Mission Impossible: Reefer 250, 3 reactors, refugium, skimmer, lights, action! Pic heavy.

[Cody Clark]

could be green coralline. I had it cover my rocks

 

[naterealbig]

Wouldn't sweat the green algae on the rocks - it's not nuisance.

I assume the Copepods were added to the display?. They will need food to eat, so I would definitely run at least a short photoperiod to get some algae going, if you're not doing it already.

Also, you want to maintain your established bacterial colony. For this, you will need some ammonia in the tank. I would consider a pair of clowns, or a light "ghost feeding " regimen. This will satisfy your bacteria and Copepod feeding requirements.

I follow the slow approach when cycling the tank as well, so I understand wanting to let the tank mature. It is also important that you are keeping alive the bacteria and animals you've established/added so far.

 

[Butuz]

Got my first few fishes from saltwaterfish.com. Drip acclimated them, they are now in QT tank for another 4 weeks at least. I did not do any Paraguard dips, neither added Cupramine to QT. I assume its never late to do that if they start showing symptoms, but I didn’t want to add meds just in case. Let me know if you guys recommend otherwise. Got 2 Picasso Grade A clownfish, 3 green chromis and 1 lawnmower blenny. Quite honestly, I have no idea what to watch out for over the next few weeks. They seem to be swimming OK, no aggression. I just fed them flakes, all went nuts, except for blenny. He has been moving from one hiding spot to another. Ordered algea sheets to feed him, as I dont think QT has any algea for him to graze on. Here is a pic!

 

[Butuz]

Oh man, things went bad pretty quickly. The smaller clownfish has been bullying the @$#% out of the sbigger one. Lips locked, chasing him, going after fins,etc. Poor guy is now sitting in the corner of the tank, doesnt look good. i turned the lights off. Will keep them off till tomorrow morning. Hope he makes it. Good news, fed them twice earlier (just a little each time), they ate fine. Anything I should do re bullying? Do they eventually reconcile and bond or is this going to be a lifelong issue?

 

[CDavmd]

sounds like you have two females.....one will kill the other off if they have both turned female. Some bickering is normal when you have two juveniles or a male and female but not to the degree you are describing.

 

[Butuz]

sounds like you have two females.....one will kill the other off if they have both turned female. Some bickering is normal when you have two juveniles or a male and female but not to the degree you are describing.

Thanks, we will see if he survives to fight another day ... if he doesn’t make it, I may need to wait for a bonded pair of picasso to pop up on swfish or liveaquaria.

 

[naterealbig]

A piece of egg crate or acrylic to separate them would be a good idea.

 

[Butuz]

A piece of egg crate or acrylic to separate them would be a good idea.

Good idea, I have some leftover from building the base for the main tank. Bigger question, is this likely to be temporary or is it until one of them dies? Any chance of them becoming a bonded pair? They are 1” juveniles, if this is irreconcilable, I might as well get another pair early on.

 

[naterealbig]

I wish I knew more about the clowns development, so I could tell you. My gut says they are too young to both have developed into females. They've got a few weeks in the QT so no rush, right?

As far as medicating the tank goes- I would definitely treat prophylactically with a chelated copper sulfate. Ich oftentimes can infect a fish without presenting. I've treated fish as sensitive as large Angels, and they have no problem handling 3-4 ppm. If nothing else, treat during the last week of QT.

 

[Butuz]

Just got eKoral Leak Sensor and mini pump for my ATO. These things are awesome, super small. To help you gauge the size, the pump is 1.25 by 1.5 inches! Super small! The sensor connects to eKoral Pro wirelessly via bluetooth. 10 seconds and done. I will connect the mini pump this weekend, need to figure out which coupler to use as the standard RODI plastic line slides inside the mini pump nipple, not sure what to do yet.

Btw, thanks to Eric Tsai at @eKoProCS, both of these were compliments of eKoral! Very nice of them. Btw, I have pre-ordered their eK Doser already, should be shipping starting Nov. That should complete my equipment needs. And I now pretty much have everything in eKoral’s arsenal!

 

[Butuz]

Ok, guys, time to connect the eKoral mini pump in my ATO. I replaced the original ATO line/ball valve in the pump area from Red Sea to a simple output (since my water level is monitored by ekoral’s optic sensor. Also used the red RODI rigid tube for two reasons: i ran it through the cable runway and that also put the RODI line above the ATO to avoid backsiphon; 2) color match! Here is a pic of the connection in the pump area.

Further, this RODI would slide freely into the ekoral minipump, so I had to modify the setup. Used on the RODI couplers, removed the little loose piece, filed the opening with sandpaper a little, very snug fit. Now, it is a sinple connection for RODI tubing, fully/easily removable too.

 

[Butuz]

And, action. All connected, done. 10g ATO. No more daily manual top offs. Also, added a rule to ekoral controller. Will turn the mini pump on and off when the water levels drops.

 

[Butuz]

Decided to start making my own phyto using culture from Mercer of Montana. Had some leftover LED strips from the cabinet build, the rest is straightforward, but happy to answer any questions. 1.018 salinity, led timer is 16 hrs on, 8 hrs off, 5ml of f/2 fertilizer. Phyto on tap.

 

[Stpatrick]

Great build. I am learning a lot. I ordered the 425xl today. Where did you get all the colored pvc fittings?

 

[Butuz]

Great build. I am learning a lot. I ordered the 425xl today. Where did you get all the colored pvc fittings?

Thanks, despite all the work, I enjoyed building it. Better yet, every time I open the cabinet doors and the lights come on, its like therapy.

I got the colored pvc pipes from https://formufit.com.

Good luck, please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.

 

[jblasi]

You have a very impressive well thought out build. I am always interested in seeing what fellow Red Sea owners do. I have enjoyed watching your tank come along. I’m sure your ready for it to be cycles so you can make the inside of the display start to pop.

 

[powers2001]

Awesome !!! I have a RSR 250 also. B-)

 

[Butuz]

Awesome !!! I have a RSR 250 also. B-)

Thanks, yes, working in the inside! Currently struggling with a red anemone. The base is starting to turn white, the tips are still red/pink. Not sure, tried giving it a piece of shrimp, it wont take it. Gave it some reef roids earlier today. Will see. Its been moving (have had him for 1 week), been in the same spot for 3 days now, hope he likes it. Would hate to lose him.

 

[count krunk]

i have a great idea of what your sump looks like, but the DT?? Not as much

Let's see this BTA and whatever you have going on

 

[Oshengems]

Nice I see you went for the chromis your new fish will appreciate them they get shy fishes out they feel safe also help teaching others to eat you will love them, as for the clowns I’m not an expert but paired up a few currently attempting a gold nugget & lighting maroon by far the nastiest pair I’ve had, how big are they ? If about 1.5” and under they most likely haven’t sexed yet so you will see some fighting don’t feel bad it’s in their nature it gets really nasty when one starts turning into a female they are Bi****s to the males, you will notice a shake like they are shivering it’s normal. Notice their fins if they are not nipping fins a lil fight is ok, my maroon male is still getting beat up but he’s allowed into her BTA now but not sleep over only lil visits. The largest of the 2 will turn female and force her partner to stay male by force! Literally