StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Doesnt look bad at all! Beautiful tank !
Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build
- Thread starter SPR
- Start date
SPR
Well-Known Member
Thank you, and thanks for stopping by!Doesnt look bad at all! Beautiful tank !
I see you are playing with the various settings on the pumps. I've never done that so have no experience of it. However, I will give you my opinion on currents etc in the wild.
Now, wind by the coast is generated because of the difference in heat between the land and the sea. Overnight, the land loses it's heat meaning that in the mornings the sea is calm. We've all seen the calm seas in the mornings. As the sun rises and heats up the land the temperature changes, creating wind and therefore waves and currents. As a diver the currents are pretty non-existent in the mornings but can really pick-up by the late afternoons. Now, I don't know how you attempt to replicate this in the tank, but generally it's calm overnight and in the mornings with a gradual increase in waves and current as the day wears on. As the sun goes down and the land loses it's heat, things tend to calm down.
SPR
Well-Known Member
Spot on, and I’ve tried to explain this to my wife numerous times when the winds get up in Spain in the afternoons. But unfortunately the eyes just glaze over.........
If you look at the program settings, that’s what I’ve tried to replicate. You will note in particular ‘lagoon’ with reduced flow from 9.30pm to 9.00am
I haven't checked, but how do you control your Ecotech stuff? Currently, they sell Reeflink, but this is being replaced/phased out as they are releasing a new App which will control all their stuff including the new doser they have just released. At the moment the App is only available for IOS, but the Android version is expected shortly. It's called Mobius and it's free ! The Beta testers are claiming that it is very good, but as always, the proof is in the eating.
The Ecotech Doser is called the Versa and as you already have Radion's and MP drives you may want to look at it especially as it can all be controlled via one App? Am I correct in saying that the Ecotech stuff doesn't work through Apex?
How are the Radions looking compared to the old Hydra 26 HD's on the S-650?
The Ecotech Doser is called the Versa and as you already have Radion's and MP drives you may want to look at it especially as it can all be controlled via one App? Am I correct in saying that the Ecotech stuff doesn't work through Apex?
How are the Radions looking compared to the old Hydra 26 HD's on the S-650?
SPR
Well-Known Member
All my Ecotech equipment on both tanks is controlled by Apex. The picture below shows the control panel and then behind each switch is more detailed controls like the previous picture of the Vortech flow patterns. The Radions are the same, total control of all light spectrums via the WXM module (wireless module)
Remember that Apex has fallback settings so, for example, in the picture it’s temporarily lost contact with an MP40 on the S650, so it shows ‘missing’. But that MP40 still runs because fallback is ‘set to on’. So if communication is temporarily lost, it remains on.
If you don’t have Apex you need the Reeflink module, or you can leave the equipment in manual mode, but I don’t think that’s very good. I guess this is why they are working on Mobius
As far as the lights, there’s nothing wrong with the Hydra’s there very good and I don’t have any complaints at all. If I purchased lights again though from scratch, I would get Radions no hesitation. There much sleeker, the LED’s look so ...... well better, as is all the Ecotech equipment with very good build quality, like the Vortech MP60’s etc.
Remember that Apex has fallback settings so, for example, in the picture it’s temporarily lost contact with an MP40 on the S650, so it shows ‘missing’. But that MP40 still runs because fallback is ‘set to on’. So if communication is temporarily lost, it remains on.
If you don’t have Apex you need the Reeflink module, or you can leave the equipment in manual mode, but I don’t think that’s very good. I guess this is why they are working on Mobius
As far as the lights, there’s nothing wrong with the Hydra’s there very good and I don’t have any complaints at all. If I purchased lights again though from scratch, I would get Radions no hesitation. There much sleeker, the LED’s look so ...... well better, as is all the Ecotech equipment with very good build quality, like the Vortech MP60’s etc.
Good stuff.
Now we need a more detailed update please. How are the fish doing? How are the frags doing? Any news with parameters? When is your appearance on Dragon's Den to flog your Skimmate Dispenser?
