Brad's 525xl Super-Sized Reef Adventure.. come join us!

[brad65ford]

Update 5-17-19: Last of the Fish.... i hope ;-)

Though i love angles we all know some are hit or miss regarding corals. Wife has wanted a majestic angle as long as i've know her. I've read and spoke with a few different people saying its a gamble on different types of corals some they eat some they don't. Looks like its going to be a long battle testing just to have this fish. Other two fish that were added are the Powder Blue (always my favorite) and Tomini Tang. Believe that is the last of the fish for now, all seem to be ok for now with each other. Still believe the system is not ready for any corals yet.

 

[uncleL]

Very nice setup looking good!!!?

 

[brad65ford]

Thanks uncleL!

Update 5-23-16

Well first upset of many since we all know nothing goes perfectly smoothly. Everything was fine with the first introduction round of fish but the second round there seems to be something not right with the fish or they were just not happy regardless all were eating like it was the last time they would ever eat. Lost the PB tang which sucks but it was very thin when i got him. All the tangs have gone through what looks to be ich or rv (white dusting), the angle had large grey/white grooves on its head and body which spread to its fins. The Mimic was the first to get it and looks to have gotten better, even the clowns both had it.

For the last 3 days i treated with a 55w UV sterilizer and dosed Paragruad though not how much it really helped. One things i'm shocked with was how the UV sterilizer destroyed all the green algae in the tanks which kind of isn't a good thing with tangs. Also running a 500gph pump and the uv light has increased temp to 79-80 degress which im not happy about, looking forward in removing that setup when this is over. Today we are switching over and started dosing Quick Cure by Mardel which seems a lot stronger. Not really happy knowing it has Formalin and malachite green in it. Turns out the place where we purchased the Angle/PD tang and Tomini tang run this stuff in there system :-( Well needless to say ended up reworking the rock work which looks better imo. Sucks this just delays any type of corals for some time. Who knows how long it will be before the first get better and I can get rid of all these chemicals out of the water.

 

[brad65ford]

7-24-17 (3 month update).

Time fly's when nothing exciting is expected Tank is slowly maturing nicely no bad algae out-brakes or cyano most likely due to the lighting itself as well as lower intensity 125 par on rocks. The sickness killed all the fish shortly after our last post 2 months ago so it was back to basics of letting the tank continue maturing in hopes of moving forward. We now have a Yellow, Naso, Sailfin (red sea) and a Half Black Mimic Tang and two Darwin Ocellaris Clowns, cleaner shrimp (whom does clean) and 15 margarita snails. Finally all seem to be happy, health and amazing getting along which each other which was a goal in itself. Knowing that this will be an BB sps system the goal is still to the get micro-fauna going and the ability for having higher bio-load by heavier fish feeding (still have more fish to introduce from other tanks we have incuding a Hippo and some anthias). So far the system has been seeded by our other tank with a bag of seachem matrix that was loaded with sponges and feather dusters which is spreading nicely in the sump. Also there is still a pop population which is great to see in a BB stripped system at this age. Still no n03 levels most likely owned to the Marine Pur blocks. Skimmer is pulling gunk out very well which is surprising for such low N03 levels, I'm still scratching my head as to why but not complaining. Waiting to add more test corals to see if we are ready for sps's, only started testing with a ducan and Keyna tree both exploded with growth, really liking the Orphek's so far still want to add T5's some how to the setup not sure yet. Sorry no pic's just wanted to update since its been a while. This is the first tank i'm letting really cycle with out adding corals since I want it seasoned.

 

[2wheelsonly]

Update 5-1-16:

Added 2 new pieces of 8x8x1" Marine Pure plates to adjust skimmer height. I've heard that Life Rock causes the skimmers to go crazy which mine was doing, couldn't keep it running with out it over flowing even on the lowest setting. Also added a few push button stick on led lights for the top of the sump, does help, really wish RedSea would have mad this a true White cabinet like the smaller nano's not like it was ordered in white ;-)

I thought i would have seen some type of algae bloom by now on the Life Rocks but nothing yet. Thinking to increase light intensity or just leave them on to induce the bloom. Wondering if there isn't enough dead or decaying nutrients to start the cycle unless i start it with a clean up crew or fish which i planed to do if i had some algae,,, any suggestions?

Good luck with those marine pure blocks...I was having the strangest issues with corals dropping dead after pristine water quality with consistent params. Someone suggested they could be leaching aluminum; I removed them and all my problems went away in a matter of weeks.

 

[jraker]

Good luck with those marine pure blocks...I was having the strangest issues with corals dropping dead after pristine water quality with consistent params. Someone suggested they could be leaching aluminum; I removed them and all my problems went away in a matter of weeks.

There are Chinese knockoffs of Marinepure that leach aluminum. The real Marinepure and the fake one look the same, so be sure to get yours from a reputable source.

 

[brad65ford]

Having run them in other systems there was never an issue with multiple types of SPS grow even though my past Triton tests show alum. In my belief its possible the fluctuation and or stripping of n03 can be most common issues with them. Most all of my BB systems seem to find a sweet spot at 2.5-5ppm NO3, these blocks can wipe out N03 easily.

 

[brad65ford]

Photo update:

 

[danrs20]

I can see this tank becoming quite a master piece. Regarding flow, would it not be better to have the maxspect on one end and the wp40 sat in the middle? Not sure wether the maxspect is strong enough to push the entire length, just a thought.

