Reefing a RedSea (RedSea Reefer 170)

BryanCLS

New Member
Hi, Iam starting a Tank thread for the reason that I wanted to get some comment and suggestions from your guys here, I have 0 experience in this hobby and hopefully you can share some knowledge to me so I can strive on this hobby.

I have a RedSea Reefer 170, I am using a RedSea Reef Mature kit and currenlty on my 15th day.

RS170A.jpg RS170B.jpg

Following are my newbie equipments:

Skimmer: Reef Octopus SSS 110
RS170C.jpg
I am still dialling this up, I still dont fully understand how to dial this up. It does collect a lot of gunks but lately its not.

Wave maker: Ecotech mp10wqd, I like how this work and how neat it is but I have just installed the reef link this morning and I am still figuring how to set up the schedule.
settings.jpg
This is the current schedule that I have.. any suggestion?

Lighting: I dont know what model or brand is this lighting that was given to me by my friend but I am planning to get the an Ecotech Marine Radion 15 pro G4 before Christmas. Any experience on this light? Will this be enough with my tank considering having some corals soon?

Pump: I am currently using this Sicce 2.0 pump. I am not really impressed on it yet since I thought it will be really quiet but I am still hearing some vibrations or I just need to adjust something but it works better than my previous one that only gives me 300+ GPH.

ATO: I am still using the stock ATO that RedSea reefer 170 has. Any suggestion on what I should be getting in the future?

I also purchase some marine balls and some bio balls that I placed in my sump. I placed the Marin balles at the 1st part of the sump where the overflow water comes first under the ATO reservior and the bioballs beneath the sock. Does this thing helps? any comment or suggestions?

I am also planning to get a refugium in the future, a small hang on one that I can place in the sump. Also a GFO. any advice on this?

Current problem I am experiencing:
in 2 weeks time of cycling my tank, I have noticed some brown spots on the sand which my LFS has told me that those are Brown Algae. I have not purchased any clea up crew yet last week as a part of the Mature pro kit program since there are no algae yet that time and I was thingking that I will only be starving them if I introduce them that time, but earlier I went to my LFS to get some CUC. Are this brown Algae something I should be worried of? Its only on my sand. My sand is a live sand by the way while my rock are dry rock.

I have introduce my first fish, a pair of Ocellaris clownfish as the first inhabitants today. My concern is, earlier in the morning, water in tank are really clear but as I came home with the fish and CUC from my LFS the tank is already cloudy. Is there a way that I can make this clear again? whats causing the cloudiness?

cloudy.jpg
Cant barely see the fish on the other side of the tank.

Current parameter before adding the livestocks:
Salinity: 35
Sp Gravity: 1.025
Temp: 78.6 (gets to 79+ during afternoon)
PH: 8.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
KH: 10dKH

Hoping to get some advice or pointers fro you guys. If there is any suggestion or important tools or equipment that I need to add on this build please let me know. Share me your knowledge.

Thanks a lot again!
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
...

ATO: I am still using the stock ATO that RedSea reefer 170 has. Any suggestion on what I should be getting in the future?

I also purchase some marine balls and some bio balls that I placed in my sump. I placed the Marin balles at the 1st part of the sump where the overflow water comes first under the ATO reservior and the bioballs beneath the sock. Does this thing helps? any comment or suggestions?

I am also planning to get a refugium in the future, a small hang on one that I can place in the sump. Also a GFO. any advice on this?

...

To answer your specific questions -

I'd use the stock ATO unless you have a specific issue with it. For example, if you want additional control or you just want to refill it less often.

As long as you have enough live rock, you don't need the marine balls or bio balls. In some cases they can also be a disadvantage because they become big dirt traps and create a lot of nitrate.

Unless you want to invest in a large refugium, save your money on those small ones. They are not really large enough to do much good. If you really want to get something out of a refugium think in terms of something that is about 1/5 to about 1/3 the maim tank volume. That way you'll get something big enough to do some good.

Use GFO if you find that you have a phosphate problem. It's a good product though and well worth using.

As for the algae your seeing, this is normal in a new tank. It may look unsightly, but it usually goes away in a few weeks. It's not unusual to see a new tank go through a lot of different types of algae blooms the first 6 months you have it set up.
 

BryanCLS

New Member
Thanks DaveK.

Anyways, as we wake up this morning and check up my tank and fishes, I saw a distinguishing white spots.

ick3.jpg


ick2.jpg

ick1.jpg

are this Ich? what should I do with it? first day and they already got it? They look healthy last night.
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Great start ! Pretty rock & scape - love clowns ! I would watch them ... if they were healthy at the lfs (local fish store) they didn't get ich from your new tank in a day. The cloudy water should clear, may be a bacteria bloom. Good advise from Dave ^

here a post that maybe of some encouragement on algae in a new tank

brown & green algae in new tanks



index.php
 

BryanCLS

New Member
Great start ! Pretty rock & scape - love clowns ! I would watch them ... if they were healthy at the lfs (local fish store) they didn't get ich from your new tank in a day. The cloudy water should clear, may be a bacteria bloom. Good advise from Dave ^

here a post that maybe of some encouragement on algae in a new tank

brown & green algae in new tanks



index.php


Thanks. Yeah, everything was doing fine until I got the fish. I might return them to the shop and treat my tank.

Anyone here knows how to battle a fish ich in a new fish tank?
Livestocks:
2 clown fish and 20 clean up crews.
 
Last edited:

BryanCLS

New Member
I thought I should do some update on me tank since a lot of surprising things happened after that unpleasant ich on my clowns.

Well after 2 weeks of treating my tank, I have noticed some white dots crawling on the glass of my tank...

3378f62ccaab71dddf4cfb08a282a318.jpg


As newbie on this hobby, I was thinking that this might be an ich on its free swimming stage. It was really like an invasion as the crawlers were to many not to be noticed and I panicked. So I went to take some samples and check it under a microscope... and this is what I got.

360a223ba279e5640abc4007f6600e1a.jpg


Copepods!!! I wonder how I got this. LFS told me it might be on the live sand that I used since my rocks are all dry rocks.

A lot of people and staffs in the LFS told me that this is a good sign of a happy tank. I still don’t benefit on this since I cannot get a fish yet until next year. I should probably get a mandarin with this. Btw, should I feed the copepods with some planktons or let them be?

Anyways, I started checking my parameters last weekend and everything looks ok and last night I added an anemone and a cleaner shrimp. I have thought of getting an anemone first than a coral so I will not have a problem on the position where my anemone will be anchoring itself in my tank. Its day 1 on my anemone, and he looks like he is happy. He settled on top of my aquascape and he ate the mysis shrimp I gave him.

f8854486b3238b4f5317bdc9cde45b6d.jpg


Im planning to add some more corals the next day. Some hammer corals or torch maybe if my water parameter will look ok tomorrow.

Any suggestion guys on what corals should a beginner like me should be getting?

Thanks!!!




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Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Skimmer: Reef Octopus SSS 110
I am still dialling this up, I still dont fully understand how to dial this up. It does collect a lot of gunks but lately its not.

It can take time to get used to your skimmer. My suggestion is to keep fiddling with it and soon you will get a feel for the level of skimming that works for your tank.

Wave maker: Ecotech mp10wqd, I like how this work and how neat it is but I have just installed the reef link this morning and I am still figuring how to set up the schedule.
This is the current schedule that I have.. any suggestion?

I have my wave maker on a timer to kick on at 9am and turn off at 11pm. That way the motion in the tank settles down at night. By no means this is not something that you have to do. Some folks just let in run continuously night and day. I just prefer the change in motion from day to night to try to mimic the ocean variation.

ATO: I am still using the stock ATO that RedSea reefer 170 has. Any suggestion on what I should be getting in the future?

My advice is to use all the gear you have at first. Then decide if it works for you or not. If you need to replace it, then do so after you have determined that the gear doesn't work or meet your needs. It can save you money in the long run.

I also purchase some marine balls and some bio balls that I placed in my sump. I placed the Marin balles at the 1st part of the sump where the overflow water comes first under the ATO reservior and the bioballs beneath the sock. Does this thing helps? any comment or suggestions?

I don't use them. They can be a source of nitrate. If you have enough live rock in the tank, then that is all the biological media you need.

I am also planning to get a refugium in the future, a small hang on one that I can place in the sump. Also a GFO. any advice on this?

If there a particular need for this? Are you trying to address an issue? Refugiums aren't an item that is necessary.

Current problem I am experiencing:
in 2 weeks time of cycling my tank, I have noticed some brown spots on the sand which my LFS has told me that those are Brown Algae. I have not purchased any clea up crew yet last week as a part of the Mature pro kit program since there are no algae yet that time and I was thingking that I will only be starving them if I introduce them that time, but earlier I went to my LFS to get some CUC. Are this brown Algae something I should be worried of? Its only on my sand. My sand is a live sand by the way while my rock are dry rock.