*Dragon's Den in Germany is called Die Höhle der Löwen, which means The Lions' Cave.*
Now we need a more detailed update please. How are the fish doing? How are the frags doing? Any news with parameters? When is your appearance on Dragon's Den to flog your Skimmate Dispenser?
*Dragon's Den in Germany is called Die Höhle der Löwen, which means The Lions' Cave.*
SPR
Well-Known Member
Ok boss! Lol
SPR
Well-Known Member
All systems in the new 2000 litre tank are now fully operational including the Twin Tech Calcium Reactor
I’m testing the water parameters every few days, and at the moment dosing at a rate of 10 litres per day, Alkalinity is holding around 8.6 dKH. I’ve bumped up Calcium to 460 and am just still increasing Magnesium which is currently at 1280 to around 1350-1400 as a target, although the current level is ok. Once the levels are boosted up to what I want they should remain stable.
Phosphate is around 0 or just above which is were I want it, and nitrate is around 1 and this should continue to rise a little to get some nutrients into the system
By using a high dose of rhowaphos at 1kg, I’ve removed any silicates from the water which has meant apart from a few minor patches in the sand, which are receding, and some brown on the rocks, again which lasted about 7 days, we’ve avoided the diatoms pretty much which was the plan. So we’re skipping any ‘ugly’ stages.
I’ve added about 44 red, blue and general algae eating hermits and 10 Mexican turbo snails over the last few days. I won’t add any more snails as I prefer Tuxedo urchins when they have something to feed on.
As far as the fish are concerned there’s been no further additions. I did however return one of the yellow tangs as although to start they were getting on well, one of them turned on the other and was bullying him relentlessly. I managed to catch the one being bullied, but even in a fish trap for protection the other kept trying to attack him. So back to the shop he went. Any further Yellow tangs will be added in groups of 3+ so try and avoid this in the future. I should have known but the LFS only had 2 at the time, so I took a chance, so lesson learned.
I’ve also added 7 coral frags today, currently just acclimatising on the bottom, all other corals are growing and healthy and below are a few shots from the new system.
I’m testing the water parameters every few days, and at the moment dosing at a rate of 10 litres per day, Alkalinity is holding around 8.6 dKH. I’ve bumped up Calcium to 460 and am just still increasing Magnesium which is currently at 1280 to around 1350-1400 as a target, although the current level is ok. Once the levels are boosted up to what I want they should remain stable.
Phosphate is around 0 or just above which is were I want it, and nitrate is around 1 and this should continue to rise a little to get some nutrients into the system
By using a high dose of rhowaphos at 1kg, I’ve removed any silicates from the water which has meant apart from a few minor patches in the sand, which are receding, and some brown on the rocks, again which lasted about 7 days, we’ve avoided the diatoms pretty much which was the plan. So we’re skipping any ‘ugly’ stages.
I’ve added about 44 red, blue and general algae eating hermits and 10 Mexican turbo snails over the last few days. I won’t add any more snails as I prefer Tuxedo urchins when they have something to feed on.
As far as the fish are concerned there’s been no further additions. I did however return one of the yellow tangs as although to start they were getting on well, one of them turned on the other and was bullying him relentlessly. I managed to catch the one being bullied, but even in a fish trap for protection the other kept trying to attack him. So back to the shop he went. Any further Yellow tangs will be added in groups of 3+ so try and avoid this in the future. I should have known but the LFS only had 2 at the time, so I took a chance, so lesson learned.
I’ve also added 7 coral frags today, currently just acclimatising on the bottom, all other corals are growing and healthy and below are a few shots from the new system.
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SPR
Well-Known Member
I was asked for an explanation @Nobbygas on a few points so here’s what’s what in the fish room
The left hand tank is RODI and the right fresh saltwater for auto water changes
On the right hand side is the Osmotics RODI system including auto shut off valve. I added a booster pump a few weeks ago, which I’ve never used before. This makes a massive difference to the amount of water produced, and also reduces waist water. It also has a high pressure switch which along with the auto shut off valve shuts the water system down when the float valves in the tanks close
If you look below the booster pump, there is a blue RODI line that then splits and goes into separate tanks. Each line then has a valve that can be closed. So for example once the saltwater container has filled, I close the valve as of course I don’t want this to refill (otherwise it would dilute the salinity) The RODI valve is left open, so effectively both water tanks can be run from the single system.
