Nice build, any updates? How are you feeling now about the 48" fixture on this tank? I've been planning on putting this fixture on my Reefer 525 but some people said the 48 looked too short and they got a lot of shading on the sides.
KD's RSR 525 XL Build Thread
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OP
OP
Thanks for the reminder. I'll try to post an update this evening with pictures. A lot has happened since my last post. As for the 48" fixture, I think it's fine. I'm not bothered by the aesthetics of the light fixture being shorter than the tank, and with the 3 radions, I'm not seeing any noticeable shading on the sides. That said i haven't done any PAR measurements on the sides or corners. I can do that if you're interested. For me, with a fairly open scape, pretty intense overall lighting and the fixture only 10" off the water, it's not an issue. If anything it gives me areas to place those low light corals that don't want to get blasted elsewhere. For reference, on the sand in the center of the tank, I'm getting 220 PAR when the lights are at full intensity. My clam is very happy there. I'm closer to 400 at the top of the largest rock structure.
That’s great to know. I got the deluxe 525 because I got a killer deal on it, so it came with hydra 26HDs. They put out a lot less PAR than the radions so I think I might do a 60” just for the extra PAR from the T5s.
I really wanted to wait for the dimmable AquaticLife fixture but I’m not sure a 4 bulb configuration would be enough PAR with the hydras.
Your tank looks awesome and it looks like it’s getting great coverage still. What % are you running the radions?
OP
OP
OK, Here's a FTS from today. Tomorrow, I will post details on the journey from what's posted previously to this.
Beautiful tank, good work. Look forward to reading about the last few months.OK, Here's a FTS from today. Tomorrow, I will post details on the journey from what's posted previously to this.
OP
OP
Here are some of the inhabitants now.
Clam
Bellus Angel and Long nose Hawkfish
White Tail Bristletooth Tang
Leopard Wrasse
Fijian One Spot Foxface
Philippine Yellow Scopas Tang
Melanarus Wrasse
Clam
Bellus Angel and Long nose Hawkfish
White Tail Bristletooth Tang
Leopard Wrasse
Fijian One Spot Foxface
Philippine Yellow Scopas Tang
Melanarus Wrasse
Last edited:
OP
OP
Details of the Sump.
I knew I wanted to run a Triton method tank, so I had to modify the sump to have a refugium. I bought a piece of acrylic from Lowes / HD. I cut it to size, then drilled holes for flow through and used aquarium safe silicone to fix it in place. This set the first zone of the sump after the filter sock area for the refugium, and a section behind it for the skimmer and dosing lines / monitoring sensors and heater.
I knew I wanted to run a Triton method tank, so I had to modify the sump to have a refugium. I bought a piece of acrylic from Lowes / HD. I cut it to size, then drilled holes for flow through and used aquarium safe silicone to fix it in place. This set the first zone of the sump after the filter sock area for the refugium, and a section behind it for the skimmer and dosing lines / monitoring sensors and heater.
OP
OP
So now some back story. For the most part, the coral in the tank has been thriving other than a brief period early on when there was not enough fish in the tank, and the nutrients crashed a bit. I lost 2 small sticks of SPS to RTN, and many others paled out significantly. Once I got the nutrients squared away, and the chaeto in the sump started picking up, so did the coral. I still find I need to dose Nitrates from time-to-time (about every other week) to keep it from dropping too low. The last few months have witnessed strong growth and great coloration. Even the clam is growing rapidly, and my alk consumption has risen to match.
