Johnny Ciotti's Red Sea REEFER 250

[Johnny Ciotti]

Current Setup

Display: Red Sea REEFER 250 w/White Stand
Sump: Stock
Top Off: Stock
Return Pump: Prototype Running on Jaebo Controller
Flow: 1x Sicce X-Stream E, 1x Prototype Running on Jaebo Controller
Doser: Vertex Libra
Heater: Petco Special
Skimmer: Nyos Quantum 160
Lighting: 1x Nanobox Quad, 2x Ai Prime
Reactor: MRC xSeries x3 w/Sicce 1.5
Refugium: In Display Ghetto Fuge
Media: Warner Marine EcoBak+
Supplements: Triton Base Elementz, TLF Bactiv8, TLF AcroPower
Food: TLF GoniPower, APBreed TDO Pellets, Hikari Seaweed Extreme Pellets, Newlife Spectrum Marine Formula Pellets, PE Mysis
Water Changes: None


Introduction

First off let me start by saying hello to anyone that happens by. It's been a number of years since I've participated in any sort of online forum. Like many I'm sure, David Hammontree asked me to come and share a little. So here is the sharing.

This thread will run concurrent to what I'm offering in a series of articles/reviews over at Reef Builders, but more personal.

The goal here will ultimately be for you the reader to decide and hopefully I'll be able to fulfill.

So let's start with a bit of an introduction to get the long winded and rather boring parts out of the way. These things are a necessary evil to set the stage and please take it at face value.

My name is Johnny Ciotti. I've been a hobbyist for well over 20 years and I've worked in the industry in various capacities since I was able to obtain a work permit. I do write for Reef Builders and there are 3 aquascaping awards/titles under my belt, along with numerous articles in every conceivable aquarium publication, digital or print and maybe even some MACNA speaking. I've worked extensively with freshwater as well and even done a bit of work with my good friends the Senske brothers at Houston's ADG and with the late Takashi Amano of ADA. These things are not said in a boastful way but more so to give some insight and clarity to my background. Currently I am providing brand direction, product and content creation, social media management, exhibit curation, and various other services through my company to many of the leading brands in the aquarium industry. This also doubles as a disclaimer. I do not post paid opinions and if you've ever met me you'll know I'm not easily swayed. If I'm using a product I'll happily tell you why and if I'm being paid to test it.

So with that out of the way let's get on with the good stuff. Oh if you'd like to keep more personal tabs on me feel free to give a follow on Instagram @johnnyciotti. Neat corals and fish macro shots are primarily what is posted over that way. So if you don't like that stuff I wouldn't waste your time.

Before we move onto the next layout let me show you my last personal/non client related (larger than desktop) marine aquarium I had done.




The New System

I was given an off the shelf Red Sea REEFER 250 by Red Sea to do some really testing and give some feedback before they launched. I could have used any system but I chose the REEFER and would have happily paid for it.

Multiple iterations of equipment had been gone through and I'll be posting about that soon enough. First I'd like to post some pictures of this thing empty, because people love empty aquariums and it will also help get us to where we are now, more than 6 months down the road. If you'd like to read my initial review you can check it out here.


Fancy Brown Box


Aquarium Packaging


Wrapped Up Sump


Disassembled Cabinet (This thing was super easy to build)


Cabinet


Aquarium, Sump and Skimmer Installed With Assembled Cabinet


Now that we've seen this thing empty and dry let me tell you what equipment went in at this time.
A Royal Exclusive Bubble King Double Cone 150 skimmer was chosen to go in the sump as it's what I had sitting around and seemed like a good choice at the time. For a return pump I'd picked the Sicce 1.5 as I'm not a huge fan of mass flow through the sump, it's just counter productive and reduces the efficiency of everything the water comes in contact with. A cheap heater was chucked in because I wasn't going to have much live stock in the system to start with and it never gets outside of perfect tank temperature in my home anyway. Oh, almost forgot the Ol' Trusty Ecoxotic Stunner Strip in the cabinet for lighting. Other than that, the system is pretty bare bones. Obviously this changes pretty quickly but remember we are time traveling right now back to the beginning.

So I'll follow this post up with a few progression shots and show you how the equipment has moved around, along, or out. We will also talk about the livestock and aquascaping, etc.

