Ulmo's RSR 200XL Build
It has been almost 7 years since my last build, and this will be my first tank with live coral. There are many pieces of equipment and conditions I've not worked with before. I wanted to take more pictures of components arriving and the mini-projects leading up to and after putting the tank together. Ended up trying to get as much done as I could on my days off work and realized I have now done much of it without documenting the steps.
Will upload more photos as able. Need to check the wife's phone to see if she has any of the build process. The only photos I have so far are those included here, almost all taken the day the tank was filled and right before I turned the light off to start cycling.
Photo caption: Was slightly cloudy from fill, cleared up very quick though. All of the little bubbles were gone within a day.
Photo caption: Blurry, I have an old phone and an unsteady hand.
Photo caption: Hopefully I can find a picture showing a better angle of the back, it's really more organized than it looks from above. That said, I could definitely have put more thought towards cable management. Bundled some things together I maybe should not have. Went over or through cables that might give me troubles. Used lots of 3M double sided tape and command strips. Zip ties for extra cord wherever I could (with and without adhesive anchors). Some things will be hard to clean or swap.
Photo caption: Working on the aquascape on the deck. Strait of Juan de Fuca is fogged over in the background, otherwise you would be able to see Vancouver Island (CA), the San Juan Islands (WA), and Mount Baker.
Build List:
Tank: Red Sea Reefer 200XL (Black)
Notes: Simple modification done to hang door for right-hinge opening. Due to the corner the tank is in, access would have been severely limited using the factory left-hinge arrangement. It seemed like the Red Sea logo badge would have been especially difficult or damaging to remove, so I just covered it with a thin piece of black silicone sheet material, looks fine to me without the logo. Added a dark blue vinyl background to right side of DT, to avoid seeing the white wall it is up against through the glass when viewing from the left side. Added white contact paper to back and right sides of sump. Coated hinges and other exposed metals with Vaseline.
Light: Kessil A360X Tuna Blue [w/ Kessil WiFi unit, 90-degree mounting arm, and A-55 Reflector]
Cover: Clearview Classic version w/ black mesh (ordered 24-Aug, arrived 16-Sep)
Return Pump: Eheim 1260 [w/ Spears gate valve to control flow rate and Spears union] (bought an extra of the same pump to hold as spare)
Wavemaker: 2x IceCap Gyre 2K w/ WiFi controller [added IceCap mesh intake covers, like these so far, we'll see how they hold up. Tried a thick 3D printed version, but it restricted flow way too much and made the pumps incredibly loud]
- extra propeller blades to swap in between cleanings
Heaters:
Ranco Temperature Controller
Finnex Titanium HMS-150 (also have an HMH-150 I use for quarantine and/or water changes)
Eheim ThermoControl 75 (set 2 degrees lower as a backup in case the Finnex fails; have 2 of these for utility/spare)
Fans: Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM [2 mounted at rear opening to cabinet, 1 intake, 1 exhaust] + Noctua NF-F14 iPPC 3000 PWM [hung from top to blow air directly down and across surface water of sump]
- w/ Noctua NA-FC1 Fan Controller
Skimmer: Deltec 600ix
(Bubble Magus Curve 5 retired as spare)
Reactors: AquaMaxx FR-M Internal Media Reactor with Sicce Pump [have 2 of these, but only using 1]
Refugium Mod to sump: (removed and replaced with Santa Monica Filtration Surf2)
DIY divider, black acrylic piece drilled to allow flow [48 holes @ 3/8", more holes in bottom half than top, to hopefully force more water through the Chaeto]
Chaeto basket: DIY with egg crate, 4"x9" (roughly 2" tall) [used black acrylic rectangles to affix top to bottom and kept the long sides open that fit snugly up against two dividing sections. Due to the limited space, didn't want to give up more lighted surface area or Chaeto holding volume.]
Grow light: ReefBreeders Pico LED Light - Full Spectrum Refugium (8W) [w/ timer] (planning on a ~16hr lighting schedule, with the off period being in the evening, to enjoy tank without light creeping from cabinet)
Pod Hotel: DIY corrugated sign material (3"x5" footprint, 1.75" tall), glued it to a small piece of STAX rock so it stays on the bottom
Dosing Pump: Bubble Magus BM-T11 Dosing Package
Notes: The mounting platform it came with is nice, but sticks out a bit far because of the center support brace, especially on the limited space in the 200XL.
