Blaxsun's Abyss: Red Sea 750XXL

[blaxsun]

Jan 3. 9 Lives? A Cat's Eye Journey: Part I
As one of my New Year's resolutions, I've decided to document the introduction, growth, struggles and potential death of any new corals this year. This way I can actually gauge how well certain corals are doing (or not). Hopefully I'll have mostly positive updates to report!

To start things off I added a beautiful Celadon Cat's Eye (Cynarina lacrymalis) from my LFS Bayside Corals. This was an in-store Boxing Week special (I waited a few days to see if anyone else snapped it up, but they didn't - so mine!). I thought this was an outright theft @$69.99 CAD ($50 USD). The owner has been doing this for 15+ years and has some of the coolest and rarest corals you'll find anywhere in Canada (many of which aren't on the website). He is super picky about quarantining all his corals (they go through an extensive 3-stage quarantine process over several months) - and things like aiptasia (etc.) are non-existent (in 3 years I've never had a single pest show up anywhere). So definitely worth checking out or dropping them a line if you're looking for something in particular.


It ain't easy being green, but we try... This Celadon Cat's Eye is super happy!
This is how it looked at my LFS before taking home. As my high school algebra teacher was fond of saying: "Today you start at 100%. Where you end up is entirely up to you!"

LPS have done fairly well in my tank overall, but I do have one or two 'nippers' - so I've been reluctant to introduce something 'jelly-like' (and potentially very tasty) in the event I end up providing another delicious (albeit expensive) meal for *certain* fish (who shall go unnamed).

Right now it's closed up as I introduced it fairly late in the day - so I'll have to check tomorrow to see how it's doing with respect to placement, flow and PAR. I'm planning a Reef Roid feeding as well

 

[Petcrazyson]

Cant wait to see this thing grow!

 

[Susan Edwards]

just beautiful. Hope it loves your tank! And your nippers mind their manners!

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 3. 8 Lives and Counting. A Cat's Eye Journey: Part II
Well, this may end up being a really short endeavour... This morning I noticed white recession showing along some of the edges of the cat's eye, but I had errands to run and didn't move it until I got back a few hours later when it looked noticeably worse (I think it was getting too much PAR).

On return I immediately relocated it to the bottom of the tank in its PVC ring (which is sporting a cluster of ring cowrie eggs) The recession seems more prominent now, and while the coral is far from dead - it's definitely not happy. A difference in tank parameters could be one cause. The emperor angelfish was also pecking at it - so I'm not ruling that as a contributing factor, either.

I'm going to ensure it gets some food today along with some Reef Roids but otherwise leave it alone. Hopefully the new location will have a positive effect in 24 hours.


"Why oh why did I decide to look so good in the LFS?"

 

[Susan Edwards]

fingers are crossed! It is a beauty!

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 4. 7 Lives and Counting. A Cat's Eye Journey: Part III
The cat's eye is definitely less than thrilled. This update could also be called:

• "How to Kill Your New Coral: A 3-Step Guide"
• "Are Your Fish Plotting To Kill You? Signs of Trouble"
• "Your Tank is Doing Great: What Next?"
• "Ready for SPS Now That You've Mastered LPS?"


Sh*tty purple-tinted image in this update. Try to imagine less purple... a lot less purple. And some actual green in the cat's eye (as opposed to just on the rocks). The pinkish-white portions are sadly accurate...

There's only one crappy image with this update because R2R is once again tinting all my images purple. This is beyond annoying since they view just fine in everything else... @revhtree

 

[Susan Edwards]

hugs

 

[Gobi1canobi]

Abyss v1.0, circa late 2021.

Abyss v2.0, circa mid 2022.

Abyss v3.0, circa early 2023.

Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL v3 | System: 200 gallons | Display: 160 gallons | Sump: 40 gallons | ATO: 15+7 gallons
Mixed Reef: Anemone, Soft, LPS, SPS | Anemones: 9 | Corals: 60+ | Fish: 47 (current) | Cleanup Crew: 250+

Return Pump: Sicce SDC 9.0 (»45%) | UV Sterilizer: AquaUltraviolet 57-watt | UV Pump: Sicce SDC 6.0 (»60%)
Controller: Neptune Apex, Trident, DOS, DDR, PMK, FMM, ATK, 2x AFS, 2x EB832 energy bar, 2x Temperature, Salinity, pH, ORP
Ozone: Ozotech Poseidon 200 (currently »25-40%), integrated into Nyos Quantum 160

