Blaxsun's Abyss: Red Sea 750XXL

[blaxsun]

Sounds like you owe your wife dinner

And then some...!

 

[blaxsun]

Oct 23. What a Difference a Day Makes
So I woke up this morning to find a sparkling clean, crystal clear tank - something I hadn't seen in many weeks and have been sorely missing. I've been a bit behind on my blog posts, so this will just summarize what I've been up to the past few weeks...

• Xenias (the pulsing variety). These things are the scourge of reef tanks everywhere, and there should seriously be a ban on selling these. From one rock they managed to spread and overtake about 1/3 of my tank - so I spent the better part of last week meticulously pruning, sheering and generally burning everything with fire to get rid of them. The corals seem happier - the fish seem happier - and I'm definitely happier.

• My runaway algae growth was almost certainly linked to a burned out UV bulb. So for those running UVs on your system - make sure you set your calendar for a bulb replacement at the 12-month mark (max). And this includes removal and thorough cleaning of the housing as well (as mine had a lot of buildup after a year - but it did come off nicely with an EzeClean soak). While they say the bulbs can last 14 months, I think after 12 months it's very much the law of diminishing returns there. At some point I need to scrape off everything (coralline included) off the back of the tank as it's starting to look like something Jackson Pollock painted.

• I added 4 new fish to the tank a few weeks back, but I haven't been able to find the starry blenny (he's fairly small, so he could still very well be in the tank) and the green clown goby disappeared somewhere into the sump. There's a ton of bio media that affords all together too many hiding places, and with the emergency overflow nearby there's also a steady trickle of food. So I'm cautiously optimistic that my "sump goby" is still in the land of the living. The green wrasse and neon dottyback have both quickly become part of the "pack" (the green wrasse was hanging out near one of the overflows for the longest time, but has now decided that it's much more exciting to swim with everyone else - not to mention that the cuisine is better, too!)

• All the corals are doing great. I do have a phantom nipper going after some of my zoas (could be Beaker the parrotfish or EMP the emperor angelfish). My chip's acropora has probably doubled in size again, the green star polyps are in seventh heaven and my fat tentacle plate has really grown and come back to life (I'll try to take some updated pictures next week). The ricordea has been growing in leaps and bounds - it's really looking good.

All the new gear and equipment I've been running is still exceeding expectations. A few notes:

• The IM Helio heater system is just phenomenal. The only tip I will offer (courtesy of IM) is to ensure that where you place it has good flow and if not, ensure you periodically "dust" it off with a baster/feeder if you have a lot of detritus buildup. This is to ensure the integrated sensors remain clean to obtain accurate temperature readings.

• The Red Sea ReefMat 1200 has allowed me to go between 25-30 days without changing fleece rolls - which has been a god send (as I've been super busy). The only issue I ran into is that the motor/feed mechanism really seems to struggle once you've gone through 65-75% of a roll. I had a jam occur today because the fleece roll wasn't spun correctly when manufactured, it fed crooked at some point and ended up creating too much friction on the waste spool. This is the only the second roll I've used, so we'll see if this is something that crops up again down the road. I think Red Sea needs to possibly look at making the motor or gearing more powerful (or at least an upgraded motor for the 1200 unit). It would also be great to see 100-micron fleece rolls - even if this means I'd use more.

• The AquaUltraviolet UV (or any good UV) is a must for anyone wanting to keep algae and parasites at bay. I'm running the 57-watt model, and without it - 46 fish just wreak havoc on the system within short order. Do keep a spare bulb on-hand at all times (well worth the investment). For the most part, my sump was pretty clean - even with the UV bulb burning out. There really wasn't a lot of detritus buildup and the skimmer and reactors were both a lot cleaner than I was expecting - considering the UV wasn't working.

• The Poseidon 200 Ozone system is definitely making a difference. I can literally go 7-10 days without having to empty my skimmer collection container, whereas before this was needed every 2-3 days. It's also eliminated a lot of those musty smells that tend to creep up from the skim collected. I can honestly say that the corals look 100% better with the ozone system running (so it's obviously eliminated a lot of impurities and chemical warfare from corals). Worth every penny.
..........

The Abyss has now been up and running since May 2021, so we're coming up on a year and a half of operation - with literally no water changes. I still have a new (unopened) bucket of Tropic Marin salt that I haven't even needed to open to mix to top the water up! One thing about the ozone system is that it does replenish the water - essentially reverting it back to it's natural saltwater state by removing any and all impurities, etc. I still need to add alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and other trace elements - but otherwise the levels are all good.