- 3x 800ML Voss bottle DIY dosing containers [package came with 1.5L SeaSide Aquatics containers, but they wouldn't fit next to the sump due to my moving the door hinges]
- IceCap magnetic dosing tube holder [package came with the SeaSide Aquatics tube holder, but caused fit issues on the sump rim where the UV sterilizer sits]
Dosing Compounds: Tropic Marin ABC Part Balling Set
UV Sterilizer: Aqua Ultraviolet 15 Watt Advantage 2000+ In-Line
Discarded due to rust issue: CoraLife Turbo Twist 6X (18W)
Sterilizer Pump: SICCE Syncra Silent 1.5 [added inline ball valve for easy flow rate adjustment]
Dry live rock: Used 42LB combination in display (RO/DI rinsed all)
- MarcoRock Premium Shelf Rock (60LB)
- Two Little Fishies STAX (40LB)
- CaribSea South Seas Base Rock (10LB) [ended up not using any of this in DT, except a couple pounds I crushed into powder for aquascaping with insta-cure glue, did used some in the small QT though]
Aquascape Notes: Not completely pleased with the result, but I can live with it. Bought too much rock hoping to get pieces I would like, and then had trouble on such a small tank putting them together in a way that allowed the negative space and open sand base I was going for.
Sand: Used roughly 35LB in display (washed with garden hose and rinsed with RO/DI)
- 20LB Tropic Eden Live Mesoflakes
- 30LB Tropic Eden Dry Miniflakes [only used approx. 15LB]
Salt: Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
RO/DI Filter:
Marine Depot KleanWater 4-Stage Advanced RO/DI System - 100 GPD
- Changed stock membrane/filters to SpectraPure 90GPD Ultra 99% membrane, 0.5 micron sediment and carbon
- Added DI bypass and flush valves, stepped down to a 650CC flow restrictor (I get steady 85psi through the unit and have <50ppm municipal water, so I can get away with the lower 3.2:1 wastewater ratio I'm seeing)
Salinity meter: Milwaukee MIL-MA887 Digital Seawater Refractometer w/ case
Tropic Marin Hydrometer w/ Graduated Cylinder
BRS/ATC Refractometer that I bought a decade ago for the brackish tanks I had while living in China
Water testing kits:
Hanna Alkalinity, Phosphate, Nitrate
Salifert Calcium, Magnesium, PH, Nitrate [also Salifert Ammonia and Nitrite tests that won't often be useful after initial phases]
Filter Socks:
- Red Sea 225 micron Mesh Sock (x7) [will use these most of the time]
- Red Sea 225 micron Felt Sock (x3) + 100 micron Felt Sock (x3) [probably won't use these often, if at all, possibly for occasional polishing]
- Red Sea Filter Cup [don't want to create perpetual plastic waste though, so will give the socks a chance first before buying any Poly-Fill or filter pads to use with this]
Filter Media:
Surface area material: Maxspect Nano-Tech Bio-Block x 4 [2 in overflow chamber under ATO, 2 in main chamber under filter sock at front corner of sump]
- Purigen
- Chemi-Pure Elite
- ReefSpec Carbon
- Kolar HC GFO
- ecoBAK BioPellets (removed)
- Brightwell Phosphat-R (removed)
Bioculture Additives: Dr. Tim's One and Only + FritzZyme Turbo Start 900 / Dr. Tim's Ammonia Chloride dosing
Cycling notes (updated): If I remember correctly, it took about 12-15 days to be able to process doses inside 24hrs. Also added PNS ProBio over the first couple months, then started occasional doses of Brightwell MicroBacter7.
