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

[SPR1968]

I also had 2, that was the newer one...now i'm back to one with no spare's available here (i could order in tho,the dealership has recently changed & parts aren't off shelf yet) so after doing a vectra/vario/tunze/eheim research weekend i've decided i'm going to see how one of those dcp jebao goes.
If i stay down at the 10000 model i think i can move the pump into the bottom of the front media chamber & that will give me the normal return chamber as a frag section...will see how that plan goes

I still laugh at that video you did with the main pump assembly when @GoVols tried to confuse me with his pump assembly inadequacys!! Very amusing and so simple! Lol

 

[2una]

Yes! its actually Freddie telling me to wear a watch that's broken that impellor shaft - sucked the metal right thru the plastic it did...maybe i should have kept with the string plan

 

[GoVols]

Yes! its actually Freddie telling me to wear a watch that's broken that impellor shaft - sucked the metal right thru the plastic it did...maybe i should have kept with the string plan

2una,

Lol,
I'm sticking with your "watch method"

I've been kicking around with going with the Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon® 3 Speedy pump 150 Watt DC pump in Januray, but... I have no clue why they don't make a 2,000 - 2,500 gallon per hour DC pump :mad:

I usually do something big at the first of the year and I'd like to buy the GEO 2 stage cal reactor and set it up and run the cal reactor like @hybridazn does.
The reef is all good but (lol) I want to give Hybird's method a go.

I guess we'll see if I still have the (tinker) itch, come January ;Wideyed

Hope all is well in Africa!!!

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

2una,

Lol,
I'm sticking with your "watch method"

I've been kicking around with going with the Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon® 3 Speedy pump 150 Watt DC pump in Januray, but... I have no clue why they don't make a 2,000 - 2,500 gallon per hour DC pump :mad:

I usually do something big at the first of the year and I'd like to buy the GEO 2 stage cal reactor and set it up and run the cal reactor like @hybridazn does.
The reef is all good but (lol) I want to give Hybird's method a go.

I guess we'll see if I still have the (tinker) itch, come January ;Wideyed

Hope all is well in Africa!!!

Freddie

I don't know what a GEO 2 stage cal reactor is but it sounds like it will make my head hurt!!

 

[GoVols]

I don't know what a GEO 2 stage cal reactor is but it sounds like it will make my head hurt!!

Lol,
Calcium reactor's have gotten to be old school and can be headaches, but... Hybird's "Continuous Drip Method" is genius.
And (lol) I don't know if I'll still have the "Tinker Bug" come January

@2una
Do you run a DaStaCo cal reactor with your kalk or am I wrong?

 

[SPR1968]

I've just made a short video of the tank as it stands today. All parameters are good and the SPS corals I added are all doing very well.

Nitrate levels have gradually fallen from around 12-16ppm to 6ppm ish and basically back under my control, rather than doing whatever it wanted, with I believe a combination of NoPox, Purigen, and the 2 Brightwell Xport NO3 bricks. Rhowaphos controls phosphate which is generally locked down 0-0.03 ish.

I'm starting to balance out the dose of NoPox which is currently at 14ml per day and I'm going to leave it there and just monitor it as everything looks fine and healthy.

Anyway I know everyone likes pictures but here is a short video for a change which should hopefully be in HD.

 

[GoVols]

I've just made a short video of the tank as it stands today. All parameters are good and the SPS corals I added are all doing very well.

Nitrate levels have gradually fallen from around 12-16ppm to 6ppm ish and basically back under my control, rather than doing whatever it wanted, with I believe a combination of NoPox, Purigen, and the 2 Brightwell Xport NO3 bricks. Rhowaphos controls phosphate which is generally locked down 0-0.03 ish.

I'm starting to balance out the dose of NoPox which is currently at 14ml per day and I'm going to leave it there and just monitor it as everything looks fine and healthy.

Anyway I know everyone likes pictures but here is a short video for a change which should hopefully be in HD.

