Mike's 45 Gallon Zoa Garden (Max E 170)

[tablesalt]

I'm so excited to get back into the game after a 10 year absence (military moves and deployments are not compatible to reef keeping). I worked at an aquarium store back in the day and finally pulled the trigger on getting back into the hobby with a Max E 170 which gets here Thursday.

My tank comes Thursday but in the meantime I have 40 pounds of Caribsea Life-Rock Shapes. I have been gluing a few together and planning out my scape outside of the aquarium.

I'm debating what exactly to do with the tank right now but am leaning softies. I may even go with a Zoa/Paly dominant tank. I plan on putting a hang on fuge in a few months down the line and an ATO sooner than later, but first I need to get the tank, and get the tank going.

Attached is roughly what I am planning for the rockwork. Note that no more than 2 rocks are being glued together outside of the tank so I can easily transfer them. Also note that this tank will be visible from 3 sides, but I am mostly aiming to make it pleasing from the front and from the left side.

 

[tablesalt]

For anyone that's interested, this is what the rocks look like un glued to each other. I got these from Saltwateraquarium.com and all but 1 piece was unbroken in shipping.

 

[tablesalt]

Just got an email from the wife... tank showed up today on a pallet. The UPS guy dropped it in the garage for us. Can't wait to go home and play with it. FYSA a Red Sea Max E 170 has a 245 pound shipping weight and comes on a pallet... Was not expecting it to be that heavy. Hope the wife can handle half of this thing when we carry it inside...

 

[tablesalt]

Disaster! THE TANK SHOWED UP BROKEN!

Everything looked fine when I took the shrinkwrap off. I took the stand box inside to assemble with the kids (they love putting furniture together) and about 1/4 of the way through I couldn't find the piece I needed. After going nuts looking for where the kids could have put it, I opened the aquarium box to see if it was somehow packed inside. The back pane of the aquarium is shattered and so is the overflow! I am so disappointed... was going to have it (cycling) by Christmas but its not going to happen now. According to the return policy on the website I ordered it from (Saltwateraquarium.com) they will send me a replacement and I have sent them an email asking what my next steps are. In any case I will likely have to have my wife or I home all day to await item pickup and be home again for delivery. I know the seller can't help what happens in shipping but I'm still disappointed. I will let you guys know what the store says.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Dang that stinks! Hopefully the next one will arrive in perfect shape!

 

[tablesalt]

Saltwateraquariums.com responded with this.



Good Morning,

Sorry it arrived cracked. Thank you for the photos - I do need one more from you. I need a photo of the serial number, found on a silver sticker inside the overflow. Once I get that, i can submit all of this to my tank warehouse, they will submit a warranty claim with RedSea, and RS will directly send you a new tank - do not dispose of anything until RS gets you what you need and takes what they want back.

Not too happy, but atleast it looks like the situation will get fixed, but God only knows how long it will take to get the tank in now since the claim now has to go through 3 companies... I was hoping they'd send me another tank and deal with the warranty crap themselves. I think I'm going to give in and start my cycle in a 45 gallon trash can in the basement so I can get the good old Nitrogen cycle started... O well...

 

[tablesalt]

I sent in the picture of the serial number to saltwateraquariums.com on Friday night and have not heard back from them. I'm guessing they are closed for the holidays. In the mean time I have decided to go ahead and start the nitrogen cycle on my tank, and have set up a 25 gallon bin in the basement shower with saltwater and rock. I'm putting it in the shower so if it breaks, I also set up an RO/DI system as a part of this process. It installed easily under the sink (relative) except that I drilled the hole in the wrong place the first time. The system is incredibly slow, but I'll hit the breakeven price on the system at around 300 gallons of RO/DI water. I'm using the dead shrimp method to cycle my rock. There is 40 pounds of dry rock seeded with 2 pounds of live rock. At least hte tank is "cycling" now. I bought some plumbing from home depot to attach the RO/DI system to my shower before I realized the system came with plumbing to install under the sink.

 

[tablesalt]

Day 3 of dead shrimp method... This thing stinks! Still no readings on nitrates/nitrites... I wonder when I am supposed to replace and/or ad another shrimp?

Still haven't heard back from saltwateraquariums.com on the tank... It has been 5 days since I sent in the serial number... I guess thats what happens when you send something in the evening of the start of a holiday weekend. I have a feeling it's going to be a while before my tank comes in...

In any case... can't wait to start reefing with you guys!

 

[hpimichael02]

I dont like the shrimp meathod, ive always dosed pure ammonia. Hope your next tsnk arrives in perfect shape

 

[tablesalt]

Day 3 of dead shrimp method... This thing stinks! Still no readings on nitrates/nitrites... I wonder when I am supposed to replace and/or ad another shrimp?

Still haven't heard back from saltwateraquariums.com on the tank... It has been 5 days since I sent in the serial number... I guess thats what happens when you send something in the evening of the start of a holiday weekend. I have a feeling it's going to be a while before my tank comes in...

In any case... can't wait to start reefing with you guys!

Good Morning mike,

We are closed on the weekends (and holidays) - I am forwarding all of this on to my tank warehouse right now.



Have a great day and thank you for using SaltwaterAquarium.com!


Yay!!!

1 step closer to getting my tank in. Sounds like the seller is doing the right thing.

 

[tablesalt]

Gave in on waiting for nitrate/nitrite testing and bought an amonia test kit. 8+PPM on day 4 of the dead shrimp method cycle. Progress! Water cleared up to! Now time to get used to the idea of balancing salt levels... practice makes perfect. Better now before livestock is in.

 

[tablesalt]

20PPM Nitrites and .5 PPM Ammonia... debating throwing another shrimp in. It doesn't stink anymore. Still no word on fish tank shipment... Will email dealer tomorrow if I don't hear from them.

