Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

[SPR]

following along. That's the tank I hope to get someday.
My 72 hour blackouts have not had those results. I must have different algae. I'm glad its going well for you. Do you have a planned stocking list or are you going with whats available?

It was the fist time I have done a blackout and yes it certainly has worked so far but.... It wasn't total but the room has curtains and a blackout blind in one window but is south facing on the main windows so a small amount of light could be seen. I didn't surround it with cardboard or anything like that!

I don't have a plan at all to be honest. I have only been doing this since February this year and I am lucky in that I have 2 shops within 5 miles and both have very good and large stocks of fish.

When I first got my original Max 260 I bought whatever looked good in the shop (not aggressive though). Then I had my first experience with a long nosed butterfly I think it was, that started pecking at corals and killed at least one. I then had the joy of trying to catch him!! That was in a 260 so no chance in a 650.

After this lesson, and as my tank is nearly fully stocked, if I see a fish I like I would do a lot of research first. My blue throat trigger pair had been in the shop for months before I got them whilst pondering if they would be safe with corals, crabs etc. In the end they are fine and the best fish I have.

Having said this, my LFS are very good. In fact until they know you, they won't just sell you one unless they are happy you have the correct tank etc. This was a little annoying when I first started out, but now makes me have a lot of trust in them and to be honest if I see a fish I want, and they says its reef safe etc, I would just get it.

I have my eye on 3 anthias which have been in the shop for a few months as a shoal, but I've been waiting to sort the Dino situation in case I have to use chemicals, so if that's sorted I think I'll go and get them. They are quiet expensive which is why I have been waiting, not that that means they are more special than the inhabitants I already have.

 

[SPR]

The tanks nearly 4 months old now and its been over 2 weeks since i finished the black out and no signs of any more Dinos

I posted a separate HELP thread on this subject and i think the thing that got rid of them was the blackout and also i increased the water flow around the edges of the tank were they were. This seems to have sorted them and i didnt need to resort to the Dino X i purchased. Well for now at least

Oh and ive been shopping! The anthias I had been watching are now in my tank. They are a trio of scribbled anthias 1 male and 2 females



I also invested in a 36w UVC steriliser. I read a great deal about these over the last few months and couldn't really see any down side to installing one so i did. The water was fairly clear anyway but the UVC seems to have made it crystal clear. It may have also killed any Dinos that may have been floating in the water column.

I have set it up on a fairly low flow rate with a view to kill anything that passes through it.

On the fish i am now fully stocked i think, infact probably a bit over stocked but hey they look happy enough! I think i will start concentrating on bigger corals now

Nitrates etc are all in check and i am following the Red Sea accelerated growth targets. I am still dosing the buffers manually until i understand the daily usage and once i am comfortable i have the Kamoer 4 channel ready to set up

Anyway a few up to date photos of my adventure so far!




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[SPR]

A few more photos



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[SPR]

Ok. So a few days ago and after careful consideration i decided i prefer the back of the tank to be clean and spotless. So ive cleaned it. Only took about 15 minutes but made the tank cloudy for a while. Still not completely clear

I think it adds more depth to the tank so..

Picture before are above and after below:




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[modulok]

I like the clean back wall too

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[melvis]

Beautiful tank mate, and some lovely inhabitants too. Making me want a 650! lol

 

[Nobbygas]

It looks so much better with a clean back wall.

 

[SPR]

Beautiful tank mate, and some lovely inhabitants too. Making me want a 650! lol

Thank you for your kind comments.

Nobbygas - yes I think so to, loads better. To be honest when I started my original MAX e260 before upgrading I read that you should leave it, that's why it got covered in algae, but to be honest it looks so much better clean. I've just got to clean the last bits from around the pump outlets which are a bit stubborn. Not sure the snails and crabs agree!

 

[SPR]

I have been struggling with the few SPS corals i have in the tank.

