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cpllongjk
Active Member
Thanks
Cpllongjk's RedSea Reefer 170
- Nano Build
- Thread starter cpllongjk
- Start date
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Thanks for the tip. I'll try it.
Nice tank. Love how clean the red sea reefers are. For the fine gravel dust, you can try making a DIY vacuum. Doesn't cost much in parts, and is a good way to keep your tank clean in the future by doing monthly vacuums: .
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Small Update...
Received ReefBrite Halide Hybrid Hanging Kit last night and hung the pendant. Its a bit off center due to bulb placement I wanted it slightly left. I added a fan from Target on the wall. It's not the most attractive addition to a reef tank, my wife hates it btw, but it works. The halide was heating my tank from 78-83 daily and this fan keeps it at 76 if I wanted it to. I just really hope this works over the summer because I do not want to use a chiller unless I absolutely have to. I was looking at the tunze aquawind but couldn't justify 80 dollars for 2 computer fans in a nice package. This fan only cost me 15 dollars.
I replaced the 1.5 gallon ATO under the tank with this 14g rubbermaid container. Between the bulkhead, container, and fittings, this only cost me 25 dollars for a 14g top off. Its placed on the wall on the other side of my tank in our laundry room. I have easier access to fill it and a nice counter to put it. I eventually want to drill a small hole in the wall so its not so obvious, right now I just have tubing going around the wall. (Wanted to make sure everything worked before I drilled holes int he wall.)
This is day 8 of the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit cycle. As you can see I have some algae growth. I ordered a small clean up crew that should be here Thursday or Friday. Ordered 4 reef hermits, 4 astrae snails, and 1 fighting conch.
Coming next... I'm going to make some homemade fish food this weekend. Stay tuned for pictures and my recipe. I've made a complete blend in the past, the fish and corals go NUTS. And best thing, is its a fraction of the cost of the pre-packaged stuff. This time I'm going to make a smaller batch for my nano tank though.
Received ReefBrite Halide Hybrid Hanging Kit last night and hung the pendant. Its a bit off center due to bulb placement I wanted it slightly left. I added a fan from Target on the wall. It's not the most attractive addition to a reef tank, my wife hates it btw, but it works. The halide was heating my tank from 78-83 daily and this fan keeps it at 76 if I wanted it to. I just really hope this works over the summer because I do not want to use a chiller unless I absolutely have to. I was looking at the tunze aquawind but couldn't justify 80 dollars for 2 computer fans in a nice package. This fan only cost me 15 dollars.
I replaced the 1.5 gallon ATO under the tank with this 14g rubbermaid container. Between the bulkhead, container, and fittings, this only cost me 25 dollars for a 14g top off. Its placed on the wall on the other side of my tank in our laundry room. I have easier access to fill it and a nice counter to put it. I eventually want to drill a small hole in the wall so its not so obvious, right now I just have tubing going around the wall. (Wanted to make sure everything worked before I drilled holes int he wall.)
This is day 8 of the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit cycle. As you can see I have some algae growth. I ordered a small clean up crew that should be here Thursday or Friday. Ordered 4 reef hermits, 4 astrae snails, and 1 fighting conch.
Coming next... I'm going to make some homemade fish food this weekend. Stay tuned for pictures and my recipe. I've made a complete blend in the past, the fish and corals go NUTS. And best thing, is its a fraction of the cost of the pre-packaged stuff. This time I'm going to make a smaller batch for my nano tank though.
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Nice!
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cpllongjk
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Thanks. Hermits and Snails coming tomorrow. Can't wait for them to start chowing down on this algae.
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cpllongjk
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Update...
Ok, so I didn't like how long the cycle was taking with the red sea cycle kit. The kit is set up for using "live" rock not "dead" rock. They really should have both sets of instructions in the box since so many people use dead rock now.
On wednesday my nitrates were 60-80 and my phosphates were 0.15
I added 5mL of Microbacter7 on Thursday and Tonight and kept up with the red sea dosing regime and my nitrates are 10-20 and 0.04
On Sunday I will be out of the nitrate and phosphate reducer and will convert to microbacter7 and vodka dosing for the duration of the tank. The only thing I dont like about dosing microbacter7 is the fact that I have to turn the skimmer off for 4 hours following dosing, but it isn't a big deal because I created a feed mode for 4 hours when I dose it.
My goal is to get nitrate and phosphate stable at around 0ppm for both while making sure algae isnt in the tank, I still have a bit of diatoms and a few sprinkles of green hair like algae on the glass, rock, and sand. I am going to slowly add 3-4 fish over the course of the next 2 months before I even attempt adding my first piece of sps. This will also allow the tank to truly cycle and develop a bacteria culture in the "dead" rock. I will also use this time to figure out a schedule for alk/ca/mg dosing.
My parameters are:
pH 7.9-8.2 (looking for a way to keep it in the 8.2-8.4 range, while keeping dKH lower)
Temp 76.7-78.6
Mg 1200
dKH 9.9-10.5 (letting go down a bit, want it to be around 7.5-8)
Ca 340
Any ideas?
