Nyos Opus reef ready system features stylish tank, sump and cabinet

The Nyos Opus reef-ready aquarium system is the second of two major releases the German company will be showcasing at InterZoo besides the Nyos Torq we touched on yesterday. The Opus is Nyos’s first venture into an aquarium solution.

Nyos says they designed the Opus to be “…a ready-to-use reef aquarium that will satisfy the highest demands in terms of quality, functionality and aesthetics.” Like many of the rimless systems we see, particularly from Europe, the design is minimalistic to put the emphasis of what’s in the water.

The first of what we assume will be a line of tanks is the Nyos 300, a 69 gallon tank measuring around 35.4 x 21.7 x 20.9 in. For the glass box itself it ticks the main boxes most reefers want – rimless design, low-iron ultra-clear glass on the viewing panes, hidden overflow, bottom edge covered by stand, etc. Nyos extended the depth of the tank taking into account aquascaping. The added nearly four inches compared to most traditional 65 or 75 gallon tanks that are 18 in. wide, which can make a difference.

The other part of the tank is the integrated Opus sump designed for multi-stage filtration with six chambers and is pre-plumbed with PVC pipes and fittings. The overflow is fully adjustable to allow you to dial it in to the proper flow rate, while keeping it quiet. There is also an emergency overflow in case the main is blocked.

The Opus sump will hold around 11 gallons and is around 21.7 x 15.0 x 15.0 in. in size. The water enters into a settling chamber then through a filter sock into a chamber that is a good spot to toss in filter media before heading into the main chamber. The main chamber was designed with the Nyos Quantum protein skimmers in mind and has a constant water level of 8.5 in.

Other features of note include the integrated auto top off (ATO) system that has a 1.7 gallon reservoir integrated within the confines of the sump utilizing the free space above the return chamber. With an overall capacity of around 75-80 gallons between the tank and sump (not taking into consideration displacement from aquascaping and equipment), you might blow through that 1.7 gallons quickly, but there is plenty of space to the side to incorporate a backup reservoir. But to help minimize the evaporation, the sump is fitted with lids.

The final piece of the puzzle is the Opus cabinet that is a seamless design with a full lacquer finish (either white or basalt grey) on all sides – inside and out. The nice thing for the customer (and maybe not the delivery team) is the cabinet is fully assembled, all you need to do is add the doors. This helps ensure you get the seamless look and maintain the strength of the cabinet itself. There is even an integrate LED worklight that turns on every time you open the doors and as we mentioned earlier, there is some space on both sides of the sump for storage or auxiliary equipment.