The tubes and pipes to the right of the RODI system feed the S650’s auto water change pipes, and also the RO reservoir for that tank. The other tubes are for the waste saltwater from both systems and go outside.
On the right hand tank you can see 2 wires going into the tank along with some others including DOS tubes. The 2 wires are for a 12000 lph mixing pump and the other is for a heater for the water. Now this isn’t needed really, but in winter it means the room is kept warm because of all the insulation, so no issues with freezing etc. For the rest of the year it will be switched off.
Also in the saltwater tank is an Apex optical sensor to send an alert if it goes empty, which will also stop the DOS water changes automatically. Theres also an optical sensor in the RODI tank to alert if it gets near to empty.
Because of the potential for water leaking from somewhere, on the floor between the 2 tanks at the back (you can’t see it) is an Apex leak detector so I’ll be notified if there are any issues in there.
There is an Apex FMM module on the back wall for the 2 optical sensors and leak detector and this is plugged into a DOS module as it all ‘daisy chains’ together
The Apex DOS unit at the top is for the S650’s water changes and the DOS to the left is for the 2000 litre system, all fed from the single saltwater tank. Water changes for the new tank haven't started yet, and not for a few more weeks, but the S650 has been getting 10% per week (7.5 litres per day) although I’ve now reduced this to around 5% per week (3.5 litres per day) so the water chemistry is not affected to much.
On the left tank you can see a tube coming up and out in the back middle and also a lightish blue pipe to the right. The thicker middle tube is the ATO tubing for the 2000 litre system. The tube going ‘up’ is the anti siphon tubing so when the ATO pump switches of, air is sucked back down via this tube and breaks the siphon. The ATO is a Tunze Osmolator with an additional outlet socket to power an Eheim CompactON 2100 same as below. This is turned down to about 3/4 power.
The light blue tube slightly to the right if this, feeds the RO reservoir of the S650. It has an Eheim CompactON 2100 pump and with a switch on Apex I can pump water from the RODI tank into the reservoir of the S650 which is at the side of the tank under the power centre. Because of this I can refill the reservoir in the S650 from anywhere in the world. It’s a slow refill and takes about 7 minutes on purpose so we havet got water blasting into it. But it means I no longer need to carry buckets of water to fill it up.
This would also have a siphon issue, or at least potential for one, so for this Just under the black tank lid, I installed a plastic pipe coupler, to join 2 pieces of the tube together. I drilled a small hole pointing down into the water into this coupler, which again creates a siphon break and sucks in air when the pump turns off.
Because of the height of the RODI tank, in particular the water level, I had to be very careful to ensure siphon issues were taken care of as both sumps/reservoirs are way below this level.
The left hand side wall is were most of the power switches are, and the main one is connected to Apex so power to the shed can be switched off either automatically if I program it, or as it is at the moment manually, again from anywhere in the world.
And finally in the left corner is the DD 80w UV-C unit. I put it there vertically for ease of maitenance. There is enough height space to just lift the bulb out to change it
Anyway that’s a brief outline of whats in here.
The left hand tank is RODI and the right fresh saltwater for auto water changes
On the right hand side is the Osmotics RODI system including auto shut off valve. I added a booster pump a few weeks ago, which I’ve never used before. This makes a massive difference to the amount of water produced, and also reduces waist water. It also has a high pressure switch which along with the auto shut off valve shuts the water system down when the float valves in the tanks close
If you look below the booster pump, there is a blue RODI line that then splits and goes into separate tanks. Each line then has a valve that can be closed. So for example once the saltwater container has filled, I close the valve as of course I don’t want this to refill (otherwise it would dilute the salinity) The RODI valve is left open, so effectively both water tanks can be run from the single system.
The tubes and pipes to the right of the RODI system feed the S650’s auto water change pipes, and also the RO reservoir for that tank. The other tubes are for the waste saltwater from both systems and go outside.
