Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

[SPR1968]

So do you really think I took something back to the shop and came home empty handed!!!! Lol

I was not buying anymore fish until the newly ordered Red Sea mesh cover arrives, but I forgot about this as i entered the magical world of my refitted LFS!

As far as I recall this is my most expensive live stock purchase. So without further ado say hello to my new little friends...

Chevron Tang and Lineatus Fairy Wrasse, both of which I believe are a little bit special and hence the price tags of £165 and £99 respectively although I did get a bit of a discount.

The Chevron came from around Christmas Island which sounds a bit special on its own and he started feeding as soon as I fed the fish and fitted in straight away with all the others.

And this is a picture of one of my favourite, friendly fishes. We call him Duggy (Starry Blenny) and he is a real character and we have had him for ages since he was really small.

 

[SPR1968]

Here are a few more up to date photos...

 

[najer]

Very nice, love the blenny.

 

[SPR1968]

Very nice, love the blenny.

Thanks Simon, he is a real character indeed, especially when he sits in the ‘grass’ watching everyone!

 

[GoVols]

Shaun,

I'm sorry about the coral damage from your anemone.
I've never had a bubble tip go roaming like that but I'm glad that you got it out.

Thanks for sharing.

Have you talked with Kevin lately?

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

Shaun,

I'm sorry about the coral damage from your anemone.
I've never had a bubble tip go roaming like that but I'm glad that you got it out.

Thanks for sharing.

Have you talked with Kevin lately?

Freddie

Hi Freddie

No I haven’t spoken to him, thankfully no need lol!!

And I’m a lot more relaxed now the coral killing anemone has gone back to the shop. It was quite stressful watching it sting my corals to death.

 

[GoVols]

Hi Freddie

No I haven’t spoken to him, thankfully no need lol!!

And I’m a lot more relaxed now the coral killing anemone has gone back to the shop. It was quite stressful watching it sting my corals to death.

Shaun,
I have not talked to Kevin as of late either but I will send him an email in the next couple of weeks to check on his health and wish him a Merry Christmas.

He's always been there for the both of us and I enjoy talking to him

 

[SPR1968]

I was watching the tank last night and in particular the Blue Throat Triggers who were kicking sand up on the right hand side of the tank and basically trying to build a nest of sorts as best they could in an inch or so of sand bed.

There behaviour was erratic, dragging along the sand bed together, and I’ve seen them like this before when I thought they were spawning but never actually saw any eggs or anything.

I noticed that the female had a very large abdomen to start with and I’ve managed to get some before and after photos to see what you think.

So Before:

And then after the event when things calmed down. And the male had gone on his way!

And in my eyes, the abdomen doesn’t look swollen anymore unless I’m imagining it.

 

[GoVols]

Shaun,
Your not imagining it and that's the second time from my memory ;Oldman
Truly awesome and not doubt that your triggers are paired up

Thanks for sharing and it's really neat to see ;Woot ;Woot

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

Yes it is the second time. I have videos from the first time they did it

Below are pictures showing them guarding the nest which they, mainly the female, did all of yesterday.

 

[GoVols]

Yes it is the second time. I have videos from the first time they did it

Below are pictures showing them guarding the nest which they, mainly the female, did all of yesterday.

Shaun,
That's awesome.

Do you know if her eggs are in the nest?

 

[SPR1968]

Shaun,
That's awesome.

Do you know if her eggs are in the nest?

There are no eggs to be seen but I think the reason is as follows:

 

[SPR1968]

So a few days ago (Saturday) the golf courses were covered in snow here in the U.K. so I had to occupy myself elsewhere........

So these two are ‘probably’ my final large fish purchase as I’m getting pretty full but I couldn’t resist their sweet fishy charms

Freckle Face Tang and Blonde Naso Tang

The Freckle Face (and have you ever seen such a sweet little face lol!) came from the same customers tank as my Chevron Tang so they already know each other so to speak.

The Freckle Face is one of the nicest and most pleasant fellows I have and is very active, so much so it’s difficult to get a decent photo of him!

