tHEcONCH's Red Sea Max

[jolliolli]

OK ta (sorry to hijack your thread conch), just one more thing, you mentioned whitespot can occur at higher temps on a stressed fish. Is the marine form of whitespot not susceptible to high temps like the freshwater variety?

[reef]

Is the marine form of whitespot not susceptible to high temps like the freshwater variety?

Maybe at 33c but you will kill some fish and corals at that temp.

[jolliolli]

ok thanks good to know for the future

[wasp]

Don't know anything about the freshwater one, but the saltwater one is most often although not always present in marine tanks, although pretty much unseen by us as the fish can deal with it. But when temperature goes up the fish resistance is lowered and reefkeepers with excessive temperatures will start to see it. If nothing is done it will often progress to full blown serious infection and sometimes even loss of fish. When this happens, simply doing something to keep things cool can allow the fish to regain the upper hand and throw off the infestation.

[wasp]

Oh one thing, you probably thought of this but just in case, if the fan is enclosed in the hood with no outside air, it will not do any cooling the heat will just circulate. The fan has to be set up so it can draw air into the hood, and there should be an outlet to allow waste, warmer, air out of the hood.

[wilson]

that sucks conch

sorry to hear that

[tHEcONCH]

Thats great advice wasp i will look at doing that. What are you using to get the fan to switch on at a certain temp? I'm running built in hood lights so there wont be much room between the water surface and the hood.

Do you have an RSM? If so, you can get a fan that fits in the back by the circulation pump - there is a port readymade for it in the back corner of the hood - ask John

[jolliolli]

just as well you said i didn't think of that or though the other half probably would of

[raeh1]

love the tank.

I really like what people are doing with their red sea maxs.

Still not sure why there are alot of people modifying them.... apart from adding a nano..

The seem to work fine standard. Thats why people buy them...

[slappers]

get a new toy have to have a play

get a new women have to have a play

[tHEcONCH]

love the tank.

I really like what people are doing with their red sea maxs.

Still not sure why there are alot of people modifying them.... apart from adding a nano..

The seem to work fine standard. Thats why people buy them...

They certainly seem a lot more capable than a lot of people give them credit for, and they certainly overcome the 'techno-babble' that puts a lot of people off setting up a marine tank, but they aren't without problems.

Mine has had new cooling fans, a new ballast, and new timer under warranty, all of which I have had to fit myself. The skimmer doesn't seem entirely right either - it deposits waste on to the inside of the skimmer body (I've checked the intake pipe is clear), below the removable cup. Add that to the cheap cabinet, and in retrospect I wonder whether I might have been better off with something else - in fact it is only the difficulty of establishing a new tank and shifting my existing corals that stops me going to something else.

To their credit, the local distributor has supplied replacement parts and offered to pay for an electrician to fit them, but it certainly has not been 'Plug and Play' like the sticker says on the box - in fact I doubt its been any less hassle than builting your own set-up from scratch. Those issues notwithstanding, it has allowed me to get into marine, and maybe allowed me to avoid other problems to do with compatibility along the way. I just wish the build and component quality had been better.

[raeh1]

The best nano I have ever seen in action, was Brianemones 88 litre tank.

Two clowns anemone, sps, and soft corals, shrimp etc...

single metal halide, two tiny flow pumps and hang on back skimmer a weirpro and heater and rock ($400 did the trick).

Very effective. Just would have put an MCE600 deltec on the back, (just incase of future upgrades and because you can run filter media in it, or the new smaller deltec)

Have a look at his pictures in saltwater tanks.

I sometimes think thats what I will end up doing one day. Espically when I have kids and they make me poor....

[JoeBlog]

They certainly seem a lot more capable than a lot of people give them credit for, and they certainly overcome the 'techno-babble' that puts a lot of people off setting up a marine tank, but they aren't without problems.

Mine has had new cooling fans, a new ballast, and new timer under warranty, all of which I have had to fit myself. The skimmer doesn't seem entirely right either - it deposits waste on to the inside of the skimmer body (I've checked the intake pipe is clear), below the removable cup. Add that to the cheap cabinet, and in retrospect I wonder whether I might have been better off with something else - in fact it is only the difficulty of establishing a new tank and shifting my existing corals that stops me going to something else.

