RL6723's Red Sea 250

[RL6723]

Today I got the Radions dialed in to the coral lab SPS AB+ settings and tuned to an intensity that looks good to me, but ill be renting a PAR meter to really dial it in before I start throwing frags in. I also set the MP40s on a program which is really just a mix of reefcrest during the day and lagoon aftet the lights will be off. Ill be adding a period of nutrient transport mode, but Im going to hold off on that until I figure out what works for my schedule as far as feeding the tank, that way the NT mode can kick some of that uneaten food to the filter floss. Im running 2 media cups with some bio media on the bottom and filter floss up top which will be swapped out twice a week.

Also did a little testing and the tank is still processing ammonia from the ghost feedings really well. My Ammonium Chloride never came yesterday so we will see if it comes today. I want to start dosing that to feed the bacteria population so its nice and healthy before I add my first few fish.

Cant wait to get the Red Sea ready so I can empty out my frag/holding tank

 

[powers2001]

Today I got the Radions dialed in to the coral lab SPS AB+ settings and tuned to an intensity that looks good to me, but ill be renting a PAR meter to really dial it in before I start throwing frags in. I also set the MP40s on a program which is really just a mix of reefcrest during the day and lagoon aftet the lights will be off. Ill be adding a period of nutrient transport mode, but Im going to hold off on that until I figure out what works for my schedule as far as feeding the tank, that way the NT mode can kick some of that uneaten food to the filter floss. Im running 2 media cups with some bio media on the bottom and filter floss up top which will be swapped out twice a week.

Also did a little testing and the tank is still processing ammonia from the ghost feedings really well. My Ammonium Chloride never came yesterday so we will see if it comes today. I want to start dosing that to feed the bacteria population so its nice and healthy before I add my first few fish.

Cant wait to get the Red Sea ready so I can empty out my frag/holding tank

@RL6723 have you tested PAR on your frag/holding tank and do you acclimate corals to light in either the frag or DT?

Mitch

 

[RL6723]

@RL6723 have you tested PAR on your frag/holding tank and do you acclimate corals to light in either the frag or DT?

Mitch

@powers2001 yea I measured par when I initially set this frag tank up which was around 11 months ago. I measured around 250 directly under the light and anywhere from 100 to 175 around the sides the frag tank is only around 8 inches deep so I have the intensity on the XR15 at around 25%. Yes I do acclimate, whenever I get frags i will remove them from whatever plug they are on, dip them, than either glue them to a flat disc or to a piece of rubble. This allows me to place them on the tank floor at first than slowly move them up until I get them to a level that works for the specific coral. The frag tank gets the same concept except I dont have the depth to work with so instead I start on the outside edges and slowly move them in

 

[powers2001]

@rl

@powers2001 yea I measured par when I initially set this frag tank up which was around 11 months ago. I measured around 250 directly under the light and anywhere from 100 to 175 around the sides the frag tank is only around 8 inches deep so I have the intensity on the XR15 at around 25%. Yes I do acclimate, whenever I get frags i will remove them from whatever plug they are on, dip them, than either glue them to a flat disc or to a piece of rubble. This allows me to place them on the tank floor at first than slowly move them up until I get them to a level that works for the specific coral. The frag tank gets the same concept except I dont have the depth to work with so instead I start on the outside edges and slowly move them in

@RL6723 great idea, like cooking on a BBQ!!

Mitch

 

[RL6723]

Fritz ammonium chloride came in finally!!

Directions call for 1 teaspoon per 100 gal to get a 4ppm reading of ammonia. So I erred on the side of caution and dosed 1/4 teaspoon. After letting it mix up for about 10 mins I tested it and it came out to about 3ppm.

So I over shot it a bit, as my goal was to ge to about 2ppm. I will check back tomorrow and see if the tank is able to process it in 24 hours. If not I will wait until it process down to 0ppm than will re dose until it is able to bring ammonia and nitrites down to 0 in less than 24 hrs. While on the subject of testing, I also found these cool squeeze bottles that I filled with ro to rinse test vials and tools after using.

 

[Difrano]

Loved the squeeze wash bottle ordered a couple on amazon !

 

[RL6723]

Loved the squeeze wash bottle ordered a couple on amazon !

