Reefer Peninsula 500 and Red Sea Ecosystem

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 22, 2022

Slept on it and decided to go forward with the design.

I like the final look of three structures. The front structure is one while the rear structure is two large pieces.

I think I accomplished what I wanted as far as viewing angles. I also tried my best to provide enough housing for the fish I have: pygmy angels, blennies, and wrasses, and room for tangs to swim.

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 22, 2022

I also used a whole 16oz bottle of Glue Masters Ultra Thin glue to seal all top portions of the dry rock that can be exposed to lighting.

I'm experimenting if sealing the rock will help grow coralline faster with less algae. Will see if it helps.

Anyways, IT HAS BEGUN!

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 24, 2022

The tank is filled, finished the manifold, and added salt! Just waiting for everything to get settled before starting the Red Sea Reef Mature kit.

To-do's:
1. I need to finish the dosing bins and get the rack for the Red Sea Colors products on the pullout panel.
2. Figure out how to do an ATO and where the reservoir will go.
3. Hang pendent and install ReefLEDs.
4. Research an AWC system.
5. Rethink how the tank lid will work.
6. Before end of August be ready for fish transfer.

Here's some pics of the scape - a bit cloudy due to live sand.

Here's some pics of the cabinet and manifold.

kingoftheHiLLpeople · Jul 25, 2022

Love the scape man! Excited for you!

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 25, 2022

I hung the pendant and installed the ReefLEDs since the Reef Mature program requires it. Didn't take very long using the self drilling EZ Ancore (100lbs) anchors. Had to pick a laser level though.

After install I started the Reef Mature program. I am not planing on adding any animals during the process since I didn't start with live rock.

However, I have been curing about 20 Marine Pure cubes in my 250 for about a month now. If the curing does help establish the micro fauna I may add the CUC at day 10 and other recommendations only if parameters are good.

My total system volume is 132g, assuming rock and sand displacement, I estimated my system to be around 125g.

Reef Mature Day 2

Before dosing:
pH 8.0
KH 6.4

After dosing:
pH 8.41
KH 8.4 - I used the entire bottle per the dosing recommendation

Since it's just a waiting game from here on out. I'll update my progress on the Reef Mature program.

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 27, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 3 Update

I worked late into the night again working on the Hydros and connectivity-related issues. Had to stand up a 2.4ghz access point to my Google Mesh network to get the power strip to connect properly. Took me a bit to remember how to get access to it to turn the wireless back on. It's been working as an AP but with the wireless turned off. I now have a dedicated 2.4ghz signal for all reef-related IoTs - woot! After getting the power strip working I utilized the 4x USB ports to add a CPU fan inside the cabinet to circulate some air - it is damp in there. May add more fans since I have a few laying around and have three more USB ports.

Anyways, the update.

Tank Parameters	Program Expected Range	My Tank's Actual Range
Temp	78.8 - 82.4 F	78.3 - 79.3 (LEDs added 1 degree when on)
Salinity	1.023 - 1.025 @ 77 F	1.026 @ 79.0 F
pH	? (assuming >= 8.3)	8.02 (probe) - 8.2 (titration)
dKH	> 8.4 dKH	9.5 dKH
Ammonia	1 ppm	0.8 ppm
Nitrite	0.1 ppm	0.2 ppm
Nitrate	10-15 ppm	35 ppm

Program Recommended Dosing
Nitro Bac: 10ml per 25gal - ~~I only had 10ml left in the bottle, the second kit isn't here yet. I plan on adding the additional 40ml into Day 4 when the second kit arrives~~ - I just realized I dosed the wrong bottle, I only had 10ml left of the Bacto-Start... Hope this doesn't spur more algae blooms.

NOPOX: 3ml per 25gal - dosed 15ml even though I only dosed 1/5 of what I needed for the Nitro Bac. RS recommends not missing NOPOX dosing to prevent starvation of the culture and does not recommend adding missed amounts.

