Jenyphur's Red Sea REEFER MAX 300 G2+ Build
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OP
OP
That's a great question....I asked around at my lfs and they feel its pretty normal with new tanks. The rock/substrate needing it for the nitrogen cycle. I've also seen other new tanks have the same issue. I find it fascinating. I wish I had a definitive answer..it's clearly not my corals as I had this problem before adding any coral.
Ya you did! You went and inspired me to look harder at the Trident (that I was honestly already lusting after), so thanks!
Any chance you'd package your Elastic dashboard!?
Thanks for making all the other reef nerds drool and inspiring us!
OP
OP
LOL! Good....I'm glad to help out with your budget! You can thank me later.
I definitely can and will once I get it to a more complete and stable place. I'm actually doing it as a canvas dashboard which has been 'fun'. I love/hate Canvas but it makes for prettier dashboards.
The best part is that I am using this as a teaching tool for my class this week as I'm teaching them Observability. I still have a few kinks to work out for the 'automation' part as my cron job doesn't seem to like to run my script for the download. And to be honest, I shouldn't have to download and ingest all the data....the crappy part is that the Apex spits out XML. Ugh. XML!!! That was soooooo 2010! I am using filebeat and it's having a hard time finding the new start of the file as the xml tag at the end doesn't really change, just the stuff in the middle. I think that's whats going on..honestly I just did a workaround and moved forward.
It's fun to watch the data come in, that's for sure.
The apex isn't super user friendly but it doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you. The trident was surprisingly easy to set up and so far, the results are pretty spot on with my manual tests.
I definitely can and will once I get it to a more complete and stable place. I'm actually doing it as a canvas dashboard which has been 'fun'. I love/hate Canvas but it makes for prettier dashboards.
The best part is that I am using this as a teaching tool for my class this week as I'm teaching them Observability. I still have a few kinks to work out for the 'automation' part as my cron job doesn't seem to like to run my script for the download. And to be honest, I shouldn't have to download and ingest all the data....the crappy part is that the Apex spits out XML. Ugh. XML!!! That was soooooo 2010! I am using filebeat and it's having a hard time finding the new start of the file as the xml tag at the end doesn't really change, just the stuff in the middle. I think that's whats going on..honestly I just did a workaround and moved forward.
It's fun to watch the data come in, that's for sure.
The apex isn't super user friendly but it doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you.
The trident was surprisingly easy to set up and so far, the results are pretty spot on with my manual tests.
OP
OP
I went with the Pro just in case I decide to expand.
I have the Red Sea doser but not sure yet it I should use that or another. The Neptune one is so bulky.
I have the Red Sea doser but not sure yet it I should use that or another. The Neptune one is so bulky.
OP
OP
Hey thank you!
Well...I have quite a few updates. I have been slowly adding some corals...now I have 2 torch (blacklight and the malaysian green joker)..they are just so cool, I really love them.
Today I decided to add 2 more tank mates. I"m hoping one wasn't a mistake. Let's start with the first. Today was a BIG sale at my lfs...one of the largest. So I thought I would take advantage of it. I wasn't really sure if I could get any fish as I kept looking at quite honestly all the good ones were already spoken for. So I was checking out this nice 10 head frogspawn and as I looked closer, there he was. The cutest little pygmy hawkfish just branched in the frogspawn tree. I watched him for quite some time and he was just so cute and looked so happy I had to buy them both. He's currently hiding under a rock right now as I just added him an hour ago. I feel bad...he looks scared..
The other was this super hard working diamond sand sifting goby. I saw him a few weeks ago and his tank is just so clean and bright. I decided I needed him as I'm starting to get some not so pretty algae on the sand by the end of the day. Well...let's just say within 10 minutes of adding him, he is hard at work and my tank is super cloudy.. Ugghghhghg....I kind of forgot about my sand issue (in another thread). I"m hoping that in a week or so he has made his rounds and all the fine sediment has been filtered out. He's adorable but he's messy Marvin!
I also got a feather duster...I've had one before and I they fascinate me. I also needed a bit more red color...it came out within 10 seconds and seems to be VERY happy.
I also added a green toadstool yesterday. It's looking much better today...looking forward to watching it grow..my last one went crazy.
Oh, going to get a UV sterilizer added on my tank on Tuesday. I"m hiring someone to do it as I just don't feel comfortable with that part.
