Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build
- Thread starter SPR
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SPR
Well-Known Member
Aside from the 17 new coral frags I ordered yesterday.......
The trigger fish are still up to there strange 'nesting' behaviour. They have now cleared a flat stretch of sand at the front of my tank of anything like rocks or old shells and put them in a nice pile to the left. And then they dance together over it in a strange ritual!
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The trigger fish are still up to there strange 'nesting' behaviour. They have now cleared a flat stretch of sand at the front of my tank of anything like rocks or old shells and put them in a nice pile to the left. And then they dance together over it in a strange ritual!
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SPR
Well-Known Member
I'm by no means an expert on fish behaviour or breeding (infact I don't know anything!!) but I think my pair of Blue Throat Triggers have been spawning? If you think they have then I'll post it somewhere on the main site so all can see??
The lights are dimming and in 'blue' colours with storm effects which is what's flashing, not the camera.
I happen to catch the moment in the first video. They have been acting strange for weeks and last night they wouldn't settle and were very erratic in their behaviour. For those who get bored quick is around 1.14 minutes in
The moments following the event and all the behaviour changed
Then the female looked like she had mounted a guard. Interesting the male cleared off and lost all interest after the main event! Lol. Just swam around elsewhere making sand storms and polluting the normally crystal clear water!
Your thoughts ?
The lights are dimming and in 'blue' colours with storm effects which is what's flashing, not the camera.
I happen to catch the moment in the first video. They have been acting strange for weeks and last night they wouldn't settle and were very erratic in their behaviour. For those who get bored quick is around 1.14 minutes in
The moments following the event and all the behaviour changed
Then the female looked like she had mounted a guard. Interesting the male cleared off and lost all interest after the main event! Lol. Just swam around elsewhere making sand storms and polluting the normally crystal clear water!
Your thoughts ?
SPR
Well-Known Member
SPR
Well-Known Member
I decided it was time to do a job I wasn't looking forward to simply because I installed it when I didn't know what I was doing so didn't take much notice of how it was put together. A more importantly how to take it apart.
So one rainy day... Time to change the bulb on the JBL 36w UV-C! AKA The Rocket Launcher!
So I dragged the beast out from the tank, and having taken it to pieces which to be fair was very easy, this is what I faced.
You will see the white coating all over the glass which I started to hack at with a screwdriver, knife, and then I thought there is no point as I'm going to replace it anyway, being the bulb so ill throw it away.
So off I went the the LFS for a new bulb, and when presented with the small packet I said thats the wrong one it's to small. My bulb is much thicker than that, at which point they said there all the same!
Now not being good at engineering, apparently the glass with the white coating, the one I'd just thrown in the bin, is the crystal cover for the bulb which the shop told me to be very careful with or it might scratch! I'd already had a knife scrapping down the side of it!!
Anyway I decided to take a little more care cleaning it, using citric acid replaced the bulb and back up and running it went.
Was a pain to get the pipe joint to reseal to the unit without leaking and I had to add some plumbers tape to finally seal it.
I also cleaned out the Eheim 1000 feedpump and all is happy and good as new
My new frags arrive Wednesday as follows
Australian Duncan Coral Frag Two Heads
Super Metallic Green Goniopora Frag
Super Glow Australian Goniopora Frag
Yellow Turbinaria Frag
Australian Duncan Coral Frag Single Head
Blue Frilly Tonga Mushroom
Metallic Frilly Tonga Mushroom 1 Head
Outer Space Palythoa 4-6 Polyps
Red People Eater Palythoa 2 Polyps
Green Polyped Pink Pocillopora Damicornis Frag
Acropora Humilis Emerald Frag
Emerald Branching Porites Frag
Bali Slimer Acropora - Small Frag
Blue Lace Coral Frag
Green Plating Montipora Fra
Yellow Porites Frag
Golden Silk Palythoa Frag- 6-8 polyps
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So one rainy day... Time to change the bulb on the JBL 36w UV-C! AKA The Rocket Launcher!
So I dragged the beast out from the tank, and having taken it to pieces which to be fair was very easy, this is what I faced.
You will see the white coating all over the glass which I started to hack at with a screwdriver, knife, and then I thought there is no point as I'm going to replace it anyway, being the bulb so ill throw it away.
So off I went the the LFS for a new bulb, and when presented with the small packet I said thats the wrong one it's to small. My bulb is much thicker than that, at which point they said there all the same!
Now not being good at engineering, apparently the glass with the white coating, the one I'd just thrown in the bin, is the crystal cover for the bulb which the shop told me to be very careful with or it might scratch! I'd already had a knife scrapping down the side of it!!
Anyway I decided to take a little more care cleaning it, using citric acid replaced the bulb and back up and running it went.
Was a pain to get the pipe joint to reseal to the unit without leaking and I had to add some plumbers tape to finally seal it.
