Phenom3030’s Red Sea Reefer XL 300, bare bottom, dry rock

[phenom3030]

So I started this tank May 2021, I may have had eyes bigger than my brain but I decided to go with bare bottom and dry rock.

For lighting I have two Radion XR15 Blue Gen 5’s. I determined placement for them by watching BRS’ video for the lights against the size of this tank

In the sump I have a Red Sea RSK300 skimmer with a CO2 scrubber adapter from FishofHex, a WiFi InkBird controlling two 300 watt Finnex THH heaters, an Aquatop SP7UV sterilizer, and a BRS GFO and Carbon media reactor. I also have a Neptune GRO refugium light but my first attempt at chaeto growing didn’t go so well so it’s currently off at the moment.
For return flow I have a Neptune COR20. In tank circulation is provided by 2 Vortech MP40’s.
Auto top off is provided by a Neptune ATK.
For dosing, I’m using a Neptune DOS to add Reef Code A and B.

Current livestock includes:
- 2 Bartlett’s Anthias
- Dispar Anthia
- Tomini tang
- Powder Blue tang
- Purple tang

- 2 Cleaner shrimp
- Emerald Crab

When the tangs outgrow the aquarium the plan is to rehome them but for now they seem happy and healthy with no aggression issues.

For corals, I’d like this to be an SPS dominant tank. I currently have a few sticks and other SPS that are doing okay.

BC Thermans Rainbow

PC Rainbow acros

Bennett’s Yellow Tort

And here are a few SPS I’ve since lost the name of that I could use some help identifying. I believe one is a Smashing Pumpkin Psammacora.

Here are a few zoas I can’t recall the name of, I believe one is a scrambled egg zoa.

Lastly, I have a little euphyllia shelf going on for some movement in the tank.

torch from my LFS

TCK Indo gold torch

And a Corals Coral splatter hammer

More to come as the tank ages!

 

[Peace River]

It looks like you are off to a good start! Good luck on your adventure!

 

[wilsonline]

Is that brown filament dinoflagellates? Check that, dyno kills corals.

 

[wilsonline]

3 days of blackout may help. But keep in mind that 3 days may be rough on the acros. 4 x stronger than recommended UV with low flow can kill those, but I would try the blackout first as it's free.

 

[phenom3030]

Is that brown filament dinoflagellates? Check that, dyno kills corals.

Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t figured out what I was dealing with.

3 days of blackout may help. But keep in mind that 3 days may be rough on the acros. 4 x stronger than recommended UV with low flow can kill those, but I would try the blackout first as it's free.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll give it a shot!

 

[phenom3030]

So I tried a “soft” black out period for 3 days. I just turned the lights off but didn’t cover the tank. I also turned on my UV sterilizer for the whole period rather than the normal 12 hour schedule I had it running.
The brown stringy stuff has disappeared. Hopefully that does the trick! If it returns, I’ll consider doing a proper black out and cover the tank.

 

[phenom3030]

Here’s a photo of my little euphyllia shelf with the addition of a hologram hammer from @TopShelfAquatics

 

[phenom3030]

Forgot to mention that I lost both the PC Rainbow frags during the soft blackout period.
they were bleached white when I turned the lights back on.
And I totally forgot to include a pic of my scoly from Reeftide in my original post!

It doesn’t have the crazy colors but it’s super fluffy! And that’s after a bit of tissue recession in the front from being in my other tank. Now I can’t even tell tissue had receded.

 

[Ranjib]

Looking good ;-)

 

[phenom3030]

So I found @WWC lighting schedule page and downloaded the template for their 1500g reef SPS dominant. I’ve been running it for a day or so at 65% intensity and noticed that it’s a lot more blue than the Mobius AB+ schedule. Hoping for some excellent acro growth!

 

[phenom3030]

So I decided to shut down my Fluval 32.5 gallon so I can focus on just one bigger tank. I moved over a few emerald crabs, a hermit crab, 2 clownfish, valentini puffer, and royal dottyback.
also moved over a few zoas that will probably make their way to the Waterbox Cube 10.