Not something to worry about. Part of the cycling process. Most likely they are diatoms. When you get a CUC, they may help clean it up. Once you finish your cycle and the tank becomes established this may go away. But, it isn't unusual for them to return off and on during the life of your tank.

Thanks. Yeah, everything was doing fine until I got the fish. I might return them to the shop and treat my tank.

Anyone here knows how to battle a fish ich in a new fish tank?
Livestocks:
2 clown fish and 20 clean up crews.

How are the clowns doing now? What did you end up doing with them?

I thought I should do some update on me tank since a lot of surprising things happened after that unpleasant ich on my clowns. Well after 2 weeks of treating my tank, I have noticed some white dots crawling on the glass of my tank...

How did you treat the tank?

A lot of people and staffs in the LFS told me that this is a good sign of a happy tank. I still don’t benefit on this since I cannot get a fish yet until next year. I should probably get a mandarin with this. Btw, should I feed the copepods with some planktons or let them be?

Copepods are good to have in a tank and most likely came in with the live sand.

I wouldn't recommend a mandarin at this point. Let you tank mature and build up the copepod population. Right now you won't have enough to support a mandarin fish. http://fishkeepingadvice.com/5-best-tropical-fish-for-advanced-aquarists/

My advice, I'd let the copepods be and not add plankton at this stage. You don't want to mess up your water quality on a newly cycled tank. Let the tank establish itself.

Anyways, I started checking my parameters last weekend and everything looks ok and last night I added an anemone and a cleaner shrimp. I have thought of getting an anemone first than a coral so I will not have a problem on the position where my anemone will be anchoring itself in my tank. Its day 1 on my anemone, and he looks like he is happy. He settled on top of my aquascape and he ate the mysis shrimp I gave him.

Good luck on the anemone. They can be difficult to keep in a newly established tank. Allowing it to move around is a good idea. I'd suggest reading as much as you can on keeping anemones.

Im planning to add some more corals the next day. Some hammer corals or torch maybe if my water parameter will look ok tomorrow. Any suggestion guys on what corals should a beginner like me should be getting?

Choosing corals is something that you need to do based on your tank parameters and the type of coral tank you would like to establish. You will find many opinions here on what people like and why. I'd suggest looking into all the various types of corals, reading about compatibility (as some corals are really aggressive and others are not), while keeping in mind the types of fish that you would like (as some fish eat corals).
 

BryanCLS

New Member
It can take time to get used to your skimmer. My suggestion is to keep fiddling with it and soon you will get a feel for the level of skimming that works for your tank.

Im getting the hang on my skimmer right now. As long at it skims then Im fine with it.

I have my wave maker on a timer to kick on at 9am and turn off at 11pm. That way the motion in the tank settles down at night. By no means this is not something that you have to do. Some folks just let in run continuously night and day. I just prefer the change in motion from day to night to try to mimic the ocean variation.


b00544f742f1eff28365294141a3dc24.jpg

This is my schedule on my mp10. It does work and clean the sand bed, have not put that much of livestocks so I dont know if this will still works.

My advice is to use all the gear you have at first. Then decide if it works for you or not. If you need to replace it, then do so after you have determined that the gear doesn't work or meet your needs. It can save you money in the long run.



I don't use them. They can be a source of nitrate. If you have enough live rock in the tank, then that is all the biological media you need.

Yeah I took the bioballs out. I just tried it but I might move them to my QT.

If there a particular need for this? Are you trying to address an issue? Refugiums aren't an item that is necessary.

Its the geek in me that I wanted to try having a refugium but I just realized I dont have the space for it and I might just used a carbon and Phosphate reactor instead. Im not getting any phosphate issue yet anyways.


Not something to worry about. Part of the cycling process. Most likely they are diatoms. When you get a CUC, they may help clean it up. Once you finish your cycle and the tank becomes established this may go away. But, it isn't unusual for them to return off and on during the life of your tank.



How are the clowns doing now? What did you end up doing with them?

Sadly they didn’t make it. After 2 weeks of copper treatment the next day they died. I thought everything was going well.

How did you treat the tank?
I used ich attack by kordon for 2 weeks and prazipro for 2 weeks also, then Im not getting any fish until next year to break the cycle of the ich if ever they are in my tank.