 

[SPR1968]

Ive done a bit of a summary of were I am with the system and all of the details, controls and what I use etc for anyone interested.

The System is as follows and was set up in June 2016

2016 Red Sea Max S 650 LED Black
650 litres of water
4 x Hydra 26 lights (as standard) run on ‘Reef Spec’ (no green/red) settings from 11.30am to 10pm with ramp down to ‘blue’ in evenings
Red Sea Sicce 7000 lph return pump (standard) and I also have a spare which I swap over every so often for cleaning (4-5 months ish)
Red Sea Sicce 2150 lph rear circulation pumps x 4 (as standard)
NYOS Quantum 160 protein skimmer which I swapped from the original C Skim 1800 after about 12 months
JBL Pro Cristal UV-C 36w steriliser fed from an Eheim 1000 pump
Tunze Osmolator hooked up to 100litres RO reservoir in chiller cabinet with build in ATO used as backup. Will last around 2 1/2 weeks.
Deltec FR509 fluidised reactor with around 500g of Rhowaphos fed from the main return pump with a separate flow control valve
Kamoer 4 channel auto doser dosing NoPox, Ca, Alk and Mg in the form of Red Sea Foundation Elements A B and C
2 x Eheim jagger 200w heaters controlled by Simply Aquaria temperature control with triple redundancy into Neptune Apex
6 x LED sump light strips to light up the sump after a year of using a torch!
2 x Brightwell Xport NO3 Bricks in the sump
1 x Seachem ‘The Bag’ containing around 250g of Purigen

2017 Neptune Apex Fusion with:
Advanced leak detection module
Leak detectors
breakout box to add float switch detection
Apex auto feeder
Standard salinity, temperature, ORP and PH probes

The Apex is currently hooked up to control / backup the heaters, skimmer, ATO, sump light as well as the leak detectors and auto feeder. I haven’t as yet plugged in the main return or rear circulation pumps on the basis these should always be on other than for water changes. And also the Hydra 26 lights are still on the original power centre as no point/need to have these under Apex control as they have their own independent system.

The parameters, which I try to keep stable, are as follows and these are the target numbers:

Salinity 35ppm
Phosphate 0.03ppm or less
Nitrate 5-10ppm
Calcium 430ppm
Alkalinity 8.2dKH
Magnesium 1310-1360ppm
PH 8.2

I control nutrients and foundation elements as follows some of which is listed above as well:

Red Sea Salt (I originally used Red Sea Coral Pro for 12 months and then dropped to the lower parameters of the standard with additional dosing foundation elements)
Red Sea Foundation A B and C via Kamoer auto doser
Red Sea NoPox via Kamoer auto doser
Rhowaphos in reactor or phosphate control
Red Sea Activated Carbon at around 200g
Purigen in The Bag to help with Nitrate control (removes nutrient before they turn into Nitrate)
Brightwell Xport NO3 Bricks for extra surface area for Nitrate reduction x 2
Red Sea Coral Colours A B C D which I dose manually around every 4 days using calcium uptake as a guide to ensure no accidental over dose
Red Sea Reef Energy at between 20-40ml total per day depending on nutrient levels
Liquid phytoplankton are around 40ml once a week as an alternative to Reef Energy

Test Kits

Red Sea Refractometer (primary but very sensitive)
D D Refractometer (backup for cross checks)
Hanna Checker for Alkalinity & ULR Phosphate
Red Sea Nitrate Pro & occasional Phosphate Pro
Red Sea Calcium, Magnesium & PH
Neptune Apex for continues monitoring and alarm functions

The food I use is:

Gamma frozen cubes of mysis, garlic, bloodworm, krill and several others x 3 cubes per day around 1-2pm
I feed dry pellet food of many mixed varieties once a day by auto feeder at 6.30pm and then also add plenty of ‘greens’ for the vegetarians in the form of seaweed and algae pellets several times a week or day.
Red Sea Reef Energy for corals and occasional phytoplankton.

