80G Rimless Lagoon
Stand: Deep Blue Series 5
Sump: Eshopps ADV-100
Skimmer: Reef Octopus Classic 150SSS
Return Pump: Jecod (Jebao) DCT-4000
Rock & Sand from MarcoRocks.com
Lights: Still up in the air. Will use a few AI Primes that I have for awhile until I decide which way I want to go. Kessil, Radion, or if my fiance looks at the bank to see what I have spend... SBox
Reactor: Either TLF or Vertex. Not sure which one I will put in.
Circulation: Vortech MP10 that I had + maaaaybe a maxspect Gyre. I have heard horror stories about people cleaning them and not being able to get them back right but figure I may give one a shot. If not another Vortech.

First thing I wanted to do was pain the back of the tank. Nothing worse than having light from a refugium light up the tank at night when all my scaly kids are trying to sleep. So grabbed some frog tape, paint, and a cheap foam roller and went to work.


On to sump shopping. I had a 40g Breeder that came with the tank but I could not get it out of the stand no matter which way I tried so I decided to go with an acrylic sump. This is the first time I have not done a DIY sump but had some extra money set aside for moving so decided to splurge. I was deciding between a Trigger and Eshopps R100. Called my favorite LFS down here and they said they had an R100 so I go to pick it up... only it was not the R100 it was the ADV100. I have not seen the ADV sumps in person but was impressed with it and really like the media rack. No more Chemipure just hanging out in the sump somewhere! So I came home with it. It didnt quite fit through the side door in the stand but if I ever had an emergency and I had to remove the sump I would only have to drimmel out about 1/4" and it would still be covered by the door anyway so works for me.


Skimmer and returns were an easy choice. Being that the skimmer compartment was limited, and I love RO, I went with the 150SSS. Let me say, great construction, beautiful skimmer, and the collection cup was bigger than I expected which means when I am traveling for business I dont have to worry about having the MRS empty it out if I forgot haha. I have always like DC returns and have used Jebao in the past so decided to give them another go. I meant to get the DCT6000 but got the 4000 on accident. Should still work for now. If not I will move it to my salt mixing station and get a 6000 for the tank.


I have never messed with doing "custom rockwork" before. I have always dont walls or other things where the rock didnt need any help staying besides maybe a touch of epoxy. I wanted to give it a go so I ordered 50#s of MarcoRock + 10#s of Prime Cut MarcoRock + 70#s of Sand + E Marco 400 Cement. First off I received a good deal more than 50#s of rock and closer to 80#s of sand. I got almost exactly 10#s of prime cuts with 1 or 2 pieces broken... but nothing that I would bother for an exchange. After some trial and error I got this:



I am going to take a wire brush to clean up some pieces that dripped and super glue some tiny pieces of broken rock over the cemented areas to hide them a bit but over time it will all be covered in coral and coraline so I am pleased with it.

So thats where we are today! Sand and rock will go in today, I am making RO water now and whatever I cant make by tomorrow I will have delivered by a LFS that already mixes Salinity. She will be wet this weekend! More pics to come!

 

[dbl]

Awesome...subscribed to watch this one come together!

 

[sNaFu]

WELCOME

 

[Zyvo]

Thanks!!

 

[Zyvo]

She's wet!



Finally finished making water and got her good and wet!

I have never tried cycling with my bio pellet reactor running at full dose so figured I'd give it a whirl this time.

I went to a LFS to pick up some more Fuel, Salinity and Biogen and had a chat with the aquavitro rep and after than I decided to try cycling with Seed instead of my trusty microbacter7... Plus he gave me a huge bottle for free so that helped. Since I am cycling with my bio pellet reactor running I am going to add a little Remediation as well.

Update on my flow... Picked up a lightly used Maxspect Gyre XF130 so I will run that with an MP10 on the opposite side. Pretty impressed with the flow of the maxspect so far. Moved it to my holding tank where all my coral, news, and CUC are hanging out until the new tank is cycled. Only a day with it in there but the coral and nems seem to enjoy it.

 

[Zyvo]

Ps- anyone else do this [egg crate]? Posted pics in our local FB group and people sounded like it was revolutionary... Seemed common sense. But got the idea from a fellow local reefer... Thoughts?

 

[revhtree]

Looks great so far!

 

[raultsu]

very nice. I have the same tank and I love it

 

[sNaFu]

Ps- anyone else do this [egg crate]? Posted pics in our local FB group and people sounded like it was revolutionary... Seemed common sense. But got the idea from a fellow local reefer... Thoughts?

WHAT IS THE EGG CRATE SUPPOSE TO DO?

 

[Zyvo]

WHAT IS THE EGG CRATE SUPPOSE TO DO?

Hold the rock off the glass and keeps and sand critters from getting under the rock and bringing it down.

 

[mOnsterzOas26]

Nice looking set up! Just be careful if u like carpet anemones and decide to add one, if they stick to the bottom glass where the egg crate it's it will be a nightmare to remove it.