My trident is doing it's thing and I'm loving the results. I did get my RS doser hooked up and currently dosing ALK, Cal and Mag.
I'm heading out of the country next week and a bit nervous how that will go. Need to get the autofeeder set up this week and tested before I head out.
Well...I have quite a few updates. I have been slowly adding some corals...now I have 2 torch (blacklight and the malaysian green joker)..they are just so cool, I really love them.
Today I decided to add 2 more tank mates. I"m hoping one wasn't a mistake. Let's start with the first. Today was a BIG sale at my lfs...one of the largest. So I thought I would take advantage of it. I wasn't really sure if I could get any fish as I kept looking at quite honestly all the good ones were already spoken for. So I was checking out this nice 10 head frogspawn and as I looked closer, there he was. The cutest little pygmy hawkfish just branched in the frogspawn tree. I watched him for quite some time and he was just so cute and looked so happy I had to buy them both. He's currently hiding under a rock right now as I just added him an hour ago. I feel bad...he looks scared.
. The other was this super hard working diamond sand sifting goby. I saw him a few weeks ago and his tank is just so clean and bright. I decided I needed him as I'm starting to get some not so pretty algae on the sand by the end of the day. Well...let's just say within 10 minutes of adding him, he is hard at work and my tank is super cloudy.
. Ugghghhghg....I kind of forgot about my sand issue (in another thread). I"m hoping that in a week or so he has made his rounds and all the fine sediment has been filtered out. He's adorable but he's messy Marvin! I also got a feather duster...I've had one before and I they fascinate me. I also needed a bit more red color...it came out within 10 seconds and seems to be VERY happy.
I also added a green toadstool yesterday. It's looking much better today...looking forward to watching it grow..my last one went crazy.
Oh, going to get a UV sterilizer added on my tank on Tuesday. I"m hiring someone to do it as I just don't feel comfortable with that part.
My trident is doing it's thing and I'm loving the results. I did get my RS doser hooked up and currently dosing ALK, Cal and Mag.
I'm heading out of the country next week and a bit nervous how that will go. Need to get the autofeeder set up this week and tested before I head out.
Red_Beard
Valuable Member
Lol for reals, xml is a terrible data structure and the bane of my last 2 months. We have a lot of billing files that default to xml, working to get them in ASN.1. BUT, just wanted to offer what i found to work around this. I have a python transform pipeline process in place that uses the xmltodict module, ingests the xml to a python dictionary and spits that back out as a json object. Made data flow loads better.
Beautiful tank! Love the little hawk!
Those diamond gobies are hard working little dudes too, dont worry too much, mine clouded everything up pretty good and seemed to have turned the whole of it upside down 2x within the first week. After a couple months he settled down, found his happy place and then only terrorized any smaller coral i had in the sand. I sware he played with my dendro just to mess with me. He would drag it all over the tank so every time i went to feed it it was somewhere else.
Auto feeders are awesome for going away, but also make sure you have enough water in your ato to last, made that mistake before and had to travel 6 extra hours mid christmas break to top it back up. (Had a camera watching the sump)
OP
OP
A little update...the diamond goby is so fun to watch. I've named him Dusty which I think is an appropriate name. He is making a mess of my tank but to be honest, I don't mind. The cloudiness is MUCH better today and he just seems so happy and busy. He has been eating mysis and brine shrimp as well.
The pygmy hawkfish is a different story. She has been hiding since I added her. I get a few peaks at her here and there and I have seen her eat a little bit (maybe a few bites). I'm starting to worry about her.. I hope she is going to be ok.
UV sterilizer being added today and I think I got the Plank on the apex scheduled to run 3 x a day. Testing it now to see if my programming is correct.
Great tip about the ATO..I have a 10 gallon and will fill it up when I leave on Thursday. My husband knows how to add to it and will be keeping an eye on everything remotely.
My first trip away and I'm super paranoid.
The pygmy hawkfish is a different story. She has been hiding since I added her. I get a few peaks at her here and there and I have seen her eat a little bit (maybe a few bites). I'm starting to worry about her.
. I hope she is going to be ok. The 'Dude' was missing for a few days (conch snail) and I honestly thought he was stuck somewhere but he showed up again last night..thank goodness.
UV sterilizer being added today and I think I got the Plank on the apex scheduled to run 3 x a day. Testing it now to see if my programming is correct.
