Sniperhank's Red Sea S-series 500

[Sniperhank]

Everything is out of the 55, yes. It is just sitting there with water and sand in it, along with all my equipment that needs taken down.
I haven't seen much of my tank during lights on, so I'm hoping my powder brown is out as much as the purple and maroon are. My wife claims not, but that isn't always the best scale to judge off of.
One thing that I currently can't stand is the ATO on the system. It is constantly running. Even though the float valve was up, it keeps going. I might replace it with my JBJ and aqua lifter if I can. It shouldn't be too hard, but having the float valve on the JBJ to be at a level I find acceptable would be the difficult chunk. Not sure if I still have the additional pieces from it or not...if so, could probably easily take a dremel to one of the extension pieces.

 

[Sniperhank]

The 20 lbs of rock I ordered to top things off arrived. Must have been bristleworms in them at one point. Kinda hurt. But, squared away and now in the system.
Updated fts with both the new pieces of rock and all fish out and about. Purple and powder brown don't seem to mind each other now, though a chunk is out of the powder browns tail.

 

[Dary421]

looking good hank,....ive aways used the tunze ato ,works beautifully but a little pricey

 

[Sniperhank]

The bit here is that the Red Sea has a built in ATO. Due to the slanted glass, I'm not quite sure where I'd be able to hang the old ATO. Today is my Friday, so I'll finally be able to start looking things over.
It looks like the frogspawn bit the dust from my salinity issue. We'll see what all recovers, but the orange montis are bleached, gold wall hammer is receded, green acro bleaching, both mushroom leathers flaccid, one melted, and the 'joker' brain doesn't look quite right. The duncans could be extending more, but look OK. Most likely flow. Clam was extended and active, no gaping.

 

[Chris-Nicol]

I ended up buying the v2 reef fill by TMC. I had a couple of issues when I first set it up with their sensor not working and it set off the float switch alarm. I contacted TMC and I sent my unit away to be tested. Turns out the control unit was faulty so they sent a new one. Works a treat now

 

[Sniperhank]

As it stands, the clam and fish are doing well. The bubble coral will need moved into a lower flow area. I did this with the duncan colonies and they are doing much better. The joker brain most likely isn't going to recover and the acro is gone. As things fade away, they get covered by the diatoms that have broken out in the system.
I haven't had a chance to get the skimmer pump apart to try to get it working correctly. Most of my time for my days off was involved with the final process of taking apart, draining, and removing the 55. It is out in the yard with a free sign on it. All of the Ecotech equipment is safe in my basement to be sold. All of the rest of the equipment is on my back porch waiting to be hosed and cleaned.
My current head scratcher is what to do with the ATS. I loved my turf scrubber. I doubt it'll fit in the new system due to the height. Not sure if I want to rework what I already created or if I want to try to find something that would work in the red sea setup.

 

[Sniperhank]

Quick note, I am addicted to clams. Have a derasa coming along with a 2 spot bristletooth tang.

Diatoms still going, but not as bad as it was.

Purple and powder brown appear to be getting along fine.
Just need to get a skimmer working and to get my hands into the system to get the ato solved.

 

[Autumnsky]

Quick note, I am addicted to clams. Have a derasa coming along with a 2 spot bristletooth tang.

Diatoms still going, but not as bad as it was.

Purple and powder brown appear to be getting along fine.
Just need to get a skimmer working and to get my hands into the system to get the ato solved.

Good luck with the new fish addition - always a bit of tension there adding a new one.

And a new clam??? That is a dream for me someday. Will need to make sure you keep up with Clam pics for me !!! Someday...

 

[Sniperhank]

Yeah, I am overwhelmingly obsessed with clams. The blue maxima is in there and this one is a blue rimmed derasa...if I remember correctly. The goal is to have one of each type in the system. I just love clams. This time around I can't see any reason why there wouldn't be success with the RO/DI water so easily made.
I still need to get a big trash can to mix up saltwater with for water changes. Then a PVC contraption to siphon water right out the window and into my drainage system.

 

[Brookster123]

I have a non submersible 200 gph pump I use for wcs on my fw systems,.not sure how it would fair w salt?? It was cheap though. Works fantastic.

 

[Sniperhank]

Yeah they work well for water changes. I want money to go towards livestock. Too much already!

 

[Brookster123]

So you need something gravity fed? What exactly is the distance and head? I'd brag my sw wc discharge setup but I don't want to annoy you with awesome details

 

[Sniperhank]

Yeah, I just use a simple gravity fed hose from an old freshwater setup. I was using 5 gallon buckets, this time it'll be like a brute trashcan and PVC out the window. The less moving water physically the better.

 

[Sniperhank]

Quick update. The two spot tang and blue rimmed derasa are acclimated and in the system. Unknown where the two spot is hiding, but here is the clam. The two spot is much smaller than the other 2 tangs, but the color is striking. The purple and powder brown are just going about their normal day, so no bullying.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Wow Sniper. Just read the whole thread. Congrats on the new build. Tank looks amazing. I know you have been wanting this for a long time. Super happy for you. Sorry though for your losses. I know that is hard to take. Good luck with everything and congrats on the new additions.

 

[Autumnsky]

How is the new Clam doing (and the other Clams)?

 

[Sniperhank]

Appears well. Derasa is doing its thing. The maxima makes me mad as it keeps moving itself up against the front glass so I can't get the algae growth off.

 

[Sniperhank]

Wanted to share real quick my continued statements about never throwing out a dead coral until you are sure. You can never see all of the tissue sometimes with all the ridges. I thought my gold hammer was lost.

 

[Autumnsky]

That is a wonderful surprise! Pretty.

 

[Sniperhank]

Here's a good question. I'm struggling to figure out what other fish should come into this tank. With a purple, two spot, and powder brown tangs and one maroon clown...what other reef safe fish should be added? I'm at a loss currently and any ideas would be helpful. I'm not a fan of anthias due to needing to be fed multiple times a day...though a blotched anthias is any reefer's dream.