Cleaning Tools:
Tunze Care Long Magnet (+ extra blades),
Tunze Care Nano Magnet (modified with float cut from long version)
JBJ Aquascraper 4-in-1 (for sand raking and scraping some surfaces that the magnets can't get to)
Water Change/Sand Cleaning:
Sicce Multi Quiet 800 Pump (220 GPH) (for pumping new saltwater from buckets)
Python Pro-Clean Vacuum system + Python Hose Siphon adapter
Other Items:
- Hydor Nano 565 GPH powerhead (x2, one in sump for extra flow, other for salt mixing and QT)
- Two Little Fishies Magnetic Feeding Ring
- Two Little Fishies Magnetic Pouch Feeder (w/ 5 extra pouches)
- Innovative Marine Gourmet Grinder Feeder
- Eheim TWIN Automatic/Programmable Feeder (for potential vacations/trips)
- Marine Source 6" Acrylic Top-down viewer
- Pump tube/baster x 2
- SS Tweezers (long) x 2
- Battery powered airstones for short term emergency use
- 1500W Pure Sine Inverter for longer term emergency use (connect to SUV as a generator, tested and works fine. Probably not as practical as a dedicated generator with fuel reserves, may add eventually.)
Livestock:
Fish:
* Clownfish x 2 (ORA Snowflake Ocellaris + ORA Picasso Percula)
* Radial Filefish x 2 (Biota)
* Helfrichi Firefish
* Lyretail Fang Blenny (Biota)
* Blue Mandarin (Biota)
Inverts:
* Tuxedo Urchin (Blue - ORA)
* Porcelain crab
* Micro Brittle Stars
* Siphonaria Limpets x 5 (ORA) (seemed to arrive dead or dying, not sure if any are still in there)
* Peppermint Shrimp x 1 (ORA)
* Cerith Snails x 10 (second set of 5 never moved after adding to tank though, so maybe arrived DOA)
* Trochus Snails x 5
* Brittle Starfish (1 large that I bought, plus a few more small-medium sized hitchhikers from live rock)
* Fighting Conch
Corals: (TBD) Note: I still have a lot of research to do here, and I (along with my wallet) still want to wait until the tank is a bit more mature, so that will give me some time.
Soft: Finger leather and GSP from LFS for some color and movement (I have been keeping the GSP contained to some small pieces of rock that can be moved/removed at will, hasn't been growing exceptionally fast for me.)
LPS: Torch coral from LFS (green tentacles with tan tips)
SPS: I know I'll want at least a birdsnest eventually, and so many beautiful acro to choose from.
Photo caption: View from the left side of tank
That's all for now, will update and add more photos as things progress. Thanks for looking.
Status:
31-Aug-2021: The tank has been up and running now for a few weeks and nitrogen cycle seems to be nearly finished. Next weekend I will probably do a big water change and turn the light on. First fish a week or two after that maybe.
Update:
19-Feb-2022: Tank has been running for over 6 months. For the most part, it's going well.
Update:
12-Mar-2023: Still good, long version of changes and experiences is in a reply below.
Setup changes:
Removed - Chaeto refugium section in November '21 due to buying multiple softball sized clumps that would then just melt and/or get overrun with other messy species. Could have been the wrong light, flow issues (tried different powerheads and positions in that section), or other factors I just didn't stick it out to dial in.
Added - Santa Monica Filtration Surf2 UAS in November '21, which has been great. Produces to near capacity every 6-7 days with an Eheim 400L/H Air Pump (modified with poly-fill for additional sound/vibration dampening). The light is on a timer for 18-19 hrs with the off period around 1200-1700).
Added - 15lb KP Aquatics Premium Aquacultured Live Rock in January '22 (shipped in water) [Split between approx. 10lb in DT + 5lb in sump]
Added - 7lb Aussie Live Rock in early March '22, removed 7lb of KP Aquatics to make space
Added - Air line from skimmer to outside (attic roof vent) in April '22
Added - Sochting Oxydator A in April '22
Replaced - UV Sterilizer in April '22, discarded Coralife Twist 6X (18W) and installed Aqua UV 15W
Replaced - ATO in February '23, retired stock ATO to storage, installed Tunze Osmolator and 5.5 gallon reservoir
Replaced - Skimmer in February '23, retired Curve 5 to storage, installed Deltec 600ix
It has been almost 7 years since my last build, and this will be my first tank with live coral. There are many pieces of equipment and conditions I've not worked with before. I wanted to take more pictures of components arriving and the mini-projects leading up to and after putting the tank together. Ended up trying to get as much done as I could on my days off work and realized I have now done much of it without documenting the steps.