End of Day 3 Notes
I did not know ahead that I would need two kits to complete the program with my P500. So if you are doing the program on larger tanks, make sure you have enough.

I don't know if adding the additional Nitro Bac a day late will harm things. There is no mention of adding it if it was missed and assuming it's a bacteria culture, adding the dormant culture a day late is better than not?

It also appears that there's some conversion of ammonia to nitrite/nitrate - did baking the MarinePure cubes in my 250 help as a substitute for the live rock, or is it all because of the live sand?

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 27, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 4 Update

I received my second pack of the Reef Mature Program and dosed 50ml of the Nitro Bac I had missed yesterday.
Along with that dose, I dosed day four's recommended dosage of 3ml NOPOX per 25gal - totaling 15ml of NOPOX.

The program instructions didn't ask for testing for days 4 and 5, only to dose NOPOX.

Aside from that, I had ordered a Tunze ATO and put that in as well. I also grabbed a Kamoer X2S AWC pump. I don't know where I'll be putting this. I'm thinking downstairs and drilling a hole through the floor would be best, but I wanted to avoid drilling for now. I'm looking at some kind of cabinetry/furniture to put where all these things are now. The AWC will only run when I am present - will see.

ATO setup for now.

Some images of the fans I've installed inside the cabinet. They're doing double duty, removing warm moist air out of the cabinet, and cooling the LED drivers for my ReefLEDs which I've installed outside the stand along the back.

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 29, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 5 Update

Nothing special today. Dosed recommended 3ml of NOPOX per 25gal. I dosed a total of 15ml of NOPOX.

The booklet noted there would be blooms of algae around the 4-5 day mark. I have not seen anything. It is my first time using Reef Mature so I don't know what to expect. I didn't use live rock either, and the dry rock I used I also sealed with super glue per an experiment I'm doing. I wonder if that had anything to do with it.

From my observations, the water cleared up dramatically. I stirred the sand up some more and moved some back to fill areas where the pumps had blown clear. It clouded the tank for about 6 hours. It is back to almost crystal. No observable difference at this point.

Ashish Patel · Jul 29, 2022

Looks great!

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 29, 2022

You got an awesome build @Ashish Patel.

Hows is your Hyrdos working? I'm having issues with my power strip.

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 29, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 6 Update

I was curious about where my parameters are so I took some measurements.

0.2 Ammonia

0.75 Nitrite

35 Nitrate

The program had me measure the consumption of KH and then calculate the daily dosage of the KH-Coralline Grow to continue dosing daily. I had a drop from 9.5 to 8.1, a difference of 1.4.

Since my initial measurement of 9.5 KH doesn't align with the program's 8.4 KH. I had to attempt to estimate my consumption per day.

First found out what my daily consumption of KH was.
1.4 consumption / 4 days = 0.35 KH consumption per day.

Then had to convert it to milliliters of KH-Coralline Grow.
1ml / 0.1KH to get a dosage amount of 3.5ml per 25gal.

Then since my system is about five times the bottle's dosage per 25gal, I multiplied by five.

So my equation is:

The bottle didn't have the dosage for my measurement of 8.1. But with the calculated value of 17.5ml, it put it close to how much I would need to dose to get it to 8.4 KH. This verifies my calculations but I hope it is correct. I'll be testing KH to confirm the dosage.

I dosed a total of 20ml of KH-Coralline Grow - I had filled my 10ml syringe all the way for each dose vs. just to 9ml by accident.

I also dosed a total dose of 15ml of NOPOX.

Question:
Would it be better to have the lowest KH level sit around 8.4 and have an elevated value of KH after dosing? Or is it better to have a max level of 8.4 KH and have that level deplete throughout the day until the next dose?

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 30, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 7 Update

The program recommended replacing 5% of system water. I replaced about 6.5 gallons of water.

