Vitaly's Red Sea Reefer 250 build...

[Vitaly S]

Hey all.

This is build/progress thread on RSR 250, my first salt water tank.

After watching bunch of BRS videos decided to take a plunge . Bought majority of items from them during Black Friday sales...

My setup at this time consist of:

• RSR 250 (55 gal display + 11 gal sump)
• 2x IA Hydra 26 lights (came with the tank)
• Reef Octopus Essence S-130 protein skimmer
• Reef Octopus Varios-2 controllable DC pump
• 300 Watt Titanium heater (using apex as temp controller)
• Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO
• 2x Vortech MP40WQD powerheads
• Apex LE
• WXM module for Apex (just received, have not set it up yet)
• 3x 20 pounds CaribSea special grade sand (only used 2 bags)
• 60 pounds of Reef Saver dry live rock (used about half of it)
• Red Sea salt - blue bucket, I've spilled quarter of it .. bag was loose, so bought black bucket at LFS, so I kind of have mixed type of salt

Here are a few picture of my tank:






I am now on day 9 of the cycling process. Using Red Sea mature kit. However, my test results way off their listed figures. I have not gotten any growth, while they say I should have some already... Only thing I am seeing so far is brownish slime in the skimmer.

 

[James M]

Follow along
What’s your plan for this tank ?

 

[Flameback Pair]

That skimmer is awesome !! Couldn't go with it for my RSR 250 because I have a custom sump and it does not fit.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Tank looks awesome. Welcome to R2R!

 

[SPR1968]

The tank looks great and welcome to R2R!

The sump and equipment cabinets very neat and tidy

 

[Vitaly S]

Thank you all!

At this time I do not have solid plan on what I want to stock my tank with. Will have pair of clowns for sure, maybe an anemone at some point for them to host in. Thinking of yellow tang, but not 100% sure as some people say I would need bigger aquarium, other say get small one and then donate it when it grows too big. For corals I think, I will start with softies/lps, have my eye set on green star polyp, hammer, some zoas, eventually want to get sps corals. However, that would be once tank has matured a bit and I am able to maintain stable water parameters.

I've spent some time trying to figure out what skimmer to get. Overall Reef Octopus seems to have a lot of good reviews, and this skimmer is bit oversized for this tank, so I think it will be able to handle anything I can throw at it.

For now I am on day 10 of cycle. Ammonia is at 0, Nitrite (NO2) is at 0, and Nitrates (NO3) off the chart deep purple on the RS test kit color chart. I am running 10 hours of lights per RS booklet. By now they stating I should be getting clean up crew, but I do not feel comfortable with Nitrates levels, so will hold off until levels fall a bit.

 

[Flameback Pair]

I've spent some time trying to figure out what skimmer to get. Overall Reef Octopus seems to have a lot of good reviews, and this skimmer is bit oversized for this tank, so I think it will be able to handle anything I can throw at it.

That skimmer should be fine for your tank. You can grow into it. A little oversize right now won't hurt as those ratings are just a guideline and are flexible.

 

[Vitaly S]

Good point powers2001!

A little update on cycling:
Still have ammonia, but it is low registering about 0.05 I approximated it (RS test kit, color is not yellow, but getting there); Nitrite is about 0.2. I got some brown growth on rocks, pictures below.

I've also got 2 cups of phytoplankton/pods mix from LFS, they said it should help out with the cycle. Brown growth subsided a little over last couple days, so not sure if it just natural or due to things I've added. I have run out of RS mature kit, but since my tank was not hitting test results they were saying I should be hitting I decided to add Bio-Spira instead and then ride test results out.

I will be traveling Thursday-Monday, so hopefully when I return parameters will be ok to add some clean-up crew.

First is unedited image of brown growth, second one is google edited, it shows growth a bit better.

 

[Westside Guy]

Welcome to R2R, I love your setup! Please keep us updated as you add to the tank.

I am also a first time saltwater tank owner and had my Reefer 250 setup 3 weeks ago. Hopefully I will add an Apex setup down the road.

Also let me know how you like the Tunze 3155 ATO as I am not totally pleased with the float ATO setup that came with the tank.

 

[Vitaly S]

Tunze is awesome. Took me a while to place sensor at proper place, was hard to get there as I had only 2-3 inch space between sump and cabinet wall, but now keeps water level exactly where it needs to be. Only complaint is how loud water is when it falls into the sump. I had to place hose high enough to avoid the siphoning issues. I use 5gal water container and it lasts me about 3-4 days.

 

[Flameback Pair]

@Vitaly S do you control your Vortechs with your Apex?