Great tip about the ATO..I have a 10 gallon and will fill it up when I leave on Thursday. My husband knows how to add to it and will be keeping an eye on everything remotely.
My first trip away and I'm super paranoid.
OP
OP
Ohhh....she came out a bit tonight. Henrietta is her name and she is a pygmy hawk fish and she's adorable and shy. I was able to get a few pics of her tonight when the lights went off. She seems to come out when Dusty goes in for the night. Interesting.
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flfrosty
Community Member
Awesome to watch things progress, love the tank.
Can I ask about your experience with the RSK 300 skimmer? Was it simply just turn it on and go?
I am about 8 weeks into my build and want to get the skimmer going but no matter what settings I use, the collection cup just fills up with water. I know this is normal with newer tanks but I dont want to risk making a mess under my cabinet by letting it overflow. I have also read something about the water level in the sump being too deep and the skimmer needing to sit on a platform. I havent really been able to find and good videos, etc. detailing the setup and dialing it in with the app.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience with it.
Can I ask about your experience with the RSK 300 skimmer? Was it simply just turn it on and go?
I am about 8 weeks into my build and want to get the skimmer going but no matter what settings I use, the collection cup just fills up with water. I know this is normal with newer tanks but I dont want to risk making a mess under my cabinet by letting it overflow. I have also read something about the water level in the sump being too deep and the skimmer needing to sit on a platform. I havent really been able to find and good videos, etc. detailing the setup and dialing it in with the app.
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience with it.
Tank is looking good.I had a 300XL loved it but my coral out grown it so fast. Now I have a 850G2 so far loving it but th ugly stage is killing me.
I am assuming you have the newer DC RSK 300. There should be a sticker on the adjuster knob that says "Water Level". That is where your water level should be. If that is where the water level is at and you are adjusting the foam to the top of the neck but the skimmer still wants to overflow, then it is not a skimmer issue. Usually the cause is something that is in your water from some additive you are using. That could be some type of water conditioner, declorinator etc. Figure out what that is and stop using it. Maybe run some carbon if you are not already. There are many pollutants that can come from new equipment or from a new build in general. Cabon should help with that.
Turn your adjuster on your skimmer (red knob) to its lowest setting pull the waste hose off the cup and let it run. It may take up to a week for the for it to calm down enough for you to put the hose back on. You may have to put in an extra pad in your sump if micro bubbles become a problem in your DT.
OP
OP
Wow...this is encouraging to note! I wish my corals would grow faster. Did you do anything special for them? Did you feed Red Sea AB (Reef Energy) at all?
OP
OP
Well I'm back from Prague! Great city btw....so much history and the architecture is just amazing from Gothic to Renaissance to Art Nouveau...the city has it all.
I'm happy to report that my tank did quite well when I was gone. I did have a few minor issues which I'll explain below.
As I mentioned I had a UV sterilizer and media reactor added to my setup as well as a flow meter added to monitor the flow to the UV. As soon as it was added we realized the Red Sea pump wasn't going to cut it. He was using a check valve and diverter (splitter maybe a better term) to direct some of the water to the UV. The flow meter was registering about 115 which we quickly realized wasn't going to work for the UV sterilizer as it needs to be about 220. We decided to leave it until I got home but that I would purchase the biggest return pump available that Red Sea has to offer. That should solve it.
The next day as I was getting ready to leave for the airport (always the case) I noticed the flow was down to 60 ish. There was a kink in the tube and that was restricting the input. I was able to zip tie the restriction so that it stayed in the open position and not kink. So on my way to the airpot I called my 'consultant' and he said he can put in a pump for me but that his supplier doesn't have the red sea. He came and installed the Ecotech Marine Vectra M2 pump which should solve the problem.
So he came and installed it and now the flow is maintaining right at 227 which he says is perfect. To be honest, I need to do some more research on this to understand why. My understanding is that you can have it at one number for bacteria/parasites and one for algae.
Anyways....it definitely is pumping along quite nicely. Its much louder than my red sea. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. It's really quite loud and now of course my Red Sea app is sending me an alert every hour that my pump is missing because of course it doesn't recognize the non Red Sea pump..
Here's what I will say....the plank autofeeder is working nicely with the apex integration. I have it feeding 3 x a day for 20 seconds. Everyone seems to be thriving. I am doing (my husband did it for me while I was gone) a supplemental feeding of frozen mysis shrimp every other day just to make sure everyone is getting enough.
