joro's Red Sea Reefer 170 Build

joro · Sep 19, 2016

Sorry for the delayed updates but my time has been focused on getting my current QT inhabitants (from 2 QT Tanks) into their 90G DT. I've been continuing with the Red Sea program in the Reefer but have noticed that I seem to be a few days behind the levels they suggest - I suspect this is because I started with dry rock and live sand vs. live everything. In any case, I did add the CUC this weekend and they've started to make some great progress on the diatom bloom.

This weekend has also given me the opportunity to "install" the ClearView Lid from @ArtFully Acrylic - which is a LFS for me - and is absolutely beautiful on the rimless Reefer. Kudos to these guys for making a fantastic product. I also spent the weekend re-organizing the "fish room" which turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. Still working on the stocking list for the Reefer, suggestions are welcome

joro · Oct 5, 2016

Finally back in town and got a shipment of LiveAquaria/AlgaeBarn/Biota creatures for the build. Unfortunately the cleaner shrimp from LA was DOA; however, the bonded pair of mandarins and the Helfichi Firefish are absolutely stunning. I'll take some pictures over the next few days but definitely good to see some movement in the tank

revhtree · Oct 5, 2016

Oh yea!!!

joro · Oct 6, 2016

Here's a few pics I was able to get of the Helfrichi Firefish and the Male Mandarin. The Mandarins are captive-bred from Biota and while tiny (probably 3/4 in) they are cruising around loving the AlgaeBarn pods! I've seen them peck a few pieces of frozen food when feeding so that's great but will continue to monitor to make sure they fatten up! Can't wait go get some corals in this tank over the weekend at MAMAX!

joro · Oct 9, 2016

Got back from MAMAX 2016 yesterday and got some great deals on corals including a bleeding apple scoly, a few different euphylias (including a bi-color torch), zoas, a sea fan, sun corals, and a bi-color plating monti. I haven't mounted anything as of yet but everything was wide open today and looking great. Even better, I got a call that a midas blenny I've had my eye on for the past few weeks which was on hold wasn't picked up, so I added him as well! Final fish additions will be two smaller snowflake clowns later this week and I should be set on that front!

Big shout out to @MAMAS for putting on a great show this year. This was my first time attending and I'll definitely be back!

revhtree · Oct 10, 2016

Nice job!

MrsBugmaster · Oct 13, 2016

One quick question for everyone, I've noticed the Sicce 2.0 definitely has a noticeable hum to it while running. I've tried isolating the return lines and putting the suction cups on to dampen the noise but it's definitely still noticeable even from the third story (which overlooks the tank). Any suggestions? This pump seemed to have great reviews from everything I've seen?

I had this same pump and it was noisy too. I replaced it with the Vectra M1 and I love it!

Chrisfish · Oct 13, 2016

Congratulations on your new additions! Your tank is looking awesome.

joro · Oct 14, 2016

MrsBugmaster said:
One quick question for everyone, I've noticed the Sicce 2.0 definitely has a noticeable hum to it while running. I've tried isolating the return lines and putting the suction cups on to dampen the noise but it's definitely still noticeable even from the third story (which overlooks the tank). Any suggestions? This pump seemed to have great reviews from everything I've seen?

I had this same pump and it was noisy too. I replaced it with the Vectra M1 and I love it!

I've been looking at replacing actually with the Vectra M1. How fast do you have it running (or how many lights) normally?

MrsBugmaster · Oct 14, 2016

I have it set on 3 lights.

joro · Oct 14, 2016

MrsBugmaster said:
I have it set on 3 lights.

So just picked up the M1 and got it installed, how did you get it dialed in? I have it at 2 lights and can't get the water level in the return chamber of the sump and/or the water level in the overflow to balance. If I close the drain more, the overflow is silent but there's essentially no water in the return chamber and the ATO keeps dumping water. If I open the drain more, the return chamber of sump is good but the overflow is low which causes gurgling.

By the way I've tried both 1, 2, and 3 lights all have the same problem - 1 side is out of balance and causing issues.

On a side note, everything is dead silent now so that's good

MrsBugmaster · Oct 14, 2016

You need to add more salt water to the tank. I made sure the return chamber stayed at 6 inches of water while the pump was at 3 lights, then I adjusted the valve for the overflow. The return chamber did end up with a little more water height but still under the black thing for the original ATO

joro · Oct 14, 2016

MrsBugmaster said:
You need to add more salt water to the tank. I made sure the return chamber stayed at 6 inches of water while the pump was at 3 lights, then I adjusted the valve for the overflow. The return chamber did end up with a little more water height but still under the black thing for the original ATO

It's been at a consistent level for the past month or so I've been running, so it seems a little odd I'd need to add more saltwater but it does make sense logically. I'm planning on doing a water change this weekend, so I'll just cut the ATO off for now and get it rolling over the weekend at full steam.

On a side note, got some more stuff today from BRS including their 2-part kit. On our 90G DT we are using Kalkwasser which works pretty well but I wanted to try out 2-part on this one. Will do manual dosing for now but may switch to a dosing pump if it becomes to much of a hassle!

MrsBugmaster · Oct 14, 2016

I did not have to add much water, maybe a couple quarts or less. I had the same problem until I added more water and it worked for me.

joro · Oct 14, 2016

MrsBugmaster said:
I did not have to add much water, maybe a couple quarts or less. I had the same problem until I added more water and it worked for me.

Cool, thanks for the tip and I'll let you know!

joro · Oct 17, 2016

Quick update - picked up the 2 snowflake clowns which were pending QT at our LFS this weekend and got a pic of the midas. Everyone has seemed to settle in nicely and the snowflakes have really drawn out the other inhabitants - the Midas, who wouldn't come out, is now actively swimming around and eating with the turkey baster in the tank, so good progression! My goal this week is to mount all the frags from the show and start dosing the BRS 2-part. We also picked up a very large turbo snail which my son is calling "Big Papa" who hopefully will clean up the algae outbreak we're having due to the more frequent feedings, especially of the Sun Corals and Red Sea Fans (NPS). Also, thanks to @MrsBugmaster for the tips on dialing in the Vectra M1, everything is whisper quiet / balanced after the water change.

MrsBugmaster · Oct 17, 2016

Looks great. Glad you were able to get it dialed in.

Daniel@R2R · Oct 17, 2016

Looking good! I really want an M1. I'm saving pennies so I can pull the trigger.

joro · Oct 20, 2016

So pulled the trigger today on the ReefLink and definitely a worthwhile addition with so many of the EcoTech products in this tank. Setting up the 2x MP10s was very easy and it also forced me to do a calibration on the Vectra, which was straightforward and something I should have done when I got it as it was pushing too much water even at 2 / 10 lights. Now with the calibrated pump, I'm running it at 9/10 at the lower calibration and it's been working wonderfully!