On the right hand tank you can see 2 wires going into the tank along with some others including DOS tubes. The 2 wires are for a 12000 lph mixing pump and the other is for a heater for the water. Now this isn’t needed really, but in winter it means the room is kept warm because of all the insulation, so no issues with freezing etc. For the rest of the year it will be switched off.
Also in the saltwater tank is an Apex optical sensor to send an alert if it goes empty, which will also stop the DOS water changes automatically. Theres also an optical sensor in the RODI tank to alert if it gets near to empty.
Because of the potential for water leaking from somewhere, on the floor between the 2 tanks at the back (you can’t see it) is an Apex leak detector so I’ll be notified if there are any issues in there.
There is an Apex FMM module on the back wall for the 2 optical sensors and leak detector and this is plugged into a DOS module as it all ‘daisy chains’ together
The Apex DOS unit at the top is for the S650’s water changes and the DOS to the left is for the 2000 litre system, all fed from the single saltwater tank. Water changes for the new tank haven't started yet, and not for a few more weeks, but the S650 has been getting 10% per week (7.5 litres per day) although I’ve now reduced this to around 5% per week (3.5 litres per day) so the water chemistry is not affected to much.
On the left tank you can see a tube coming up and out in the back middle and also a lightish blue pipe to the right. The thicker middle tube is the ATO tubing for the 2000 litre system. The tube going ‘up’ is the anti siphon tubing so when the ATO pump switches of, air is sucked back down via this tube and breaks the siphon. The ATO is a Tunze Osmolator with an additional outlet socket to power an Eheim CompactON 2100 same as below. This is turned down to about 3/4 power.
The light blue tube slightly to the right if this, feeds the RO reservoir of the S650. It has an Eheim CompactON 2100 pump and with a switch on Apex I can pump water from the RODI tank into the reservoir of the S650 which is at the side of the tank under the power centre. Because of this I can refill the reservoir in the S650 from anywhere in the world. It’s a slow refill and takes about 7 minutes on purpose so we havet got water blasting into it. But it means I no longer need to carry buckets of water to fill it up.
This would also have a siphon issue, or at least potential for one, so for this Just under the black tank lid, I installed a plastic pipe coupler, to join 2 pieces of the tube together. I drilled a small hole pointing down into the water into this coupler, which again creates a siphon break and sucks in air when the pump turns off.
Because of the height of the RODI tank, in particular the water level, I had to be very careful to ensure siphon issues were taken care of as both sumps/reservoirs are way below this level.
The left hand side wall is were most of the power switches are, and the main one is connected to Apex so power to the shed can be switched off either automatically if I program it, or as it is at the moment manually, again from anywhere in the world.
And finally in the left corner is the DD 80w UV-C unit. I put it there vertically for ease of maitenance. There is enough height space to just lift the bulb out to change it
Anyway that’s a brief outline of whats in here.
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SPR
Well-Known Member
Today, I didn’t play golf, because the weather wasn’t perfect, and well to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered!
So along with generally fiddling and meddling with anything I could find, (and I have lots to play with now! Lol) I physically removed the 4 rear circulation pumps from the S650. The output nozzles are still in place and I’ve folded the hoses over and fastened them closed with zip ties (to stop fish etc going down them)
So the rear chamber is empty apart from the Neptune Apex probes. It’s also clean and easy to keep clean now.
I might however fill it with Seachem Denitrate in zip bags as I think the flow will be ideal for this as it should be a little slower in there especially when packed with media.
I also cleaned the rear wall on the new tank, which actually wasn’t as bad a job as I thought it might be. It was fairly easy with the right scraper, which is a long metal one and the blades are standard razor blades and I can reach to the bottom of the tank without getting wet.
It’s quiet mesmerising watching the new tank. During the daytime from around 1pm, the Radions are on about 85% power but with cloud effects, and it’s very effective how the clouds work and sweep acrose the tank, giving the corals a break from the light intensity
Anyway, time for a fish picture, this is one of my favourite friends........
