Red Sea Reefer Deluxe XL 200 Build

[marine_tibby]

What about rolling your own? Get a cheap tubberware container for the size you need and box it out with some craft work. You can go plywood stained or painted, or hit a craft store and get creating with basketweave or something else. There are many ideas out on the web for some creative ATO options.

For example, here is a "food safe" 50 lb pet food container for $45. Looks like it will hold about 15 gallons of water. At 14"x14" footprint, you could skin this in a 3/8" plywood box about 15"x15" footprint or even tighter. Make it out of headboard and/opr Decorate it to your liking. Does not need a bottom, make the top removable (no hardware needed) and put a potted plant on it or make it into a cat tree. There is a lot of options.

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/gamma-vittles-vault

Thanks so much, I will defiantly look into this more

 

[marine_tibby]

I went ahead and ordered one of those bins. I grabbed the one that was 22" tall, I think it should hold around 14 gallons. That should put me near the 2.5-3 week mark for having to fill it back up. I also put in the cart the Osmolator Nano 3152. I will also need to get a float valve for filling up the bin.

On a side note, I should be receiving my ICP test kit any day now. I have been dosing[via pump] All-for-Reef and NP-Bacto for well over 6 months, including regular water changes. I am really curious where the tank sits at. This is probably around the 18 month mark for the thank.

 

[marine_tibby]

I am really at a loss of words with this

 

[BluewaterLa]

fish was smelling that food and wanted some eh ?

Best to use this at night when the bristle worms are actively feeding and fish are resting.

 

[marine_tibby]

fish was smelling that food and wanted some eh ?

Best to use this at night when the bristle worms are actively feeding and fish are resting.

When I saw the fish in there it clicked sooo fast. How does a boy who was raised in the bayous and marsh not see this as a fish trap? if I get a smaller bottle maybe I can just game the open end against the rockwork.

Extra laughs, My heart dropped when my eye saw that starfish. Scared me so much.

 

[marine_tibby]

Received my ICP results. Cobalt, Zinc Manganese and Iron are all very low.

 

[marine_tibby]

may be easier to read with a screenshot

 

[CenlaReefer]

An easy fix to your trap would be to put the cap on the bottle and drill a hole small enough to let worms in yet not your smallest fish.

One I made was to use an uncut bottle with multiple holes and tight-fitting plastic drinking straws going in each hole. The straws can be cut at 1/2 or 1/3 length. That kind can lay on it's side as well.

 

[BluewaterLa]

I would perform a large water change around 50 to 70% to correct the low minor elements.

It is possible that your salt mix is very low in these minors as well. I would however not start dosing each thing unless you are willing to perform ICP test on a very regular basis to make sure you are on the right track with those.
Most folks will get all caught up in this forgetting that there was never really a problem with the corals to begin with.
Meaning if your tank is doing well and growth looks good / normal I would not lean to placing a ton of mental effort figuring this one out and would depend on water changes a bit more for the correction of lost minor elements.

 

[marine_tibby]

I would perform a large water change around 50 to 70% to correct the low minor elements.

It is possible that your salt mix is very low in these minors as well. I would however not start dosing each thing unless you are willing to perform ICP test on a very regular basis to make sure you are on the right track with those.
Most folks will get all caught up in this forgetting that there was never really a problem with the corals to begin with.
Meaning if your tank is doing well and growth looks good / normal I would not lean to placing a ton of mental effort figuring this one out and would depend on water changes a bit more for the correction of lost minor elements.

I was getting the test done for see if my Iron was low. It is. I have been on All-For-Reef and would have assumed that it would cover these trace elements. I am in no way dosing for any of that stuff. I did it to try and verify a hunch and to just get a mental view of what my saltmix+dosing+waterchange is looking like. Nothing has been adjusted for about a year.

 

[marine_tibby]

This past month I have been slacking on my tank upkeep. No real reason that I can see other than just needing to step back a few and let my tank sorta settle into its second year stretch. Nutrient problems [N=13,Phos=0.05] have risen, but that has plans to fix in the next month. ICP test shows that realistically my tank is rather balanced, so that is good. Fish are all healthy and doing good, thought my Dottyback has become a bit more territorial now that I cut back their food so much. (Kinda funny/Kinda annoying) Maybe I have just been short of cash to pump into my tank and that is making me feel like I am lacking in involvement. I think the wisest thing to do right now is to just order some new corals. I want 3 frags of Leptoseris, 1 Birdsnest, 1 Acropora, and Montipora.