Henrietta the pygmy hawk fish is coming out much more often now and she's finally eating quite nicely. I really like her shy quiet nature.
Dusty the sand sifting goby is a monster. He is so cute and such a hard worker...but hes making a mess of my tank. I do love him though and he eats like a pig!
I need to work on my next 2 fish...I need mid level swimmers that are very active. Let me hear what your suggestions are!
I need active and bright! This is my short list but open to suggestions:
- Flame Hawk
- Midas Blenny
- Coral Beauty
- 6 line wrasse or similar
- Royal grama
- Purple dottyback
Thanks all for keeping up!
I'm happy to report that my tank did quite well when I was gone. I did have a few minor issues which I'll explain below.
As I mentioned I had a UV sterilizer and media reactor added to my setup as well as a flow meter added to monitor the flow to the UV. As soon as it was added we realized the Red Sea pump wasn't going to cut it. He was using a check valve and diverter (splitter maybe a better term) to direct some of the water to the UV. The flow meter was registering about 115 which we quickly realized wasn't going to work for the UV sterilizer as it needs to be about 220. We decided to leave it until I got home but that I would purchase the biggest return pump available that Red Sea has to offer. That should solve it.
The next day as I was getting ready to leave for the airport (always the case) I noticed the flow was down to 60 ish. There was a kink in the tube and that was restricting the input. I was able to zip tie the restriction so that it stayed in the open position and not kink. So on my way to the airpot I called my 'consultant' and he said he can put in a pump for me but that his supplier doesn't have the red sea. He came and installed the Ecotech Marine Vectra M2 pump which should solve the problem.
So he came and installed it and now the flow is maintaining right at 227 which he says is perfect. To be honest, I need to do some more research on this to understand why. My understanding is that you can have it at one number for bacteria/parasites and one for algae.
Anyways....it definitely is pumping along quite nicely. Its much louder than my red sea. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it. It's really quite loud and now of course my Red Sea app is sending me an alert every hour that my pump is missing because of course it doesn't recognize the non Red Sea pump.
. Here's what I will say....the plank autofeeder is working nicely with the apex integration. I have it feeding 3 x a day for 20 seconds. Everyone seems to be thriving. I am doing (my husband did it for me while I was gone) a supplemental feeding of frozen mysis shrimp every other day just to make sure everyone is getting enough.
Henrietta the pygmy hawk fish is coming out much more often now and she's finally eating quite nicely. I really like her shy quiet nature.
Dusty the sand sifting goby is a monster. He is so cute and such a hard worker...but hes making a mess of my tank. I do love him though and he eats like a pig!
I need to work on my next 2 fish...I need mid level swimmers that are very active. Let me hear what your suggestions are!
I need active and bright! This is my short list but open to suggestions:
- Flame Hawk
- Midas Blenny
- Coral Beauty
- 6 line wrasse or similar
- Royal grama
- Purple dottyback
Thanks all for keeping up!
No I didn't feed any Reef Energy.I may try that this time. I'm going to add a few more SPS and LPS.Possibly a clam dwn the line.
OP
OP
Tank Update...The good and the bad (sad).
Well...things have been progressing slowly. I am a bit frustrated with the usual stuff...some uglies still with some longer hair algae. Just ordered some more clean up crew to help this out.
The sad news is that about a week ago Henrietta (pygmy hawkfish) stopped eating and within a few days she was really struggling with what I think was an internal parasite or infection. She was upside down for days, I set up a qt tank to try and treat her and she really did try and fight it but refused to eat and eventually succumbed. Ughghghgh ...breaks my heart. There were moments when I just wanted to end her suffering but every morning she would still be alive so I just kept trying for her. I know this sounds weird but I buried her in my backyard by a pretty little red flowering bush. I miss her.
The positive...
I have 3 new occupants. I am in love with all 3 of them. I ordered them about a month ago from Dr. Reefs Quarantined (because I didn't have a qt tank back then) and they are all doing great. Such great adidtions to my tank. They are:
- Flame Angel (Phoebe)
- Bi-color blenny (we just call him Paint)
- Midas blenny...soooooo cute. He is just awesome. Haven't named him yet. When I first added him he went directly to Dusty's cave (diamond goby) and went straight in kicking Dusty out. About an hour later, Dusty went in and kicked him out. Then the next morning I found him in a cute little hole in the rocks at the top of my rock structure. He just sits up there and watches everything...he's so fricken cute.
