Red Sea Max 170 AIO

[DukeLeto]

Hi Everyone. I have ordered a Red Sea Max 170 to set up as a reef tank for Zoas and softies. I plan to go bare bottom. This will be my first reef tank but I have kept a saltwater 50 gallon fish tank for many years. I look forward to learning and sharing this experience

 

[DukeLeto]

About to start curing the reef rock. I have played around with an aquascape. Do you think this is to much rock? The top of the structure is 1/2 the tank depth. The layout on the board allows 4 inches from the front glass and 2 inches on the other sides

 

[DukeLeto]

...deleted pics...

 

[DukeLeto]

deleted pic

 

[DukeLeto]

Or perhaps this with less rock...

 

[DukeLeto]

Ok last one. Maybe more like this

 

[Robg139]

You should go to the Aquascape forum. They have a couple of really insightful articles. Helped me when I aquascaped but yes so far looks really good.

 

[DukeLeto]

Thank you, I will check that out!

 

[DukeLeto]

Hi Everyone. Just a quick update. My tank is still backordered so nothing new there. However, I put a pulsing xenia frag in my saltwater fish tank at the office after being assured that the peppermint shrimp would not bother it. Forgive the low quality video but as you can plainly see, the peppermint shrimp simply destroys the xenia!

 

[DukeLeto]

Look what showed up today

 

[DukeLeto]

The new tank is assembled! We are rethinking where it should go now that we see exactly how tall it is! This is my first tank with 1/2 glass. It was shockingly heavy!

 

[DukeLeto]

The task for today is to silicone the ABS board to the bottom of the tank, neaten up the mess of plugs, and place the tank in its final position. Tuesday the plan is to just mix up the water and Wednesday to create the rock structures from those rocks which have been patiently waiting to move into their new home and add the water to the tank.

 

[Gone fishing]

Thats a nice tank I used to have one and loved it

 

[Phil D.]

Got one for daughter 3 months ago. The Reef LED is an AWESOME light! I put corals that were bleaching in my tank, (AI Hydra 26 HDs) into hers and they are coming back.

 

[hotdrop]

If you haven’t started soaking/curing your rocks, you should ASAP. Also I’d recommend you avoid overhangs as much as possible as they become unusable space for corals.

I think with 4 big rocks total would be a very usable layout, try not to go more than half the tank height. Also with 4 rocks it will be easy to remove and scrub the rocks when 6months in you get a nussance algee or other pest. If you are worried about not enough rock use a Brightwell brick in the sump.

 

[DukeLeto]

If you haven’t started soaking/curing your rocks, you should ASAP. Also I’d recommend you avoid overhangs as much as possible as they become unusable space for corals.

I think with 4 big rocks total would be a very usable layout, try not to go more than half the tank height. Also with 4 rocks it will be easy to remove and scrub the rocks when 6months in you get a nussance algee or other pest. If you are worried about not enough rock use a Brightwell brick in the sump.

Hi hotdrop! Thanks for stopping by. I've had some reef rock stewing for some 8-10 weeks now. Thanks for your input. If all stays on schedule, tommorow will be the day I make something out of those rocks and fill the tank. Have a blessed day!

 

[TheWB]

Looks like you are to a good start. Following along to check out what you create.

 

[DukeLeto]

It’s finally put together and everything seems to be working well. My rocks won’t win any aquascaping awards but there are places for corals. The have been curing with bacteria for 9 weeks. I added some more bacteria since it’s in a different tank and will probably give it a couple more weeks before adding a fish to it

 

[Jamestown]

The new tank is assembled! We are rethinking where it should go now that we see exactly how tall it is! This is my first tank with 1/2 glass. It was shockingly heavy!

I also could not believe how heavy this tank was when mine came in. I couldn't imagine how heavy the big ones are

 

[Bossman]

Very nice tank! I have a 170 as well.

I like your aquascaping. Your fish will like it too I'm sure!