Skimmer: Nyos Quantum 160 | Reactors: Nyos Torq 1.0 G2 (Carbon/Phosi-Ex) / Torq 2.0 G2 (Zeo) | BioMedia: MarinePure Blocks/Spheres, Polyp Lab Genesis | Filtration: Reef Mat 1200 (~50-60" daily consumption)
Wavemakers: 2x Red Sea ReefWave45 (20-60% random; »8min/«2min) | 2x Maxspect XF330 x2 (30% »fixed, IceCap battery backup)

Heating: Inkbird 306A | 2x Schego 300-watt Titanium (primary/secdonary) | Hygger 500-watt Titanium (tertiary)
Lighting: EcoTech Radion 2x XR30 G5 Blue, 2x XR15 G5 Blue (all w/diffusers) | Schedule: Custom 'Radiance'
Remote Monitoring: Neptune Apex Fusion, Little Elf 1080p WiFi Infrared Camera
ATO: Innovative Marine Hydrofill (15 gallons, external), Red Sea (7 gallons, internal) | Neptune ATK

Primary Testing: Neptune Trident | Temperature, Salinity, pH, ORP, KH, Ca, Mg | Seachem Ammonia Alert
Secondary Testing: Hanna, Nyos, Red Sea | Salinity, pH, KH, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, I, Fe, K

Target Parameters: 8.25-8.5 dKH, 450-475ppm Ca, 1450ppm Mg, 0.10-0.15ppm PO4, 30-40ppm NO3
77.8-78.2°F, 35.2-35.5ppt Salinity, 7.90-8.22 pH, 290-325 ORP, 150-275 PAR (sand bed to middle)

Dosing (daily): Nyos Alkalinity (80-100ml | Nyos Calcium (6-8ml) | Nyos Magnesium (1-2ml)
Trace Elements (weekly): Nyos Active Elements (25ml), Nyos Strontium (12.5ml) | Trace Elements (bi-monthly): Nyos Iodine (12.5ml)

Supplements (daily): Nyos Zero (2.5ml), Nyos Bio Booster (2.5ml), Red Sea ReefEnergy AB+ (12.5ml)
Treatments (daily): Red Sea NOPOX (12.5ml)

Automated (daily): 8x Pellet (~1g/per) | New Life Spectrum Marine Fish/AlgaeMax and Nyos Goji Berries
Manual (daily): 2x PE Mysis, 1x PE Calanus, 2x LRS Reef Frenzy, 1x Hikari Brine (cubes) | Vitamins: Brightwell GarlicPower, AminOmega
Coral Supplements (bi-weekly): Polyp Lab Reef Roids (1/2 tbsp), Polyp Booster (2 squirts), Nyos Instant Plankton (0.25ml), Nyos LPS Power (0.5ml), Aquaforest Vitality (8 drops), Build (8 drops)

Medications: Polyp Lab Medic (emergency) | Dipping: Coral RX (primary), Polyp Lab Reef-Primer (as needed for emergencies)​

Wow ! One day I hope to have half that! That’s awesome! beautiful!

 

[blaxsun]

Wow ! One day I hope to have half that! That’s awesome! beautiful!

Thank-you!

 

[crusso1993]

Abyss v1.0, circa late 2021.

Abyss v2.0, circa mid 2022.

Abyss v3.0, circa early 2023.

Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL v3 | System: 200 gallons | Display: 160 gallons | Sump: 40 gallons | ATO: 15+7 gallons
Mixed Reef: Anemone, Soft, LPS, SPS | Anemones: 9 | Corals: 60+ | Fish: 47 (current) | Cleanup Crew: 250+

Return Pump: Sicce SDC 9.0 (»45%) | UV Sterilizer: AquaUltraviolet 57-watt | UV Pump: Sicce SDC 6.0 (»60%)
Controller: Neptune Apex, Trident, DOS, DDR, PMK, FMM, ATK, 2x AFS, 2x EB832 energy bar, 2x Temperature, Salinity, pH, ORP
Ozone: Ozotech Poseidon 200 (currently »25-40%), integrated into Nyos Quantum 160

Skimmer: Nyos Quantum 160 | Reactors: Nyos Torq 1.0 G2 (Carbon/Phosi-Ex) / Torq 2.0 G2 (Zeo) | BioMedia: MarinePure Blocks/Spheres, Polyp Lab Genesis | Filtration: Reef Mat 1200 (~50-60" daily consumption)
Wavemakers: 2x Red Sea ReefWave45 (20-60% random; »8min/«2min) | 2x Maxspect XF330 x2 (30% »fixed, IceCap battery backup)