Everyone is eating well and crusing around the tank...so nice to see some more action in the tank. I definitely want to get the algae under control a bit more as some of my corals (zoas) are struggling..
There are times when this tank puts me close to tears or into a fetal position but the last few days have been really nice and peaceful.
I want more beautiful coral....and a few more fish.
Any suggestions?
I'm thinking a wrasse (6 line) and possibly a tomini tang?
Well...things have been progressing slowly. I am a bit frustrated with the usual stuff...some uglies still with some longer hair algae. Just ordered some more clean up crew to help this out.
The sad news is that about a week ago Henrietta (pygmy hawkfish) stopped eating and within a few days she was really struggling with what I think was an internal parasite or infection. She was upside down for days, I set up a qt tank to try and treat her and she really did try and fight it but refused to eat and eventually succumbed. Ughghghgh ...breaks my heart. There were moments when I just wanted to end her suffering but every morning she would still be alive so I just kept trying for her. I know this sounds weird but I buried her in my backyard by a pretty little red flowering bush. I miss her.
The positive...
I have 3 new occupants. I am in love with all 3 of them. I ordered them about a month ago from Dr. Reefs Quarantined (because I didn't have a qt tank back then) and they are all doing great. Such great adidtions to my tank. They are:
- Flame Angel (Phoebe)
- Bi-color blenny (we just call him Paint)
- Midas blenny...soooooo cute. He is just awesome. Haven't named him yet. When I first added him he went directly to Dusty's cave (diamond goby) and went straight in kicking Dusty out. About an hour later, Dusty went in and kicked him out. Then the next morning I found him in a cute little hole in the rocks at the top of my rock structure. He just sits up there and watches everything...he's so fricken cute.
Everyone is eating well and crusing around the tank...so nice to see some more action in the tank. I definitely want to get the algae under control a bit more as some of my corals (zoas) are struggling.
. There are times when this tank puts me close to tears or into a fetal position but the last few days have been really nice and peaceful.
I want more beautiful coral....and a few more fish.
Any suggestions?
I'm thinking a wrasse (6 line) and possibly a tomini tang?
OP
OP
Lavey29
10K Club member
It's sad when we lose a fishy friend but you did your best for him. I tried small bristletooth tang early on and the tank was just to small for him. He swam around stressed in panic mode the whole time. I really think 4' tank is minimum size for a tomini to be ok but some have had success with smaller tanks.Tank Update...The good and the bad (sad).
Well...things have been progressing slowly. I am a bit frustrated with the usual stuff...some uglies still with some longer hair algae. Just ordered some more clean up crew to help this out.
The sad news is that about a week ago Henrietta (pygmy hawkfish) stopped eating and within a few days she was really struggling with what I think was an internal parasite or infection. She was upside down for days, I set up a qt tank to try and treat her and she really did try and fight it but refused to eat and eventually succumbed. Ughghghgh ...breaks my heart. There were moments when I just wanted to end her suffering but every morning she would still be alive so I just kept trying for her. I know this sounds weird but I buried her in my backyard by a pretty little red flowering bush. I miss her.
The positive...
I have 3 new occupants. I am in love with all 3 of them. I ordered them about a month ago from Dr. Reefs Quarantined (because I didn't have a qt tank back then) and they are all doing great. Such great adidtions to my tank. They are:
- Flame Angel (Phoebe)
- Bi-color blenny (we just call him Paint)
- Midas blenny...soooooo cute. He is just awesome. Haven't named him yet. When I first added him he went directly to Dusty's cave (diamond goby) and went straight in kicking Dusty out. About an hour later, Dusty went in and kicked him out. Then the next morning I found him in a cute little hole in the rocks at the top of my rock structure. He just sits up there and watches everything...he's so fricken cute.
Everyone is eating well and crusing around the tank...so nice to see some more action in the tank. I definitely want to get the algae under control a bit more as some of my corals (zoas) are struggling.
There are times when this tank puts me close to tears or into a fetal position but the last few days have been really nice and peaceful.
I want more beautiful coral....and a few more fish.
Any suggestions?
I'm thinking a wrasse (6 line) and possibly a tomini tang?
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