Red Sea XXL 750 - New Build - Rocklin

[Rocklin Mike]

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Quick update- a lot has changed since my last update. Salinity was brought up to 1.025 and i started dosing with Stability. Added a very small amount of ammonia since my dead rock had not been cured. Well it didnt take long for stuff to start happening and a couple days later my nitrates where over 30ppm. Got the skimmer running...sort of. I didnt realize how hard it is to start a skimmer. I let it overflow for a couple days and it finally calmed down but any fluctuation in water level caused it to go haywire. I adjusted the air and the water level slowly and finally dialed that turkey in. I was not prepared for the stench of the crap that comes out of that thing....;Yuck

After i got the skimmer running, i started liquid carbon dosing as suggested by a fellow reefer. I set up my doser, mixed a batch of carbon, filled the ATO and went on vacation lol. Things went well while i was gone and i came home to a hazy tank and a nitrate level that had subsided to around 12ppm. Skimmer was still pumping out nasty stuff...oh and while i was gone i had my son drain the skimmer cup and got a kick out of hearing him cuss and gag . Also noticed the formation of diatoms on the sand bed and rock so i think i'm well on my way through the cycle. Reduced the LCD and plan to add chaeto and a few snails, possibly a hermit or two this weekend.

Looking ahead, i still have a few things to do:

• finalize apex programming for gyres, lights, etc.
• Add a UPS, set up apex alarms and notifications.
• need to get quote for a tank lid
• add chaeto, pods, small cuc. figure out nutrient supplements to keep everyone alive.

any suggestions, questions or comments are greatly appreciated. more updates to come with some pics too!

 

[Fringe09]

Quick update- a lot has changed since my last update. Salinity was brought up to 1.025 and i started dosing with Stability. Added a very small amount of ammonia since my dead rock had not been cured. Well it didnt take long for stuff to start happening and a couple days later my nitrates where over 30ppm. Got the skimmer running...sort of. I didnt realize how hard it is to start a skimmer. I let it overflow for a couple days and it finally calmed down but any fluctuation in water level caused it to go haywire. I adjusted the air and the water level slowly and finally dialed that turkey in. I was not prepared for the stench of the crap that comes out of that thing....;Yuck

After i got the skimmer running, i started liquid carbon dosing as suggested by a fellow reefer. I set up my doser, mixed a batch of carbon, filled the ATO and went on vacation lol. Things went well while i was gone and i came home to a hazy tank and a nitrate level that had subsided to around 12ppm. Skimmer was still pumping out nasty stuff...oh and while i was gone i had my son drain the skimmer cup and got a kick out of hearing him cuss and gag . Also noticed the formation of diatoms on the sand bed and rock so i think i'm well on my way through the cycle. Reduced the LCD and plan to add chaeto and a few snails, possibly a hermit or two this weekend.

Looking ahead, i still have a few things to do:

• finalize apex programming for gyres, lights, etc.
• Add a UPS, set up apex alarms and notifications.
• need to get quote for a tank lid
• add chaeto, pods, small cuc. figure out nutrient supplements to keep everyone alive.

any suggestions, questions or comments are greatly appreciated. more updates to come with some pics too!

Wow, Nitrates over 30 ppm. I'm in my third week of cycling and just reached 2 ppm. I kicked of my cycle using Dr Tim’s One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria. I didn't add any ammonia or fish. I just have live sand and Real Reef Rock.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Wow, Nitrates over 30 ppm. I'm in my third week of cycling and just reached 2 ppm. I kicked of my cycle using Dr Tim’s One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria. I didn't add any ammonia or fish. I just have live sand and Real Reef Rock.

Likely due to the pukani dry rock? I didnt cure the rock at all but i did dose Stability for a week and shot maybe 2ml of ammonia one time. I'm using Red Sea test kits and had to use the high range method for those tests.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Ok, been about 20 days since my last update and a lot has happened during that time lol.

Went to the LFS and picked up about 15 snails and a few hermits, got them in the tank and...a whole lot of nothing. A few days went by as i've read snails can take a couple days to move after introduction to a new tank. I'd say about half never moved, the rest just slithered to a new spot and sat there. I went reading through the forums and decided to add more cuc members, pods, and chaeto. Chemistry was doing pretty good with the LCD with nitrates settling in around 16ppm.

I placed an order for a good size cuc mix of snails and hermits from reefcleaners.org and some pods and chaeto from algaebarn.com. Great service from both companies, I got the cuc the following day and the chaeto/pods the day after. What a difference i have to say...the tank was ALIVE!! snails everywhere, all over the rocks, on the glass, the hermits had their own rock where they would muster every morning. We had snails escaping and snails nesting in the top corners of the tank. It was pretty entertaining to say the least. Pods added, chaeto added.

Things were going well in the main tank so i decided it was time to add fish to the QT. Placed an order from LiveAquaria for 10 chromis and 5 banggai cardinals, received them in good condition, acclimated and finally added to the tank. All seemed well, fish ate food right away, no aggression noted.

Next day i find a dead chromis. no indication of trauma, fish still eating, tank parameters good. I'm measuring ammonia, nitrates, ph, temp, and salt.
I added some egg crate for structure and separation.
Next day another dead chromis and i lose a cardinal that evening. Again, no trauma, parameters good.

At this point, and in discussion with fellow reefers, I decided to move everyone to the main tank on fears i was missing bullying due to too many fish. Moved them all over that evening, lost another chromis and another cardinal. Snails and crabs took care of the cardinals body and another cardinal just simply disappeared. never found him.

So now i have 7 chromis and 2 cardinals and they have been fine for almost a week. Super frustrating. if anyone has insight, please let me know.