 

[Vitaly S]

@Vitaly S do you control your Vortechs with your Apex?

@powers2001

Yes I do. I bought WMX module and it controls vortechs perfectly. My vortechs are on the back glass on left and right side, I have to run them on fairly low setting, or I get sand blown from opposite corners.
Here is the screenshot of my schedule. Left and Right run on the same schedule

 

[Vitaly S]

So I am just about over 30 days of cycling. I have zero Ammonia and Nitrite for about a week. Nitrates have been off the chart for whole last week, registering at or above 50(max) on the Red Sea test kit. Not sure how long it should take for these to fall down. I am planning to do about 10% water change this weekend. Hopefully this will help.

I do not have a lot of algae grows, but I do see tiny brown hair on rocks and sand. I have been run lights throughout the whole cycle so far. This is my schedule for lights, I am using mostly BRS settings (just bit more white light in the evening, purely for aesthetics):

 

[Flameback Pair]

@Vitaly S are you going to get the VDM module for your Reef Octo return pump so you can control it from your ApexEL?

 

[Vitaly S]

@powers2001 Do not really see value in controlling the pump. It runs at constant speed and keep water at proper level. If I need to shut it down I can already do this by shutting off the outlet through apex interface.

I just bought a larger ATO container 10Gal, I had to refill my 5Gal every 3 days, water evaporates too quick. Also got some activated carbon and heater with thermostat for redundancy. I will post pictures over weekend.

If/When I get next apex modules it would be either leak detection kit or another power bar.

As of right now I am on day 38 of cycle, but my nitrates as still at max, not sure why they are not falling. I had Ammonia and Nitrites at 0 for two weeks now, but Nitrates are not falling at all....

 

[smellytunic]

Not sure you are ever going to see your Nitrates fall without some means of removing them. This could be via water changes, macro algae in a refugium, lesser extent from coral growth. Nitrates are the end result of the nitrogen cycle which is a good sign your tank is cycling by converting ammonia and nitrites into nitrates.

 

[Westside Guy]

Tunze is awesome. Took me a while to place sensor at proper place, was hard to get there as I had only 2-3 inch space between sump and cabinet wall, but now keeps water level exactly where it needs to be. Only complaint is how loud water is when it falls into the sump. I had to place hose high enough to avoid the siphoning issues. I use 5gal water container and it lasts me about 3-4 days.

I just bought a larger ATO container 10Gal, I had to refill my 5Gal every 3 days, water evaporates too quick. Also got some activated carbon and heater with thermostat for redundancy. I will post pictures over weekend.

Please indulge me as I have a few more questions regarding your ATO setup as I am convinced I need to get the Tunze 3155 for my new Reefer 250 instead of trusting the Red Sea gravity float ATO setup. Is your new 10 gallon ATO inside of the RS cabinet? If yes, what is the make, the model and where did you purchase it?

Because of the potential siphoning issues with a bigger ATO did you have to move the hose up to the main display tank instead of where I see it pictured attached to the right rear corner of your sump behind the skimmer?

If possible please include some pictures of the Tunze sensor placement and also the new location of the hose if you have moved it.

I will be looking forward to viewing your updated photos.

 

[Vitaly S]

@smellytunic thank you for this bit of info! I will do 20% water change this Saturday, and will start looking what kind of fish I can get.

@Westside Guy I got container from the Bulk Reef Supply, and it is made by Trigger Systems. This fits perfectly in the cabinet, but does not leave much more room, you will have couple inches on sides, and about an inch between front end and cabinet door.

I have not moved hose yet, I am filling container only up to 9Gal mark so hope this would prevent siphoning issues. I've tried placing hose in the main tank (before getting this container), but this causes overflow to overfill and water drain through backup pipe.

I am attaching overall view and hose placement. My office is too dark to get good picture of the sensor right now. I will take pictures on Saturday during the day.

 

[Westside Guy]

Thanks for the pictures, I have to think about this setup as I have the Ecotech battery backup in the back of the cabinet and my power strip on the right side wall and I promised my wife I would place everything inside of the cabinet as the tank is in the living room.

By the way did you do anything with the old RS ATO tank?

 

[Vitaly S]

@Westside Guy Sorry had busy weekend. Below are the pictures of the ATO sensor location. Side and top view, overall location is section with the return pump, far left corner of the sump. Coincidentally, cabinet has a line going behind sump, and this line aligns with the necessary water level, which if I remember correctly is 6 inch.

Original ATO is still in the box, not sure what I will do with it.