Terrys Red Sea Max E170 Build thread

Taxus812 · Apr 19, 2019

It’s spring in the northeast. Time for open windows and warmer days. However the downside is my tanks temps are rising during the day. Once summer arrives I will have and air conditioner in my room but for now I added a USB clip on fan. I never imagined I would have to use the USB ports on my power strip but now I am glad I did.

I used a USB extension so I made it permanent and put the opening face down to prevent any water from ever entering the power side when unplugged. I also added a drip loop to the side plugging into the power strip.

Starting to get a lot of cords and wires in here. It’s going to be challenging to keep them neat. It’s going to be even more challenging to pull something out.

Taxus812 · Apr 21, 2019

Added three pajama cardinals today !they moved in like the reef was built just for them!

what the heck are these thins going in my house ?

Taxus812 · May 1, 2019

I have been slacking on updating my build thread. The fish are getting along and the PJ's are really taking over the tank. I had to learn about frozen foods. I discovered it is more than just dropping in a chunk of frozen food and letting them have at it. (I put in a whole cube and it looked like a snowstorm.) I got some advice from reefers here thankfully.

Lessons learned

Determine the diet your fish will need. Are they meat eaters ? are they plant or do you have mix of both.
Frozen food will not pollute your tanks as much as pellets. You actually use more than you would pellets.
Pellets are more nutrient packed but not as natural as frozen foods.
It is good to mix the diet up with both pellets and frozen.
You can rinse the food after you thaw it but you don't HAVE to, it wont add that much PO4 to your tank. Many people don't and I not going to.

I am also adding a feeding station for frozen food. This way my wife doesn't have to muck around with shutting off pumps when I am away.

Taxus812 · May 1, 2019

The mailman came today ! I got a new shiny thing ! Its bigger than I thought. For it to work it needs flow. I had to move it around a bit to find the right spot. unfortunately its not where I would like it. Oh well.

I chose this one because of a few reasons

It requires flow so my wife or kids can simply drop in a cube without having to shut off pumps.
It had a lot of good reviews (and some bad)
I like that it can be easily cleaned.
I can adjust the speed at which the cube thaws. I tried it in a lower flow area and it thaws slowly and lets the shrimp out over a greater period of time. I also put it in a high flow area and it was gone in an instant.

Very happy with the package today.

Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget - Gourmet Defroster installed and ready to go.

I used a little to much frozen but I wanted to make sure I liked the way it thawed. The fish didn't mind the extra food

.

Taxus812 · May 1, 2019

arrrrg. I am starting to get frustrated with this brown dusty algae on my glass (been told it’s diatoms).I wipe it down and an hour later it’s coated again. It just started to turn green a few days ago now the water has a green haze as well. How long will this stage last? I think im going to clean it and do a major water change. My OCD is going to make my head explode !

Note: I have been cycling since March 19th. This showed up about 10 days ago.

I wanted to test my water so I purchased these two test kits. I liked the RedSea because of the way the titration is done as well as the color wheel for the NO3 and PO4 tests. They were a little hard to do at first but I got much quicker at it.

My water tests:

API test kit
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Red Sea test kits
NO3 2 , PO4 0
Mg 1350, KH 7.8, Ca 450
Ph 7.9
Salinity 1.025

I tested several times and the values are very consistent.

I just don't know when this bloom will be done with me! The pictures just don't show how green things really look. The lighting was adjusted so I could take the picture.

Westside Guy · May 1, 2019

Taxus812 said:
The mailman came today ! I got a new shiny thing ! Its bigger than I thought. For it to work it needs flow. I had to move it around a bit to find the right spot. unfortunately its not where I would like it. Oh well.

I chose this one because of a few reasons

It requires flow so my wife or kids can simply drop in a cube without having to shut off pumps.

It had a lot of good reviews (and some bad)

I like that it can be easily cleaned.

I can adjust the speed at which the cube thaws. I tried it in a lower flow area and it thaws slowly and lets the shrimp out over a greater period of time. I also put it in a high flow area and it was gone in an instant.

Very happy with the package today.

Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget - Gourmet Defroster installed and ready to go.

I used a little to much frozen but I wanted to make sure I liked the way it thawed. The fish didn't mind the extra food .

I recently installed that frozen food feeder and really like it, placement in the tank is key as you do need some flow. I still put my S1 pump in feed mode to keep as much food as possible from going down the overflow.

The only worry I have is that some reviews say that the magnet casing on the inside of the tank came apart and the magnet disintegrates in your tank so keep an open eye.

Taxus812 · May 1, 2019

Westside Guy said:
The only worry I have is that some reviews say that the magnet casing on the inside of the tank came apart and the magnet disintegrates in your tank so keep an open eye.

I read the same. I will have to take it out when I do water changes and inspect it. Hopefully that was corrected in later production runs.

Westside Guy · May 1, 2019

Taxus812 said:
I read the same. I will have to take it out when I do water changes and inspect it. Hopefully that was corrected in later production runs.

IM has a good reputation for customer service so if I see anything starting to happen I will call and request a replacement.

