ZW RedSea 300XL G2

[Zach W]

Looking good. I let my skimmer run the same way while I was cycling. My thoughts were it was helping the break in period

I’m hoping it figures itself out, I’ve never had one before so it’s new to me. The manufacturer specs say to run it in 9.5-11” of water depth. I’ve got it at ~8.75” as the normal water level in the skimmer chamber. Lots of micro bubbles in the tank right now so we will see how it goes after a couple more days

 

[Zach W]

Let there be light! Got the SKY hooked up today and plan on letting it just run on low intensity while the tank is cycling

 

[Zach W]

Here’s a more representative picture of the space the tank is in with a special guest.

 

[Zach W]

Not much going on in the short term for my tank as the cycle is ongoing. It is looking like the first additions will be introduced this weekend coming up!

I am running into some issues (maybe?) with my protein skimmer in the break in period. It is expelling a ton of microbubbles that are ending up in the display and consistently overflowing into the skimmer cup that I am just allowing to run back into the tank. This is my first protein skimmer and I don't have any livestock in the tank yet which I have heard will help get things under control, I have dosed ammonia though which I think should be the same effect as fish waste. The manufacturers recommendation for water depth is 9.5-11" which I cant practically achieve in this sump, so I actually dropped the water level slighlty off some recommendations and am currently at ~8" water depth. I am just gonna keep letting it ride and see how it progresses.

In terms of fish stocking I am trying to figure out exactly what I want but I am thinking about the following:
Banggai Cardinal
Ocellaris Clown Pair
Royal Gramma
3 or 4 Wrasse from the following (still trying to figure out):
- Golden Rhomboidalis Fairy
- McCoskers Flasher
- Lineatus Fairy
- Splendid Pintail Fairy
- Naoko Fairy
Diamond Watchman Goby
Flame Fin Tomini Tang (or Whitetail Bristletooth)
Flame Hawkfish

I also just ordered a clearview lid to make sure there will be no jumpers from the tank! I did order and assemble the red sea cover but am not overly thrilled with it, likely from user error when putting it together to be fair. It will bridge the gap between now and when the nice one gets here though.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Let there be light! Got the SKY hooked up today and plan on letting it just run on low intensity while the tank is cycling

The light looks great with the tank!!

 

[Zach W]

The light looks great with the tank!!

Thanks! Im excited to see how it performs once I get some corals in there, specifically SPS but it really seems put put down a blanket of light coverage. It has definitely eliminated all disco ball effect and really looks like more like T5 in coverage vs most LEDs

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thanks! Im excited to see how it performs once I get some corals in there, specifically SPS but it really seems put put down a blanket of light coverage. It has definitely eliminated all disco ball effect and really looks like more like T5 in coverage vs most LEDs

Oh, yeah! The coverage looks great on that light!

 

[Matty Ice]

How did you stop the SKY from hanging low in the front? Unless you can’t tell in the pictures. I tried it in my XL300 and it just seemed like too much pressure on the glass. I ended up building my own mount from extruded aluminum

 

[Zach W]

How did you stop the SKY from hanging low in the front? Unless you can’t tell in the pictures. I tried it in my XL300 and it just seemed like too much pressure on the glass. I ended up building my own mount from extruded aluminum

I’m just using the ecotech mount, nothing special but made sure all the bolts are tight. It does lean slightly to the front but nothing crazy imo

 

[Matty Ice]

Yep. Maybe I’m just paranoid. Looks good in pictures though!

 

[mthtitan]

Very nice and clean set up!

 

[Zach W]

Very nice and clean set up!

Thank you, I appreciate it! Patience is being testing in the waiting period of cycling...

 

[Zach W]

Still no major update, the tank has cycled and has its first inhabitant as of this past weekend. I put a small royal gramma in first based on what my LFS had at the time and my desired stocking list. Mostly hiding still but eating well! I plan on putting in a couple clowns this weekend if the order comes. My LFS uses SeaandReef aquaculture for a lot of the fish they stock and I’ve got a pair of widebar mocha gladiator clowns on order.

More exciting, I placed an order with Dr. Reef for 3 fully quarantined wrasse:
-Golden Rhomboidalis (female)
-Hooded Flame Fairy (Female)
-McCoskers

These should arrive in ~4 weeks and I’m pumped! I plan on introducing all of them together to try and mitigate and territorial issues. My ClearView lid should be in by then too so I won’t have and concern with jumpers!

 

[Zach W]

Added a pair of Banggai Cardinalfish to the tank late last week and I was hoping I got a male/female pair but unfortunately that did not happen. About two days after addition one was consistently bullying the second to the point where it stopped eating. I ended up removing the bullied fish and took him back to my LFS to give him a better chance. that being said here are some poor pictures of the fish

I was able to get my FMM and DOS setup and I am all set for my AWC and I am just waiting to get my new salt in. I was intrigued and ordered Formul8 Reef from Captiv8 Aquaculture. Its definitely pricey, but I appreciate the chemical sourcing practice as a chemist myself, and the 4 part mixing to ensure stability batch to batch and mix to mix. Also, everything else in the hobby is expensive so an extra couple bucks for salt is worth it to me!

Lastly, my skimmer has passed the break in period and is actually pulling properly now. I am starting to see some diatoms but nothing too crazy. I did order and incorporated some pods from algaebarn as well as phyto so maybe that is helping in some fashion. Other than that I am likely adding a pair of clowns this weekend and then the wrasses from Dr. Reef should be here in ~3 weeks. First pieces of coral will go in this weekend as tester pieces, super excited!

 

[REEFRIED!]

Looking good. How long was the skimmer break in period?

 

[PR_nano]

Following along, looking forward to the Dr reef wrasses. I’m planning 2 of the 3 in a similar size tank. Tank looks great!

 

[Zach W]

Looking good. How long was the skimmer break in period?

For me it was about two weeks. To be fair I started running it before I had any bioload in the tank so there wasn't a ton other than the bacteria I seeded with to to form the biofilm that helps get things going. I had it on its max setting so the lowest water level in the neck and it was just overflowing back into the tank for that two week period as well as dumping microbubbles into the display. Once I got a couple fish and started doing water changes it started performing as expected and the microbubbles stopped.

 

[Zach W]

Following along, looking forward to the Dr reef wrasses. I’m planning 2 of the 3 in a similar size tank. Tank looks great!

Yeah I am excited, it seems like its either hit or miss with feedback that I have seen, I am hoping for the best though! I should have another 2 weeks or so I believe before shipment

 

[Zach W]

I’ve got the AWC setup finally so I’m changing 1G per day. My setup is pretty much taken care of. From what I’ve seen the 35” LLS I have in the mixing container is useless unfortunately. I think there is some condensation on it that is messing this up but it has not been accurate for me and I will likely pivot away from it.

I have added a couple corals and all seems well so far. I started with a orange/green echinata and a piece of JF Yellow Sub

These went in on a Friday and there was no issues so I ended up going back and picking up a couple more pieces this weekend.

I also added a couple more fish last week after I separated the two cardinals. Everyone in the tank is happy now it seems and is eating well.

 

[BadCrab]

Wonderful tank and a solid selection of hardware. Also, great coral choices.
If I may add my opinion on your livestock list: add the flame hawkfish and watchman goby last or towards the end. The rest of your livestock choices tend to be timid so letting them settle in and get comfortable with the territory before adding the more boisterous species can help the overall balance of personalities. Make sure that lid's on before the wrasses go in, too.