Thanks for dropping by and hope to share with you again soon. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask and or share.

 

[DLuce510]

Welcome man, seen your work before and look forward to seeing this system as it progresses.

 

[revhtree]

Johnny we're thrilled to have you here and look forward to your posts!

Introduction

First off let me start by saying hello to anyone that happens by. It's been a number of years since I've participated in any sort of online forum. Like many I'm sure, David Hammontree asked me to come and share a little. So here is the sharing.

This thread will run concurrent to what I'm offering in a series of articles/reviews over at Reef Builders, but more personal.

The goal here will ultimately be for you the reader to decide and hopefully I'll be able to fulfill.

So let's start with a bit of an introduction to get the long winded and rather boring parts out of the way. These things are a necessary evil to set the stage and please take it at face value.

My name is Johnny Ciotti. I've been a hobbyist for well over 20 years and I've worked in the industry in various capacities since I was able to obtain a work permit. I do write for Reef Builders and there are 3 aquascaping awards/titles under my belt, along with numerous articles in every conceivable aquarium publication, digital or print and maybe even some MACNA speaking. I've worked extensively with freshwater as well and even done a bit of work with my good friends the Senske brothers at Houston's ADG and with the late Takashi Amano of ADA. These things are not said in a boastful way but more so to give some insight and clarity to my background. Currently I am providing brand direction, product and content creation, social media management, exhibit curation, and various other services through my company to many of the leading brands in the aquarium industry. This also doubles as a disclaimer. I do not post paid opinions and if you've ever met me you'll know I'm not easily swayed. If I'm using a product I'll happily tell you why and if I'm being paid to test it.

So with that out of the way let's get on with the good stuff. Oh if you'd like to keep more personal tabs on me feel free to give a follow on Instagram @johnnyciotti. Neat corals and fish macro shots are primarily what is posted over that way. So if you don't like that stuff I wouldn't waste your time.

Before we move onto the next layout let me show you my last personal/non client related (larger than desktop) marine aquarium I had done.




The New System

I was given an off the shelf Red Sea REEFER 250 by Red Sea to do some really testing and give some feedback before they launched. I could have used any system but I chose the REEFER and would have happily paid for it.

Multiple iterations of equipment had been gone through and I'll be posting about that soon enough. First I'd like to post some pictures of this thing empty, because people love empty aquariums and it will also help get us to where we are now, more than 6 months down the road. If you'd like to read my initial review you can check it out here.


Fancy Brown Box


Aquarium Packaging


Wrapped Up Sump


Disassembled Cabinet (This thing was super easy to build)


Cabinet


Aquarium, Sump and Skimmer Installed With Assembled Cabinet


Now that we've seen this thing empty and dry let me tell you what equipment went in at this time.
A Royal Exclusive Bubble King 160 skimmer was chosen to go in the sump as it's what I had sitting around and seemed like a good choice at the time. For a return pump I'd picked the Sicce 1.5 as I'm not a huge fan of mass flow through the sump, it's just counter productive and reduces the efficiency of everything the water comes in contact with. A cheap heater was chucked in because I wasn't going to have much live stock in the system to start with and it never gets outside of perfect tank temperature in my home anyway. Oh, almost forgot the Ol' Trusty Ecoxotic Stunner Strip in the cabinet for lighting. Other than that, the system is pretty bare bones. Obviously this changes pretty quickly but remember we are time traveling right now back to the beginning.

So I'll follow this post up with a few progression shots and show you how the equipment has moved around, along, or out. We will also talk about the livestock and aquascaping, etc.

Thanks for dropping by and hope to share with you again soon. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to ask and or share.

 

[Ro.an]

Would love to follow your progress as i'm thinking of the reefer 170 for myself

 

[HomeSlizzice]

Haha I see you joined. Good to see you on here John.

 

[glweek]

awesome, ive read about ya quite a bit. love your stuff.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS HERE!

 

[jdpeters]

drool

 

[hybridazn]

Following along!

And welcome to R2R!

 

[shred5]

Hey John
I loved your aquascaping in your old tank.
Interested what you have in mind for aquascaping this?
Also I think you listed your skimmer wrong looks like a BK double cone to me possibly a 150?

 

[bobbyM]

Following! !

 

[MarineDepot]

This thread will run concurrent to what I'm offering in a series of articles/reviews over at Reef Builders, but more personal.