I also cleaned out the Eheim 1000 feedpump and all is happy and good as new
My new frags arrive Wednesday as follows
Australian Duncan Coral Frag Two Heads
Super Metallic Green Goniopora Frag
Super Glow Australian Goniopora Frag
Yellow Turbinaria Frag
Australian Duncan Coral Frag Single Head
Blue Frilly Tonga Mushroom
Metallic Frilly Tonga Mushroom 1 Head
Outer Space Palythoa 4-6 Polyps
Red People Eater Palythoa 2 Polyps
Green Polyped Pink Pocillopora Damicornis Frag
Acropora Humilis Emerald Frag
Emerald Branching Porites Frag
Bali Slimer Acropora - Small Frag
Blue Lace Coral Frag
Green Plating Montipora Fra
Yellow Porites Frag
Golden Silk Palythoa Frag- 6-8 polyps
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Whitey1973
Active Member
Yep can't wait to see pics
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SPR
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a lot if work! I hate doing new things. I always mess them up.
Look forward to pics of your new corals!
I know Pat, that's why I left it over a year!! The flow out of it had dropped so on the basis it's like some form of nuclear reactor I thought I best have a look!
I've only got a spare Red Sea main pump at £260 in case the original broke before I was brave enough to try and take out the 'heart of my system' for the first time!
My advice to all, is when you get a new piece of kit, if it needs cleaning, take it to bits before installing it into the system and learn how it all goes together, because once it's covered in all sorts of marine stuff, it looks a lot more nasty. Or buy 2! Lol
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
Seriously we are a lot alike (except you have a cooler tank). I also have back up pumps just in case.
I absolutely recommend understanding your system while everything is dry and new. I was in such a hurry to start mine that I literally didn't even know what was in my sump let alone how to fix it if there was a problem.
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SPR
Well-Known Member
Yes I was exactly the same. When I was building it, my head was in a spin and I didn't need to know how it worked (in my mind!) I just needed make it work!
Also bear in mind I'd never even seen the inside of a pump. I was expecting wires, electronics etc..... not just a hole and an impeller!
In fact the UVC is run by a Eheim compact 1000. There is a slider on the front of it for the power. Now I assumed it was for the power as part of some form of fanciful control system. However it's not. I was most shocked to see to be honest, that all it does is closes a hatch in the pump to slow water through flow and I thought that it has gotten stiff because of debris in the motor. It had gotten stiff because of fish poo in the plastic sliding flap!!
SPR
Well-Known Member
Ive finally sorted a water change system which doesn't involve humping 30 litre buckets of water about. I pulled a muscle a few weeks ago while lifting these about so time to use intelligence to make life easier.
Ive had the Python water changer for a while and use it to clean out the sump
So what I've now purchased is a 5000 lph ceramic pond pump and a 120 litre salt water tank (large home brew bucket!). Also i have 20 metres of tube to go from my garage to the tank.
So to do a water change i simply put the Python into the sump and empty it. Then i drop the new pond pump and hose into the salt water container with the other end into the sump and press go. Even on half power it fills the sump of around 100 litres in a couple of minutes. And no water anywhere other than were its supposed to be! Bliss!!.....
I must admit the pump is very powerful and the 5000 lph was only slightly more than the lower output pumps but i would sooner have more power and turn it down rather than have it struggle.
Anyway a few photos
Above shows Python on left and new tube on the right
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Ive had the Python water changer for a while and use it to clean out the sump
So what I've now purchased is a 5000 lph ceramic pond pump and a 120 litre salt water tank (large home brew bucket!). Also i have 20 metres of tube to go from my garage to the tank.
So to do a water change i simply put the Python into the sump and empty it. Then i drop the new pond pump and hose into the salt water container with the other end into the sump and press go. Even on half power it fills the sump of around 100 litres in a couple of minutes. And no water anywhere other than were its supposed to be! Bliss!!.....
I must admit the pump is very powerful and the 5000 lph was only slightly more than the lower output pumps but i would sooner have more power and turn it down rather than have it struggle.
Anyway a few photos
Above shows Python on left and new tube on the right
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
SPR
Well-Known Member
I don't use the ABC+ as it's only designed for smaller systems up to around 300 litres and with the 650 you'll find the foundation elements will get unbalanced as they have different levels of uptake etc.
I did use the ABC+ when I had my Max E 260 for a month or so and it's good stuff and if you have some there is no reason not to use it up in your 650 but you'll just need to monitor the levels. Problem is if some go high you can't bring them down if you continue to add the ABC+.
I dose the individual A B and C and yes I dissolve them in RODI water and then dose with auto doser. I don't dose Mg as it's always high with water changes but it's still online as the last few tests have seen the level lowering slowly as I'm now fully on the Red Sea standard salt. I was using half standard and half Coral Pro to use up what I had left.
I test the foundation element levels each week and they are currently fairly stable. For the first few weeks you need to tweak the dosage up and down until you find the correct level to balance out with any water changes, but now mine are pretty consistent.