New 80 gallon reef tank - EHEIM Incpiria 300

[VJV]

Hi everyone, pretty new to the hobby but already bitten by the bug... 😀

I started in the hobby some 7 months ago when I bought by 8 year old daughter a 14gallon Biorb and converted it into a marine tank, modifying it and adding an external filter. Needless to say that I was immediately hooked by the hobby! I love everything about it, the animals, the husbandry, the equipment, the testing.... Currently that tank has 2 Ocellaris Clowns, one spot tail Blenny, one blue legged hermit, one Cerith snail and one Astrea snail.

Anyway, I have just ordered a 80g (300 litres) tank with a 14g sump. This is the equipment list thus far:

Tank: EHEIM Incpiria Marine 300L
Skimmer: Deltec SC 1655
Lights: Geisemann Teszla S x2
circulation: Tunze Nanostream 6095 x2 plus 7096 controller.

I am also planning to add a dosing pump, auto top off, and that's it for the time being.

I went for the EHEIM because it has a decent price/quality/quality finish mix. The size will hopefully open the door to have some larger fish. The Deltec I chose based on countless online positive reviews, and especially because it is theoretically quiet (the tank is going in the leaving room so noise is especially important). The Teszlas actually took a lot of thought. I would actually love to have some Radions Gen3 and especially love the wireless control apps but unfortunately aesthetically Ecotech does not make one single decent tank mount. So given that hanging it from the ceiling is not a possibility, these were out of the question. On the most recent MACNA 2013 Ecotech had some very nice tank mounts but apparently they are not making them, which is a shame. The Teszlas on the contrary will be close to the water, have a nice tank mount and are aesthetically a good match to the tank. I understand that aesthetics should not be the primary concern but 1) Giesemann is a well respected name in the tank lighting industry so I do not believe they would make a bad unit and 2) in this case being in the family room aesthetics are definitely important. Regarding the Tunze's reasoning was similar. I have a Vortech Mp10 in my nano and even though it is absolutely brilliant it is way too noisy for the living room. After a lot of research Tunze's seem to be very good pumps and also nearly silent.

So, really looking forward to hear all you experienced reefers advise on the equipment list above, start up tips, additional equipment you may think required, anything.

The tank should arrive in a couple of weeks so I will be posting some pictures.


Thanks everyone!

[VJV]

Oh, and I have also decided to order Aquaroche ceramic rock for the tank instead of live rock. Aside from the fact that I like the look of the Aquaroche and it allows to creat relatively tall structures without having to add tons of live rock, I also like the fact that I make sure I am not adding any unwanted guests from day one. I only want to have the animals that I have paid for 😄.

[twilmot]

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Make sure to show pics of the set up!

[VJV]

Look at what the mail man brought in... The Giesemann Teszla S 😀😀😀

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1394042232.724357.jpg

[VJV]

Hello? Advice, tips, comments? Anyone?

[VJV]

Maybe this thread is in the wrong section of the forum???

Well, the tank will arrive tomorrow so I'll post some pictures than.

[rostercp]

Tagging along.. interested to see how you like the Giesemann Teszla lights

[VJV]

Hi, I have been posting in another forum because here I have had no replies/comments/suggestions so apologies for that. I will update with some pictures now.

[VJV]

So the tank arrived in three pre assembled boxes: cabinet, display tank and sump. Tubing is also in place so all you have to do is place the tank on top of the cabinet, place the sump inside the cabinet, put the pump (eheim 3000) in the return chamber and connect the return to the pump. Very simple and done I. 10min.

[VJV]

Additional equipment:

Skimmer: Deltec SC 1455
Circulation pumps: 2xTunze 6095 with 7096 multicontroller
ATO: TMC V2 elite
heater: TMC digitherm 300W
Dosing pump: grotech 4

[VJV]

I decided to use ceramic from Aquaroche instead of live rock because 1) did not want any nasties and 2) it has some neat structures that would be nearly impossible to do with live rock without constant risk of a avalanche and 3) the structures have some neat shelves just begging for some corals 😊

I had to rehearse quite a bit before putting the tank into its final place and start to fill it up with RO.











And the final design...

