Red Sea Reefer 170 Build Thread

[bigdan3489]

I have the same tank but did a DIY chaeto reactor. I have to empty that thing every two weeks. The growth is insane! I also run triton other methods. I haven't gotten up the nerve to stop water changes. With the small water volume the trace elements showed as high on my last triton test.

I was really considering a chaeto reactor since the ATO container is so small but I was running out of room in the stand. I hope the refugium is enough. I did the full Triton method on my last tank but it was 150 total water volume and I was wondering how difficult it would be on this tank.....only time will tell

 

[bigdan3489]

Great looking tank, What media are you going to run in the filter cup. I have been thinking of getting one for my 170.

Thank you! I’m just running Seachem Matrix in the cup as I have a carbon and GFO reactor mini reactor running. I may add a bag of Chemi Clean if needed at a later date but not sure if I will need it.

 

[bigdan3489]

So BRS has been out of stock of these calibration thermometers for a while and I got tired of waiting and ordered one direct from the manufacturer. The one I ordered was even better than the one BRS sells but of course it was more money. I’m glad I got it as my Reef Keeper was off by 2 degrees and it was registering 78 but was actually 76. My piece of mind was worth the $100.

 

[bigdan3489]

Woohoo! Let there be fish!! I just added tonight 2 Snow Onyx clown fish! I had added a yellow watchman goby a few days ago but unfortunately he fit through the slats of the overflow, went down the drain and was a goner . Here is a pic of one of the clowns.

 

[bigdan3489]

 

[bigdan3489]

I finally got my first LiveAquaria shipment. I now have a cleanup crew including a pom pom crab! This was my first time ever ordering livestock online and now I think I’m hooked. LiveAquaria was awesome!

 

[Hazenight]

nice cuc

 

[bigdan3489]

nice cuc

Thank you!

 

[bigdan3489]

Ok, so now I am experiencing some ugly tank syndrome and have cloudy water due to what I think is a bacterial bloom. I had some diatoms which is why I added the cleanup crew and that is all gone now. I’ve had this cloudy water now for over a week and was wondering if I should do something about it or just let it cycle through. I did a 10 gallon water change 2 days ago just to help get everything in check. What is everyone’s opinion on what I should do? This is the first time I’ve started a system with dry rock and haven’t experienced cloudy water to this degree.

 

[mjlash22]

Very nice setup and utilization of space!

 

[bigdan3489]

Very nice setup and utilization of space!

Thank you!

 

[bigdan3489]

I just got my first shipment from World Wide Corals and am hooked on them now! I ordered 13 frags! Here are a few pics:

 

[bigdan3489]

Creepy little guy

 

[Yellow Eyes]

The tank look awesome. What kind of bracket is the Kessil hanging on?

 

[bigdan3489]

The tank look awesome. What kind of bracket is the Kessil hanging on?

Thank you! That is a Kessil A series mounting arm.

 

[bigdan3489]

Here is my 3 month update. Not a whole lot has changed as I’m trying to get all my parameters in check. I’m over the cloudy bacterial bloom and the water is crystal clear. I took out the GFO and am just running carbon as I believe I stripped the water down too much. I added a few fish, a blue green chromis, sapphire damsel, bangai cardinal and a pajama cardinal. That pretty much sums up my whole fish stocking plan although I may add a mandarin in a few months with a monthly subscription of copepods from Algae Barn but I haven’t fully decided that yet. My coral shipment from World Wide Corals is doing pretty good with the exception of my pink sapphire chalice as it is starting to turn a little white in one area. I believe I let my nutrients get too high which I have since remedied. I also added a kenya tree which I know grows like a weed but I like it a lot. I also added some more cleanup crew from Live Aquaria. I added a Mexican turbo snail, trochus snails, nassirius snails, astrea snails, cerith snails and a couple of emerald crabs. I had some hair algae pop up and it’s all gone now.

 

[bigdan3489]

#reef2reef #worlwidecorals#mywwccontest
My urchin taking a ride

 

[Hazenight]

your tank is coming along nicely

 

[JBKReef]

I see you're dealing with teh same sand issue I am. Do you vacuum your sand? All the white specs seem to settle down an inch or so and makes it look like there is a layer of much on top of the sand. I'm starting to regret my Hawaiian black sand choice.

 

[bigdan3489]

your tank is coming along nicely

Thank you very much!