Tank parameters after water change:
Temp 78.3
pH 8.16
KH 8.4
Ammonia 0.1 (it went down)
Nitrite 1+ (climbed above 1 on card)
Nitrate 35 (took middle value since color was in between)

I forgot to take photos of the tests tonight.

Dosed 50ml of Bacto-Start
Dosed 25ml of Nitro Bac
Dosed 15ml NOPOX
Dosed 18ml KH-Coralline Gro

Chee-tomorpha · Jul 31, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 8 Update

Nothing too special today. Just went with the recommended doses.

Dosed 15ml of NOPOX
Dosed 18ml of KH-Coralline Gro

I've got another order of Reef Mature coming in. I'm starting to think I will need a total of 5 kits...

Noticed some algae growth on the gyres.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 1, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 9 Update

Nothing special today.

Dosed 15ml NOPOX
Dosed 18ml KH-Coralline Gro

Water cleared up again after stirring the sand bed.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 2, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 10 Update

Tank parameters:
Temp 79.2
pH 8.15
KH 9.0
Ammonia 0.1
Nitrite 1+
Nitrate 50+

Dosed:
25ml Bacto-Start
25ml Nitro Bac
15ml NOPOX
18ml KH-Coralline Gro

The program recommends to add a CUC on day 10 but my parameters are too far off expectations so I won't be adding any life to the tank at this time.

On the plus side it appears that ammonia is decreasing so it's possible my tank is behind a few days. I didn't use live rock, missed adding Nitro-Bac on the proper day, and I did seal my dry rock with glue.

It is very possible that the dry rocks I sealed with glue are preventing bacteria to colonate. I hope this is not the case. Only time will tell and if the gamble pays off.

The rocks are still bone white and there's no algae of any kind I can see. What little was on the gyres are gone for some reason.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 4, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 11 Update

Dosed 15ml NOPOX
Dosed 18ml KH-Coralline Gro

I noticed some algae growing on the sand with lights off this morning. I believe it's diatoms.

The sealed rocks are still bone white, no noticable growth of any kind including coralline.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 5, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 12 Update

Dosed 15ml NOPOX
Dosed 18ml KH-Coralline Gro

I stirred up the sand some more and cleared up in a few hours.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 6, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 13 Update

Dosed 15ml NOPOX
Dosed 18ml KH-Coralline Gro

Nothing special today. Stirred up sand some more to continue clearing the silty particles. I also blew the rocks to clear them off as well. Water clarity is getting better each time I stir. I can't wait to test the parameters for tomorrow's check-in.

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 6, 2022

Reef Mature Program Day 14 Update

Did a 5% water change and dosed 15ml NOPOX and 18ml of KH-Coralline Gro. Nothing special to report. The program estimates my nitrates to be about 5ppm. So my program isn't going per plan. Ammonia seems to be inching down but hard to tell.

Needless to say I can't add the herbaceous fauna per the program timelines. I'll keep up with the program until the end to see if things take a turn. For now, I'm thinking if you don't have live rock, you shouldn't use this program.

Note: I started with live sand, Caribsea Fiji Pink and the Ocean Direct, 40lbs of each. And, some Marine Pure cubes cured for about a month.

My parameters before the water change:
pH 8.1
KH 9.2
Ammonia 0.1 - 0.2
Nitrite 1+
Nitrate 50+

Chee-tomorpha · Aug 6, 2022

Been busy getting my Mixing tubs and RO system done in the meantime.

I took a gamble and purchased an X2 kit to control my RO.

I got an Aquatic Life Smart Buddie RO/DI unit to help with water pressure and conserve my new DI addition.

I also got the Kamoer X2SR temporarily plumbed in and running a test schedule. It's currently just taking saltwater and pumping it back into the saltwater barrel for both heads. I am working on running 1/4" tubing upstairs.

I've also got enough wiring to relocate the Tunze Osmolator pump into the fresh water barrel. I'll be converting from the soft tubing to 1/4" rigid tubing as well.