Red Sea Reef Max E260

[Luannh]

Hello, I'm new to R2R, Thanks for the warm welcome revhtree.
I got into saltwater about 1 -1/2 years ago.
Had freshwater tanks growing up and always loved saltwater tanks.
My first saltwater tank, was a 29 gallon Biocube, that I still have running with 2 clown fish and a few snails.
I've had a hard time keeping water parameters stable and also learned a few hard lessons with new fish dying.
I heard that a bigger tank is easier to manage.
So, I bought and set up a Red Sea Max E260 7 days ago.

It's beautiful, wasn't hard to set up at all.
The only problem I'm having is where the water level should be in the sump.
The manual wasn't really clear on that.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[kschweer]

Looks like a great start!!! Welcome to R2R!! I'm not familiar with the Red Sea tanks but I'm sure someone here can help you out!

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R. Beautiful start...love the aquascape. Sorry no help either on the water level question.

 

[melypr1985]

Welcome! Love that aquascape

 

[Luannh]

Thank's to all, I'm learning a lot from post's, articles and forums.

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Welcome to R2R! Sorry my welcome is about a week overdue. Your aquascape is fantastic. Did you use the Golden Ratio or the Golden Triangle to figure out how to place your aquascape?

- C. Smith

 

[spspirate]

Sweet scape!! Welcome to REEF2REEF!!!!

 

[glb]

 

[MCooper]

Looks great!

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome, nice looking tank

 

[Luannh]

Need help with cycle.
Update on my RS E260,
Needed more live rock so my scape has changed.
Thanks for the compliments, I just place the rock where I like it, not a pro at all.
I figured out the water level in the sump and added a Tunze ato, works like a charm.
My problem now is the cycle.
Tank has been set up now for a little over 2 weeks, and I haven't seen a ammonia spike.
Filled tank with RO/DI water.
Live rock except two pieces and live crushed coral.
I started with 1 table shrimp in tank.
Ammonia test during cycle has not spiked.
All tests now are at ph-8.0 Ammonia- 0.25 Nitrite- 0 Nitrate-10
I have 2 bags of carbon in the media rack, not sure if I need anything else in there.
The protein skimmer is skimming some gunk, around the top of neck, water in cup is a little dirty.
Any help with this cycle problem would be greatly appreciated!

 

[dbl]

In my opinion, given you used live rock and substrate, you may not have/had much of a cycle. It varies by tank/system. Since you're still showing a reading of .25, I would give it a little more time. I would then suggest getting some pure ammonia and add enough to get your level up to about 4-5 ppm. Test it 24 hours later and see where it's at. If the tank has truly cycled, you should not see any trace of ammonia after the 24 hours. Just one of many ways to go about it.

 

[Luannh]

Thank you for the quick reply!
What type of ammonia do you recommend?

 

[dbl]

Any "Pure" ammonia will work. You just don't want the stuff that has any additives in it, like for cleaning, etc. You can use Dr. Tims as it's inexpensive and the directions are right on the bottle!

https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquat...2664466&sr=8-1&keywords=dr.+tims+ammonia+pure

 

[Luannh]

Thanks dbl for your help.
I'm going to give the ammonia a try.

 

[Rpc07]

I have a Red Sea max E170 and I keep my level in the return chamber about 2 inches below the last baffle.

 

[Luannh]

Thanks Rpc07,
I'll check mine and see if it's right.

 

[Rpc07]

I don't think there is a right or wrong in the return chamber. As long as your pump is covered by 2-3 inches and it isn't over the baffle your good.

 

[Luannh]

Makes sense Rpc07, Thanks for your input.