Ok, so I didn't like how long the cycle was taking with the red sea cycle kit. The kit is set up for using "live" rock not "dead" rock. They really should have both sets of instructions in the box since so many people use dead rock now.
On wednesday my nitrates were 60-80 and my phosphates were 0.15
I added 5mL of Microbacter7 on Thursday and Tonight and kept up with the red sea dosing regime and my nitrates are 10-20 and 0.04
On Sunday I will be out of the nitrate and phosphate reducer and will convert to microbacter7 and vodka dosing for the duration of the tank. The only thing I dont like about dosing microbacter7 is the fact that I have to turn the skimmer off for 4 hours following dosing, but it isn't a big deal because I created a feed mode for 4 hours when I dose it.
My goal is to get nitrate and phosphate stable at around 0ppm for both while making sure algae isnt in the tank, I still have a bit of diatoms and a few sprinkles of green hair like algae on the glass, rock, and sand. I am going to slowly add 3-4 fish over the course of the next 2 months before I even attempt adding my first piece of sps. This will also allow the tank to truly cycle and develop a bacteria culture in the "dead" rock. I will also use this time to figure out a schedule for alk/ca/mg dosing.
My parameters are:
pH 7.9-8.2 (looking for a way to keep it in the 8.2-8.4 range, while keeping dKH lower)
Temp 76.7-78.6
Mg 1200
dKH 9.9-10.5 (letting go down a bit, want it to be around 7.5-8)
Ca 340
Any ideas?
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Ok, A little over a month into the build and parameters are...
What's going on:
pH 7.9-8.2 (depending on if I air out room, sticks to 8.1-8.3 when I air the room out.)
Temp Avg 78 (give or take 1 degree, pretty rock solid)
Mg 1320-1350 (red sea)
dkh 7.0-7.5 (red sea and hanna)
Ca 390-420 (red sea)
Nitrate 0.2ppm (salifert)
Phosphate 0.02-0.05ppm (hanna)
There is a small bit of hair algae left that the snails and manual removal are taking care of. I was dosing Vodka to aide in reducing nitrates and phosphates and am switching over to RedSea NO3PO4X from here on out for a more balanced carbon source.
I dose 2mL of KZ Coral Snow daily in the morning before the MH comes on.
I'm running 1/2 cup of BRS ROX 0.8 Carbon in a filter sock (have a BRS Mini Reactor on its way.)
Running RowaPhos to aide in removal of phosphates locked in the rock, I know it's advised to not do this while carbon dosing but I know the rock is leaching phosphates so I am just trying to pick those up as they release. When I run out of Rowa, probably another month, I will just stick to dosing a carbon source. I hope the rock are not leaching as bad by then.
I'm changing 2 gallons of water using Instant Ocean every week on Saturday or Sunday. In order to keep parameters stable I have to add 12 mL of Magnesium and 5 mL of Calcium to each water change. The IO is lacking in some things. After I run out of this bucket of IO, long time, I will most likely be switching to Tropic Marin Pro Reef and then increasing my water changes to 5 gallons per week. TM Pro Reef has spot on my ideal parameters out of the bucket so I wouldn't have to fiddle with the mix to get it right.
I am working out a dosing schedule for the Alk/Calcium. I need to keep testing but I think, at this point, I am losing about .2-.3 dkh per day and 5ppm calcium per day. Spots of coralline algae are popping up on the back wall and near the sandbed on the front and sides of glass so it's just a matter of time before the alk/calcium starts getting heavily consumed.
Issues:
The glass is dusted with a very fine layer of algae 2-3 times a day. It comes off very easily however it clouds vision of the tank. I'm thinking it's coming from the leaching phosphates from the dry fiji rock that was used.
I figure I am probably going to dose 2/3 part with this build since it's smaller however, I don't know which 2/3 part solution is best. I want the highest quality solutions since this is going to be mostly sps tank and I want great color and growth. I've heard great things about Fauna Marin and RedSea. Any suggestions? I typically used BRS 2/3 part in the past.
Coming Soon:
I am switching out my LifeReef skimmer for a Deltec SC 1351. I love my LifeReef however it is waaaay oversized for my reef.
I don't plan on adding any SPS until the all the GHA disappears and I finish adding my bioload. So far I have 5 blue/green chromis, 1 pygmy cherub angel, 1 tailspot blenny, and 1 clown goby. I plan on adding 1 helfrichi firefish and I cannot decide on the last fish, maybe a mystery wrasse or a flame wrasse (the mystery wrasse is probably more suited to my size tank)
What's going on:
pH 7.9-8.2 (depending on if I air out room, sticks to 8.1-8.3 when I air the room out.)