I have been neglecting my nitrate and phosphate tests for months (!), but here the current levels in my tank:

• Salinity: 35.1-35.3ppt | Temperature: 78.42°F (average)
• ORP: 300 (low) to 320 (high)| pH: 7.95 (low) to 8.24 (high)
• Alkalinity: 8.76 | Calcium: 450 | Magnesium: 1469 (finally down from the high 1500's)
• Nitrate: 30-35ppm | Phosphate: 0.075-0.1ppm

A note on the nitrates: I've had the skimmer, ozone, both reactors and UV off for the past week for maintenance. I also just scraped a heavy film of algae off 3/4's of the tank. And when I did the test today, this was just after 2 fish feedings, Reef Roids and the other gamut of coral nutrition. So it's probably elevated by 10-15ppm beyond normal. That being said... fish are fat and healthy, the corals have never looked better and everything is thriving. So I think the whole aspect of nitrate levels needs to be seriously reexamined at some point.

I dose 2.5ml of Nyos Zero daily and 25ml of Red Sea NOPOX weekly (which pushes pH down for the weekend). Other than the 200-micron fleece, skimmer, Zeo reactor and ozone system - that's it for filtration.

 

[Projects with Sam]

Oct 23. What a Difference a Day Makes
So I woke up this morning to find a sparkling clean, crystal clear tank - something I hadn't seen in many weeks and have been sorely missing. I've been a bit behind on my blog posts, so this will just summarize what I've been up to the past few weeks...

• Xenias (the pulsing variety). These things are the scourge of reef tanks everywhere, and there should seriously be a ban on selling these. From one rock they managed to spread and overtake about 1/3 of my tank - so I spent the better part of last week meticulously pruning, sheering and generally burning everything with fire to get rid of them. The corals seem happier - the fish seem happier - and I'm definitely happier.

• My runaway algae growth was almost certainly linked to a burned out UV bulb. So for those running UVs on your system - make sure you set your calendar for a bulb replacement at the 12-month mark (max). And this includes removal and thorough cleaning of the housing as well (as mine had a lot of buildup after a year - but it did come off nicely with an EzeClean soak). While they say the bulbs can last 14 months, I think after 12 months it's very much the law of diminishing returns there. At some point I need to scrape off everything (coralline included) off the back of the tank as it's starting to look like something Jackson Pollock painted.

• I added 4 new fish to the tank a few weeks back, but I haven't been able to find the starry blenny (he's fairly small, so he could still very well be in the tank) and the green clown goby disappeared somewhere into the sump. There's a ton of bio media that affords all together too many hiding places, and with the emergency overflow nearby there's also a steady trickle of food. So I'm cautiously optimistic that my "sump goby" is still in the land of the living. The green wrasse and neon dottyback have both quickly become part of the "pack" (the green wrasse was hanging out near one of the overflows for the longest time, but has now decided that it's much more exciting to swim with everyone else - not to mention that the cuisine is better, too!)

• All the corals are doing great. I do have a phantom nipper going after some of my zoas (could be Beaker the parrotfish or EMP the emperor angelfish). My chip's acropora has probably doubled in size again, the green star polyps are in seventh heaven and my fat tentacle plate has really grown and come back to life (I'll try to take some updated pictures next week). The ricordea has been growing in leaps and bounds - it's really looking good.

All the new gear and equipment I've been running is still exceeding expectations. A few notes:

• The IM Helio heater system is just phenomenal. The only tip I will offer (courtesy of IM) is to ensure that where you place it has good flow and if not, ensure you periodically "dust" it off with a baster/feeder if you have a lot of detritus buildup. This is to ensure the integrated sensors remain clean to obtain accurate temperature readings.

• The Red Sea ReefMat 1200 has allowed me to go between 25-30 days without changing fleece rolls - which has been a god send (as I've been super busy). The only issue I ran into is that the motor/feed mechanism really seems to struggle once you've gone through 65-75% of a roll. I had a jam occur today because the fleece roll wasn't spun correctly when manufactured, it fed crooked at some point and ended up creating too much friction on the waste spool. This is the only the second roll I've used, so we'll see if this is something that crops up again down the road. I think Red Sea needs to possibly look at making the motor or gearing more powerful (or at least an upgraded motor for the 1200 unit). It would also be great to see 100-micron fleece rolls - even if this means I'd use more.