Apart from one which is about half green the rest have all gone brown. They tend to go brown pretty quick

My nitrates are around 1.5ppm and phosphate 0.06ppm Ca 460 Alk 12 mg 1390 all in line with Red Sea Accelerated growth

I now the accelerated growth parameters can be a cause but they went brown before i started this

Light settings as follows with are the Red Sea reef spec settings although I have just extended the on period and ramp to a bit longer as it's suggested



I have read loads about zooxanthellae etc but any thought appreciated??


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[SPR]

Purchased the coral below a few weeks ago but cant remember the name of it other than its from Australia.

Any ideas??



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[nanoreefing4fun]

Pretty - he might be a Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens)

 

[SPR]

Pretty - he might be a Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens)

Thanks Glenn - I think your spot on with that and having thought about it my memory is coming back to what they told me in the shop!

 

[SPR]

I have been contemplating how to increase the auto top up volume of the tank for months now basically so that it makes life easier and also for when i go away. Im trying to automate as much as possible

I had been looking at storage outside of the tank in the form of large water containers and had even purchased a black table cloth to hide whatever container i purchased

In the chiller part of the tank i keep a large plastic box full of tank items etc. Then one day my wife said why dont you fill that with water and use that. What a splendid and obvious idea which never even crossed my mind!!!

Anyway its 84 litres and i have hooked it up to a Mato 200p auto top up system which i purchased months ago for this purpose having used it on my Max E 260 before.

The top off basically feeds into the tanks built in system and keeps it filled and i have tested it and the whole system including the built in tank will last around 2 and half weeks or thereabouts.

Anyway pictures say more than words sometimes so here goes!




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[SPR]

A few up to date tank shots as well


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[SPR]

You may notice from the photo that the torch coral,I purchased does not seem to be doing very well. It's shrunk right down and I have moved it to the middle back of tank. Looks like a disk.

My son fed it some very small pieces of Mysis shrimp and after that it shrunk so who knows! Hopefully it will recover but.... it was very expensive as well.

 

[SPR]

Well the torch coral is definitely RIP and also one of the female anthiers has died.

Over the period of a few days she starting hiding behind some rocks and keeping herself to herself and seemed to gradually get worse and worse.

Eventually I saw a lot of activity from the other fish on the bottom of the tank especially the triggers and tangs and then she came floating slowly up to the top and was pinned against the weir/overflow. She was still alive just about but the other fish were in a frenzy so I decided to take her out rather than watch her being torn apart.

Anyway I have just purchased some 100 micron mesh filters to try and get rid of some very small floating particles in the tank and make it crystal clear again. Not tried these as normally use the 225 micron so will see how they do.

 

[SPR]

I have tried the 100 micron MESH filters and they seem to be working quiet well and are lasting at least 2-3 days before they need changing. I have just ordered some 50 micron versions today to try them out as well. Have got them from a certain auction site.

Anyway i have done a few more photos on a different light setting and these are on an iPhone 7 plus so hear goes!! Still not as good as some of the 'pro' pictures on here yet but...



Unfortunately the pictures don't do these tanks justice at all - well I should say mine don't. The camera just isn't reproducing the colours correctly at all!


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[SPR]

The tanks just over 6 months old now although some of the fish have been with me for around 9 months but I have just experienced another lost fish my beautiful Naso tang.

He had been fine and I went away for my birthday to London for 1 night and as soon as I got back found him wedged in a rock. I thought he was dead but when I touched him he moved inside the rocks and them managed to swim to the back of the tank and edged himself in another rock. After about 40 minutes the clean up screw surrounded him and began eating him alive. I couldn't bear to watch this so I took him out and away he went. He didn't look very healthy at all so not sure what had happened to him. All parameters are spot on.

Then I looked at the front of the tank and found the shell of my large sand sifting conch empty and surrounded by guilty looking crabs!! Or smiling more likely!

This is the side to the hobby I don't like one bit but I suppose that's nature

 

[Nobbygas]

Sorry to hear about your Naso tang. Lovely fish. Unfortunately, these things happen.

The tank is looking really good for six months!

 

[Nobbygas]

Are you getting any noise issues with the tank?
How did you get on with the stock C-Skim 1800 Skimmer. Currently I am wasting hours just trying to get the thing to work!
Are you using the stock equipment, or have you replaced any of it?