 

[tablesalt]

I gave up on saltwateraquariums.com who sent me a "thank you for your patience" looking form letter when I asked about a refund or an update and called Red Sea. It looks like they will be shipping out a replacement tank only today or tomorrow, but will confirm. I have the idea no progress would have been made had I not called Red Sea myself. I did go ahead and put the stand together. It wasn't too difficult, and the power management center is really slick. I got to play with the Hydra 26 as well which seems very nice, but I need to figure out how to set up the timer. The rock cycle in the basement seems to be going well. I added another dead shrimp and nitrates/nitrites are starting to rise, although only at 20PPM as of Sunday last time I tested. Hopefully I can get the tank in soon so I can put some better pictures on here.

I think once the tank gets in I may be pretty close to being ready for a couple of clowns to keep the ammonia supply up, there will have been close to a month of cycling before I can get any fish in.

 

[tablesalt]

Good News! Red Sea has confirmed they will be sending me another tank.

Bad News! They are not going to ship it for at least a week so they can do, "inventory".
It is going to end up being over a month to get my tank in. Below is their message,
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Thank you for contacting us and providing all of the information regarding to the damaged aquarium.
We will be sending out a replacement tank as soon as our New Year warehouse inventory procedure is complete which is expected by early next week. As a reminder, the replacement would only be for the aquarium itself and all other components must be kept.
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your purchase and support.
----------

I have been pleased with the quality of the Red Sea tank I have received so far, but getting a replacement for one broken in shipping is/has been a nightmare.

It is now to the point that I would not recommend buying one over the internets. If you get one, have your LFS order you one. The price is fixed and it may be the way to go.

 

[tablesalt]

Progress on the rocks in the box! My Amonia seems to have peaked, and my nitrites are starting to spike. I hit 80 PPM overnight. The shrimp sure stinks but it is making progress. If all goes well the rocks may be cycled before the tank shows up in a few weeks. That would allow me to put rocks in, stabilize paramaters, and add a pair of clowns for the kids to enjoy. If all goes well there sneak in a clean up crew, and then add some soft corals after another month or so...

 

[tablesalt]

Bad News: Still no word from Red Sea on replacement timeline and nothing from saltwateraquarium.com on expedited replacement or refund.

Good News: The vat o'rocks full of dead shrimp has chartable ammonia, and off the charts Nitrates and Nitrites. After I finally get my tank in (hopefully in the next few weeks) I think I'd actually be reducing bio-load by just throwing in a couple of clowns. The whole upside to this is that I am going to be able to use the dead shrimp method for about a month away from the family smell before I set up the tank. The stand is still looking lonely in the living room but the rocks ready.

 

[revhtree]

Sorry for your troubles but good idea getting the tank cycle rocking~!

 

[tablesalt]

Progress on cycling the rocks! My Nitrates and Nitrites are off of the charts and it doesn't stink anymore. If I ever get my tank in it should be ready for fish in days.

I emailed RED-SEA today after another patient week of waiting and received the following reply.
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We are making progress on our inventory audits and we will start shipping again as soon as we receive a clear to do so. We are as anxious as you are and it’s our top priority to start shipping out replacement products again. I have everything that I needed for your replacement tank.
------------------------
So after saltwateraquarium.com not sending all the right info to the manufacturer (Red Sea) and having to call them myself, now Red Sea isn't shipping tanks for inventory reasons. I can now in good conscious no longer recommend working with Saltwateraquariums.com or ordering a tank From Red Sea. Their tanks are quality, but getting a replacement if one is broken in shipping is unacceptably slow. It is now almost 3 weeks since I informed them of my broken tank and they have not shipped a replacement despite promising expedited replacement.

I do look forward to joining the reefing community and will update this build forum as I hear progress and look forward to getting some fish in the tank!

 

[tablesalt]

Well,

I went nuclear and emailed Red Sea with a detailed letter recommending saltwateraquarium.com be removed as an authorized distributor and received responses back from Red Sea and saltwateraquarium.com

Red Sea sent the following: I am very sorry to hear about the frustrating situation you have endured. From what I can see, Saltwateraquarium.com is not a direct customer of ours and that is likely why they are purchasing through a distributor. I will forward your email to our sales department so they can also be aware of the situation. We will make every effort to get the tank out to you as quickly as possible and I will also add a T-shirt and Reef Mature Pro at no charge. Please let me know what size shirt you would need.

Saltwateraquarium.com sent the following: Sorry for the delays this tank situation has cost you. I understand your frustrations. I am home today with my two sick kiddos but will forward this again on to my tank manager in AZ. We have no large tanks here in PA, if I could send it to you myself I would. I am adding $50 store credit to your account for the delays.

Still not happy with saltwateraquarium.com, but it looks like they are trying to do things right. Interesting to note they are not an authorized distributor though. Pretty happy with Red Sea though. Looks like I am actually going to get a replacement tank.

 

[tablesalt]

Still no tank so the only thing I have to play with is the stand. Let me say that this Red Sea stand is really nice (although my kids have taken it over in the mean time. There is a nice foam topper to keep the tank perfectly level, a soft close touch, and a really nice integrated power center inside. I wish there were a few more plugs, but since this is most definitely a nice extra I can't complain. The material is hard to describe but feels like wood covered in some sort of plastic epoxy. I think it will wipe clean. Of note, in the position it's it's going to be the first tank I've ever had view able from all three sides. I plan on arranging the rock work accordingly, but with the small footprint it will be a challenge. The Hydra 26 lights that come with this thing are blinding too. I need to hunker down and program the day night cycle so I'm ready to go when the replacement tank hopefully comes in.