• The AquaUltraviolet UV (or any good UV) is a must for anyone wanting to keep algae and parasites at bay. I'm running the 57-watt model, and without it - 46 fish just wreak havoc on the system within short order. Do keep a spare bulb on-hand at all times (well worth the investment). For the most part, my sump was pretty clean - even with the UV bulb burning out. There really wasn't a lot of detritus buildup and the skimmer and reactors were both a lot cleaner than I was expecting - considering the UV wasn't working.

• The Poseidon 200 Ozone system is definitely making a difference. I can literally go 7-10 days without having to empty my skimmer collection container, whereas before this was needed every 2-3 days. It's also eliminated a lot of those musty smells that tend to creep up from the skim collected. I can honestly say that the corals look 100% better with the ozone system running (so it's obviously eliminated a lot of impurities and chemical warfare from corals). Worth every penny.
..........

The Abyss has now been up and running since May 2021, so we're coming up on a year and a half of operation - with literally no water changes. I still have a new (unopened) bucket of Tropic Marin salt that I haven't even needed to open to mix to top the water up! One thing about the ozone system is that it does replenish the water - essentially reverting it back to it's natural saltwater state by removing any and all impurities, etc. I still need to add alkalinity, calcium, magnesium and other trace elements - but otherwise the levels are all good.

I have been neglecting my nitrate and phosphate tests for months (!), but here the current levels in my tank:

• Salinity: 35.1-35.3ppt | Temperature: 78.42°F (average)
• ORP: 300 (low) to 320 (high)| pH: 7.95 (low) to 8.24 (high)
• Alkalinity: 8.76 | Calcium: 450 | Magnesium: 1469 (finally down from the high 1500's)
• Nitrate: 30-35ppm | Phosphate: 0.075-0.1ppm

A note on the nitrates: I've had the skimmer, ozone, both reactors and UV off for the past week for maintenance. I also just scraped a heavy film of algae off 3/4's of the tank. And when I did the test today, this was just after 2 fish feedings, Reef Roids and the other gamut of coral nutrition. So it's probably elevated by 10-15ppm beyond normal. That being said... fish are fat and healthy, the corals have never looked better and everything is thriving. So I think the whole aspect of nitrate levels needs to be seriously reexamined at some point.

I dose 2.5ml of Nyos Zero daily and 25ml of Red Sea NOPOX weekly (which pushes pH down for the weekend). Other than the 200-micron fleece, skimmer, Zeo reactor and ozone system - that's it for filtration.

TLDR...

haha j/k. crazy update! great post!

 

[Susan Edwards]

He's a sand sifter. The black ones I have also have those "feelers" to help dig. This is Absolem - a bonafide filter feeder (sorry, the system is back to rendering my images in a purple sheen again).

I thought so but what I had researched said if they climbed walls, they were filter feeders. And you know Dave. Never acting like a sand sifter until I finally caught him in action. He is so silly. Never goes into the sand.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Blaxsun's Tips. Keeping The Rubberband Thieves at Bay
What you need: Colored rubber bands

For those of you who rubberband your seaweed to small rocks (in order to more naturally mimic the natural feeding for herbivores), I've actually heard of the rare occasion where a fish rips off a rubberband and drags it off somewhere in the tank (and I know of at least one very rare instance where a large tang ate the rubberband and perished). I'm not sure if it's the texture, coloration (etc.) but after tracking down and removing at least a half dozen of the skin-colored rubberbands I switched to something different.

I use one of those clips with the grid. Holds a folded piece or 2 pieces. Love it. Uses a magnet to hold it. Sometimes, the snails or hermits find it.

 

[Susan Edwards]

sounds good! I just got my replacement uv bulb. Now I have to figure out how to change it....

 

[blaxsun]

Oct 27. Apparently in the 1900's Only the Strong Survive Recess...
I don't have anything really new or exciting to report (other than a crystal clean, algae-free tank), although someone sent this to me the other day and I just had to share. Yes, this is a real playground (Trinity Play Park, circa Dallas ~1909). Imagine the uproar if they built something like this today...!

And just in case you thought this was a one-off...

 

[blaxsun]

sounds good! I just got my replacement uv bulb. Now I have to figure out how to change it....