 

[phenom3030]

Little update, the valentini puffer and royal dottyback didn’t survive the transfer.

clowns are doing well. Also picked up a few more acros from my LFS, TSA, and Fish of Hex. Here’s a yellow monster (I believe ) from fish of hex, with some nice polyp extension. In the background is an ORA Pearlberry from my LFS.

 

[phenom3030]

I see some growths on my splatter hammer!

 

[1ocean]

looking good, sorry about your loses, we all have them at some point...

 

[DappleReef]

your builds are sick! How do you like the 300 xl? Do you have any picks of the sump area that you'd be willing to share?

 

[phenom3030]

your builds are sick! How do you like the 300 xl? Do you have any picks of the sump area that you'd be willing to share?

Thanks, I really appreciate it! I like the 300xl a lot. It fits the space I earmarked for it great. My sump area isn’t the prettiest but here’s a photo.

I did make a few changes that I havent updated on this thread yet. One is swapping out the Red Sea Reefer 300 skimmer for a Nyos 120. The Red Sea pump died again. (Twice in about 6 months) so I said to heck with it and just got a new skimmer rather than deal with warranty exchange again.
And I switched my dosing setup from the Dos to two Kamoer X1 Pro dosers. I didn’t like how big the Dos was.
Lastly, I switched the ATO from the ATK to the Duetto ATO. I had problems with ATK alerts always telling me the water level was low when it wasn’t and just hated how many alerts I would get.

 

[DappleReef]

Thank you for the pic and updates! I'm thinking I might reach out to RSR and see if I can buy just the tank and sump without the stand. My GF would definitely bite off on this if I can build a real wood stand to match our furniture. I have some of the gear already from my old builds so I save some money there. We are in AZ the only thing Imsceptical about is the small and open RO tank.

 

[phenom3030]

Thank you for the pic and updates! I'm thinking I might reach out to RSR and see if I can buy just the tank and sump without the stand. My GF would definitely bite off on this if I can build a real wood stand to match our furniture. I have some of the gear already from my old builds so I save some money there. We are in AZ the only thing Imsceptical about is the small and open RO tank.

It’s worth a shot! About the RO tank, that’s the one thing I’m not happy with. It’s only 3.2 gallons iirc. Being in Colorado and so dry, I have to fill it every 2 days or so.

 

[NotoriousDMC]

+1 to enjoying the RSR 300 XL. I did not, however, like the standard ATO at all. Capacity, blocks access to whatever is underneath it, and other reasons. Went to a 6 gallon jug in stand and then to Neptune ATK pulling directly from my 20G Brute RODI. I pump feed a ClariSea 5000 , and If I were starting over I’d have modified the sump while dry to plumb the ClariSea directly to overflow and I’ve gone with the 3000; that said, the rolls for the 5000 last forever and are really directly before the roll advances.

I’ve been thinking about upgrading from ReefLED90s to Radions (XR30 Pro) or SKYs.

 

[phenom3030]

+1 to enjoying the RSR 300 XL. I did not, however, like the standard ATO at all. Capacity, blocks access to whatever is underneath it, and other reasons. Went to a 6 gallon jug in stand and then to Neptune ATK pulling directly from my 20G Brute RODI. I pump feed a ClariSea 5000 , and If I were starting over I’d have modified the sump while dry to plumb the ClariSea directly to overflow and I’ve gone with the 3000; that said, the rolls for the 5000 last forever and are really directly before the roll advances.

I’ve been thinking about upgrading from ReefLED90s to Radions (XR30 Pro) or SKYs.

I can recommend two XR30s for this tank. They seem to be doing my corals well and provide good coverage of the tank.
I thought about the Sky but couldn’t think of a mounting solution that would fit my needs. I don’t want to hang the light and I think the only mounting available is a single mount which would interfere with the overflow box, or at least make it so you couldn’t use it with the lid.

In other news, I’m fighting green hair algae. It’s embarrassing to admit but I let it get out of control. I’m plucking as much as I can but it’s already consumed two frags. Planning on getting it under control some how.