Will upload more photos as able. Need to check the wife's phone to see if she has any of the build process. The only photos I have so far are those included here, almost all taken the day the tank was filled and right before I turned the light off to start cycling.
Photo caption: Was slightly cloudy from fill, cleared up very quick though. All of the little bubbles were gone within a day.
Photo caption: Blurry, I have an old phone and an unsteady hand.
Photo caption: Hopefully I can find a picture showing a better angle of the back, it's really more organized than it looks from above. That said, I could definitely have put more thought towards cable management. Bundled some things together I maybe should not have. Went over or through cables that might give me troubles. Used lots of 3M double sided tape and command strips. Zip ties for extra cord wherever I could (with and without adhesive anchors). Some things will be hard to clean or swap.
Photo caption: Working on the aquascape on the deck. Strait of Juan de Fuca is fogged over in the background, otherwise you would be able to see Vancouver Island (CA), the San Juan Islands (WA), and Mount Baker.
Build List:
Tank: Red Sea Reefer 200XL (Black)
Notes: Simple modification done to hang door for right-hinge opening. Due to the corner the tank is in, access would have been severely limited using the factory left-hinge arrangement. It seemed like the Red Sea logo badge would have been especially difficult or damaging to remove, so I just covered it with a thin piece of black silicone sheet material, looks fine to me without the logo. Added a dark blue vinyl background to right side of DT, to avoid seeing the white wall it is up against through the glass when viewing from the left side. Added white contact paper to back and right sides of sump. Coated hinges and other exposed metals with Vaseline.
Light: Kessil A360X Tuna Blue [w/ Kessil WiFi unit, 90-degree mounting arm, and A-55 Reflector]
Cover: Clearview Classic version w/ black mesh (ordered 24-Aug, arrived 16-Sep)
Return Pump: Eheim 1260 [w/ Spears gate valve to control flow rate and Spears union] (bought an extra of the same pump to hold as spare)
Wavemaker: 2x IceCap Gyre 2K w/ WiFi controller [added IceCap mesh intake covers, like these so far, we'll see how they hold up. Tried a thick 3D printed version, but it restricted flow way too much and made the pumps incredibly loud]
- extra propeller blades to swap in between cleanings
Heaters:
Ranco Temperature Controller
Finnex Titanium HMS-150 (also have an HMH-150 I use for quarantine and/or water changes)
Eheim ThermoControl 75 (set 2 degrees lower as a backup in case the Finnex fails; have 2 of these for utility/spare)
Fans: Noctua NF-F12 iPPC 3000 PWM [2 mounted at rear opening to cabinet, 1 intake, 1 exhaust] + Noctua NF-F14 iPPC 3000 PWM [hung from top to blow air directly down and across surface water of sump]
- w/ Noctua NA-FC1 Fan Controller
Skimmer: Deltec 600ix
(Bubble Magus Curve 5 retired as spare)
Reactors: AquaMaxx FR-M Internal Media Reactor with Sicce Pump [have 2 of these, but only using 1]
Refugium Mod to sump: (removed and replaced with Santa Monica Filtration Surf2)
DIY divider, black acrylic piece drilled to allow flow [48 holes @ 3/8", more holes in bottom half than top, to hopefully force more water through the Chaeto]
Chaeto basket: DIY with egg crate, 4"x9" (roughly 2" tall) [used black acrylic rectangles to affix top to bottom and kept the long sides open that fit snugly up against two dividing sections. Due to the limited space, didn't want to give up more lighted surface area or Chaeto holding volume.]
Grow light: ReefBreeders Pico LED Light - Full Spectrum Refugium (8W) [w/ timer] (planning on a ~16hr lighting schedule, with the off period being in the evening, to enjoy tank without light creeping from cabinet)
Pod Hotel: DIY corrugated sign material (3"x5" footprint, 1.75" tall), glued it to a small piece of STAX rock so it stays on the bottom
Dosing Pump: Bubble Magus BM-T11 Dosing Package
Notes: The mounting platform it came with is nice, but sticks out a bit far because of the center support brace, especially on the limited space in the 200XL.