The AquaUV model I opted for has the screw on barb adapters - so it was just a question of turning the pump off, unscrewing the intake/outtake brackets and then soaking the hoses, connectors and UV housing (with some saranwrap rubberbanded over the end) in EzeClean. An extra set of hands (ie: spouse!) is highly recommended.

 

[blaxsun]

Nov 7. No F's Given
After about a month or so of decline, it looks like our last remaining rose bubbletip anemone finally shrivelled away and died (which was too bad, as it was a really nice one). 95% of this is due to being harassed to death by a pair of very active (and possessive) clownfish. While I've kept track of their fish "kill count", I haven't included the 3-4 anemones they've killed along the way...

The only surviving amenone is a very hearty condy anemone, which has proven to be virtually indestructible (and consuming at least one stupid tang). So Bonnie and Clyde have now taken up residence ("squatting") in this new anemone. The compatibility chart says "maybe", but I'd be inclined to go with "yes, barring another bubbletip anemone to harass".

I'll have to take a video at some point - but I just noticed them in their new home today. In the interim, enjoy another clownfish who's absolutely happier than a pig in crap...

 

[blaxsun]

Nov 11. No The Usual Suspects
Nothing too exciting to report - the pair of clownfish have settled in nicely with their new anemone. I know this anemone has eaten at least one stupid tang, so I was pleasantly surprised to see these two quickly adapt and not got eaten (although considering the number of anemones they've stressed/killed, they'd have it coming).

Corals are doing great for the most part - some of the goniopora that I was on the fence with have completely rebounded. A pair of duncans are not happy with me for some reason (perhaps due to me cutting back on coral feedings - more on this in a future post) and a really nice rainbow symphyllia got knocked over into the sand and has recessed about half with the skeleton showing (still 50-50 on whether it hangs on or recovers at this point). Same for a pumpkin patch psammacora that got knocked/pulled off into the sand before I noticed it (the polyps all perked up today when I basted it in Reef Roids, so I'm cautiously optimistic).


Suspect A and Suspect B, respectively.

Here's a video of the two (hopefully most of you can view it). And yes, I actually still
have almost all of my corals with "Emp" the Emperor angelfish.

The irony is, of course, that as soon as I bring out the camera to film the clownfish everyone else decides to photo-bomb me (whenever I try to take a picture of a specific fish they dart off to hide).

 

[blaxsun]

Nov 20. Let there be... Fish!
A few new exciting additions to the tank:
• Yesterday I added a pair of Lyretail chromis ("Brian" and "Stewie") and a Blue Eye cardinalfish ("Meg").
• Today I added a Powder Brown tang (unnamed as yet) and a super cool Decorator crab that we've tentatively named "Herbie" (aka: "Crabzilla").


One of the pair of tiny Lyretail chromis (center), left of the Christmas wrasse.


Blue Eye cardinalfish, below and left of the Lamarck's angel. "Shutup Meg!"


Two shots of "Herbie" the Decorator crab. He's definitely full size at 4-5" (easily the size of my fist when spread).
I like how he's just chillin' on the rim of the green strainer (I use this to ease into the tank vs. a net)


Last but not least - our new Powder Brown tang (as yet unnamed). With the clownfish occupying the Condy anemone it's reasonably safe to assume they'll chase off any stray fish - meaning our in theory they've now "anemone-proofed" the tang.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So is the Lamark's angelfish named Peter?

 

[blaxsun]

So is the Lamark's angelfish named Peter?

The Lamarck (female) is actually named "Sway", but Lois would probably be more fitting.
All fish present and accounted for today (always a nice thing to wake up to - much preferred over the feel of a dead but still squishy fish on the floor...). The decorator crab has departed for lands unknown. Two of the herbivores took a small poke at one of his legs as it looked like it might have something interesting to eat (crab was less than impressed).

 

[blaxsun]

Nov 22. We May Officially Have Enough Fish!
Two last-minute (unplanned) additions to the tank (c/o my local LFS) bringing the reef to 49 confirmed inhabitants (a Starry blenny, Clown Goby and Blue Sided Fairy wrasse are unaccounted for - so I may in fact be over 50).

• Two (2) more Lyretail chromis (4 in total: Stewie, Brian, Chris and Meg)
• One (1) gorgeous White Tail Bristletooth Tang (consignment from a local tank that was shutdown; this is the most I've spent on a single fish to-date, but I'm kind of at the point where anything I add needs to be unique due to the current fish roster). Any time consignment fish arrive at my LFS I try and jump all over them because they're always great additions to the tank (no aggression issues, stress and they're used to being in an aquarium).