Welcome to R2R! We'll be looking forward to all your posts.

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

Hey John
I loved your aquascaping in your old tank.
Interested what you have in mind for aquascaping this?
Also I think you listed your skimmer wrong looks like a BK double cone to me possibly a 150?

It's always an added bonus when others enjoy your art. Thank you for being a fan.

I think you're right about the skimmer, I'll correct that.

Welcome man, seen your work before and look forward to seeing this system as it progresses.

Appreciated and me too! This aquarium will make me much happier once it has matured.

Johnny we're thrilled to have you here and look forward to your posts!

How could I resist and invite to this party?

Would love to follow your progress as i'm thinking of the reefer 170 for myself

I'll tell you right now that the glass and stand are second to none in an off the shelf product and even then much nicer than most custom builders. Scary good actually.

Haha I see you joined. Good to see you on here John.

Wish I could say the same... LOL

awesome, ive read about ya quite a bit. love your stuff.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS HERE!

Seriously appreciated. I'll do my best to please. A little known fact is I've actually had massive anxiety for a few years about doing a personal tank because of others expectations. Personal reefs are usually just that, tanks for us to enjoy in my home.

I wanted to the direction for this aquarium to be different from anything I've done before. I really wanted to represent what it was like to be a young hobbyist again. So I'll be merging colored sticks and wavy stuff (my new technically names for corals) in a juxtaposition of strength and passivity. Essentially it will be the cadence of stillness, and halcyon. Or a full blown colectoritis heap.

drool

If it does what I hope I'll need a bib along side you.

Following along!

And welcome to R2R!

Thank you and thank you.

Following! !

Thank you for the interest.

Welcome to R2R! We'll be looking forward to all your posts.

Hey guys! Everything I've had to pay for on this system has been ordered from you. Love having you local as the next day arrival is awesome!

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

Incomplete Pseudo Timeline to Current Date

Now that I've tried to respond to your posts I'll be attempting to get us up to date. Please be forgiving as nearly all of these photos are from my iPhone.

I didn't keep very good track of the system in the beginning even though I should have. I was overwhelmed with getting work out the door for clients and dealing with the issues that come with a new home in Los Angeles, the aquarium was very secondary and also was being tested in many ways.

So let's get to some pictures already...

This is about a month after the initial setup of the aquarium. Most of the corals had either come from my previous aquarium or donations from Jake Adams, Dave Dreiling, or purchased from Unique Corals. There were a significant amount of SPS frags hiding behind the rock work as I didn't want to look at tiny nublet color sticks and my other half also enjoyed looking at the wavy stuff. Sharing my passion with someone is often times more enjoyable than having the hobby on its own. These things take precedence for me and seeing her happy is the bee's knees.


This is pretty much the entire system at the time. Very simple setup consisting of nothing out of the ordinary other than the Bubble King and the Vertex Libra. But the fundamental elements aren't unusual. I was using a cheap Jebao return pump and a prototype pump utilizing a Jebao controller. The reasons for this was to actually see how "terrible" these pieces of equipment were, and to be honest and you'll see later on, they performed better in the long run that a lot of the other test equipment that came and went. My expectations were obviously different from the results.


The lighting in the beginning was a Current USA Orbit Marine Pro. For a mostly LPS dominant system I couldn't have been happier. (Disclaimer I was given this light by Current to test and give feedback.) For a softy system or mixed LPS/Softy layout it would have been WAY more than enough. comparing it to many other lights on the market I'd have looked no further given my needs at that time. Saying this as unbiased as possible. If I wasn't planning on doing SPS the testing would have stopped here.


Then this happened. As you can see from the picture I was needing a quick solution for the heat issue. We experienced a very hot 116 day in Los Angeles. Our air wasn't working and the tank temperature wasn't much different than the ambient 90+ degree interior. Bags of ice were added to the sump and top off water along with many fans. It didn't help that this heat wave lasted almost two weeks before subsiding.


Good news was that somehow most of the corals and fish lived the ordeal. Many larger LPS colonies and some of the touchy stuff were removed and taken to either friends or Unique Corals to avoid certain death. But, the algae problem that came after the heat was not good.