Yup thats exactly where I got them from, it makes it so much better. Before I was filling a glass of ro up and rinsing with that. Now Im just going to leave it filled up in the cabinet and its always ready

 

[Difrano]

How is your cycle doing

 

[RL6723]

How is your cycle doing

Cycle is moving along, I tested yesterday and had .5 ammonia
0 nitrites
4 Nitrates
I will probably add another dose of ammonia tonight and I am hoping to be able to add some fish this weekend, depending on how the tank handles it

 

[powers2001]

@RL6723 do you have fish from your other tank you’re planning to add to the Reefer, do you have a purchase plan or will you just take a trip to the LFS and buy what catches your eye?

Mitch

 

[RL6723]

@RL6723 do you have fish from your other tank you’re planning to add to the Reefer, do you have a purchase plan or will you just take a trip to the LFS and buy what catches your eye?

Mitch

I currently dont have any fish in the frag system, i have a stock list I want to go with
Pair of clowns
Sixline wrasse
Royal gramma
Flame hawk

Ill probably add the royal gramma and clowns first, and go from there

 

[powers2001]

I currently dont have any fish in the frag system, i have a stock list I want to go with
Pair of clowns
Sixline wrasse
Royal gramma
Flame hawk

Ill probably add the royal gramma and clowns first, and go from there

@RL6723 that’s an awesome list! Do you plan on having an anemone with your clown pair?

 

[RL6723]

@RL6723 that’s an awesome list! Do you plan on having an anemone with your clown pair?

I dont plan on getting one at the moment, however the black widow BTAs are beautiful and ive been seriously considering one. The only problem would be flow as I plan on running this tank with a ton of flow

 

[RL6723]

Received a few goodies in the mail this week, I plan on plumbing all the DOS lines and doing some testing over the weekend. Also got a shipment notification that my ATO reservoir should be here next week. Today marks 3 weeks into my cycle and it doesnt look like I will be able to add fish this weekend, but thats ok. One of my main goals is to be patient with this build as Ive rushed tanks in the past and it never ends up well.

 

[powers2001]

@RL6723 what’s the tube on the right?

Mitch

 

[RL6723]

@RL6723 what’s the tube on the right?

Mitch

Its a 24" extended siphon tube for my python water changer. The one that comes with it is like 12" and i want to keep my hands out of the tank as much as possible

 

[RL6723]

Added some wireway to hide some of the cables I have above the sump.

Also modified my dos heads to accept 1/4" RO tubing. Still waiting on 1/4" bulkheads to finish off my dosing containers

 

[RL6723]

Did a little bit of plumbing to the Dos, still waiting on my bulkheads in order to finish off the dosing containers, so I was only able to complete the output portions. I also recently got a Neptune Pmup to try out for ATO. In order to keep everything semi uniform, I used a 3/8 to 1/4 quick connect fitting so that I could use 1/4 Ro tubing for my ATO as well as for the doser

I also checked my phosphates today, and found them at .70! I believe its due to the dry rock, and also the ghost feeding I was doing. Instead of letting it get any worse, I threw a reactor and some GFO I had laying around on it. This is not my permanent reactor, I havent completely decided on which reactor Im gonna go with. I figure with the GFO, plus the 50% water change I had already planned on doing, it should be pretty easy to get it down to where I like it

 

[powers2001]

Added some wireway to hide some of the cables I have above the sump.

Also modified my dos heads to accept 1/4" RO tubing. Still waiting on 1/4" bulkheads to finish off my dosing containers

@RL6723 questions about your DOS mod, I’d like to do the same to mine. What fittings did you use and how did you attach them?

Mitch

 

[RL6723]

@RL6723 questions about your DOS mod, I’d like to do the same to mine. What fittings did you use and how did you attach them?

Mitch

No problem, its pretty simple, the fittings ypu need are John Guest 1/4" quick connect to 1/8" NPTF. You unscrew the grey caps that come with the DOS. Once you remove the caps, there will be a small cone shaped nipple after the threads. Using a sharp razor blade cut that about 1/2 way off. If you dont cut this, the cone will interfere with the RO tubing seating all the way. Once you cut those down, all you do is put some teflon tape and thread the new John Guest fitting on.
I can take some pictures of the process tomorrow for you