- 3x 800ML Voss bottle DIY dosing containers [package came with 1.5L SeaSide Aquatics containers, but they wouldn't fit next to the sump due to my moving the door hinges]
- IceCap magnetic dosing tube holder [package came with the SeaSide Aquatics tube holder, but caused fit issues on the sump rim where the UV sterilizer sits]
Dosing Compounds: Tropic Marin ABC Part Balling Set
UV Sterilizer: Aqua Ultraviolet 15 Watt Advantage 2000+ In-Line
Discarded due to rust issue: CoraLife Turbo Twist 6X (18W)
Sterilizer Pump: SICCE Syncra Silent 1.5 [added inline ball valve for easy flow rate adjustment]
Dry live rock: Used 42LB combination in display (RO/DI rinsed all)
- MarcoRock Premium Shelf Rock (60LB)
- Two Little Fishies STAX (40LB)
- CaribSea South Seas Base Rock (10LB) [ended up not using any of this in DT, except a couple pounds I crushed into powder for aquascaping with insta-cure glue, did used some in the small QT though]
Aquascape Notes: Not completely pleased with the result, but I can live with it. Bought too much rock hoping to get pieces I would like, and then had trouble on such a small tank putting them together in a way that allowed the negative space and open sand base I was going for.
Sand: Used roughly 35LB in display (washed with garden hose and rinsed with RO/DI)
- 20LB Tropic Eden Live Mesoflakes
- 30LB Tropic Eden Dry Miniflakes [only used approx. 15LB]
Salt: Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt
RO/DI Filter:
Marine Depot KleanWater 4-Stage Advanced RO/DI System - 100 GPD
- Changed stock membrane/filters to SpectraPure 90GPD Ultra 99% membrane, 0.5 micron sediment and carbon
- Added DI bypass and flush valves, stepped down to a 650CC flow restrictor (I get steady 85psi through the unit and have <50ppm municipal water, so I can get away with the lower 3.2:1 wastewater ratio I'm seeing)
Salinity meter: Milwaukee MIL-MA887 Digital Seawater Refractometer w/ case
Tropic Marin Hydrometer w/ Graduated Cylinder
BRS/ATC Refractometer that I bought a decade ago for the brackish tanks I had while living in China
Water testing kits:
Hanna Alkalinity, Phosphate, Nitrate
Salifert Calcium, Magnesium, PH, Nitrate [also Salifert Ammonia and Nitrite tests that won't often be useful after initial phases]
Filter Socks:
- Red Sea 225 micron Mesh Sock (x7) [will use these most of the time]
- Red Sea 225 micron Felt Sock (x3) + 100 micron Felt Sock (x3) [probably won't use these often, if at all, possibly for occasional polishing]
- Red Sea Filter Cup [don't want to create perpetual plastic waste though, so will give the socks a chance first before buying any Poly-Fill or filter pads to use with this]
Filter Media:
Surface area material: Maxspect Nano-Tech Bio-Block x 4 [2 in overflow chamber under ATO, 2 in main chamber under filter sock at front corner of sump]
- Purigen
- Chemi-Pure Elite
- ReefSpec Carbon
- Kolar HC GFO
- ecoBAK BioPellets (removed)
- Brightwell Phosphat-R (removed)
Bioculture Additives: Dr. Tim's One and Only + FritzZyme Turbo Start 900 / Dr. Tim's Ammonia Chloride dosing
Cycling notes (updated): If I remember correctly, it took about 12-15 days to be able to process doses inside 24hrs. Also added PNS ProBio over the first couple months, then started occasional doses of Brightwell MicroBacter7.