Taxus812 · May 5, 2019

Just an update.
A few days ago I decided to just change out the carbon filter to address the water clarity (it was super yellow\green). Overnight the water cleared up. Now 4 days later the water is still super clear. The ChemPure elite I added 10 days ago in place of my carbon bag did not clean the water as I thought it would. Perhaps I don't fully understand what it is supposed to do. Actually as far as clarity it acted like I didn't change the carbon at all.

To make sure I stay ahead of this, I changed out the carbon again today (after 5 days). My logic is that the water was horrible yellow. The carbon could be fouled and leach at some point. I changed it early now the water is clear so the carbon filter can keep it clear for the next 30-60 days.

This is not doing much for the diatoms. I still get them on the glass and sand. I added a filter pad to pull some of the loose stuff out that gets past the skimmer. It seems to be working. I just have to clean it once a day for now. I will test for silicates to see if I have a lot.

Taxus812 · May 5, 2019

uuug another false safety shutdown on my ATO. The Smart ATO Micro works fantastic BUT with my small sump, the water level raises\lowers a lot with very little water volume. This is means the pump only runs for a second or two. This is great for stable salinity but caused ATO QST to detect false overfill conditions.

The safety is based on 3x the length of time for the first fill (since last power cycle) So if my pump ran for 2 seconds on the first fill (typical for my small sump) the safety will trigger at 6 seconds. So now I had a hot day and added a fan. Evaporation sucked more water from the tank forcing the pump to run for 6 sec instead of 2. The QST triggers and the ato shuts down. (What if I was away for a few days, no ato )

3x is too short of a time and is constantly triggering false alarms. I have a choice. I can find a way to make the ATO take longer to fill my sump or I can get an ATO with a longer time. I’m leaning toward the latter. I like the short runs since my tank is in my bedroom and I can hear the pump.

This ATO uses the exact same pump and works nearly identical to the smart ATO micro EXCEPT it uses 6x first fill QST AND adds a high water safety failsafe.

It is sounding very appealing but it’s new so there isn’t a lot online about it.

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

Looking at build threads and I just realized mine is dull

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

I tested for silicates and I have some but not a lot (good). I am hoping they will be consumed shortly.

The test I used is made by Seachem

The key to this test is ensuring you use the right amount of water sample. Just fill the pipette to the top of the throat (no lower, no higher) . Then wait exactly the amount of time they say (I used a timer)

The top left is the is the "calibration" test of 6ppm.
Top Right is RODI from my RODI filter. I read as 0 ppm
Middle right is RO taken before the DI from my RODI filter. (its 0 ppm and the same as the RO test)
Middle left and bottom right is my tank water. I did two tests at different times to see if they came out the same (and they did). This way I know I was doing them right. I read just under 1ppm for both tests.
Bottom Left is my tap water (WOW). I read 25+ppm

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

Good god who dosed the stink?

Ok downside to frozen foods. I overfed and the stink from my skimmer was insane. I blamed the cat.

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

Well my water is yellow green again today !!!!!!! I pulled the cheap Petco carbon out yesterday and put in the very expensive redsea. I may have to put the cheap stuff back in .

Westside Guy · May 6, 2019

Taxus812 said:
It’s spring in the northeast. Time for open windows and warmer days. However the downside is my tanks temps are rising during the day. Once summer arrives I will have and air conditioner in my room but for now I added a USB clip on fan. I never imagined I would have to use the USB ports on my power strip but now I am glad I did.

With that fan next to the tank be on the lookout for excess evaporation!

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

I have noticed

. I was amazed at how much more it evaporated.

That little clip on fan keeps it cool but it is causing my ATO to think it’s overfilling (which shuts it off).

Taxus812 · May 6, 2019

I actually built the RedSea universal top a while ago. I just forgot to post on it. I wanted to add one thing for anyone reading this. If you put the rear tabs on the sides you can leave the top a little short so you can route cables (mine didn’t make it to the corners). You also can slide the top back for access to the water without removing the top. (I always seem to get water on the outside of my tank when I remove it)

Tabs on the side rails let’s the top be slid forward.

Fits nice and snug.

Taxus812 · May 7, 2019

Ok this tank is possessed. I woke up to crystal clear water and no algae on the glass.! All I did last night is my usual. I wiped the glass with the flipper cleaner , cleaned the skimmer collection cup, and I changed out the filter pad I added to the media rack last week.

I also changed the lighting but it’s not on until noon.

Taxus812 · May 7, 2019

Just had a brainstorm. I have been rinsing my filter pads and carbon suing tap water. I have a HUGE amounts of silicates in my well. I wonder if I am contributing to my own problem.

Taxus812 · May 7, 2019

Another lesson learned. I was told skimmers had a break in period. Videos I watched seem to indicate that once you clean the skimmer it would take a few days to work again. Well stupid me thought that meant the throat of the skimmer (mine is part of the cup) so I rarely cleaned it.

I just found out today that the slime that forms reduces the effects of the skimmer because it make the bubbles/proteins stick to the side.

Arrrg always learning.