To their credit, the local distributor has supplied replacement parts and offered to pay for an electrician to fit them, but it certainly has not been 'Plug and Play' like the sticker says on the box - in fact I doubt its been any less hassle than builting your own set-up from scratch. Those issues notwithstanding, it has allowed me to get into marine, and maybe allowed me to avoid other problems to do with compatibility along the way. I just wish the build and component quality had been better.

I have one and completely agree with everything tHEcONCH has said. The HEAT was one of my main problems and I had to buy a chiller to keep it a reasonable temp. The fans were INSANELY loud and bought all new “quiet†ones from a source online… much better.

I may be a little more critical of the skimmer, lights, and flow than others since I wanted to run a SPS or dedicated anemone tank. I’ve replaced the skimmer with a Deltec MCE500. It fitted perfectly in the same spot (after removal of the stabilizing glass shims for the stock skimmer) and it did a GREAT job. I couldn’t get the stock skimmer to pull anything and the Deltec started pulling HEAPS right after dropping it in. If I didn’t want to run SPS, the stock skimmer would probably have been fine. I’m gong to replace the lights with a MH setup that nano(whatever).com are offering. I’ve upped the flow with nano streams, which I love.

So basically, I’ve replaced just about everything. If I were to do it again, I would have just gone from scratch and built something similar in structure to what HAZZARD has created (very nice comparable sized nano). This is solely due to my specific preferences for my nano. If I would have done a bit more research before forking out the couple grand on the initial system, I would have realized this myself. If I had wanted to do a little LPS/softies tank, then this would have been PERFECT. Therefore, I think they are great little (clean looking) systems for getting people involved in the hobby (who usually don’t like SPS to start with anyway).

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey Conch, It's an awesome looking RSM!

I don't want to sound all negative. But I highly doubt you mandarin is going to survive in a RSM. These fish rely on a high quantity of copepods as their primary food source, and it is not recommended to put these fish into a tank less than 12mnths old.

Even if your mandarin is eating prepared foods, these are not enough to sustain a mandarin and will just delay the death of the fish. Unfortunately more than 50% of mandarins die in a home aquarium due to starvation. From memory you need approx 30kgs of live rock per Mandarin in a mature tank (12mnths+) to sustain the copepod population.

Having your flame angel would've hurt as well because they are known to snack down on the copepods too. I think ultimately, you will have to give the mandarin to a bigger, more established tank or find a way of introducing copepods into your system (perhaps a remote refugium).

As I said, I don't want to sound negative but there is a certain level of responsibility we must exhibit as reef-keepers. Remember that all mandarins are wild caught and more than 50% of them die due to starvation. Only a matter of time before these cool looking fish join the endangered species list

[tHEcONCH]

Hey Conch, It's an awesome looking RSM!

I don't want to sound all negative. But I highly doubt you mandarin is going to survive in a RSM. These fish rely on a high quantity of copepods as their primary food source, and it is not recommended to put these fish into a tank less than 12mnths old.

Even if your mandarin is eating prepared foods, these are not enough to sustain a mandarin and will just delay the death of the fish. Unfortunately more than 50% of mandarins die in a home aquarium due to starvation. From memory you need approx 30kgs of live rock per Mandarin in a mature tank (12mnths+) to sustain the copepod population.

Having your flame angel would've hurt as well because they are known to snack down on the copepods too. I think ultimately, you will have to give the mandarin to a bigger, more established tank or find a way of introducing copepods into your system (perhaps a remote refugium).

As I said, I don't want to sound negative but there is a certain level of responsibility we must exhibit as reef-keepers. Remember that all mandarins are wild caught and more than 50% of them die due to starvation. Only a matter of time before these cool looking fish join the endangered species list

You needn't worry - I regularly go 'fishing' for greeblies out of someone else's refugium to supplement whatever my tank is producing. It has actually put on weight since I got it (it had a very sunken stomach), so I'm hopeful I'm meeting its needs - if it gets thin, I'll definitely re-locate it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Good attitude man. In a RSM I'd say it wouldn't last more than 12mnths eating prepareds. People underestimate how many pods they actually eat.