 

[marine_tibby]

All my equipment came in about a week ago. Cost me $200.

Ro/DI container float valve
Osmolator Nano 3152 Auto top off kit
Tunze Eco Chic Refuge LED 8831.00

Moved my skimmer to a new location, filled up the water bin and wired everything up for a test run. My plan is to let it run down to a low amount and then I will take all the pumps back out and rewire them with a cleaner install. Need to drill a hole for the 1/4"output from the pump. I need another whole the same size for the power supply. I also need a larger whole drilled to attach the float valve for the RO/DI refill. With Christmas being so close I have to hold off just dropping whatever I want on Algae for the refuge. I don't think I want to go with Cheato, not sure yet, I just don't like the look of it. I am still doing my research though. I am not sure on what type of drill bit I will need to achieve a clean hole in the plastic bin.

 

[marine_tibby]

Stopped by Tropical Fish Bowl in Lafayette this past week. Snagged my first acropora for the tank out of their display tank.

 

[Cigmin]

They must love you!! Trying get couple piece out that tank for awhile


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[clsanchez77]

Received my ICP results. Cobalt, Zinc Manganese and Iron are all very low.

I would perform a large water change around 50 to 70% to correct the low minor elements.

It is possible that your salt mix is very low in these minors as well. I would however not start dosing each thing unless you are willing to perform ICP test on a very regular basis to make sure you are on the right track with those.
Most folks will get all caught up in this forgetting that there was never really a problem with the corals to begin with.
Meaning if your tank is doing well and growth looks good / normal I would not lean to placing a ton of mental effort figuring this one out and would depend on water changes a bit more for the correction of lost minor elements.

I was getting the test done for see if my Iron was low. It is. I have been on All-For-Reef and would have assumed that it would cover these trace elements. I am in no way dosing for any of that stuff. I did it to try and verify a hunch and to just get a mental view of what my saltmix+dosing+waterchange is looking like. Nothing has been adjusted for about a year.

I completely missed that conversation lol. I agree and would ignore the Cobalt/Zinc. There is some documented benefits to dosing iron and no harm in doing so. I suspect you will get enough Manganese from contamination of any iron supplement. If I remember correctly, Kent Marine's Iron Supplement includes Manganese, as does ESV's. If you have any macroalgae in the tank, then that is where your Iron will be found .

I cannot find complete specs for All-For-Reef, but BRS did have this listed:

Specifications (per 1,000 mL of mixed solution)

• Carbonate Hardness Concentration: 6,000 dKH
• Calcium Concentration: 43,000 mg Ca
• Magnesium Concentration: 1,900 mg Mg
• Strontium Concentration: 780 mg
• Iodine Concentration: 34 mg

In addition to the calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium, All-For-Reef comes pre-mixed with the same elements used in their Trace A and Trace K

• A- ELEMENTS - contains anions of the trace elements bromine, fluorine, iodine, lithium, molybdenum, selenium and vanadium in pure mineral form
• K+ ELEMENTS - contains cations of the trace elements barium, chrome, cobalt, iron, copper, manganese, nickel, strontium and zinc in pure mineral form

My guess is any iron and manganese that is in the supplement is being rapidly consumed by your tank - and that is a good thing as it implies you have a good phytoplankton and other microfauna life cycles going on there....or a bad thing as your tank is consume in nuisance algae. I think we would know if it's the later lol. Unfortunately, we just cannot test for Iron in our reef tanks, unless you dose it 100 times over NSW values and I don't agree with dosing something just so you can test it - a practice recommended be Red Sea in regards to iron.

 

[CenlaReefer]

Let me know if you need any chaeto. I can give you some when you are ready.

 

[marine_tibby]

Lil guy was eating away on some Vermetid

 

[BluewaterLa]

Lil guy was eating away on some Vermetid

is this your video ?
if so did you have to crush the tubes for the snail to eat them ??

 

[clsanchez77]

is this your video ?
if so did you have to crush the tubes for the snail to eat them ??

I would crush mine and the hawkfish would go after them LOL. RIP Hawkeye

 

[marine_tibby]

@CenlaReefer Thanks for that frag a year ago. AppleBerry Monti