The rock was rearranged and as you can see the tank was looking much different. Lots of corals moved around and some of the SPS actually being visible (many frags hiding in the back still). The lighting was swapped to the first prototype Nanobox "unibody" Quad and the entire living room was preparing for a makeover that still hasn't been completed. But, running my modified Trition method with tiny refugium, strong skimmer, and now bio-pellets I was determined to not do a water change and defeat the hair algae.


The fun thing about testing out a nearly destroyed tank is you can get crazy with the lighting. Check out the PAR numbers 301 PAR on this Quad at the sand bed with all channels at 100% and a single Kessil A360W at 100%! While you're at it check out that terrible scape from the top and all that beautiful green algae. I'm looking really pro right about now...

But this is the crazy one. Look at the PAR numbers without the Kessil, over 270!


So still no water changes and still not the final scape. Many corals moved to the frag rack while thinking about what I was actually going to do layout wise. I could have just pulled the Real Reef Rock and put together what I wanted and probably gotten rid of the algae all together but I had a point to prove that it could be done with a skimmer and some bio-pellets.

I'm starting to make a dent in the algae and this is when I deployed "Operation Berry Strainer". Toss some Chaeto in there and zip tied it to the overflow box. Nothing says experienced aquarist like a neon green colander floating in your aquarium display.


While testing the Nanobox Quad, Kessil A360W, and Ai Prime I also swapped the skimmer to a Nyos Quantum 160 (Disclaimer all equipment mentioned was given to me to test by the OEM or Reef Builders) to see if it would do any better of a job than the Bubble King. I won't tell you the results yet as those will be posted to Reef Builders first but, it was interesting. You can also see I was running the IM MiniMax for my EcoBak+* Bio-Pellets (purchased from Marine Depot).


Non-iPhone shots of some Nyos detail.


Nyos installed and breaking in.


While my tank was fixing itself I had done this layout for IM's launch of their new Lagoon series.


Then the new MRC xSeries prototypes showed up. (Disclaimer my brand help with various parts of this product.) So needless to say I was going to be testing the heck out of it.


Some non-iPhone detail.


I also did a bit of Ai testing.


An iPhone close of up of still browned out corals


The layout was actually cleared up relatively quickly of the previous algae issue. All it took was some persistence. The corals had started to fill in and grow. This is many, many months from the previous image. I was holding a large Montipora colony for a friend in the back left so please ignore.


A significant amount of time had passed by from the photo above and then this showed up. I actually paid for the Nyos Reef Cement and I'll tell you that it was worth every penny. Best solution I've found to date for aquascaping marine aquariums.


A few weeks later and this is what she looks like. During this process Jamie (my other half) had grown to enjoy more of the SPS corals. She saw the fun in watching them grow and the struggle of coloring them up from a mishap. This solidified the choice to continue on with that theme and just take the aquarium for what it was. So maybe it isn't the most ground breaking layout ever, but that's the point. This is supposed to be a hobby and I'm determined to make it one. Of course the designer in me is going to tweak the layout and place the corals that are still strewn about, but for now it's a pretty mess that needs maturing. The system is largely the same and I'll update the equipment list in the firs post along with the most recent image of the layout. Biggest change is the final version of the Nanobox Quad and the two Ai Prime LED fixtures.


So stay tuned and more current updates will be coming in as they happen.

Thanks for reading through this long winded post and as always I'll get back to every question on my next visit.

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

.

 

[jgarza]

Did you scrape off the black paint on the back glass? Is the Nyos 160 oversized for this tank? I have the 120 but want to keep it simple with just a skimmer and carbon. How are you liking the bio pellets?

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

Did you scrape off the black paint on the back glass? Is the Nyos 160 oversized for this tank? I have the 120 but want to keep it simple with just a skimmer and carbon. How are you liking the bio pellets?

You're correct. The black vinyl was removed and will be replaced with an opaque frosted clear vinyl and backlit with some controllable RGB LEDs. This should provide for an interesting look that will compliment the layout.

The Nyos Quantum 160 is oversized by some standards for this tank and a 120 would be more than sufficient for most livestock selections. I chose the Nyos 160 to compete head to head with the Royal Exclusive Bubble King Double Cone 150 and the Vertex Omega 150. I also choose skimmers using the narrow end of the manufactures suggested rating.