Cleaning Tools:
Tunze Care Long Magnet (+ extra blades),
Tunze Care Nano Magnet (modified with float cut from long version)
JBJ Aquascraper 4-in-1 (for sand raking and scraping some surfaces that the magnets can't get to)
Water Change/Sand Cleaning:
Sicce Multi Quiet 800 Pump (220 GPH) (for pumping new saltwater from buckets)
Python Pro-Clean Vacuum system + Python Hose Siphon adapter
Other Items:
- Hydor Nano 565 GPH powerhead (x2, one in sump for extra flow, other for salt mixing and QT)
- Two Little Fishies Magnetic Feeding Ring
- Two Little Fishies Magnetic Pouch Feeder (w/ 5 extra pouches)
- Innovative Marine Gourmet Grinder Feeder
- Eheim TWIN Automatic/Programmable Feeder (for potential vacations/trips)
- Marine Source 6" Acrylic Top-down viewer
- Pump tube/baster x 2
- SS Tweezers (long) x 2
- Battery powered airstones for short term emergency use
- 1500W Pure Sine Inverter for longer term emergency use (connect to SUV as a generator, tested and works fine. Probably not as practical as a dedicated generator with fuel reserves, may add eventually.)
Livestock:
Fish:
* Clownfish x 2 (ORA Snowflake Ocellaris + ORA Picasso Percula)
* Radial Filefish x 2 (Biota)
* Helfrichi Firefish
* Lyretail Fang Blenny (Biota)
* Blue Mandarin (Biota)
Inverts:
* Tuxedo Urchin (Blue - ORA)
* Porcelain crab
* Micro Brittle Stars
* Siphonaria Limpets x 5 (ORA) (seemed to arrive dead or dying, not sure if any are still in there)
* Peppermint Shrimp x 1 (ORA)
* Cerith Snails x 10 (second set of 5 never moved after adding to tank though, so maybe arrived DOA)
* Trochus Snails x 5
* Brittle Starfish (1 large that I bought, plus a few more small-medium sized hitchhikers from live rock)
* Fighting Conch
Corals: (TBD) Note: I still have a lot of research to do here, and I (along with my wallet) still want to wait until the tank is a bit more mature, so that will give me some time.
Soft: Finger leather and GSP from LFS for some color and movement (I have been keeping the GSP contained to some small pieces of rock that can be moved/removed at will, hasn't been growing exceptionally fast for me.)
LPS: Torch coral from LFS (green tentacles with tan tips)
SPS: I know I'll want at least a birdsnest eventually, and so many beautiful acro to choose from.
Photo caption: View from the left side of tank
That's all for now, will update and add more photos as things progress. Thanks for looking.
Status:
31-Aug-2021: The tank has been up and running now for a few weeks and nitrogen cycle seems to be nearly finished. Next weekend I will probably do a big water change and turn the light on. First fish a week or two after that maybe.
Update:
19-Feb-2022: Tank has been running for over 6 months. For the most part, it's going well.
Update:
12-Mar-2023: Still good, long version of changes and experiences is in a reply below.
Setup changes:
Removed - Chaeto refugium section in November '21 due to buying multiple softball sized clumps that would then just melt and/or get overrun with other messy species. Could have been the wrong light, flow issues (tried different powerheads and positions in that section), or other factors I just didn't stick it out to dial in.
Added - Santa Monica Filtration Surf2 UAS in November '21, which has been great. Produces to near capacity every 6-7 days with an Eheim 400L/H Air Pump (modified with poly-fill for additional sound/vibration dampening). The light is on a timer for 18-19 hrs with the off period around 1200-1700).
Added - 15lb KP Aquatics Premium Aquacultured Live Rock in January '22 (shipped in water) [Split between approx. 10lb in DT + 5lb in sump]
Added - 7lb Aussie Live Rock in early March '22, removed 7lb of KP Aquatics to make space
Added - Air line from skimmer to outside (attic roof vent) in April '22
Added - Sochting Oxydator A in April '22
Replaced - UV Sterilizer in April '22, discarded Coralife Twist 6X (18W) and installed Aqua UV 15W
Replaced - ATO in February '23, retired stock ATO to storage, installed Tunze Osmolator and 5.5 gallon reservoir
Replaced - Skimmer in February '23, retired Curve 5 to storage, installed Deltec 600ix
Last edited: