RedSea Reefer 750 Renovation

[NorCalReefing]

The 2nd section of rock was made with a combination of current wet live rock and some dry rock from the last section. Overall, very happy with the look. A lot more flow and places for SPS.

As I changed the rock, I noticed a lot of detritus under the bigger sections. Using what I thought was common sense, I siphoned as much as I could. The result has been a small Dino bloom. Which of course is frustrating. Seems like the rocks have gotten the worst of it. But a little bit on the sand. Coral and livestock have been largely unaffected.

Went ahead and fed a little more this week. Trying to go with the heavy in and heavy out for nutrients. Stopped AB+ to avoid feeding into the problem. Also dosed some Dr. Tim’s Waste Away to add some beneficial bacteria that was probably lost in the change.

I also kept a bunch of rubble rock in the Refugium. So hopefully it will subside in the next week or so. Trying not to overreact and shock the system any more.

While I know WCs are not advised, I’ll continue to do them bi-weekly to help keep stability. This is my first bout with Dinos so doing a lot of research on here.

 

[mtraylor]

It looks good. What does sid view look like? Is everything off the back wall?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The 2nd section of rock was made with a combination of current wet live rock and some dry rock from the last section. Overall, very happy with the look. A lot more flow and places for SPS.

As I changed the rock, I noticed a lot of detritus under the bigger sections. Using what I thought was common sense, I siphoned as much as I could. The result has been a small Dino bloom. Which of course is frustrating. Seems like the rocks have gotten the worst of it. But a little bit on the sand. Coral and livestock have been largely unaffected.

Went ahead and fed a little more this week. Trying to go with the heavy in and heavy out for nutrients. Stopped AB+ to avoid feeding into the problem. Also dosed some Dr. Tim’s Waste Away to add some beneficial bacteria that was probably lost in the change.

I also kept a bunch of rubble rock in the Refugium. So hopefully it will subside in the next week or so. Trying not to overreact and shock the system any more.

While I know WCs are not advised, I’ll continue to do them bi-weekly to help keep stability. This is my first bout with Dinos so doing a lot of research on here.

Aquascape is looking good!

 

[NorCalReefing]

It looks good. What does sid view look like? Is everything off the back wall?

I’ll have to post a pic from the side later. The majority of the rock is at least 2-4 inches off the back wall. There is a small amount of rock near the top that is touching the overflow. But since it’s not on the sand bed, I left it alone. Think of it as a bridge for the snails to get between the glass and the rock.

 

[NorCalReefing]

After a brief battle with dinos, the tank has finally stabilized. Mostly removed it with mechanical filtration, adding bacteria, pods, liverock, and hitting the rocks and sand with a turkey baster every few hours. As I removed the dinos, other algae and bacteria took over. New rock structure is getting some nice color and the corals are starting to respond nicely. Here are some pictures during the blue period:

Rastas, Mandarins and Fruit Loops:

Acans, Twisslers, Fruit Loops and Scrambled Eggs:

Acans and Rainbow Hornets:

JF Solar Flare

Walt Disney

WWC Pink Passion

Oregon Tort

 

[NorCalReefing]

Things have stabilized but still dealing with some uglies from the new rock. Diatoms and hair algae mostly. A small amount of dinos still but it’s being outcompeted.

To help with the algae, I put in an order for 25 Trochus and 40 Dwarf Cerith snails from Reef Cleaners. They came in today and were added after a short acclimation.

Also added coral from Cultivated Reef and Lucky Corals. Mostly focused on Acans and Zoas. The goal is to fill in the lower sections with some variety of colors. Got some great pieces and both venders were great.

Here is a pic of the first rock section:

And the front section:

I was also having some fun with the orange lens looking down from above.

JF Fox Flame:

Walt Disney

Bill Murray:

Unknown Acan with cool Green Polyps:

My calcium went up to 490/500 and my Alk went down to 9.2 DKh. Not sure if the all drop was due to new corals starting to grow or just the product of changing over to the Seachem Kalkwasser powder. Either way, going to keep testing. Most of the corals were unaffected. PO4 is still around .05ppm according to the Hanna ULR checker.

 

[ze_reef]

Wow, you have this really well thought out. I can’t think of a reason this not going to reach its successful conclusion. I’m a big zoa fan and man yours looks so happy and healthy.

 

[ze_reef]

Nice tank and corals! Following!

 

[NorCalReefing]

Nice tank and corals! Following!

Thanks! Yeah, coming along slowly. Some of the Acropora have begun encrusting so that’s always fun to see. Hoping the zoas and acans make a nicely colored garden in front. I’ll keep updating as I go.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Been a while so here thought I’d provide a quick update. Battle with Dino’s is long over. Calcium is a bit high at 500-510 but that’s likely due to using Kalk with RedSea Coral Pro. Alk is staying at 9.0-9.2. My phosphates stay around .03-.05 according to my Hanna checker.

Zoas and Acans are all doing well. Occasionally seem to get nipped by the Potters but that’s a risk I was willing to take. Here are some pics:

Acropora is starting to encrust more and more. But progress is slow. Here are some pics of my favorites:

Will update as things happen in the next few weeks. I have to get started on the phase 3 rock work soon. This time, I’ll build it and cycle it in a separate container.

 

[NorCalReefing]

The final section of rockwork was put together. Had fun putting it together. Same method as before but incorporated a couple of skulls from Amazon. Can’t wait to show my kids as they are the ones who enjoy looking in the as much as I do.

Start:

Day 2:

And finally Day 3 added some height:

The rock is in a bucket with tank water outside with a small pump. Figured I’d kick start the cycle before putting it into the tank. Don’t want a repeat of the dino invasion from last time.

I’m also slowly replacing my fine grained crushed coral with Fiji pink. About 1/3 of the tank done but the process is slow. I have to
Scoop all the old stuff out since it is still too big to pull out with a gravel vac. Oh well, good things come to the patient in this hobby.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Made a final bit of changes and added some rock work to the front. Like the other sections, the front will be for acans/zoas and the backend will be the prime real estate for Acropora.

Going to put this all in a tub of saltwater for a bit and measure PO4. Once everything reads 0, I’ll move it over to the display.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Took some photos of the tank tonight. Everything is back in the green again.

Zoas and Acans are still looking good:

Figured I’d show off some of the encrusting and color on the Acropora:

GARF Bonsai really took off. The PC Rainbow, Walt Disney and Bill Murray have all encrusted around their base. The color on the JF Solar Flare is great but there has been no growth.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Well, we finally added the last section to the display! Looks great so far:

 

[NorCalReefing]

Took a few more pictures of the tank tonight. Enjoy!

Bill Murray Acropora is encrusting nicely:

Garf Bonsai is growing like a weed:

Nice color and encrusting on PC Rainbow:

Walt Disney is also growing out:

Pink Lemonade nub is starting to shoot out:

Lots of Zoas and Acans

Tank is doing well despite a few small challenges. Noticed that my salinity crept up to 1.029 due to a malfunctioning refractometer. Slowly bringing that down. Also had my Alk drop slowly to 6.7 DkH. So I upped the Kalk dosing… weirdly, I can’t seem to get that number to go up. I’m switching salts to Tropic Marine Pro so that might be fine as they mix to about 7.

Anyway, thanks for following along!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Took a few more pictures of the tank tonight. Enjoy!

Bill Murray Acropora is encrusting nicely:

Garf Bonsai is growing like a weed:

Nice color and encrusting on PC Rainbow:

Walt Disney is also growing out:

Pink Lemonade nub is starting to shoot out:

Lots of Zoas and Acans

Tank is doing well despite a few small challenges. Noticed that my salinity crept up to 1.029 due to a malfunctioning refractometer. Slowly bringing that down. Also had my Alk drop slowly to 6.7 DkH. So I upped the Kalk dosing… weirdly, I can’t seem to get that number to go up. I’m switching salts to Tropic Marine Pro so that might be fine as they mix to about 7.

Anyway, thanks for following along!

I'm loving your zoas!

 

[NorCalReefing]

I'm loving your zoas!

Thanks! Most types of zoas grow really well in my tank! Still getting the hang of maintaining enough stability for the SPS though.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thanks! Most types of zoas grow really well in my tank! Still getting the hang of maintaining enough stability for the SPS though.

You'll get it dialed in!

 

[NorCalReefing]

Put in an order with @reefcleaners and added a few Pitho crabs. Since changing out the sand, I noticed some bubble algae and wanted to add some biodiversity to the cleanup crew. Only been a couple of days but excited to see these guys go to work. Got a nice pic of one with a conch working on a new section of rock work.

I’ve seen them pick at the algae already and love how they burrow in the sand on occasion. (Always can use more stand stirring). May add a few more in the future.

Also in the order were a few limpets, blue leg hermits and Florida ceriths.

I also discovered that my trochus snails have successfully been breeding. Found a bunch of small ones doing work in the sump. Moved this guy up to the display since we was about the size of a dime:

 

[NorCalReefing]

I just posted a new video of the main display tank. Going to try to keep a running video log that I can show the kids when they are older. Hope everyone enjoys!