The Powder Brown tang that we added on the weekend has been getting along great with all the fish (including the sailfin tang, foxface and angels; the foxface was following the powder brown like a lost puppy for the past few days).

Addendum: I did take some pictures of the White Tail Bristletooth tang, but it was pretty late in the day and everything ended up looking dark - so maybe I'll dig out good camera tomorrow and just shoot a bunch of eye candy.

 

[SaltyT]

We were talking about your sixline wrasse in another thread so I thought I’d pop over and check your build thread out. You have a nice tank and take great pics. How long were you into freshwater before moving over to salt?

 

[jmichaelh7]

Nov 22. We May Officially Have Enough Fish!
Two last-minute (unplanned) additions to the tank (c/o my local LFS) bringing the reef to 49 confirmed inhabitants (a Starry blenny, Clown Goby and Blue Sided Fairy wrasse are unaccounted for - so I may in fact be over 50).

• Two (2) more Lyretail chromis (4 in total: Stewie, Brian, Chris and Meg)
• One (1) gorgeous White Tail Bristletooth Tang (consignment from a local tank that was shutdown; this is the most I've spent on a single fish to-date, but I'm kind of at the point where anything I add needs to be unique due to the current fish roster). Any time consignment fish arrive at my LFS I try and jump all over them because they're always great additions to the tank (no aggression issues, stress and they're used to being in an aquarium).

The Powder Brown tang that we added on the weekend has been getting along great with all the fish (including the sailfin tang, foxface and angels; the foxface was following the powder brown like a lost puppy for the past few days).

Addendum: I did take some pictures of the White Tail Bristletooth tang, but it was pretty late in the day and everything ended up looking dark - so maybe I'll dig out good camera tomorrow and just shoot a bunch of eye candy.

Dang bro how many gallons you have display

 

[blaxsun]

We were talking about your sixline wrasse in another thread so I thought I’d pop over and check your build thread out. You have a nice tank and take great pics. How long were you into freshwater before moving over to salt?

Thanks! Probably 10 years roughly? Then I took a long hiatus from fish and switched to dogs. Now it's dogs and saltwater fish, lol.

 

[blaxsun]

Dang bro how many gallons you have display

The display is 160-gallons (200-gallon system total).

 

[blaxsun]

Nov 23. You Can Always Add One More Fish
Woke up this morning expecting to find four (4) lyretail chromis and could only find three (3). Scoured the floor, back and under the tank - nadda. Something about chromis and even numbers... So we decided to add one more fish. They had a Half Black Mimic tang that was super active, so we gave him a quick freshwater dip at the LFS (3-4 flukes came off) and he's now finished acclimating and chillin' with the other fish.

Decided to also start two new ricordea Florida mushroom colonies and added a small pink and green goniopora frag. The tank lights were out by the time I finished so no images - but having completed some long overdue algae scraping (hoping to finish tomorrow!) the tank looks pretty good.

Tangs have been hard at the algae on the back of the tank so I think they're going to thoroughly enjoy their new environment. This takes the grand fish total to 50. I'm definitely going beyond 60 fish, so anything I add at this point will be really small. There's an awesome male/female pair of sailfin wrasses that is really tempting...

 

[jmichaelh7]

Nov 23. You Can Always Add One More Fish
Woke up this morning expecting to find four (4) lyretail chromis and could only find three (3). Scoured the floor, back and under the tank - nadda. Something about chromis and even numbers... So we decided to add one more fish. They had a Half Black Mimic tang that was super active, so we gave him a quick freshwater dip at the LFS (3-4 flukes came off) and he's now finished acclimating and chillin' with the other fish.

Decided to also start two new ricordea Florida mushroom colonies and added a small pink and green goniopora frag. The tank lights were out by the time I finished so no images - but having completed some long overdue algae scraping (hoping to finish tomorrow!) the tank looks pretty good.

Tangs have been hard at the algae on the back of the tank so I think they're going to thoroughly enjoy their new environment. This takes the grand fish total to 50. I'm definitely going beyond 60 fish, so anything I add at this point will be really small. There's an awesome male/female pair of sailfin wrasses that is really tempting...

You were not worried about the flukes ?