My new Max E260

DT in DXB

New Member
Hi everyone!

This is my first post so I will provide a quick introduction of myself.

I live in Dubai and have just traded in my Juwel Vision 260 freshwater tank for my first ever marine tank.
I believe this is the first E260 in Dubai so I ordered it purely from internet research.
As I am a total noob at saltwater, I was really keen on the plug and play nature of the Max systems and when the E series came out with the LED lighting, I was hooked.

My experience with the system so far (5 days) has been really good. It was easy to build and set up. The tank itself looks great and the lights are amazing. I have some photos of the whole process:

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I went for a coarse grain substrate so it wouldn't blow around in the turbulence and added about 30kg of cured live rock.
My local fish store said that I didn't need to use RO/DI water which surprised me but when I saw their tanks that were using bottled water, I went for that. RO/DI units are really hard to get here and bottled water is cheap but I hope I don't regret this decision!

The water became crystal clear in less that 2 days which was impressive and now I am just tinkering with the salinity level and getting the hang of using the multiple test kits that I now have! I did my first set of tests today with the following results:

Salinity: 1.024
PH: 8.2
Kh: 3.75 (10.5 dKh)
Calcium: 430
Ammonia: 0.0154 ppm (Not sure if I did the maths right on this one)
Nitrate: 10

My main concern is that the temperature is stable at 30 degrees, even in the air conditioned house. I would be very appreciative of any advice on whether I should just spring for a chiller straight away or whether I can focus on hardy fish and corals (which was the plan anyway) and leave it at 30.

I have also ordered a Tunze osmolator and have a 60 litre tub under the tank. If anybody has fitted one of these to a E series, I would appreciate a photo of where you put it.

So there you have it, I'm really excited to finally have a marine tank in the house and can't wait to start populating it!

Cheers

DT
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
welcomefish.gif


to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members :nessie:


Cheers for starting a tank thread & sharing your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics

Great Start ! Here one post you may be interested in ...

Ron Shimek's Website...Critters

a partial extract...

The average temperature calculated for all 1000 + coral reefs was 81.7°F. Over all reefs, the average lowest temperature observed was 76.4°F, and the average highest temperature was 86.4°F. One way that these data could be interpreted would be to say that for most corals and coral reef animals, the best conditions would be between 76°F and 86°F, with the average being about 82°F.
 

DT in DXB

New Member
OK, so I put the ATO unit in today. It was pretty simple. I ended up squeezing it into the right hand side next to the media rack as that side seems to go down considerably faster than the left or skimmer chambers. I'll keep 40l in the tub but it could hold 60l for when we go away. I expect 40l to last about 15 days so that should be plenty.

Another question:

Do I need to treat the ATO water with anything like Stability or Prime? I am guessing that Prime won't last long enough to have an effect but stability probably won't hurt.

I have been eagerly awaiting the ammonia spike to signal the start of the cycle but it hasn't happened yet (day 6) with readings steady at 0.2.

Pictures of the ATO setup below.

Cheers

DT

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DT in DXB

New Member
Well I really can be thick sometimes!

I have just realised why the ammonia levels aren't spiking: I've been dosing Stability (plus a dose of Prime on day 1) this whole time which would keep a lid on the ammonia (now between 0 and 0.2). I was at the point of ordering the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro kit to start again when I realised that this is what was probably going on and I am actually still on track for this cycle.

If the Red Sea kit was available when I bought the tank, I would have definitely gone for that but product delivery is patchy to the Middle East so I went with LFS recommendation to get the system started. I've dosed the ATO reservoir with Stability as well. Couldn't hurt.

I would like to get into the Red Sea Marine/Reef Care program as soon as I can but am not sure what product to start with now that I am half way through cycling. My guess is that I should start with Corraline Gro and Reef Foundation as the cycle completes but I would welcome advice on this decision. I need plenty of lead time to order the right products.

I have bitten the bullet on temperature as well and am looking at suitable chillers. Not really how I wanted to use my space and electricity but 30 degrees is just way too warm.

Other than that, the tank looks great....but empty.

Cheers

DT
 

DT in DXB

New Member
So I've made the decision to start the Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit from day 1. I felt that I was flying blind with the way my cycle was going and was in danger of not really understanding what was going on in my tank when I added livestock. The water parameters haven't changed significantly since day 1 and my LFS is pretty scant on advice.

Red Sea support confirmed that if I start their program right from the start, then I should achieve the results described in the manual even with my partially (?) cycled tank.

This will obviously put me back a couple of weeks but I think the conservative approach will be worth it in the long run. I also hated not knowing exactly why my tank wasn't showing any changes - was the live rock dead, am I using the test kits right? etc.

The only other significant development is that the two lighting power supplies fell off their velcro mounts today after melting the glue. They are REALLY hot! Is this normal?

Anyway, I moved them out to the back of the cabinet where there is a bit more cooling airflow. They are still stuck on using velcro but this obviously exposes them to spills/leaks out the back so I will look at trying to protect them a little bit if i can.

Cheers

DT
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Look into ATM Colony. It cycles virtually straight away. Have used on my 260 and about to use in new 650


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DT in DXB

New Member
I am now into day 6 of the Red Sea Reef Mature program and until now things had been going as per the plan.......however today I measured the dKH at 9.5 which is actually HIGHER than when I started the program. I was expecting it to be around 8 and therefore add a decent dose of KH Coralline Gro to get it up to 8.4 but this is not the case.

I have plenty of brown/red algae growing (see pic) but it is quite furry and so I'm not sure if this is Coralline or not. There is a really small amount of green slime growing as well.

Hopefully someone with the right bio/chemistry knowledge can explain what's going on.

I also installed a Hailea HC-300A chiller last week with a SICCE Syncra 1.5 pump attached. This is way above my needs for a 260l tank but it was the only one available in between 1/10 and 1 hp so I went for it. I have to admit that it is much noisier than the reviews suggested but it is only on for about 15 minutes every 2 hours (middle of summer) so I hope it won't be too much of an annoyance.

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DT in DXB

New Member
Almost a month in now and my first livestock appears to be going well.

I went into the LFS to get my water tested and pick up a clean up crew of snails and crabs. They were really happy with the parameters and said that I could get fish instead! I chose a Diamond Goby which I had researched and had my eye on for a while but then the LFS threw me a curve ball and suggested that I get a Yellow Tang as well. You can see from the photos below that there is plenty of algae for a Tang to feed on so it seemed logical but my knowledge of these fish was limited to say the least.

In the end, they didn't have any Yellow Tangs so recommended a Sailfin Tang instead which is a beautiful fish, but that's all I really knew about that.

So in true "don't try this at home" fashion, I brought home fish that I wasn't really ready for and started researching them as the acclimation process was under way.

I was comfortable with the Goby but was surprised to learn that the minimum recommended tank size for the Tang was at least twice the size of my tank! I called the LFS to check and they assured me that he would be fine and I have to admit that he has made himself right at home and started the lawn mowing like a champ. I am really attached to him and will revisit the tank size at a later date if it is going to be an issue.

I have also added a couple of Nerite snails to clean off the back glass and will probably add some more as they aren't as active as I was led to believe. Maybe they just need some time to adjust.

As you can see below, I have excelled at growing hair algae all over the tank. Literally every rock surface was covered before the fish arrived and they have done a great job at cleaning the front gravel and lower portions of the live rock.

I actually thought I had lost the Goby as I didn't see him for about 4 days after putting him in the tank. It turns out that he was excavating under both main sections of rock and now has a tunnel and cave network that any Viet Cong commander would have been proud of. He is much more active now and is good mates with the Tang.

I'm going on holiday for a week, so won't be introducing anything else until I get back. I have someone to monitor the tank whilst I am away. I don't intend to feed the fish in the hope that this will encourage them to continue eating the slime and apart from emptying the skimmer and continuing with the remaining NOPOX dosing program, there isn't really much to do.

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Cheers

DT
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
... then the LFS threw me a curve ball and suggested that I get a Yellow Tang as well. ...

In the end, they didn't have any Yellow Tangs so recommended a Sailfin Tang instead which is a beautiful fish, but that's all I really knew about that.
...
I was comfortable with the Goby but was surprised to learn that the minimum recommended tank size for the Tang was at least twice the size of my tank! I called the LFS to check and they assured me that he would be fine and I have to admit that he has made himself right at home and started the lawn mowing like a champ. ...

Your going to find out very quickly that LFSs are usually poorly informed when it comes to any kind of advanced aquarium system. Case in point they sold you a fish that has requirements you can't meet. All to often they are more interested in making the sale rather than seeing you get what is right for your tank. On top of that they lied to you when you questioned them later.

As I see it you have two options. You can return the fish and get something else, or you can start planning to upgrade your tank to something large enough to handle the fish. You might get away with your system for a year or two, but tangs grow fast, and it will soon outgrow the tank.
 

DT in DXB

New Member
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As you can see the Tang is clearing the algae nicely from the tank. He should be finished in about a week or so. I am already supplementing his diet with shrimp and will add some seaweed when the algae is gone.

Unfortunately while I was away, my Gobi jumped out of the tank and tried to walk away. I suspect that the Tang might have chased him out which is a real shame because I originally wanted the Gobi and not the Tang.

I spoke to a couple of different fish shops as I am treating my LFS advice with a fair bit of skepticism and they suggested that the best way to keep them both together is to get a pair of larger Gobis and put them in together. This will hopefully make the Tang divide his attention and allow the Gobis to establish themselves. I will only try this once as I don't want to needlessly put fish in a hostile environment.

Prior to going away I added a red leg and a blue leg Hermit crab plus about another 6 Nerite snails. They are doing fine although I only see the crabs about once a week!

Once i got back I put a pair of small clown fish in and they are doing great! They cartwheel around the place non stop and are a lot of fun to watch. The kids love them of course too!

As far as the science goes, the water has been stable at:

Temp 26.5-27.0
Salinity 1.024-1.025
Ph 8.2-8.3
dKh 10.0-10.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

I am changing 10 litres of water every week and have cut the NOPOX down to 1ml per day as the Nitrate is at 0 and the Red Sea recommendation is between 1.0 to 2.5ppm. I can't really find the reason for wanting some Nitrate in the system but Red Sea hasn't steered me wrong yet, so I will play along. I am guessing that this is why my skimmer is producing very light waste at the moment.

I also did my first monthly clean and definitely learnt a few lessons here. You definitely need to think out your plan of attack when you want to do some more in depth maintenance, especially if you have your tank in a confined space like I do and rear access is difficult.

Take note if you are about to set up an E260:

1. Tying all of your cords up keeps them neat, but you have to untie them all when you remove pumps etc for cleaning.

2. The skimmer pump has no filter and collects algae VERY quickly when your Tang is ripping it off the rocks all day.

3. There is very little room at the back of the sump when you have a chiller and ATO unit pumping into and out of there. I had to remove the chiller piping and ATO sensors and pipe to remove the pump filter sponges. I don't see a way around this.

4. Removing the skimmer pump is a 2 man job in a crowded setup like mine. If you don't mind spilling water behind the tank, you can do it with one but be careful!

5. Moving my light power units to the back and attaching them with velcro was good for neatness and heat dispersion but point 4 above has meant that I moved them straight back into the cabinet. The same could be said for the chiller except I have a large ATO sump, massive chiller and not enough room for both. The chiller had to go out the back (better for heat dispersion too) but I have to be careful when I decide to splash water everywhere.

6. The power centre is a great idea but for some reason my ATO unit is flat pin type and has a massive (small really) power unit as its plug. So it won't fit. The chiller is Chinese, bought in the Middle East and has an Australian plug!! As a result I also have a separate power board behind the tank which is fine but doesn't make full use of the power centre. At the moment, I am switching the ATO unit on and off frequently and this is a pain unplugging it from out the back. I would love to get a new plug for this and might see if Tunze has them.

7. When the combs at the back of the tank fill with algae, and the outflow slows, the water level in the sump drops. The ATO of course tops this up but the level in the tank hasn't fallen. This of course presented itself while I was away but luckily my helper noticed fairly quickly and took corrective action before it over flowed. This will fix itself once the algae is gone but until then, I am only turning the ATO on when I am home which is sufficient to keep up with evaporation.

8. A can of compressed air is by far the best way to dust off the top of the lights.

9. A salt water open top tank is much harder to keep clean than my old fresh water enclosed unit. I love the rimless design and the ripples of light on the ceiling but am really pedantic about the salt buildup and splash marks at and above the waterline. You wouldn't see this with an enclosed tank. This is something small but definitely a factor to consider before you buy.

Overall, I must say that the setup has been much more involved and time consuming than I had anticipated. Sure, I could have cut corners and compromised on water quality and end product. I could also have gone further with RO/DI units and the like. The testing schedule initially was very time consuming and it is getting better but for someone who thought they had a good grip on freshwater systems, this really is a big step up.

It is however, a labour of love. I have the time. And I'm hooked!

That pretty much sums up everything I have learned about the E260 so far.

If you're still here - nice one!

For the future, I plan on getting the 2 Gobis and then about another 6 small fish which I have yet to decide on. I think that will be it for the fish and then I plan on adding a few easy to maintain corals. I know the clowns would appreciate an anenome (spelling?). I need to go away again in a few weeks so won't add anything until I get back. I will definitely have a professional team come and service the tank weekly just in case. I think this is well worth the cost after the ATO and Gobi drama I had after my first trip away.

Stay tuned!

DT
 

Big Pete

Active Member
Hi DT, I am also based in Dubai , I am currently running an RSM250 , like you I was told to use tap water but this failed for me, on testing it throughly I realised it was full of phosphate, I now use RO water which I purchase from The Pet Store at DIP.

Dave K makes a great point about the LFS , research what livestock you require and don't listen to these guys here as they really don't know much.
Speak with Nick the aquatics manager at The Pet Store he was responsible for running the aquarium at the Atlantis and is a marine biologist and really knows his onions, another good guy is Charlie at Think Fish again a marine biologist .

Drop me a PM if you need any help or advice on what to buy, where, and sorry I should have said right at the start of this post

Welcome to the forum

Cheers

Big Pete
 

DT in DXB

New Member
Hi all, it's been a while and I thought I would post a quick update.

There have been a lot of changes to the tank recently and I am now ready to dd coral in the next couple of weeks.

On the livestock front I have added a Purple Striped Dottyback and a Coral Beauty as well as a pair of Diamond Gobys. The idea was to have the Tang outnumbered and this appeared to work until I found HALF a Goby next to the rocks about a week later. I have no idea who did this, nor have I found the front half but I am pleased to report that the remaining Goby is doing brilliantly and all fish are getting along well.

The Goby was so busy in fat that half of my rock work was buried under his fortress building. This was rectified by the guy from the LFS who came around to clean the tank while I was away. He significantly changed the design of the rocks to minimise the amount at ground level that the Goby can deposit sand onto. Another good lesson learnt.

I'm not sure I like the layout as much as the original but it is much more practical and with coral coming soon I am sure it will look great (photos below).

I only intend to get one or two more small but brightly coloured fish to complete the tank but I haven't really researched anything and am in no hurry to introduce them. Corals first and then I will match the last fish later.

I will be going for soft and LPS corals only and will obviously be limited by availability in this country. Initially, I will be adding about 6 pieces and with the Hydra 26 lighting system, I can reduce the intensity of the lights to allow me to place corals higher in the tank straight away. The manual recommends a 6 week period starting at 60% then gradually ramping it up from there. I would be happy to take advice on this as I have no coral experience at all.

Water parameters have been stable and there has been no algae problem since the initial bloom. I haven't detected any phosphates in the tank or in my bottled water supply so will continue to use that for the time being.

The only hardware addition was a VORTEC ECODRIVE MP-10 Quiet Drive flow controller. I added it to the right side of the tank quite low to provide flow across the back wall of the tank. I found that I was getting a couple of detritus build up spots with the old rock design and this solved it quickly. I suspect the new rock layout would have suffered the same problem as well. The extra flow should be good for the corals as well.

A few observations on the MP-10QD:

GOOD
It's easy to set up (if you read the online manual vice the included one).
It is very quiet
It has HUGE flow capacity and total control over how much flow you require. I was wondering if the MP-10 would be big enough for my tank and it is. I only have it running at about 60% and that's plenty.

BAD
The night mode doesn't work as advertised. It should come on at the same time every night and it simply doesn't. After looking online I found that the old MP-10 suffered from this problem as well but VORTEC obviously haven't bothered to fix it.
The only way to update the controller is with another controller that has the updated firmware.

I haven't decided whether to take the controller in to have it replaced. I will go back to where I bought it and ask if they'll replace it straight away. I don't want to send it away though.

As far as dosing is concerned, I'm still only using NOPOX but down to 0.5 ml/day. Still no sign of Phosphate or Nitrate.