Just remember then spend 8+hrs a day eating continuously.

Unfortunately, I don't think we can import copepods batches. However, I will be clarifying this with MAF and asking Dr Adelaide Rhodes about shipping them from USA to NZL and if they will survive. If that works out you maybe able to soon buy copepods in NZL for your tanks.

[tHEcONCH]

Good attitude man. In a RSM I'd say it wouldn't last more than 12mnths eating prepareds. People underestimate how many pods they actually eat.

Just remember then spend 8+hrs a day eating continuously.

Unfortunately, I don't think we can import copepods batches. However, I will be clarifying this with MAF and asking Dr Adelaide Rhodes about shipping them from USA to NZL and if they will survive. If that works out you maybe able to soon buy copepods in NZL for your tanks.

If you have any luck, PM me

[nz_mitch]

If you have any luck, PM me

Me too!

[wilson]

Me too!

me 3 :bounce:

[markoshark]

me 3 :bounce:

4!

[jolliolli]

me 5

[reef]

Unfortunately, I don't think we can import copepods batches. However, I will be clarifying this with MAF and asking Dr Adelaide Rhodes about shipping them from USA to NZL and if they will survive. If that works out you maybe able to soon buy copepods in NZL for your tanks.

winning lotto will have better strike rate,

any copepods will have to be approved by ERMA as they wil be classed as a new organism. Then risk assessement by MAF.

I deal with these clowns and erma/maf are pretty unhelpful. Once i told them to use common sense and they told me there is no common sense when dealing with the acts. they love hiding behind the acts.

Most mandarin fish will be ok in a establised tank as it will contain copepods anyway. if you look at night with a torch you will see hundreds,

Most mandarin fish will each white worms and some will even take frozen brine shrimp.

even growing up live brine shrimp would be a far better option.

[markoshark]

Reef, would something like http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 956155.htm work?

[fish-unit]

Hey Conch, It's an awesome looking RSM!

I don't want to sound all negative. But I highly doubt you mandarin is going to survive in a RSM. These fish rely on a high quantity of copepods as their primary food source, and it is not recommended to put these fish into a tank less than 12mnths old.

Even if your mandarin is eating prepared foods, these are not enough to sustain a mandarin and will just delay the death of the fish. Unfortunately more than 50% of mandarins die in a home aquarium due to starvation. From memory you need approx 30kgs of live rock per Mandarin in a mature tank (12mnths+) to sustain the copepod population.

Having your flame angel would've hurt as well because they are known to snack down on the copepods too. I think ultimately, you will have to give the mandarin to a bigger, more established tank or find a way of introducing copepods into your system (perhaps a remote refugium).

As I said, I don't want to sound negative but there is a certain level of responsibility we must exhibit as reef-keepers. Remember that all mandarins are wild caught and more than 50% of them die due to starvation. Only a matter of time before these cool looking fish join the endangered species list

whoa its the mandarin police :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

winning lotto will have better strike rate,

any copepods will have to be approved by ERMA as they wil be classed as a new organism. Then risk assessement by MAF.

I deal with these clowns and erma/maf are pretty unhelpful. Once i told them to use common sense and they told me there is no common sense when dealing with the acts. they love hiding behind the acts.

Most mandarin fish will be ok in a establised tank as it will contain copepods anyway. if you look at night with a torch you will see hundreds,

Most mandarin fish will each white worms and some will even take frozen brine shrimp.

even growing up live brine shrimp would be a far better option.

Yea, Although even gut-loading brine shrimp to feed your mandarin is not going to be enough to sustain it. Copepods have a very high % of protein which is very important to the mandarins well being.

Sadly, Winning Lotto is more of a chance lol. I do have phytoplankton cultures so will be trying to culture some Copepods from my own tank to start me off and progress along that route most likely. Everyone will be informed if I can culture enough to make them available to other hobbyists

Fish-Unit: Not the mandarin police, but just reminding some people that we have to be responsible for the fish we keep. It's cruel to keep a fish in an environment where there is no chance for its survival.