I've used Bio-pellets on a few systems now and I can say that as long as they are manufactured and there isn't something more simple I'll be using them. I've used carbon dosing/bacterial driven systems for far longer than I know anyone (Circa 1998) to be posting or even publishing articles on it. I probably don't even know how to run a marine aquarium any other way to be honest. The issues post heatwave were bad enough that I was expecting a complete loss. Bio-pellets, now it might be purely anecdotal, are a big reason the aquarium bounced back and with zero water changes. Having a solid bacterial population helps with the over all stability of a system in my experience. It isn't too different from a persons immune system and their gut health. This particular brand seems to work well but I will try out a different All-In-One type of pellet once this batch starts to break down further. That being said the last couple of years I've done tanks two ways, 90% water changes weekly, or none at all. The bio-pellets and no water change is far easier.

 

[jgarza]

You're correct. The black vinyl was removed and will be replaced with an opaque frosted clear vinyl and backlit with some controllable RGB LEDs. This should provide for an interesting look that will compliment the layout.

The Nyos Quantum 160 is oversized by some standards for this tank and a 120 would be more than sufficient for most livestock selections. I chose the Nyos 160 to compete head to head with the Royal Exclusive Bubble King Double Cone 150 and the Vertex Omega 150. I also choose skimmers using the narrow end of the manufactures suggested rating.

I've used Bio-pellets on a few systems now and I can say that as long as they are manufactured and there isn't something more simple I'll be using them. I've used carbon dosing/bacterial driven systems for far longer than I know anyone (Circa 1998) to be posting or even publishing articles on it. I probably don't even know how to run a marine aquarium any other way to be honest. The issues post heatwave were bad enough that I was expecting a complete loss. Bio-pellets, now it might be purely anecdotal, are a big reason the aquarium bounced back and with zero water changes. Having a solid bacterial population helps with the over all stability of a system in my experience. It isn't too different from a persons immune system and their gut health. This particular brand seems to work well but I will try out a different All-In-One type of pellet once this batch starts to break down further. That being said the last couple of years I've done tanks two ways, 90% water changes weekly, or none at all. The bio-pellets and no water change is far easier.

I like to have my tanks pretty heavily stocked and feed quite often. Do you think I should stick with the 120 or try out the 160? I've read many articles about bio pellets, from good to bad, but most of the time people are misusing them. I might replace my carbon reactor with a biopellet reactor. I like the idea of keeping my nitrates and phosphates in check and stable without having to worry about if I'm feeding too much.

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

I like to have my tanks pretty heavily stocked and feed quite often. Do you think I should stick with the 120 or try out the 160? I've read many articles about bio pellets, from good to bad, but most of the time people are misusing them. I might replace my carbon reactor with a biopellet reactor. I like the idea of keeping my nitrates and phosphates in check and stable without having to worry about if I'm feeding too much.

I'd have enough confidence in the 120 with pellets to take just about anything you could throw at it sub 70 gallons. If you find your corals looking less than ideal and your NO3 and PO4 levels to be out of norm I'd entertain the idea then. I'm not big on chasing numbers. Take the money you'd save and go do something fun or buy more livestock.

100% on board with keeping the fish happy and full.

You sound like a good candidate for bio-pellets. Take it slow and increase bio load after you've seen the effects of the bio-pellets, no need to rush it.

 

[jgarza]

I'd have enough confidence in the 120 with pellets to take just about anything you could throw at it sub 70 gallons. If you find your corals looking less than ideal and your NO3 and PO4 levels to be out of norm I'd entertain the idea then. I'm not big on chasing numbers. Take the money you'd save and go do something fun or buy more livestock.

100% on board with keeping the fish happy and full.

You sound like a good candidate for bio-pellets. Take it slow and increase bio load after you've seen the effects of the bio-pellets, no need to rush it.

Awesome thanks for the advice! I might try a small bio pellet reactor then and see how it goes. I see a small bag in the sump. Is that carbon? Also amazing tank by the way!

 

[Johnny Ciotti]

Awesome thanks for the advice! I might try a small bio pellet reactor then and see how it goes. I see a small bag in the sump. Is that carbon? Also amazing tank by the way!

You know, I totally forgot about that. I ran some Chemi Pure Blue for a few weeks to help polish the water. Hooking a reactor up for something that wasn't going to be permanent didn't seem like a good way to spend time.