Fish & Corals

I have a lot of fish and corals and the fish are probably a bit over stocked but everyone seems happy with little, if any aggression. The corals are a mix of mainly LPS, soft and over the last 6 months I’ve started with SPS so a mixed reef. I can’t begin to name all the corals.

Regal Angel
Flame Angel
Coral Beauty
Yellow Tang
Regal Tang
Purple Tang
Chevron Tang
Freckle Face Tang
Kole Tang
Blonde Naso Tang
Pair of Blue Throat Triggers that have spawned on at least 2 occasions
Pair of clown fish
Magnificent Foxface
Laboute Wrasse
Lineatus Fairy Wrasse
Yellow Wrasse
2 Yellow Goby
Royal Gamma
Starry Blenny
5 Green Chromis
5 Azure Damsels
7 Lyretail Anthias
2 Purple Anthias

I also have full clean up crews including urchins, hermit crabs, snails, starfish, sea cucumber, etc etc. I haven’t added snails in a long time as I found the Sea Urchins did a much better job on any algae control.

Anyway if you have any questions or interest in anything, Just ask.

 

[SPR1968]

Here are a few up to date pictures including all the new residents:

 

[elisa h]

I love love love your tank! Probably my favorite that I’ve seen here on r2r! I just got my first saltwater tank about four months ago for a steal on Craigslist but I’m already planning on upgrading to a Red Sea tank soon (i know I know four months and I already want to upgrade[emoji31][emoji31]). I’m thinking a reefer 450 but I’m not exactly sure. I’m definitely taking a lot of inspiration from your tank - I love all the lps and movement and especially your stocking list. That regal angel is to die for!!

 

[GoVols]

I love love love your tank! Probably my favorite that I’ve seen here on r2r! I just got my first saltwater tank about four months ago for a steal on Craigslist but I’m already planning on upgrading to a Red Sea tank soon (i know I know four months and I already want to upgrade[emoji31][emoji31]). I’m thinking a reefer 450 but I’m not exactly sure. I’m definitely taking a lot of inspiration from your tank - I love all the lps and movement and especially your stocking list. That regal angel is to die for!!

Yes,
I must admit that I always drool ;Drool over Shaun's Regal Angel and (lol) he knows it
The Reefer's are very nice tanks and good luck on finding the right Red Sea setup that you like.

 

[SPR1968]

I love love love your tank! Probably my favorite that I’ve seen here on r2r!!

Thank you for your kind words Elisa, and considering the systems here on R2R that’s a very big ‘wow’ from my point of view!

The Red Sea Tanks are all stunning, and with the Max series in particular, there are no wires or pumps or anything showing so they are very sleek systems. Your good to have lasted 4 months I didn’t even last 2! I originally had a Max E260 and got hooked and immediately ordered the Max S 650 within a few weeks so I didn’t waste time!

On the corals, I prefer a lot of movement, so many of them, well move, so there are lots of LPS/Soft corals. To be honest when I started I couldn’t keep SPS despite the water parameters being ok. Then when the tank hit 12 months old, it must have ‘matured’ and now I can keep them without any problem. It’s like somebody hit an SPS keeping switch!

The stocking list. I’m getting pretty full and I have to seriously try and restrain myself now. I’m going to get a few maintenance fish like a Cleaner Wrasse when my new Red Sea cover arrives (the original launched himself to oblivion!), but that’s about it....... he says... lol!

Oh and my beautiful little Regal Angel..... He, or she really is the sweetest little fishy fish! Lol

 

[sricorals]

Hi,
If you don't mind asking, does the regal angel nip any of the corals?

 

[SPR1968]

Hi,
If you don't mind asking, does the regal angel nip any of the corals?

Hi and no problem.

MY, Regal Angel has never touched or nipped any of my corals. He just minds his own business picking at the rocks and is a very pleasant little fellow.

Obviously all fish are different but I wouldn’t hesitate to get another one if that helps you decide, and I have a full reef system.