So along with generally fiddling and meddling with anything I could find, (and I have lots to play with now! Lol) I physically removed the 4 rear circulation pumps from the S650. The output nozzles are still in place and I’ve folded the hoses over and fastened them closed with zip ties (to stop fish etc going down them)
So the rear chamber is empty apart from the Neptune Apex probes. It’s also clean and easy to keep clean now.
I might however fill it with Seachem Denitrate in zip bags as I think the flow will be ideal for this as it should be a little slower in there especially when packed with media.
I also cleaned the rear wall on the new tank, which actually wasn’t as bad a job as I thought it might be. It was fairly easy with the right scraper, which is a long metal one and the blades are standard razor blades and I can reach to the bottom of the tank without getting wet.
It’s quiet mesmerising watching the new tank. During the daytime from around 1pm, the Radions are on about 85% power but with cloud effects, and it’s very effective how the clouds work and sweep acrose the tank, giving the corals a break from the light intensity
Anyway, time for a fish picture, this is one of my favourite friends........
SPR
Well-Known Member
SPR
Well-Known Member
I thought I would try out my fish trap for the first time yesterday. There are a few of the bigger fish I would like to move from the S650 into a new bigger home. I wanted to see how difficult it might be as well.
I caught the Sailfin Tang straight away, and added him to the new tank, and immediately the anti social bully of a Yellow Tang started on him and the Sailfin is much bigger. Bear in mind the previous incident with the Yellow Tang I had to return.
So I thought ill catch another to distract him, so caught the Magnificant Foxface as well and added him to his new home, much to his alarm at the time
This morning the Yellow Tang was still bullying the Sailfin so I thought I need to spread the aggression out here so went to the LFS and picked up 3 beautiful Yellow Tangs, so now 4 in total
The only other fish I needed to get out of the S650 (other than the Emperor Angelfish who will be last) is the Regal Tang, he’s getting to big.He wouldn’t play ball with the trap, but I eventually caught him using my superior brain, a clip of nori near the top of the tank, and a swift ninja move with a large net!
He was a little startled but now happily in his new home
Now at this stage of the tanks life, I didn’t want this many fish, but I also didn’t want all new additions to be terrorised by the Yellow Tang, and the new tenants seem to have put him in his place, or at least spread his aggression around.
Its quiet funny, I could have caught all the fish I wanted in the trap, they all went in and the Emperor practically made it his new home!! Lol. Well apart from the Regal Tang!
In view of the increased bioload I’ve today added 8 litres of Seachem Matrix as although nitrates are only just registering at around 1, I want to try and control and balance it all out.
So there will be no more fish added for the foreseeable future as I want to concentrate on building the corals and reef up now.
Here are 2 short videos showing the fish, reef and shoaling tangs......
I caught the Sailfin Tang straight away, and added him to the new tank, and immediately the anti social bully of a Yellow Tang started on him and the Sailfin is much bigger. Bear in mind the previous incident with the Yellow Tang I had to return.
So I thought ill catch another to distract him, so caught the Magnificant Foxface as well and added him to his new home, much to his alarm at the time
This morning the Yellow Tang was still bullying the Sailfin so I thought I need to spread the aggression out here so went to the LFS and picked up 3 beautiful Yellow Tangs, so now 4 in total
The only other fish I needed to get out of the S650 (other than the Emperor Angelfish who will be last) is the Regal Tang, he’s getting to big.He wouldn’t play ball with the trap, but I eventually caught him using my superior brain, a clip of nori near the top of the tank, and a swift ninja move with a large net!
He was a little startled but now happily in his new home
Now at this stage of the tanks life, I didn’t want this many fish, but I also didn’t want all new additions to be terrorised by the Yellow Tang, and the new tenants seem to have put him in his place, or at least spread his aggression around.
Its quiet funny, I could have caught all the fish I wanted in the trap, they all went in and the Emperor practically made it his new home!! Lol. Well apart from the Regal Tang!
In view of the increased bioload I’ve today added 8 litres of Seachem Matrix as although nitrates are only just registering at around 1, I want to try and control and balance it all out.
So there will be no more fish added for the foreseeable future as I want to concentrate on building the corals and reef up now.
