MrJay’s Reefer 250 build

[MrJay]

@MrJay updates !!!

Life has been hectic this last month.

Had a pretty big takover of the sandbed with cyano. Manual removal during water changes and this last few days I'm beginning to see relief.

Leopard wrasse found the smallest gap in the rear of my screen top and committed suicide. RIP Leopard.

All other fish are doing fantastic! Corals with the exception of the vast majority of my zoanthids are all healthy and beginning to show good growth. I've always struggled with zoas. That's why I don't go for fancy name ones.

Still haven't ordered the N&P test kits. But I've pulled my old kits from one of the moving boxes. Expired but I'm gonna run a series of tests with those this weekend.

Tuned the blues down for a quick snapshot

 

[MrJay]

Smallish update.

Battling the cyano in sandbed like crazy. Tried chemiclean treatment. Seems to have knocked it out.
Tested the N & P levels finally. Just as suspected both undetectable. Red Sea and Salifert for Nitrate. Hanna low range and ultra low phosphorus checker for P.
I had the algae scrubber clog 2 times on me and piddle about a gallon of water into the stand and floor. I had to pull the screen every 6 days to clean. Both times I missed that window barely. My belief is that it is stripping too much of the available nutrients from the water. So with the combination of the leaks, along with the inability to get any readings on N & P I moved over to the new Tunze Macro Algae Reactor. I did the switch mid June. Started with approx half tennis ball size of chaeto. Removed scrubber a few days later. Within a week I started seeing small patches of algae appear in dislay. Same time I noticed the few zoas I have beginning to open more and Leathers actually have shrunk a little and polyp extension has receded. I know the levels have elevated but have not tested yet. I really want to get a helper monkey to handle my water testing.
Small patches of algae have continued to grow. Chaeto has now filled the reactor chamber 3/4 full.
I've been manually removing as much algae as I can from display. Today is water change and test day.

 

[MrJay]

Crummy photo

 

[MrJay]

Sunday Funday tank dabbling!

Picked up 2 AI Nero 5 wavemakers. Got them both hooked up and playing around with the different settings in the app. I'll probably have to watch some YouTube videos to get the hang of the functions. I can't get the wave action I was with the. Jebao But I can definitely say they are Super Quite!! Wife would tease me that the tank sounded like the washing machine with the Jebao cycling on and off.

But the biggest accomplishment... Untangled the octopus rats nest of cords behind the stand. I ordered the Marine Depot controller board. I'm sure I could have made something comparable for less money but I have been stretched so thin that having a premade solution was the best bet for me.

All wires are neatly zip tied in the board. I can pull the hole panel out to access any of the electrical components fairly easily. Overall I am completely satisfied with my purchase!

Now I just need to save the money to switch out the ReefKeeper to either Apex or GHL. I'm down to my last itemp probe and haven't been able to find any more for a while.

 

[powers2001]

@MrJay I see you're making good use of the MD controller board I have two and might get a third. I really don't have the tools or space to build something like that so I justified the boards even though they are spendy. But I would've spent more on tools to build something comparable DIY. You're looking for an Apex? I have an ApexEL brain for sale, see the thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...brain-305-shipped-take-16-off-now-255.635990/

 

[jaxredsoxfan]

Super good looking build. Nice and clean, good work! looking forward to seeing it all come together.

 

[MrJay]

@MrJay I see you're making good use of the MD controller board I have two and might get a third. I really don't have the tools or space to build something like that so I justified the boards even though they are spendy. But I would've spent more on tools to build something comparable DIY. You're looking for an Apex? I have an ApexEL brain for sale, see the thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...brain-305-shipped-take-16-off-now-255.635990/

I gotta save up before I can do anything else. The Neros and board set me back on my fun money budget for a bit. But I'll see if it's still available when I'm ready to make a move!

 

[MrJay]

Super good looking build. Nice and clean, good work! looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Thank you! I'm really enjoying this one. Smaller than I've had for a while but it is shaping up to be my favorite tank!

 

[MrJay]

Update. I've still been fighting little Tufts of algae. One rock on the left side has a very thin fuzzy layer that just won't go away. And I'm getting a small dusting of cyano back on the sand bed. But corals seem to be growing well.

Picked up a few new pieces over the last few months. And my pictures still are lousy.

 

[powers2001]

@MrJay how's the battle with turf algae, updates, and full tank shot?