Heating: Inkbird 306A | 2x Schego 300-watt Titanium (primary/secdonary) | Hygger 500-watt Titanium (tertiary)
Lighting: EcoTech Radion 2x XR30 G5 Blue, 2x XR15 G5 Blue (all w/diffusers) | Schedule: Custom 'Radiance'
Remote Monitoring: Neptune Apex Fusion, Little Elf 1080p WiFi Infrared Camera
ATO: Innovative Marine Hydrofill (15 gallons, external), Red Sea (7 gallons, internal) | Neptune ATK

Primary Testing: Neptune Trident | Temperature, Salinity, pH, ORP, KH, Ca, Mg | Seachem Ammonia Alert
Secondary Testing: Hanna, Nyos, Red Sea | Salinity, pH, KH, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, I, Fe, K

Target Parameters: 8.25-8.5 dKH, 450-475ppm Ca, 1450ppm Mg, 0.10-0.15ppm PO4, 30-40ppm NO3
77.8-78.2°F, 35.2-35.5ppt Salinity, 7.90-8.22 pH, 290-325 ORP, 150-275 PAR (sand bed to middle)

Dosing (daily): Nyos Alkalinity (80-100ml | Nyos Calcium (6-8ml) | Nyos Magnesium (1-2ml)
Trace Elements (weekly): Nyos Active Elements (25ml), Nyos Strontium (12.5ml) | Trace Elements (bi-monthly): Nyos Iodine (12.5ml)

Supplements (daily): Nyos Zero (2.5ml), Nyos Bio Booster (2.5ml), Red Sea ReefEnergy AB+ (12.5ml)
Treatments (daily): Red Sea NOPOX (12.5ml)

Automated (daily): 8x Pellet (~1g/per) | New Life Spectrum Marine Fish/AlgaeMax and Nyos Goji Berries
Manual (daily): 2x PE Mysis, 1x PE Calanus, 2x LRS Reef Frenzy, 1x Hikari Brine (cubes) | Vitamins: Brightwell GarlicPower, AminOmega
Coral Supplements (bi-weekly): Polyp Lab Reef Roids (1/2 tbsp), Polyp Booster (2 squirts), Nyos Instant Plankton (0.25ml), Nyos LPS Power (0.5ml), Aquaforest Vitality (8 drops), Build (8 drops)

Medications: Polyp Lab Medic (emergency) | Dipping: Coral RX (primary), Polyp Lab Reef-Primer (as needed for emergencies)​

First time visiting your build thread and, based on your first post, already know I’m going to like reading through it! I realize everyone is different and has their own style but I’m a believer that it would make things so much simpler and easier if members posted updated info and pics right at the beginning of their thread as you have done. So much to be said for organization and order.

Looking forward to reading the test when time allows.

 

[blaxsun]

First time visiting your build thread and, based on your first post, already know I’m going to like reading through it! I realize everyone is different and has their own style but I’m a believer that it would make things so much simpler and easier if members posted updated info and pics right at the beginning of their thread as you have done. So much to be said for organization and order.

Looking forward to reading the test when time allows.

Thanks! I try to periodically update the first thread with any changes to keep it as "current" as possible (at least with respect to what I'm dosing, supplementing, etc.)

 

[crusso1993]

Thanks! I try to periodically update the first thread with any changes to keep it as "current" as possible (at least with respect to what I'm dosing, supplementing, etc.)

I did see mention of an ozonator. However, I didn’t see mention of using an oxydator. I presume you’re not using one but thought I’d ask if you are just to be certain. Are you?

 

[blaxsun]

I did see mention of an ozonator. However, I didn’t see mention of using an oxydator. I presume you’re not using one but thought I’d ask if you are just to be certain. Are you?

Just the OzoTech Poseidon 200 that connects through the Nyos Quantum 160 skimmer.

 

[crusso1993]

Just the OzoTech Poseidon 200 that connects through the Nyos Quantum 160 skimmer.

Thanks for the reply.

While I do not know that much about you or your musical preferences, whenever I look at your user name I cannot help but to hear this song in my head from one of my favorite bands and singers.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks for the reply.

While I do not know that much about you or your musical preferences, whenever I look at your user name I cannot help but to hear this song in my head from one of my favorite bands and singers.

I'm a child of the 70's/80's. Journey, Zeppelin, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac...

 

[crusso1993]

I'm a child of the 70's/80's. Journey, Zeppelin, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac...

Me too. High school ‘82-‘86. College ‘86-‘90. Well, that’s what they tell me as my memory is a little foggy!

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 13. The Abyss: Radiating With Radions
I see this question come up often enough that I thought I'd post my EcoTech Radion G5 XR15/XR30 schedule here. This is based off the default "radiance" template included in Mobius with the addition of an actual functional moonlight schedule (which for whatever reason still hasn't been corrected).

