Octo Lux T60

[denis_anthony]

Many of you may not have known that Reef Octopus makes tanks! I've never seen one in store nor in person and so I took, in my opinion, a big gamble by setting one up on my own. I won't go crazy into specifics about the weir setup or why this tank is so odd (you should look it up though if you don't know much about it, it's.....interesting) but I'll walk you through what has been successful for me. I've faced a few challenges on some very basic reef-keeping essentials because of this tank layout and setup but I think I've done a pretty decent job!

 

As mentioned, my tank is an Octo Lux T60 which is the smaller model of the two that are offered by Reef Octopus. I've had this setup for slightly over a year and have been in the hobby just shy of two years. I'd still consider myself a novice in the grand scheme of things though I'm not sure I'd ever be able to call myself a veteran with how much there is to learn in this hobby!

 

Equipment: I started with an AI Prime 16 and quickly swapped to an XR-15. This was mainly because of the way the light mount interfered with the thin weir design but I'm not upset with  the light and options that EcoTech has built into this thing. For flow, I'm currently using two Nero 3's at about 35-40%. This was changed from an Icecap 2k gyre which provided slightly too much flow even on low settings (these things can MOVE water). Another issue with the gyre was the mounting location which I wanted in the back but couldn't because of the thin weir design...a recurring thorn in my side. In the sump, I've recently installed a fleece roller (an absolute godsend) and also run a GFO reactor since I've struggled with phosphate for a while. My ATO is hooked up using a food grade dog food container that holds about 13 gallons which takes weeks for my tank to use. I'm also currently dosing All-for-reef using the new Reef Dose 2 but will soon swap over to ESV two-part dosing since my tank consumes alkalinity at a much higher rate than my calcium.

 

Inhabitants include two cheek spot clowns, a semi-docile yellowtail damsel, three blue-green chromis, a pink streaked wrasse (thanks, Supreme Reefs), a frozen food eating spotted mandarin (thanks again, Supreme Reefs), a pictus blenny, and a blood red shrimp. There may or may not be a flaming prawn goby wandering around in there, I haven't seen it in months. RIP to my dracula goby who decided that no net or lid would stop him from getting some fresh air and a forever nap.

 

My main attraction to salt water tanks was the color of the fish available in the hobby but more importantly - the coral. I keep mostly LPS (blastos, elegance, gonis, hammers, torches) and softies (zoas, photosynthetic gorgs, xenia, something else that looks like xenia but apparently isn't, GSP). I'd like to slowly move into some SPS now that my nutrient levels have been pretty consistent and stable.

 

I'll add some pictures as time progresses. Please feel free to provide feedback on things that I could add/change/remove. I'm open to criticism! Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.

 

TL;DR - Reef Octopus makes a weird tank and here's mine.

[YHSublime]

Nice. I'm presuming the first picture is the most UTD FTS? 

[denis_anthony]

Nice. I'm presuming the first picture is the most UTD FTS? 

That was a few months ago. It seems my pictures got slightly reorganized when I posted this. The wall is now covered in coralline and spirorbids. The last three were taken earlier this morning.


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[denis_anthony]

Two more recent photos 

[roni]

tank looks good!  you should post up some pics of the frags you got in...