Shaun,
Thanks for the update and your 650 is always stunning.

Happy that you've found your rhythm with the nitrates. We all find our own ways and you've found yours.
Looks like your anemone it happy and staying in it's happy spot and (lol) quit ;Stop dangling the Regal Angel, right in my face ;Wideyed. Your, killing ;Dead me with that fish...

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

I happened upon my local fish shop today...........

And into my plastic bag fell a Magnificant Foxface and Kole Yellow Eyed Tang I do believe.

These photos are after being added for about 2 hours and they are currently getting the usual ‘harassment’ from the other occupants. It tends to be the Coral Beauty that can get quiet annoyed with new visitors.

 

[GoVols]

I happened upon my local fish shop today...........

And into my plastic bag fell a Magnificant Foxface and Kole Yellow Eyed Tang I do believe.

... ...

(lol)
Shaun,
I love it!!!

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

Well after nearly a year and a half I decided it would make my life so much easier if I installed lights in the sump as opposed to using a torch

I got a set of 6 x 30cm LED lights strips and have used heavy duty velcro to stick them to the top of the cupboard. They came with small screws but apart from the obvious potential for ‘catastrophe’ they wouldn’t screw in as the base of the tank is some form of plastic resin. Probably best.....

They are 12v so perfectly safe and are plugged into a spare socket in the power centre.

I turned them on and it was like a breath of fresh air! Well actually not. I thought i kept the sump very clean by torch light. But with 1800lm led lights it looks filthy! Ill sort that out when i do the next water change and get it spotless.

Ive only used 4 so far and will keep the others as spares for the time being

Oh and Velcro. I cant believe I’ve not discovered the joy and potential uses of this stuff before especially the heavy duty version. Im looking for stuff to fasten up now!

Infact as and when i do maintenance on the pumps etc im going to velcro power strips to the back of the outside of the tank and sort the nest of wires out. Sometimes a 5 minute job can take ages just sorting through the wires

Anyway let there be light....

 

[GoVols]

Shaun,
(lol)
"Let there be light"

Great job and when I mount the new Apex, it will be that heavy duty Velcro too.

 

[Forsaken77]

Well after nearly a year and a half I decided it would make my life so much easier if I installed lights in the sump as opposed to using a torch

I got a set of 6 x 30cm LED lights strips and have used heavy duty velcro to stick them to the top of the cupboard. They came with small screws but apart from the obvious potential for ‘catastrophe’ they wouldn’t screw in as the base of the tank is some form of plastic resin. Probably best.....

They are 12v so perfectly safe and are plugged into a spare socket in the power centre.

I turned them on and it was like a breath of fresh air! Well actually not. I thought i kept the sump very clean by torch light. But with 1800lm led lights it looks filthy! Ill sort that out when i do the next water change and get it spotless.

Ive only used 4 so far and will keep the others as spares for the time being

Oh and Velcro. I cant believe I’ve not discovered the joy and potential uses of this stuff before especially the heavy duty version. Im looking for stuff to fasten up now!

Infact as and when i do maintenance on the pumps etc im going to velcro power strips to the back of the outside of the tank and sort the nest of wires out. Sometimes a 5 minute job can take ages just sorting through the wires

Anyway let there be light....

Glad the lights & velcro worked out. As for the wires, I got THESE off Amazon but they seem to be out of stock. Maybe something similar will help. They're rubber cord labels.

 

[SPR1968]

I’ve been wondering for about 4-5 days were my Regal Gamma has gone to. He was one of the first fish I ever got.

I was checking a few things on the tank and found him on the floor at the back of the tank.

This is the first ‘jumper’ I’ve had and was very sorry to see him.

Glad the lights & velcro worked out. As for the wires, I got THESE off Amazon but they seem to be out of stock. Maybe something similar will help. They're rubber cord labels.

No i much prefer to spend an hour identifying the wires by trial and error! Lol

Thanks for that I’ll get some of those or similar. It’s funny how you don’t think of something as simple as that for all the wires. I’ve got them on the main pump and skimmer (came with tank) but hadn’t even thought of adding to the other wires.