Also discovered a few days ago that my chaeto ball was dying, falling apart and had some slick algae on it. i had been flipping it but i guess that didnt help much. A fellow reefer suggested adding a powerhead in the sump to increase flow to achieve that tumble affect. I added a small nano powerhead at the end of my sump pointing into the natural flow of the sump. chaeto rolls good now.

Something i've been wanting to ask XXL750 owners about, the length of the sump really degrades the amount of flow you'll get the further away from the inlet you get. Seems the flow takes the easiest path over the divider and into the skimmer area. How are others getting their chaeto to roll or are you just letting it sit?

thats pretty much it for now. oh, had some equipment issues but i'll add that in a second post.

 

[Fringe09]

Compared to you, I am going at a snails pace. 3 weeks into my cycle. I added pods. 4 weeks in, added some CUC. 5 weeks in, added two fish (two weeks in QT). 5 weeks and a day, added one mushroom coral.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Cuc and some empty larger shells.

Cuc taking care of a deceased fish

 

[Rocklin Mike]

@Fringe09, yeah i'm hoping i havent been moving too quick but things seem pretty stable now. I wont be adding much more any time soon. Was also going to start prepping water for corals but i might hold off a little on that as well. Just checked out your build, we have a lot in common. Looking great!

 

[Fringe09]

@Fringe09, yeah i'm hoping i havent been moving too quick but things seem pretty stable now. I wont be adding much more any time soon. Was also going to start prepping water for corals but i might hold off a little on that as well. Just checked out your build, we have a lot in common. Looking great!

Thank you.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Snail babies. Front glass batch got eaten I think. Back glass still has them there. Anyone ever have cerith snails hatch in the tank?

 

[Spbk84]

Congrats on your Tank. Any updates? Is there a reason you went with such a deep sand bed? I am on the fence with ordering one of these myself.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Been battling algae for the past few weeks. I haven’t been too worried about it as my tank is still growing through the stages. Had to remove my chaeto from the sump as the GHA had overtaken it. I’ve read several posts on why this happens and feel I should give the chaeto another run after I complete clean out the fuge. But for now the GHA does a great job removing nitrates and phos, just requires some management as the stuff grows quick.

I blacked out the sump for a bit to kill off the GHA but it quickly migrated to the DT so i returned to the normal light schedule. Some say i should just leave it as GHA does a fine job removing nutrients, I just think chaeto is easier to crop than hair algae.

Fish/Inverts Update: no more losses and everyone is doing fine in the tank. The chromis are fun to watch when they feed and i'd like to add 3-4 more. The cardinals just hang out and grow lol. I have two clownfish in my DT being medicated due to velvet that took my diamond goby only two days after i brought them home from LFS. That story is in a different post but the clowns are doing well and have about a week left of copper, another week or so of prazi and then they will move over to the DT. Snails keep laying their eggs and i'm not sure if anything actually hatches...the wife thinks she's seen baby snails but i havent yet. I plan to add a couple shrimp when i order my next stock batch for the QT.

Equipment/Changes: I added new under-cabinet lights as the battery powered lights i had werent cutting it. LED strip lighting with prox sensor so they turn on when the doors open. Still working out the bugs with my sensor though. I ordered and received my coral heath system from Professional Coral Solutions...plan to get that running. Still need to setup my dosers and get the bulk dry ingredients for calc/alk/mag. Not much else changed since the last update, i do plan to buy some hose and a pump to make adding water to the ATO easier. Also need a better glass scraper lol.

Slow and steady as she goes. We are enjoying the tank as a family and its tough to ward off requests from the kids to add more fish. I had to take the time to explain the whole QT process to them the other day. I'll post another update when the clowns move over...cant wait for that.

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Congrats on your Tank. Any updates? Is there a reason you went with such a deep sand bed? I am on the fence with ordering one of these myself.

No particular reason for the DSB...i did read there were benefits of a deep sand bed over a thinner one. I like the way the sand contours with the flows in the tank and also provides a haven for the snails. I was aiming for 3-4" and probably got a little deeper but i'm good with it. Cant go wrong with the Red Sea tanks. There are some tweaks that need to be done but great setup overall.

 

[Cherub]

Nice tank! Like the rock work! How are the kessil lights working out for you? I'm happy with my lights but had considered these too.

 

[Diazcm]

Awesome!! I love looking at new builds makes me want to get another tank and build all over again. lol

 

[Rocklin Mike]

Nice tank! Like the rock work! How are the kessil lights working out for you? I'm happy with my lights but had considered these too.

Without anything to compare them to, I am very happy with the output of the lights, the way they look, and especially the shimmer. I emailed Kessil about some bugs i came across in the app and they were surprisingly responsive in trying to understand the issues in order to fix in a later update. I was even asked for more details about the suggestions i had made for programs which was interesting. FYI to the Kessil folks, a new app version will be released shortly. Not sure if thats new or not lol.

 

[Spbk84]

No particular reason for the DSB...i did read there were benefits of a deep sand bed over a thinner one. I like the way the sand contours with the flows in the tank and also provides a haven for the snails. I was aiming for 3-4" and probably got a little deeper but i'm good with it. Cant go wrong with the Red Sea tanks. There are some tweaks that need to be done but great setup overall.

Gotcha. I look forward to seeing the progress.

 

[Darksidereefer]

Congrats on the build and the best of luck. I just started with the same tank myself. Following along to see how yours progresses. Looking good so far.

One thing based on your clean up crew you need to add more snails and hermits. Your bio load is going to be high based on your fish list. That will definitely cut the algae blooms. The foxface will graze and take down that algae as well.

 

[Green1181]

How are you liking the H380? Have you managed to get chaeto growing again?

 

[Rocklin Mike]

How are you liking the H380? Have you managed to get chaeto growing again?

The H380 is great. Did a tank reboot and for some reason the chaeto grows like mad now. I even have healthy mangroves!