These settings have not been touched/adjusted in well over a year - and my corals seem to like them. Using either the RMS arm or rail mounts, with a similar light configuration you can reasonably expect PAR ranges similar to mine (more if you don't use diffusers; about the same if you run straight G6 Radions and slightly less if you run G6 Radions with diffusers). Note that the pair of XR30s provide quite a bit more "kick" than the pair of XR15s (as noted with the PAR reading at the water surface).

July 1. Addendum: Importing TheAbyss Template
If you'd like to import this template, click on the following link and rename the .txt file with an .mob extension. To import into Mobius, select Lighting » Templates » User Tab » (+) Icon - and then choose the "TheAbyss" file. Enjoy!

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 13. The Abyss: Waving With ReefWaves
This is also another question that frequently comes up, so I'm re-posting my ReefWave schedule for my Red Sea 750XXL. These are for a pair of ReefWave45s mounted on either end of the tank (3.5" down from the top edge of the glass and 8.5" from the front edge). These are set to a roughly 30° angle (but the bulk of the flow is straight across).

I use a mix of fixed, random and stepped wave pattern throughout a 24-hour period. I have both ReefWaves paired in the ReefBeat app. Due to the random nature, they are rarely (if ever) synced.

In the above schedule, the ##/## numbers represent the forward/reverse speed. The ReefWaves are set to 10min forward (only) for night and 8min forward/2min reverse for the random and step patterns. This is to ensure a bit more randomness by pushing rather than pulling water down the sides of the tank. This schedule will work for any number of ReefWave25/45s.

Addendum Mar 2/23: The maximum flow rate of each ReefWave45 is 3,960Gph, so this works out to the following flow multipliers based on the display size of 160 gallons. 60% is just too much and whips the corals around way too much, so this is in line with the 10-20x tank volume for supplemental flow I stick with.
• 20% = 1,584 Gph (10x flow rate) .......... • 30% = 2,376 Gph (15x flow rate)
• 40% = 3,168 Gph (20x flow rate) .......... • 50% = 3,960 Gph (25 flow rate)

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 13. The Abyss: Reef Inhabitants
Last but not least - a current list of all my reef inhabitants, cleanup crew and invertebrates (anything listed in strikethrough is a recent loss). Unless otherwise noted, these are due to misadventure or unexplained disappearance (not disease). I see a lot of "stocking list" requests - so here is a (subjective) list of what happily cohabitates together in my tank at least.
..........

The Abyss: The Complete Swarm (48 inhabitants) ±0 as of August 2/2023
• 6x damselfish: -1x azure (July 24/23, KIA), 3x sapphire/blue devil, +1x domino, +1x 2-stripe (Mar 27/23), +1x talbot (June 10/23)
• 5x wrasses: 1x quoy's parrotfish, 1x green, 1x red-striped (Christmas), 1x melanarus -1x sixline (Apr 25/23, MIA), -1x blue star leopard, -1x cleaner (Mar 1/23 - jumped; fish was an a**hole anyway), -1x canary (Apr 16/23; wounded next day, MIA since), +1x cleaner (July 7/23), -1x sixline (July 7/23; DOA July 10/23)
• 11x chromis: 4x green/blue, 2 bicolor chromis, 1x black bar chromis, 4x lyretail chromis
• 4x cardinalfish: 1x pajama, 1x blue eye striped, 2x banggai
• 2x blenny: 1x morphing midas, 1x lawnmower, -1x starry blenny (Feb 21/23 - lost and found; MIA since)
• 2x dragonet: 1x mandarin blue (male), +1x mandarin blue (female) (June 10/23)
• 2x dottyback: -1x neon, 1x striped; this one digs!, +1x sunshine dottyback (June 10/23)
• 4x tangs: 1x sailfin, 1x powder brown, 1x white tail bristletooth, 1x half black mimic
• 5x angelfish: 1x midnight dwarf, 1x coral beauty dwarf, 1x lamarck (female), 1x emperor (male), -1x flameback dwarf (Feb 20/23 - new addition; MIA early June/23), +1x eilbi dwarf angel (July 20/23)
• 3x anthias: 1x marcia's, 2x lyretail (female), -1x marcia's (Dec/23 - other marcia's spooked it)
• 1x clownfish: 1x mocha ocelaris (male), -1x ocelaris (female) (injured/perished June 19-20/23), -1x nearly naked ocelaris (July 7/23; MIA July 10/23)
• 1x hawkfish: -1x flame (Mar/23 - found him lying dead one morning; not sure what happened), +1x falco hawkfish (July 10/23)
• 1x "grouper": 1x marine betta
• 0x basslet: 1x royal gramma (May 4/23 - spooked/jumped), -1x royal gramma (June 28/23; MIA July 10/23)
• 1x foxface: 1x one spot
• 0x butterflyfish: -1x raccoon (Mar 29/23; MIA since June - no idea where it went)
..........