 

[fabutahoun]

Shaun Nice Update, the tank looks amazing and I love those triggers

 

[SPR1968]

Shaun Nice Update, the tank looks amazing and I love those triggers

Thanks and yes the Triggers and their behaviour are fascinating to watch. They often ‘dance and spin’ together around the tank and then chase each other like they have fallen out or something and are going to murder each other.

I can’t believe what a difference putting the lights in the sump has made, compared to my rubbish torch! Lol.

I can actually see the Rhowaphos simmering in the reactor without having to get down on my hands and knees to point the torch at it!

 

[Lninwa]

I too have been the victim of the accidental purchase. I accidentally purchased way too many beautiful frags at my first frag swap today. Going to be eating ramen for the rest of the month lol

 

[GoVols]

No i much prefer to spend an hour identifying the wires by trial and error! Lol

... ...;Wacky

------------------------------------------------------
Shaun,
Sorry about your gramma

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

Having had near a years more experience in the hobby and my system, I’m actually still pondering wether to install Apex or not. I’m not bothered about the cost, I’m more concerned about creating what might be a single point of failure if I plug everything into it and it fails at some point.

Just to give you a picture of what I have:

2016 Red Sea Max S 650 (self contained system)
Camera - separate WiFi HD camera pointing at tank / sump
Hydra 26 LED’s - all controlled by themselves no need for Apex
Kamoer 4 channel doser - all controlled itself and no need for Apex
ATO - Tunze Osmolator -again self controlled
Heaters - 2 heaters with own thermostats and then controlled as well be temp controller
Feeding - I never need to turn anything off other than skimmer when feeding coral food (reef energy) due to the type of tank I have

Also I’m around the tank much of the time apart from regular weeks away when I have someone check it every day for feeding. Mainly my wife as I go golfing regularly!

I’ve read lots of stuff and what appears a very good idea is not to install the main pump into apex in case apex failed. This was one of my main reasons for getting the system, but clearly as the main pump is on virtually all of the time, why should I introduce an additional potential point of failure?

The main reason I think I would get Apex is for the monitoring of the various parameters such as salinity, temperature etc from anywhere in the world and this alone would probably be worth it for the piece of mind. And also the recording of test results although I have a very nice basic excel spread sheet that does this and also documents maintenance dates on pumps etc.

I think what I may end up doing is getting Apex and initially just using it for monitoring salinity etc and basic control functions, so in my Max S this would mean leaving the main power centre in place with the main pump and connect Apex to a separate power socket to monitor and do whatever else I want it to do.

I’m sure once I’ve got it I’ll wonder how I managed without it and it’s something to fiddle with rather than the tank....

 

[GoVols]

Shaun,
The only reason I got another Apex was to control the ph in the calcium reactor's first chamber and the Apex gives me a long term graph to dial in the ph so it's not shutting off the solenoid, so much. I'm already on my third temp probe from the first Apex.

But... You can't beat their DOS pumps and Apex Fusion is really nice.

When I smoked the last Apex, the JR and ph module is all I truly needed.

Either way it's your call.

Freddie

 

[SPR1968]

I had a little or rather a lot of spare time on my hands today so decided I’d go and get some more shrimps as they all seem to have disappeared into the depths....

So I purchased 3 peppermint (aiptasia eating ones) as I’ve had some reappear, 1 cleaner shrimp and 1 red shrimp. I can’t give photos as they have all run off into the rockwork and will start doing their assigned jobs shortly (hopefully!)

Oh and I was ‘browsing’ as you do, and happen to see what I believe is a Purple/Yellow tailed tang which I thought was stunning, and well it fell into my plastic bag, accidentally ! I also got a small Regal Gamma as my previous one decided to leap to his fate a few weeks ago which is actually the first fish I’ve lost like this since setting up the system.

Anyway here you go...