Reefer 170 build

AMEE · Nov 19, 2016

Pulled the trigger early on buying a reefer 170 and sicce 2.0 pump. If you have seen my previous threads this will be my first tank with actual equipment.

So far I'm waiting for Black Friday deals to place some other stuff on order. So far I have in mind...

Ai prime hd
Mp10
IM Hydrofill ato or tunze osmolator nano?
Reef octopus 110sss or icecap k2-50?
Rock and sand options? So far I'm thinking reefcleaners

Any input would be appreciated.

AMEE · Nov 20, 2016

No bites huh. Anyway went with the RO110sss and the Tunza ato. Also picked up the BRS rodi 4 stage. Great deals!

swk · Nov 21, 2016

I think your purchases are fine so far. Why do you want LED? What type of reef will it be?

Sand - I like reef flakes or special grade reef sand
Rock - I really like the new Real Reef Rock. It looks great in person. Otherwise I had great results with marco rock. It leached ZERO po4 during the curing process. I was impressed and its a very easy rock to aquascape with

jsbull · Nov 21, 2016

I concur. Reef flakes are great. Reel reef rock is my favorite for sure.

I'm setting up a 170 right now. Are you sure you need a powerhead? You might be able to use Loc-line to get the flow you're after from your return pump. That'd save you some coin.

AMEE · Nov 27, 2016

swk said:
I think your purchases are fine so far. Why do you want LED? What type of reef will it be?

Sand - I like reef flakes or special grade reef sand
Rock - I really like the new Real Reef Rock. It looks great in person. Otherwise I had great results with marco rock. It leached ZERO po4 during the curing process. I was impressed and its a very easy rock to aquascape with

This will be mostly Lps and I have a bubble tip anemone that is doing good with my clown pair. Anemone is small and looks heathy. My corals have done good with a very cheap led light (current orbit) so I'm hoping I can just slightly kick it up a notch. The form factor also, the single light on a bracket is a look I love on a cube.

AMEE · Nov 27, 2016

jsbull said:
I concur. Reef flakes are great. Reel reef rock is my favorite for sure.

I'm setting up a 170 right now. Are you sure you need a powerhead? You might be able to use Loc-line to get the flow you're after from your return pump. That'd save you some coin.

Power head is just something I felt I needed for adjusting flow. Seems like most people have one some even two mp10s on a similar setup.

I went with the special grade sand from BRS and reef cleaners rock. I received the rock and love it!

AMEE · Nov 27, 2016

All equipment is in except for tank. How do you guys recommend starting the cycle on this tank. I probably will only end up moving over a single rock which is where my zoa garden is and the rock the anemone is on to pass it over. Can I put the other rock to help the tank cycle faster even if it has zoas I'm not a fan of?

jsbull · Nov 27, 2016

AMEE said:
All equipment is in except for tank. How do you guys recommend starting the cycle on this tank. I probably will only end up moving over a single rock which is where my zoa garden is and the rock the anemone is on to pass it over. Can I put the other rock to help the tank cycle faster even if it has zoas I'm not a fan of?

I'm a huge fan of Bio-Spira. I dump in the bottle, drop a raw food grade shrimp, a couple of silverside, or a bunch of pellets in and then start testing every day. With Bio-Spira, you only get a mini cycle, but that's all you need.

I'd be careful adding anything alive that you like to do the cycle, as you could easily lose it.

AMEE · Nov 27, 2016

jsbull said:
I'm a huge fan of Bio-Spira. I dump in the bottle, drop a raw food grade shrimp, a couple of silverside, or a bunch of pellets in and then start testing every day. With Bio-Spira, you only get a mini cycle, but that's all you need.

I'd be careful adding anything alive that you like to do the cycle, as you could easily lose it.

I meant swapping the things I want after the tank has fully cycled. But there are a few pieces from the original tank that will not want to keep in there and I was thinking of using that to seed it. I have used the shrimp method twice before and has worked perfect so maybe I'll stick to that. Will look into the bio-spira.

jsbull · Nov 27, 2016

If you use Bio-Spira, test every day. If you blink, you'll miss the cycle.

AMEE · Nov 27, 2016

jsbull said:
If you use Bio-Spira, test every day. If you blink, you'll miss the cycle.

I've been looking into Bio-spira. Looks like they say it's ok to use just minutes before the fish are introduced. How have you used it?

I'm thinking if I do this I can wait at least a week to see how it does and monitor the water. But should I be feeding the tank or add a table shrimp?

AMEE · Dec 6, 2016

Tank is up and running! Dosing ammonia to start the cycle this time. The tank is beautiful no regrets on any of the equipment.

AMEE · Mar 18, 2017

Pongo · Mar 18, 2017

Lookin' good, nice work.

AMEE · Apr 29, 2017

Some updates and new coral in the tank. All parameters stable tanks to ato with kalk and apex.
I also have a ig page where I do frequent updates NycReefer170

Blue Spot Octopus · Apr 30, 2017

So how are you liking the tank after a year, I like this model and the Nano as well.

AMEE · May 1, 2017

Blue Spot Octopus said:
So how are you liking the tank after a year, I like this model and the Nano as well.

It's a great tank. Build quality was better than I expected, both tank and stand are good quality. It's a compressed wood I believe but heavy like I have never seen. The finish looks great also kind of hard to have streak free. With the money if a clean set up is a must.