[VJV]

Next step was to cover the back glass with black background.



...and put in the 34kg of fine grain Aragonite sand from tMC (after rinsing with RO water)






That's cm...

[VJV]

Finally it took me three days to make the required 300L of RO water and fill the tank.



Sump working.



Overflow working. Notice the neat triangle shaped tunnel in the middle in order to route cables through to the bottom cabinet.

[VJV]

EQUIPMENT REVIEW (initial)

TANK

Amazing! Fit and finish are superb, low iron glass for the display tank, silent shutting cabinet doors... What impressed me the most however is that the overflow is completely SILENT! I mean, you do not hear one single gargling noise or any other noise! I am very happy 😊😊😊 because being in the living room I was very scared of the noise as other house members might not approve...

TUNZE 6095 PUMPS

Amazing pumps! Completely silent as well and produce a very wide flow! Could not be happier! Being a owner of a Vortech MP10 in another tank I must say that in terms of aesthetics (no unsightly motor and cables hanging in the tank) and noise the Tunze's blow the Vortech out of the water! When I mean their silent I mean you have to look at them to be sure that they are working. Not exactly like the vortech...

TUNZE 7096 controller

I Must say this is the weak link. The operating modes are very limited compared to the Vortech. None of those random flow modes etc... And if you have a mac like I do than you are even more limited, as the software never got beyond Beta stage. So there is no "ramp" option and no random one either. It also does not recover the settings from the unit so basically its very limited. Talking to Tunze in this forum I was told that the Mac interface was designed by an intern that left before it was fully operational and they never got to release an update. Ther will be a new controller soon that will work in iOS (iPad, iPhone) and should have a lot more modes.

Deltec SC 1455: not that I have a lot of experience (it is my first skimmer) but I would say it is a great unit. Again, very silent and produces a thick brown skimmate very quickly.

Eheim compact 3000 return pump: it sounds a bit noisy to me. Would like to have a quieter return pump, especially given everything else in the is almost silent. I read however at the Eheim is probably on of the most silent ones so nothing I can do here I guess 😞

[VJV]

EQUIPMENT REVIEW: GIESEMANN TESZLA S and Bluetooth interface

Overall, I am very happy with these fixtures. They are I lenses so have a wide coverage and allow you to individually control each of the three Channels: marine White (10leds), Blue (5 LEDs) and Royal Blue (4 RB LEDs and one ultra violet led). A word of caution if you do not buy the BT interface: the units can be controlled directly without any controller, but the method is a pain, completely erratic and everytime there is a power outage they will need to be programmed again. So I would not even consider these lights without the controller.

In order to program the lights without the controller you need to press each of the three buttons (that correspond to each of the light groups) and e LEDs will go from 0-100% in 30secs. So if you want say the white channel at 50% you need to press the respective button for 15 secs. The problem is the buttons are those surface touch ones that you never know if contact is being made or not. So completely innacurate. The sunrise and sunset programming you need to press the button at the time you want each to occur. So as you can see if you have a power outage while you are away this is a pain, as you will loose all regulations and need to start from scratch. Also worth noting that the BT interface costs some 250 usd, so not exactly cheap.

Negative number two is that the controller does not work with iOS devices, only with android, Pc and Mac OS. So in other word, either you have an android tablet or you will need to have your mac close to the unit. Not a problem if it is a laptop but in my case I have to carry my 27inch iMac all the way to the leaving room to make the adjustments...😛

Having said this, the program is actually easy to understand and very flexible, though not as much as a Radion or Aqua Illumination I guess. However, I tend to think that too much flexibility pin the lighting just gives you a lot of opportunities to mess things up so I am happy with the options I have.

You can set upwards of 4000(!!!) different points throughout the day for each of the three channels, have the moon phases match the actual moon phases, cloud simulation, storm simulation, etc.

One thing I would like to have however would be to control each of the fixtures individually, as it would be cool to be able to have sunrise in one side of the tank and sunset in the other, and ramping up and down the fixtures with some time lag between them to simulate the sun rotation (I know it is not the sun that actually moves but you get my point... &#128516.