The fish have been another story completely. All was going well, I was patient and moved over the fish from the existing tank slowly. Then I got a bit greedy and impatient and added some new inhabitants from a LFS. One addition was a a pair of blue throat triggers. This is where I made a fatal mistake. I will point out that up to this point in my reefing experience, I have always bought fish locally and placed them directly into my DT. Many will call me lucky, but I have not experienced any losses from this approach. I have lost fish to carpet surfing and starvation when I didn't do research (bought a mandarin for the 38 before I had a fuge and thriving pod population), but I have not lost fish to disease. Mainly I attribute this to the fact that I make it a point to observe the fish I want to buy multiple times in the LFS to be sure they are healthy and eating before I bring them home. I did not do this with the blue throat triggers. The LFS had to order them for me, since they don't regularly buy them, and I really wanted a pair. Because of this, I had to take them when they came in, shortly after acclimation to the LFS tank. The fish ate well in my tank, but were very stressed by the tangs, and ultimately developed what I believe was velvet. It wiped out nearly the entire tank. Only 3 fish survived, a melanarus wrasse, one blue-green chromis (of 5), and the hippo tang (go figure).
This led to some changes. I did not remove the remaining fish to a hospital tank and let the tank go fallow as many would suggest. I didn't do this for a several reasons. One, catching the remaining fish in the DT would have been extremely difficult, and would have added even more stress. Two, these fish had demonstrated that it is possible to develop enough immunity to survive, and I had always had some ich present in both tanks that had been manageable. Third, I added an appropriately sized UV filter (Pentair 25W) plumbed via a separate DC controllable return pump in the sump with an Apex flow meter to ensure the proper flow rate through it.
I did try the QT method when I started restocking, even prophylacticly treating prior to introduction to the DT. This had mixed results. I lost some fish in QT, and I lost others when they were introduced to the DT that clearly still had parasites in it due to their compromised immune system from the copper treatments in QT. So now I'm doing a hybrid approach that works for me. I buy fish locally or from a trusted on-line source (I've had great luck with DD). I place them in a natural QT (the old 38g) with live rock, sand and a fuge. I observe for several weeks and make sure they are healthy and eating well. I then introduce them to the DT, no more than 1 fish every 2 weeks. Nearly every addition briefly exhibits signs of ich after a couple days, but as long as stress is in check, and they are eating well, they pretty quickly recover (3-4 days typically). This is working for me now. I'm nearly re-stocked. I like this more natural approach. The fish in medicated QT never seemed happy or thriving to me. I know it's not the recommended approach, and I realize it's not for everyone, particularly a beginner with little knowledge. All I know is it 's working, and it can't all be luck.
The fish have been another story completely. All was going well, I was patient and moved over the fish from the existing tank slowly. Then I got a bit greedy and impatient and added some new inhabitants from a LFS. One addition was a a pair of blue throat triggers. This is where I made a fatal mistake. I will point out that up to this point in my reefing experience, I have always bought fish locally and placed them directly into my DT. Many will call me lucky, but I have not experienced any losses from this approach. I have lost fish to carpet surfing and starvation when I didn't do research (bought a mandarin for the 38 before I had a fuge and thriving pod population), but I have not lost fish to disease. Mainly I attribute this to the fact that I make it a point to observe the fish I want to buy multiple times in the LFS to be sure they are healthy and eating before I bring them home. I did not do this with the blue throat triggers. The LFS had to order them for me, since they don't regularly buy them, and I really wanted a pair. Because of this, I had to take them when they came in, shortly after acclimation to the LFS tank. The fish ate well in my tank, but were very stressed by the tangs, and ultimately developed what I believe was velvet. It wiped out nearly the entire tank. Only 3 fish survived, a melanarus wrasse, one blue-green chromis (of 5), and the hippo tang (go figure).
This led to some changes. I did not remove the remaining fish to a hospital tank and let the tank go fallow as many would suggest. I didn't do this for a several reasons. One, catching the remaining fish in the DT would have been extremely difficult, and would have added even more stress. Two, these fish had demonstrated that it is possible to develop enough immunity to survive, and I had always had some ich present in both tanks that had been manageable. Third, I added an appropriately sized UV filter (Pentair 25W) plumbed via a separate DC controllable return pump in the sump with an Apex flow meter to ensure the proper flow rate through it.