Here are 2 short videos showing the fish, reef and shoaling tangs......
"He wouldn’t play ball with the trap, but I eventually caught him using my superior brain, a clip of nori near the top of the tank, and a swift ninja move with a large net!" - Ha, ha, superior brain! Admit it, he wanted to be caught !
It's nice to see the Yellows Tangs together isn't it. The vast majority of reefkeepers only ever keep one, yet in the wild they are a shoaling species.I have the two in my S-650 and they stay together most of the time with no aggression.
I see (I think) from the videos that you have some serious flow going from right to left! I assume that from looking at the swimming motions of the Yellow's, and when they stop swimming against the current they just turn and fly back the way they came !
The fish trap is also good for introducing new fish. I leave the new fish in the trap for as long as possible before releasing it into the tank. It gives all the others a good chance to have a look and get used to the newbie.
It's nice to see the Yellows Tangs together isn't it. The vast majority of reefkeepers only ever keep one, yet in the wild they are a shoaling species.I have the two in my S-650 and they stay together most of the time with no aggression.
I see (I think) from the videos that you have some serious flow going from right to left! I assume that from looking at the swimming motions of the Yellow's, and when they stop swimming against the current they just turn and fly back the way they came !
The fish trap is also good for introducing new fish. I leave the new fish in the trap for as long as possible before releasing it into the tank. It gives all the others a good chance to have a look and get used to the newbie.
SPR
Well-Known Member
I’m currently playing around with the flow in the new tank and dialling it down. The MP60’s are quiet powerful, and some of the corals are shedding flesh close to them, and you can see the fish swimming in it. It’s like a wind tunnel!! Lol
And yes Pancho the big fish make a huge difference to the reef, it’s staring to look better and better each day.
And yes Pancho the big fish make a huge difference to the reef, it’s staring to look better and better each day.
SPR
Well-Known Member
Satan Tang
Never heard of one?
Maybe it’s a new species I brought back from Galapagos with me ? No, it’s the nastiest most viscous fish, a Yellow Tang I’ve ever had!!
It was caught yesterday evening, once again using my superior brain and fishing skills, and is currently in a fish trap at the end of the tank awaiting being returned to the LFS and ‘thrust’ upon them. It’s like having some psychotic killer in the corner of the tank
You may recall he terrorised the first Yellow Tang a few days ago, so I removed that and took it back to the shop, but it didn’t make it apparently. He then attacked the Sailfin Tang which was twice his size, and then when I added the 3 Yellow Tangs he relentlessly went after the smallest, constantly.
So I started the evening watching the tank with a few glasses of wine, and getting angrier at this fish until I snapped, and out came the nets. After about an hour thrashing around with the nets (getting madder and madder!) it was time for the fish trap. And I caught the little ‘gem’ in about 30 minutes. He wasn’t happy! Lol
So whilst walking around the room doing fist pumps shouting ‘who’s the ..... daddy’, my wife appeared and said ‘You caught him then’.........
Never heard of one?
Maybe it’s a new species I brought back from Galapagos with me ? No, it’s the nastiest most viscous fish, a Yellow Tang I’ve ever had!!
It was caught yesterday evening, once again using my superior brain and fishing skills, and is currently in a fish trap at the end of the tank awaiting being returned to the LFS and ‘thrust’ upon them. It’s like having some psychotic killer in the corner of the tank
You may recall he terrorised the first Yellow Tang a few days ago, so I removed that and took it back to the shop, but it didn’t make it apparently. He then attacked the Sailfin Tang which was twice his size, and then when I added the 3 Yellow Tangs he relentlessly went after the smallest, constantly.
So I started the evening watching the tank with a few glasses of wine, and getting angrier at this fish until I snapped, and out came the nets. After about an hour thrashing around with the nets (getting madder and madder!) it was time for the fish trap. And I caught the little ‘gem’ in about 30 minutes. He wasn’t happy! Lol
So whilst walking around the room doing fist pumps shouting ‘who’s the ..... daddy’, my wife appeared and said ‘You caught him then’.........