 

[brad65ford]

Thanks danrs20 and your spot on with the maxspect I did try it on the end and it wasn't the best flow since it was interrupted. Currently I have the maxspect and MP40 on both sides of the back as well as the main pump return in the center pushing water towards the front of the tank. Seems to be a good random flow pattern so far that the fish are ok with. They are all on the lowest settings for the fish will not be able to sleep at night ;-) Good to know i'll have the flow available in the future though. Just checked par readings today with all channels at 50% and i'm seeing 160-180 par in the middle of the tank. Whats strange is the par really jumps up once pasted 50% on these Orphek's doesn't seem linear so I do not plan on adjusting but a few percent with out testing par that's for sure.

 

[brad65ford]

8-13-16 Update:

Hi guys, the system fortunately is still chugging along slowly but nicely. I'm pleased to say still no nasty unwanted algae blooms which I'm still surprised i didn't have ever like my other systems when starting out, wondering if these lights have something to do with it. Fish are doing well, still pulling nasty skim mate out once a week as well as changing the filter socks. Dosing Zeobak and Zeostart when i remember, also started manually dosing two part when it dips below 7 alk. Not doing a lot of small water changes like my other systems, though i'm been pretty religious doing one big 40g wc ever 30-40 days.

Even though i told myself i wouldn't add hard corals for a while something pushed me to try out some sps's frags we have from my other systems just a few days ago. To my surprised the acro's are already encrusting and all is fine. Still not happy with the lighting schedule or look just yet with these Orphek's but they do see to make them happy. At the moment the fixture is running 55% on ch1, 80% ch2, 65% ch3 and 60% ch4 these are peak numbers, the two blue channels (2 and 3) are running 9 hours a day while the whites (1 and 4) run 4 hours with 1h ramps. I need to double check par before i state it with these settings. Still don't think the systems is ready for any sensitive corals by a long shoot, only started to see some coralline algae popping up here and there which is usually the first since of "things are going in the right direction"

Anyway sorry for the not so good quality photos just wanted to post this updated attempt for new live stock, need to get the Orphek's manual setting adjusted ahead of time before I take pic's. Also thinking about adding some Kessil's to the system to mix it up a bit. For now i'm planning on just let it run with these frags to see how they react, if all goes good I have a lot of other sps's I want to bring over from my other systems. Really trying to think about placement of the monti's will be so they can really grow.

 

[brad65ford]

Wow these Orphek has some punch, in the middle of the tank all the way across from left to right i'm seeing 280-320par. The LPS's on the top back are seeing 320-350par. Decided to lower the white channels a little bit to bright down the par to 240-260 in the middle of the tank.

 

[Oldcabin]

Tank is looking really great.
Loving the BB look and the Orpheks!
I've just recently started a 525 myself and enjoying the process.

 

[brad65ford]

Thanks Oldcabin, got a long way to go here but would love to see your 525xl!

Guys i have an issue or concern with the system (rocks). Seems i'm now seeing another bloom or change in the system. The rocks are releasing a lot of nitrogen gas bubbles during the day. Don't think its dinoflagellate since there is no slime or coating just gas bubbles (thank god). But i know i've had this issue before with another system years ago, just wasn't sure of the cure or if it was a time thing. Any suggestions? Its like a bubble bath during peak light intensity :-(

 

[Oldcabin]

Thanks Oldcabin, got a long way to go here but would love to see your 525xl!

Guys i have an issue or concern with the system (rocks). Seems i'm now seeing another bloom or change in the system. The rocks are releasing a lot of nitrogen gas bubbles during the day. Don't think its dinoflagellate since there is no slime or coating just gas bubbles (thank god). But i know i've had this issue before with another system years ago, just wasn't sure of the cure or if it was a time thing. Any suggestions? Its like a bubble bath during peak light intensity :-(

Sure, I've just started a build thread here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2594151

Your gas bubbles sound odd...can't say I've ever heard of that outside dinos, etc. They simply form from the rocks and float to the top? Are they pretty big? I'm sure a picture would be difficult to get, but may help others to diagnose.

 

[brad65ford]

Love it looks great, wishing you the best of luck with your setup, keep in touch too. You should have plenty of power with those HD's.

Regarding the bubbles/gas off the rocks, just remembered my other system did the same with these rocks right they started to grow a little bit of turf algae then fully cured. Will be interesting, knew its not fully ready yet and i hate pushing things when i've been down this road.

 

[brad65ford]

4 Month update:

Couldn't help it been sneaking over more corals frags over from my other system and so far so good they seem to have taken the different lighting on with no issues actually they seem to be doing better with this system. Green slimmer frag already started to encrust 3 days after introduced, still not sure about monti placement since they are going to be on the rocks and eventually bump into each other, looking forward to the wars when that time comes. Added a Hulk acan while i'm trying to find a place for guessing leave it on the bottom, bottom par is seeing 180-200 par right now.

I do have a concern and requested advice from you guys, the system has now been running for 4 months and for the past month we are noticed a tremendous amount of gas bubbles attached to and releasing from the (what we believe are still curing dry life rock) only during peak brightness light cycle. Positive things is there is no algae or bacteria attached to the gas bubbles which makes me think its just nitrogen gas which is good i'm guessing? Since there is no sand in the system at all i'm assuming the rock is doing the nitrogen cycle for the tank which is what's happening and the rock is curing and I'm not sure. Just wanted to hear others thoughts since i'm reluctant to try and change something like running a few days with out lights or doing a massive water change if this is dino's or something else we need to address. Also parameters are in check all corals and fish are fine and doing well just concerned if this is normal and the rocks are not fully cured yet and this will eventually just will slow down or stop. Funny but its like a bubble storm towards the end of the day.

 

[asrpdoc]

Looks beautiful. I am thinking of buying the the Redsea Reefer 525XL. Any suggestions/advice would be very helpful

 

[Reeftanks6]

Looking great so far, tagging along!

 

[burton14e7]

Do the orpheks come with those tank mounts or did you have to rig those?