Other parameters in preparation for the coral are:
Salinity: 1.023
Mg: 1400
dKh: 9.8
Ca: 400
Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite: 0
Ph: 8.3

I've got the RED SEA Reef foundation powder and liquids ready to go to boost the dKh and Calcium. I'll start that tomorrow and see how the levels go before I put the corals in.

Looking forward to the next step!

DT

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DT in DXB

New Member
It's been a few weeks and as you can see, there have been some major developments in the tank.

First, I had a big problem with an unknown type of algae that I suspect hitched in on my first corals. I dipped them with an iodine based dip (all I could get) and couldn't see anything on them when I put them in the tank but a couple of weeks later and my tank was overrun! It corresponded with me trying to raise the nitrate level (by cutting way down on the NOPOX) to 1ppm from 0 as this is the Red Sea spec. I'm not sure what caused the outbreak but I don't want it to happen again so nitrates are back down to 0 and are staying there! I was feeding my corals with 2 types of Seachem supplements which may have helped the algae too. Nitrates never got to 1 and there was never any phosphate in the system so after calling in some professional help, we got the tank cleaned up again.

The result of all this is another redesign of the rockwork. Again, I wasn't sold on it at first but I love it now and it gives me plenty of space to place corals. I'll get to them later.

After the algae outbreak, I purchased an Algae Blenny, some Turbos and 2 sand shifting starfish. They were all doing great until a couple of weeks ago when I noticed one of the starfish missing a leg. The next day he was missing three! They are nowhere to be seen and the poor bugger is still alive but I'm not sure for how much longer. Nobody can tell be what might be doing it but it is a similar mystery to the half Gobi that I found a few months ago. I have heard of some type of red worm that can do this type of thing but haven't seen anything like that in there.

Now to the corals.

I only ever wanted soft and LPS corals in the tank due to my inexperience and the fact that I didn't want to dose every day. So I started with a Green Star Polyp, a Hairy Mushroom Coral and a Blastomussa. I think I placed the Blasto too low based on LFS advice and it quickly deteriorated. I changed its flow and lighting but it never really recovered from those first couple of days. It was knocked into the gravel by a crab one day as well which I am sure didn't help. Anyway the Blasto is gone but the others are thriving.

A few weeks later (after recovering from the outbreak) I was growing in confidence so went back looking for some more coral. I ended up getting some Frogspawn and a Donut coral. Both of which I love, especially the Donut! I also wanted something with a little more structure to it so started looking at what I found out were Birdsnest corals - bloody SPS. I was very wary but the LFS guy (the one I trust) had been following my progress and thought that I was doing all the right things to support an SPS coral.

So I bought it!

Only one.

As a trial.

I also switched from Seachem to Red Sea Reef Energy A and B. I believe that this has made a big difference based on small things I have noticed with the corals. This could also coincide with the fact that the corals are acclimatising to the tank. Anyway I am pleased to report that the Birdsnest sitting near the top is going great guns. I noticed white tips on it within about 4 days which I initially assumed was bleaching. Figuring that I was about to prove to myself that I wasn't ready for SPS, I looked it up and found that this is actually a sign of growth. Pretty pleased with myself at the moment!

I won't be getting cocky and I don't intend to get any more SPS because I will only dose and test on a weekly basis and so far, that has been enough. The current salinity is still at 1.023 but I will raise that at the next water change to 1.025. Ca, Mg and dKh are all approaching SPS specs.

Yesterday I added a finger leather coral as well for a bit more depth (not in photo) . I am still looking for one more feature fish but haven't seen anything spectacular yet. I also want another Blasto. I really loved the look of it and need to prove to myself that I can do it!

For those interested, my current routine is as follows:

Daily - Chlorella flakes plus 4ml of Reef Energy A and B.
About every second day - Artemia shrimp and 1ml NOPOX.
Once or twice a week - Seaweed.
Weekly - 10 liter water change (with Prime). Test Calcium and dKh. Dose Reef Foundation ABC+ and adjust individual elements with A, B or C. Mg is usually about 1400 but dKh always needs topping up.
I test for Nitrate, Nitrite, Ph, Ammonia and Phosphate much less now but probably once every 3 weeks just to keep an eye on things.
Monthly - Clean pumps and sponges.
Bi monthly - Change carbon.

And the work in progress below:

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