Copepods are good to have in a tank and most likely came in with the live sand.

I wouldn't recommend a mandarin at this point. Let you tank mature and build up the copepod population. Right now you won't have enough to support a mandarin fish. http://fishkeepingadvice.com/5-best-tropical-fish-for-advanced-aquarists/

My advice, I'd let the copepods be and not add plankton at this stage. You don't want to mess up your water quality on a newly cycled tank. Let the tank establish itself.

Noted. Will do that. What does copepods eat? I thought they eat planktons?

Good luck on the anemone. They can be difficult to keep in a newly established tank. Allowing it to move around is a good idea. I'd suggest reading as much as you can on keeping anemones.

Yeah, anemone is a character but Im having fun with it. I put aome foam or some protective thing already on my wave maker. It for his safety and it helps me harbor some dirt, but I just need to clean it every 3days..
What do you guys feed your anemone? Do they eat plankton too?


Choosing corals is something that you need to do based on your tank parameters and the type of coral tank you would like to establish. You will find many opinions here on what people like and why. I'd suggest looking into all the various types of corals, reading about compatibility (as some corals are really aggressive and others are not), while keeping in mind the types of fish that you would like (as some fish eat corals).

Im planning to get hammer corals, bubble, mushrooms and some torchs. Do you think I will be ok by not dosing my tank with Mg, Ca and KH? Was thinking of getting this vital nutrients from the water change.

Im currently using an Ecotech Radion g4. Do you guys have any recommendation lighting schedule for me? Particularly for anemone and soft corals?

Hey, thanks for some tips. Keep it coming. I really need a lot of help from you guys! Thanks!



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Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
Im planning to get hammer corals, bubble, mushrooms and some torchs. Do you think I will be ok by not dosing my tank with Mg, Ca and KH? Was thinking of getting this vital nutrients from the water change.

Im currently using an Ecotech Radion g4. Do you guys have any recommendation lighting schedule for me? Particularly for anemone and soft corals?

Hey, thanks for some tips. Keep it coming. I really need a lot of help from you guys! Thanks!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

With new corals in a new tank you can keep the water parameters replenished w/weekly water changes. When it comes the time where you want to start dosing, I would first test the water before you plan to dose anything. Only start to does once you see that weekly water changes aren't keeping the water parameters where they need to be.

I run my lights 8 hours a day. Some people run their lights longer. I don't use the Radion lights, so hopefully others can provide you feedback on them.
 

BryanCLS

New Member
Post more pics when you get the chance
74a2fff6b713ecffc4300c9caf44d4b0.jpg


This currently what I have. Still boring. Yeah, the anemone is really small. I thought I bought a 2-4 inches anemone but they told me it will be at that size once it is fully acclimated. I thought he is already acclimated. Been 2 days now that he is on the same spot. Oh well, he looks healthy and responsive so I don’t mind about the size. Any tips on how can I make him bigger? Any food I should be giving him?

Water looks cloudy, lots of copepods swimming....


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BryanCLS

New Member
Post more pics when you get the chance

3860f447a973ff8e52d1fb0d5d3d7aee.jpg


Skimmer not skimming yet after I cleaned the waste cup last night. Water looks clean tho.
Not getting any cable management yet, will be going to ikea later to get a small cabinet to place my ATO and some cable management, will be going to vivid aquarium also to get some corals. Hammer, torch or mushroom.


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BryanCLS

New Member
With new corals in a new tank you can keep the water parameters replenished w/weekly water changes. When it comes the time where you want to start dosing, I would first test the water before you plan to dose anything. Only start to does once you see that weekly water changes aren't keeping the water parameters where they need to be.

I run my lights 8 hours a day. Some people run their lights longer. I don't use the Radion lights, so hopefully others can provide you feedback on them.
6388243c44ab62507c415858baa40e6c.jpg


Could not focus the massive copepods on the glass..... not that much anymore when I first see them. Was thinking of a thing or place were they can house them (copepods) so they can still reproduce once I put a mandarin in the tank next month.


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Oxylebius

Well-Known Member
I've taught many of my past shrimp to take food from my hand and from the end of a wooden BBQ skewer, if you would like to feed your shrimp from time to time.
 

BryanCLS

New Member
I've taught many of my past shrimp to take food from my hand and from the end of a wooden BBQ skewer, if you would like to feed your shrimp from time to time.
I usually spoon feed him using a forcep, or I may say "forcep-feed". He get crazy everytime he senses food in the water.
 
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