I did try the QT method when I started restocking, even prophylacticly treating prior to introduction to the DT. This had mixed results. I lost some fish in QT, and I lost others when they were introduced to the DT that clearly still had parasites in it due to their compromised immune system from the copper treatments in QT. So now I'm doing a hybrid approach that works for me. I buy fish locally or from a trusted on-line source (I've had great luck with DD). I place them in a natural QT (the old 38g) with live rock, sand and a fuge. I observe for several weeks and make sure they are healthy and eating well. I then introduce them to the DT, no more than 1 fish every 2 weeks. Nearly every addition briefly exhibits signs of ich after a couple days, but as long as stress is in check, and they are eating well, they pretty quickly recover (3-4 days typically). This is working for me now. I'm nearly re-stocked. I like this more natural approach. The fish in medicated QT never seemed happy or thriving to me. I know it's not the recommended approach, and I realize it's not for everyone, particularly a beginner with little knowledge. All I know is it 's working, and it can't all be luck.
Sorry to hear about the struggles. This hobby has a rough learning process and while some problems are preventable, others are more difficult. I had some carpet surfing problems for a while too. Since I do a long and labor intensive quarantine process, it was extra upsetting when it would happen. I got a custom screen top and I love the peace of mind it gives me. When I can't fins a fish in the tank, I don't have to search the floor around the tank, I know for sure that they are still in there. I love the rimless look but not enough to risk my fish jumping, and I do have a few jumpers. I lose a bit of PAR to the screen, and I do have to clean it but it is definitely worth it for me.
As far as the quarantine process goes, Paul B posted a nice detailed summary of his alternative to the quarantine process and I found it very interesting. It's nice to hear some opposing views and his process is all about promoting biological diversity and maintaining the natural immune system of the inhabitants. It sounds like he has been really successful with his technique and it looks like you're moving more towards an approach like his so you might enjoy reading about his process https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-other-way-to-run-a-reef-tank-no-quarantine.534274/
Are you still running filter socks? I took mine out for a while but I put them back in since I still have some dead spots in the tank.
OP
OP
As for the carpet surfing, that was also early on in my reefing journey (prior to this tank). I have a screen top on mine now. It's the Red Sea kit which I like. I have a few small cutouts in the back corners for the auto-feeder and cords. If I ever get a real aggressive jumper again, I'll find a way to close those off, but for now, most of my jumpers are fairly subdued and aren't going looking for small gaps.
Actually it was Paul B's posts that made me re-consider the QT method. I started reading that thread, but it got difficult to read after a while. It's still going... I am moving to some form of his approach, but really I would categorize it as a natural, biologically diverse, low (fish) stress, moderate stocking approach more than anything. While the UV filter may seem unnatural, it's really no different than a protein skimmer. The protein skimmer is a man-made device for emulating the natural process that crashing waves produce. The UV filter to me is a similar man-made device to emulate what the full sun does in the upper reaches of the water column. There's a lot of UV-A and UV-B light that penetrates most shallow reefs during the day, and something we can't easily reproduce without other potential health risks both to the animals in our tanks and the caretakers.
I only run filter socks if I do some heavy disturbing of the sand bed. I'm running the Triton method and it advocates not using socks, allowing the detritus to feed the refugium (and man does it... I have a ton of pods and other detritus scavengers in there for a 9 month old tank). I do have a Red Sea filter basket that I use to run activated carbon, but that's it. I'm also using the built-in auto top-off and tank, but that is auto topped-off by a Tunze Osmolator running off my 35 gallon RO reservoir.
Peach02
Valuable Member
Sorry to hear about your crash and very happy to hear your restocking!
What are your thoughts on the deltec skimmer I'm thinking of getting a reefer 525 and I'm looking at skimmers now
What are your thoughts on the deltec skimmer I'm thinking of getting a reefer 525 and I'm looking at skimmers now
Here are some of the inhabitants now.
Clam
Bellus Angel and Long nose Hawkfish
White Tail Bristletooth Tang
Leopard Wrasse
Fijian One Spot Foxface
Philippine Yellow Scopas Tang
Melanarus Wrasse
That Melanarus Wrasse though... sigh
Gorgeous
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