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Dpolt's Red Sea Max 130 Reef Build Thread

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build thread lps coral mp10 red sea max tunze
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dpoltsdsu

· Nano Reef Keeper
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804 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 · (Edited)
This will be my build thread for my Red Sea Max 130. I recently got an incredible deal on the tank from a friend and I decided to transfer the contents from my 29 gallon tank into the Red Sea Max. Since I was able to get the tank for cheap, I had some funds available for a lot of upgrades and nice equipment for the the tank. This time around, I am trying to get some real quality equipment in order to keep a long term successful reef. I am very excited for this build and look forward to receiving some feedback from TRT. Thanks for reading.

Equipment/Upgrades.

1 Vortech Mp10.
1 Jager Heater.
Reef Breeders Photon 24 Led lighting system.
Tunze 9002 Protein Skimmer.
intank surface skimmer for the Red Sea Max 130d.
intank Media rack for the Red Sea Max 130d.
intank upgraded pumps for the Red Sea Max 130d.
Reef Keeper lite system for added stability.

Livestock.
I'm still debating on what fish species to keep in the tank. I am open to suggestions. Right now I have a Percula Clownfish, a Royal Gramma, and a Yellow Clown Goby.

A variety of beautiful Soft and LPS corals. I do have to move the tank at least once a year due to college so I am holding off on SPS at the moment, but once I get more stable living conditions I plan on replacing the soft coral colonies with SPS colonies.

I just got the tank setup today and I am transferring the livestock from the 29 into the tank tonight. Ill post some pictures when things have calmed down a bit. Once again, I am open to any suggestions/feedback/criticism from anyone that wants to contribute. You can never stop learning in this hobby. Thanks!

Full Tank Shot February 2015

Full Tank Shot December 2014
 
Japonicus

· Hydro-Dynamic
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13,156 Posts
#8 ·
dpoltsdsu said:
I fixed it lol... I'm not sure what happened there :lol:
Click to expand...
Cool beans, the glass should last you a long time.
I did a search and found one at MD, just wasn't sure that was the right tank.
Nice depth. MP10 will be gobs, but like you said, quality equipment
plus you can use it in a bigger tank later on if you want.
Sure like my MPs, but can only use one all the time. 2 is too much
for my bubble coral to handle.
 
dpoltsdsu

· Nano Reef Keeper
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804 Posts
Discussion Starter · #14 ·
UPDATE #1
About a month and a half has passed and I am starting to get some very good coral growth.

LPS corals:
Multiple heads on the Torch coral are splitting and the Duncan is starting to grow a second batch of heads at the base of the branches. The open brain had started to bleach when I did the transfer but I am happy to report that it has completely colored up and is now thriving again. I am also thrilled that the Zoanthid garden is also thriving. The frags are starting to turn into colonies and it looks absolutely beautiful from a top down perspective.

Soft corals:
The soft corals (mainly gsp and xenia) are starting to grow out of control. I will start fragging these colonies to local reefers to allow more space for some more exotic pieces of coral in the future, perhaps some SPS.

Fish:
The stocking as of now is a bit of chaotic. The fish currently in the tank are a blue/green Chromis, a single Clownfish, a Royal Gramma, and a Yellow Tang. The Tang will be going to a friends 180 once he grows out a bit more. He was not doing very well when I got him and I wanted to see if I could nurse him back to health. He has been in the tank for about a month and is showing vivid color and a voracious appetite. I sold off the Yellow Clown Goby because of future plans to get involved with some SPS. (They tend to nip and nest in SPS colonies).

Equipment:
All is running well here. The one change I did make was to take the skimmer out of the system. I do many water changes with natural ocean water and as a result I was barely getting any skimmate. The filtration now consists of the media rack with filter floss, purigen, and a carbon/gfo combo. The biweekly to weekly 30% water changes with the natural saltwater has kept the water pristine so far.

I will post some pictures soon
 
Japonicus

· Hydro-Dynamic
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13,156 Posts
#19 ·
dpoltsdsu said:
So the next step for this tank is an auto top off system, do any of you have any suggestions for an ato that is extremely reliable?
Click to expand...
Tunze or Spectrapure
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/auto-top-off-systems.html
I use the Tunze and cheap aquahub both with flawless results.
http://www.aquahub.com/store/diygaquarium.html

I just cannot get past the yellow tang in a 34g tank :(
Have to give ya a frownie face on that one, but your zoas look fantastic :thumbup:
EDIT as well as the rest of the tank for sure!
 
dpoltsdsu

· Nano Reef Keeper
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804 Posts
Discussion Starter · #20 ·
He was a rescue and is now healthy again. I already have a buyer and he should be gone in the next 2 weeks. He is still pretty small and has only been in there for about a month.

Thanks for the compliments! I'm very much considering that Tunze ato at this point. It seems pretty safe based on the research I've done so far.
 
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