Temp Avg 78 (give or take 1 degree, pretty rock solid)
Mg 1320-1350 (red sea)
dkh 7.0-7.5 (red sea and hanna)
Ca 390-420 (red sea)
Nitrate 0.2ppm (salifert)
Phosphate 0.02-0.05ppm (hanna)
There is a small bit of hair algae left that the snails and manual removal are taking care of. I was dosing Vodka to aide in reducing nitrates and phosphates and am switching over to RedSea NO3PO4X from here on out for a more balanced carbon source.
I dose 2mL of KZ Coral Snow daily in the morning before the MH comes on.
I'm running 1/2 cup of BRS ROX 0.8 Carbon in a filter sock (have a BRS Mini Reactor on its way.)
Running RowaPhos to aide in removal of phosphates locked in the rock, I know it's advised to not do this while carbon dosing but I know the rock is leaching phosphates so I am just trying to pick those up as they release. When I run out of Rowa, probably another month, I will just stick to dosing a carbon source. I hope the rock are not leaching as bad by then.
I'm changing 2 gallons of water using Instant Ocean every week on Saturday or Sunday. In order to keep parameters stable I have to add 12 mL of Magnesium and 5 mL of Calcium to each water change. The IO is lacking in some things. After I run out of this bucket of IO, long time, I will most likely be switching to Tropic Marin Pro Reef and then increasing my water changes to 5 gallons per week. TM Pro Reef has spot on my ideal parameters out of the bucket so I wouldn't have to fiddle with the mix to get it right.
I am working out a dosing schedule for the Alk/Calcium. I need to keep testing but I think, at this point, I am losing about .2-.3 dkh per day and 5ppm calcium per day. Spots of coralline algae are popping up on the back wall and near the sandbed on the front and sides of glass so it's just a matter of time before the alk/calcium starts getting heavily consumed.
Issues:
The glass is dusted with a very fine layer of algae 2-3 times a day. It comes off very easily however it clouds vision of the tank. I'm thinking it's coming from the leaching phosphates from the dry fiji rock that was used.
I figure I am probably going to dose 2/3 part with this build since it's smaller however, I don't know which 2/3 part solution is best. I want the highest quality solutions since this is going to be mostly sps tank and I want great color and growth. I've heard great things about Fauna Marin and RedSea. Any suggestions? I typically used BRS 2/3 part in the past.
Coming Soon:
I am switching out my LifeReef skimmer for a Deltec SC 1351. I love my LifeReef however it is waaaay oversized for my reef.
I don't plan on adding any SPS until the all the GHA disappears and I finish adding my bioload. So far I have 5 blue/green chromis, 1 pygmy cherub angel, 1 tailspot blenny, and 1 clown goby. I plan on adding 1 helfrichi firefish and I cannot decide on the last fish, maybe a mystery wrasse or a flame wrasse (the mystery wrasse is probably more suited to my size tank)
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Upgrades... Upgrades... Upgrades...
I replaced the Lifereef Skimmer with the Deltec SC 1351. The Deltec is super small compared to the Lifereef. It is also sooooooooo much quieter and it's not even broken in.
I also added a 2nd mp10w and now have them on the back wall facing forward. One on the right wall and one on the left wall.
I replaced the Lifereef Skimmer with the Deltec SC 1351. The Deltec is super small compared to the Lifereef. It is also sooooooooo much quieter and it's not even broken in.
I also added a 2nd mp10w and now have them on the back wall facing forward. One on the right wall and one on the left wall.
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Well actually it came down to making my wife happy. The lifereef skimmer is awesome but there were two problems. 1. It was wayyyyy oversized for my tank. Look at the size differences. and 2. The lifereef was super noisy. If I turned off the skimmer my wife said "is your tank running?" The tank is ultra quiet now. I only hear the humm from the eheim return.
Happy wife happy life, am I right? I've actually been looking at possibly purchasing a LR skimmer. Is the noise really that bad? Holler if you decide to part ways with yours. I might be interested!
By the way, I love the way those lights look on your tank. Had me a Cadlights 39g with a T5/Halide combo and man that thing sparkled!
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cpllongjk
Active Member
Yes I am parting with the life reef. Before we moved my last tank was in a tank room but here it's in one of our living spaces. My wife hated any noise. She even hates the hum coming from my eheim return... Even though it's very minimal. The noise from the skimmer came from the Venturi not from the air hose. The air line is muffled very well. I'm going to try to sell it locally first because I've had skimmers break in shipping and even while insured UPS denies to cover the damages.
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cpllongjk
Active Member
I will. I sent you a message about the LifeReef Skimmer. So far the Deltec is still breaking in. It started developing foam after 8 hours but now the foam production is non-existent. I don't expect a good review for at least another 3-4 weeks. I will do a video review after it's fully broken in.
Waboss
Valuable Member
I've been seeing more and more about LR skimmers being a bit noisy. I wonder why. I love mine in my Reefer 170......and it's not loud at all. My return pump is louder and I can barely hear it.
Your tank's looking good!
Your tank's looking good!
stscream4187
Active Member
Looking great so far! I love my 250 Reefer.