The Abyss: The Amazing Zoo Crew (250+ inhabitants)
• 8x anemones; 1x condy, 5x Caribbean rockflower, 2x neon tube; filter feeders
• 4x Black Sea Cucumber ("Turdeau", "No. 2", "Dr. Evil", "Fat *******" and "Mini-Me"; awesome sand sifters -1x black sea cucumber (can't find one of the smaller ones)
• 1x Pink & Green Sea Cucumber ("Absolem"); filter feeder (Feb 21/23 - thought we'd lost the little guy but then we found he'd relocated up near the right return outlet for better nutritional content!)
• 1x Sea Squirt ("Squirtle"); filter feeder (cluster of 3)
• 1x Trochus Snail XL ("King Trochus"); heavy-duty glass patrol
• 1x Hermit Crab XL ("Nigel"); not sure what he is, but very peaceful
• 2x Blue Tuxedo Urhins ("Eeny", "Meeny"); algae eaters
• 1x Shingle Urchin: 1x shingle urchin; +4x shingle urchin (Apr 5/23)
• 1x Sally Lightfoot Crab ("Gordon Lightfoot"); friendly scavenger
• 0x Decorator Crab ("Herbie" or "Crabzilla"); friendly frag distributor (Mar/23; not sure if molted)
• 1x Abalone ("Slick"); ventures out in the evening - he's almost 4" in length!
• 2-4x Zebra Porcelain Crab; these guys hide out in the rocks so they're hard to spot!
• 2x Brittle Banded Starfish, 3x Black Banded Starfish; friendly scavengers
• 2x Spiny Conch; sand patrol
• 6-8x Orange Lip Conch; sand patrol
• 34x Trochus Snails; glass patrol; +4x trochus snails (Apr 5/23)
• 4x Mexican Turbo Snails; glass/rock patrol
• 4x Pyramid snails; dual rock/glass patrol; +4x pyramid snails (Apr 5/23)
• 12x Cat's Eye Turbo Snails; glass/rock patrol
• 8x Orange Spotted Nassarius Snail; night time sand patrol
• 20x Nassarius Snails (juvenile); night time sand patrol
• 40x Nassarius Snails (adult); night time sand patrol
• 6x Halloween Hermit Crab; scavenger
• 20-24x Blue Leg Hermit Crab; scavenger
• 14-15x Scarlet Hermit Crab; scavenger
• 15x Algae Eating Hermit Crab; scavenger/algae eater
• 28x Ring Cowries; algae/dino eater; +4x ring cowries (Apr 5/23)

 

[blaxsun]

Jan 14. And... It's Dead Jim. A Cat's Eye Journey: Part IV
I'd clung to the slim hope that the cat's eye might recover this week, but a quick smell test revealed that it's most definitely dead. So it's now in the process of being bleached to adorn my coral "hall of shame" (I'll include a picture next week).

And apparently not a coral farmer, either...

I think the environmental differences between my LPS and my tank were simply too much for the coral to bear (I have a lot higher nitrates and phosphates) - and the fact that a good half dozen fish were actively nipping at it probably sealed its fate. I think they were more curious than anything else - but the stress no doubt pushed it over the edge to a point where it simply couldn't recover. I may have initially placed it in an area where the flow was too high also.

It's probably safe to presume that any kind of doughnut isn't going to thrive in my reef environment. Which of course sucks, but there are other "corals in the sea".
..........

Yes, you read it here first - with effort, everyone has the potential to kill GSP.

On that note, I did take the opportunity to perform some additional coral "cleanup". I had 3 rather large GSP colonies that had closed up for a few weeks and were literally disintegrating into teeny tiny purple chunks. After feeding, monitoring and patiently waiting I finally decided to pull the plug on their life support yesterday. It sucks because there was probably $600+ worth of potential frags there - but whatever was affecting those GSP colonies has now spread to at least one (and possibly two) other GSP colonies - as they've also started closing up and deteriorating.

The only colony that I really noticed a night and day change in the last 48 hours was one that I'd let get out-of-hand by spreading all over one of the upper rocks (killing off a really nice zoanthid colony, one rockflower and a duncan cluster). So if this ends up dying it wouldn't break my heart in the least (and may in fact save me some maintenance).