[VJV]

Some pictures of the Tezlas below

[VJV]

As you can see, this is not exactly what I was planning. I wanted to mount the units to the back of the tank to have a cleaner look but unfortunately found out I could not do it. There is a thin shelf (not sure what to call it but the pic below will make it clear) running al along the front and back of the tank that is where the covers sit on, which prevents the tank mounts from fitting to the back wall.





So for now I have to mount the units on the side wall but have already ordered two tank covers to replace the stock ones each with an opening that will allow me to place the Teszlas on top of the covers. I will slightly raise the units with small silicon feet so that there is not too much condensation but the Teszlas are perfect for this, given they are sealed below and the cooling vent sits on top, so it will draw air from the room to cool the unit and not the moist and salty air from the tank, as would be the case with a Radion.

[VJV]

[rostercp]

Thanks for the additional build posts! The aqua-scape looks nice, especially like the right side. Good to here about the Teszlas, how do you feel they compare to the Radion? As we are an all MAC home, we may look more towards the apex controller, Radion lights and Tunze pumps. Love the flow control on the Tunze ,but hate the cord in the water.

Cool idea about the lights, to bad you can't mod that.

[Reef or Die]

Very nice selection of equipment!! I was wondering where you ordered the eheim tank and stand from?

[VJV]

Originally Posted by rostercp

Thanks for the additional build posts! The aqua-scape looks nice, especially like the right side. Good to here about the Teszlas, how do you feel they compare to the Radion? As we are an all MAC home, we may look more towards the apex controller, Radion lights and Tunze pumps. Love the flow control on the Tunze ,but hate the cord in the water.

Cool idea about the lights, to bad you can't mod that.

No problem! Glad you found it useful. I never owned a Radion so can not tell you honestly how they would compare. What I do know is that the radion has more color channels and therefore is more flexible in terms of programming. Now, whether that is actual a good thing and an slates into better and healthier corals I do not know. In fact, I suspect that having all those color channels gives you a lot of opportunities to mess things up.

I am very happy with the Teszlas wide coverage (120 degrees) and color temperature. They are also visually a great match for the tank. What sealed the deal for me was the fact that they are built by Giesemann, a company that is building aquarium lights for longer than everyone else, so I'm am confident that the Teszlas incorporate all those decades of experience.

You may also takem a look at the Futura range from Giesemann. I was tempted to go that way but these are very very expensive. However, they have 5 channels instead of three, 7 different colors instead of 5, and have from two to six modules which in this case can indeed be programmed individually to create the effect I mentioned before. Perhaps in a couple of years when I forget how much I have spent I take the plunge. A 4 board Futura would be amazing on my tank...😄😄😄

[VJV]

Originally Posted by Reef or Die

Very nice selection of equipment!! I was wondering where you ordered the eheim tank and stand from?

Hi, I bought them in my LFS... In Portugal 😊

The tank and cabinet are so,d together, you can not buy them separately. They have two other models in the Incpiria Marine line, a 200L and a 400L.

[mgrmax]

Very clean looking build! I look forward to seeing it stocked.

[VJV]

CYCLING THE TANK: RED SEA REEF MATURE PRO KIT

given I had no live rock and no live sand I decided to use Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit to speed up the cycle. I must confess this did not go AT ALL as expected...



The kit includes some bacteria food (Bacto Start), nitrifying and de-nitrifying bacteria (Nitro Bac), carbon source to control Nitrates and Phosphates (NoPox) and buffer supplement to get Coraline Algae going (KH Coraline Gro).

[VJV]

The kit includes precise instructions about what to dose and when throughout a 21 day period. It also tells at each day what to measure (PH, KH, Ammonia,...) and the approximate levels it should be at. It also states that if you do not have Live Rock (like me) you need to have some alternative porous material that can be colonized by the bacteria (check, I've got ceramics). However, my measurements were never even close to this provided by the instructions. By the end of week 2 the instructions tell you that you can add one herbivore fish per 100L. By week two I only had a mild rise in Ammonia and a slight bump in Nitrites. I asked about it and Red Sea told me not to worry, that probably that was the cycle. I had my doubts so decided to add a hardy fish: yellow tail damsel.