RedSea Max250, Setting Up.

[max250]

I live in New Plymouth & don't know of anyone into marine reef aquariums, my tank, stand is due to arrive next few weeks but have questions, if anyone can help me with the following it would be appreciated.

1/ What type of rock is best to make a reef ?, where do you purchase it from ?, what is the best way to construct it?.

2/ Is it likely that a chiller would be required in New Zealand ?.

3/ If you need to spray for flies etc in the room that houses tank is it safe to do so with a tank with enclosed hood or will it still get drawn in ?.

4/ Can you change user name on this site ?.

Any other help or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks Terry

[ryanjury]

lol even though I am a nube I can answer some of these questions..

1. Coral rock is the best thing to make your reef out of, you should be able to get it from your local shop or off trademe, have a hunt around. If you wanted to start stocking soonish (but being in a hurry with a marine tank is a bad idea) then you would need to purchase rock that is already alive and filled with good bacteria (ie stuff that has already been in a running established marine tank for some time). Otherwise you need to cycle it yourself before you can add any fish, and even longer before you add sensitive stuff.

2. Unsure but I do know that some fish/corals are very sensitive to temperature increases and when you have high powered lights and summer etc temps can start climbing, I guess you would have to run your setup and see if you need one.

3. Unsure with marines but we have a robocan in the house with a tropical tank that is covered with no issues.

4. People have changed names on this site before so it can be done, I would contact a site admin person and discus it nicely with them and see what you can work out.

[suphew]

Hi Terry,

1) Ryan is correct, but I'd just add, if you get cycled second hand rock be careful, it is often more trouble than it is worth. Sometimes people are selling rock because they have failed and the rock will likely be covered in algae, full of phosphates (or worths medications), and covered in pests. Look for good clean looking rock, ideally with red coraline algae growth which is usually a good sign of health and get it from someone with a good healthy tank that is selling because they have extra.

Using dry dead rock is a safer option, but be ready for months and months of ugly algae while it cycles and matures. LFS's with marines also sell cycled live rock which can be a good option because they do it by leaving it in a tank of water so lesser problems with phosphates, med's etc etc

2) I have never used a chiller, at a guess round 10% of reef keepers in NZ do, most of these would be up north where it is warmer. I wouldn't panic too much about this now, you can add it later if needed. The RMS250 has two fans in the back of the lid that remove some of the heat, and you can always point a fan at the tank in the short term if the temp goes up too much.

3) you can cover the tank and turn off the skimmer (which is sucking in air), but your best bet is to just avoid spraying in tat part of the house. I sometimes spray surfaces with ripcord rather than constantly using fly spray.

4) Yes you can in special cases, but after one post you might be pushing it a bit. PM Zev, she is site admin, it might be simpler to just get her to open a new account but she will advise you of the best option.

Best advise, ask lots of questions, take your time, don't add anything you don't test for (and don't let a LFS sucker you into thinking you need to add load of expensive chemicals). And lastly before you buy anything (fish, corals, gear, etc), research, ask questions, research again, then sleep on it for a night. Most of us have draws full of crap we should never have brought and spend hours getting fish back out.

HTH

[max250]

Thanks for the replies guys, I was told by the LFS here that they can't get rock like that as MAF don't allow it to be brought into the country, are there some LFS that do their own rock in tanks.

Wondering also do I need a quarantine tank & if so what would be suitable as the expense is alrady getting up there.

Thanks Terry.

[livingart]

trade me can be a good place to source some bits and pieces

[spoon]

i guess to begin with you wont need a quarentine tank but down the track anything would do a simple 2foot tank would be fine you wont need lights and you can get away without a skimmer if you do good waterchanges when there is fish in it

[suphew]

are there some LFS that do their own rock in tanks.

Yes most do. The usual shop rate is about $17kg for cycled rock. As I said the advantage is it is new clean rock and wont be loaded with phosphates and what ever else another inexperienced fish keeper has dumped in there before they failed. The disadvantage is cost, and shop rock is usually not fully matured (ie will have been in water for less than a year or so)

[evil_elmo]

2) a chiller is always handy to have and it all depends on how hot your room gets during summer

i didnt think i needed a chiller when i first started, but after the first summer and watching the temp go from 24deg to 30deg i decided a chiller is a must for my setup

[max250]

The usual shop rate is about $17kg for cycled rock.

Hi the LFS told me here the other day that he could get me 25kg bags coral rock & the supplier would add some cycled rock would that speed the process up or would I still go through the process of cycling the rock, also does the rock have to be bonded together to form a reef, if so would appreciate your ideas or methods of doing this.

Thanks Terry

[the-obstacle]

Yes to the cycle period - you're going to have to do it and it'll be sped up with some already live rock but you'll still have to wait it out before it'd be safe to add anything else to the water.

Aqua Kneed It from Selleys is the way to go (Bunnings stock it among most others) or you can buy specialist choral epoxy/glue stuff but it's pricey and does the same thing.

[suphew]

Aqua-Kneedit and similar products are okay but a bit fidley, messy, and they don't actually glue rocks together just sort of set round them. Personally I just use plastic rods and/or cable ties.

The amount cycled rock helps will depend on how much and how cycled the rock is. A small amount wont help much with the cycle and not much of the life on it will survive the ammonia etc spikes. Pest anemones however seem to have a knack for making it through the cycle so it might be more trouble than it is worth. A 1/3 or more quality live rock would make a big difference speeding the process up but you are still going to have to wait a few weeks before adding fish.

One of the advantages of dry rock is you can spend time arranging it and building bridges caves etc and rearranging with out have to worry about it drying out.

BtW it pay's to arrange your rock so it only goes 1/3-1/2 way up the tank, the upper half will look a little empty to start with but once the corals start to grow you will be glad of the growing room.

[max250]

Can you explan more about plastic rods & cable ties please, what type plastic rods, cable ties, where do you get them is there any diagrams to show how one uses them to make reef.

Thanks Terry

[suphew]

There is nothing fancy about either, I used plastic rods I got from "Spotlight" they sell them as curtain pulling rods but some people use PVC pipe. Use a masonry drill bit to make holes and the plastic rod to pin together. Cable ties you just thread though the rock to tie bit together. The beauty of doing it this way is it's easy to take apart if you don't like it.

There was a massive thread on reef central about building reef structures, do a bit of a search in the DIY area and you will find it.

[max250]

Have been searching Reef Central but can't seem to find the post on reef structure, just got my Red Sea Max 250 the other day, where I'm going to put it is probably not the purfect place but I don't really have any option appart from putting it in a spare room where it wouldn't really get viewed, think I will just buy coral rock in a 25kg bag & make up a stand with small electrical pvc pipe, elbows t-joints etc & bond rock together with cable ties, is this pipe & cable ties safe to use?.

Regards Terry.

[livingart]

anything plastic or PVC will be ok in the tank