 

[Zyvo]

It was an EcoTech kind of day thanks to FedEx! Think she is tired of dropping stuff off by now haha!

After long talks with different vendors & reps it I chose to go with Radions mostly because of the Vortechs that I already have and why not use all of the same and take advantage of the reef link. I was told by EcoTech that only 2 XR15Pro G3 would be enough for my planned stock so thats what I went with fully knowing I may be adding an XR30 or another XR15. I know the eye cant see Par but visually it looks like good enough spread with the outside being lower light for some of my chalices and such and plenty of overlap in the center for some of my clams.



So I have had Vortechs for a long time now and plan on putting both of my MP10W in here along with my Maxspect Gyre XF130 in the back. With that said I have never had a Reeflink setup with them so was just tinkering around with some schedule. This is my first pass... let me know what you think. It only shows one right now because my Gyre and other MP10 are on my holding tank with my coral. I plan on adding soon varying from sync and antisync. If you have a Vortech Schedule you would like to share I would love to see it!



As for he Radions I am going to decide if I like the presets... will either go with Radiant color or the Shallow profile @ 30' give or take. Thoughts here for a shallow tank?

 

[Zyvo]

Nice looking set up! Just be careful if u like carpet anemones and decide to add one, if they stick to the bottom glass where the egg crate it's it will be a nightmare to remove it.

I did think about that, and I am considering a red or blue carpet at some point. Wont be for quite awhile when I am confident in the stability of the tank.

 

[sNaFu]

NICE, HAVE 2) XR30PRO, GEN 3 I JUST HOOKED UP ON MINE ALONG WITH 2) MP40WQD'S TO MOVE THE WATER SHOULD BE ENOUGH ON 90 GAL TANK I WOULD THINK

 

[Zyvo]

Update: After a lot of research I have chosen to change things up a bit and move away from my typical usage of Bio Pellets and take the plunge into the world of ZEOVit!

I am starting with the "Big 4" + their Carbon to kick off the system and went with the Skimz Monzter ZM120 reactor from BRS (http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/skimz-monzter-zm120-external-zeolith-reactor.html) mainly because I wanted something external that I could hook into the return line.

Going to take my "before pics" of my coral today to start logging progress.

Any pointers/tips from any ZEO users is always appreciated. As well as what additional KZ supplements you recommend. I am planning on using Sponge Power, B Balance, Aminos, and CV after I get the system stable.

 

[tomtom2245]

Looks awesome! I love the Deep Blue 80s and really like your rock work. As nice as it is to have maximum real estate by adding a lot of rocks, I really like an open sand bed to balance things out.

 

[Zyvo]

Looks awesome! I love the Deep Blue 80s and really like your rock work. As nice as it is to have maximum real estate by adding a lot of rocks, I really like an open sand bed to balance things out.

Thanks! Yeah I am a huge fan of open sand beds! I probably would have liked to go more open but these 3 formations is just how the rocks fell together so I went with it.

 

[Zyvo]

Update: Even though the Gyre was turing out some good flow, I decided to trade it off for an MP40. I also updated both my MP40 & MP10 to new QD controllers and wet sides... man what a difference! I also found a great deal on a 3rd XR15W Pro w/ RMS from a local who was taking a break from the hobby so threw that over the tank and changed all of the optics from the wide-angle to the 80 degree lenses. Everything looks very happy and already getting decent growth out of my SPS and few of my LPS. I am currently running the AB+ program modified with a night period and longer blue ramp down for evening viewing. Currently at 55% max intensity but will be stepping that up a bit more here soon after I move a few more coral.

ZEOvit system is still working strong and reducing my nutrients at a steady pace. Should be ULNS within a week or two and I will be ready to start some supplemental dosing of other KZ products. Will be taking some more pics of coral here in another few weeks to monitor growth and color with ZEO system.

 

[davec3]

Hi, any update on the tank. How is the stand holding up. Did you add any extra bracing to it? Just bought one myself and can't believe how much cheaper it is made than the series 1, the series 5 has no braces under the back piece that supports the tank and is completely open in the back. Would feel more at ease setting my tank on this stand to hear how yours has worked out. Thanks.

 

[Zyvo]

Hi, any update on the tank. How is the stand holding up. Did you add any extra bracing to it? Just bought one myself and can't believe how much cheaper it is made than the series 1, the series 5 has no braces under the back piece that supports the tank and is completely open in the back. Would feel more at ease setting my tank on this stand to hear how yours has worked out. Thanks.

Hey Dave!
I actually sold the entire setup back in March when I bought a new house and have since moved back to Discus. I had no issues the ~2 years I had it running and my friend still has it running strong as is today. I never braced it or even had a worry about it not being sturdy. Once it was leveled and filled it was just as sturdy as any stand I have had either pre fab or home built. I loved the dimensions, the only thing I would of changed is if the tank itself has a coast to coast overflow or a 2nd on the other side... but maybe thats just me. I have drilled my current tanks and made sure they were all coast to coast. Other than that... you'll love it!