Our Red Sea MAX

[Rob Allen]

Well, it's about time. After our move from Pennsylvania the absence of a tank has finally come to an end. Of course living in a condo has its pros and cons. The con is we can’t really have a large tank, so we planned for it and traded some of our live stock for a Red Sea MAX (34g) before we moved. We left everything in the original packaging and never even opened the box until I started building it here. Was that smart? Uhhh, no <-- that isn’t really what I said. The tank was cracked across the bottom. How lucky am I? Lucky. I was three days from the manufacturer warranty running out and Red Sea replaced the tank with no charge. So, we started getting the tank together in the beginning of July.

 

I looked at the Red Sea MAX and talked with some friends that used to work for Red Sea asking what the strengths and weaknesses were. Most said that the skimmer was loud and often did adequately skim. The other item that often came up was the lack of water movement on the right side of the tank. Lastly, the heater has been known to cause problems. With some research I had a decent plan of attack. Here is what I modified on the tank.

 

 

• 
  Added the Red Sea surface skimmer as the stock inlet did not surface skim
  

 

• 
  Removed the stock skimmer and replaced it with a Tunze 9002 skimmer
  Note: this skimmer’s collection cup is too large for the MAX which requires removal of the access lid or see the “In Tank” solution below
  
  

 

• 
  Added “In Tank” Skimmer Collection Cup & Media Basket (takes the place of the original skimmer)
  

http://www.mediabaskets.com/Home_Page.html

 

• 
  Added JBJ ATO (Automatic Top Off) Controller using a Maxijet 1200
  
  

 

• 
  Added Blue Cold Cathode as a Moonlight
  
  

 

My reasoning for the changes are:

 

• 
  The surface skimmer will drastically help collect floating debris. This upgrade is so obvious that Red Sea sells it.
  

 

• 
  The stock skimmer is poo. This upgrade came very apparent after playing with the stock skimmer for a couple days. This led immediately to the next upgrade which was “In Tank’s” skimmer cup and media basket, which fit perfectly in where the stock skimmer was. The skimmer cup allows you to close the access lid and the media basket is not only functional, but holds the skimmer in place.
  

 

• 
  The Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper lite controller was a decision for a couple reasons.
  1) I wanted to make sure the heater would never be a problem. I had to set the heater at 64 in order to heat the water to 78. Hmmm. That’s not right.
  2) I wanted to control other items as to when they turned on and off which the stock configuration didn’t allow.
  Bonus) I can easily keep an eye on pH and have an accurate temperature which is visible.
  
  
  

 

• 
  Personally I have never been a fan of constantly filling a tank with evap water, so I will do whatever necessary to automate this. The JBJ ATO unit along with a Maxijet 1200, some hose and a 5-gallon bucket is the perfect solution for this tank. The Maxijet 1200 is needed due to head pressure and is actually the perfect pump for the job. I used one float of the JBJ ATO until in the back chamber of the MAX and the other in the evap bucket. The reasoning for this is that when the water drops in the chamber it will trigger the pump and the other float in the evap bucket is if the water gets too low, it stops the pump. I not only have the pump that feeds the tank, but also run a Maxijet 900 to keep the evap water circulating.
  
  

 

• 
  The blue cold cathode is actually used in computer towers to light them up – I guess it looks cool. I use it as an inexpensive DIY moon lighting system. You need to purchase a 12v DC adapter (Radio Shack) and rewire the controller that comes with it (see blue box I placed in the MAX hood). The picture that shows the moonlight on appears much brighter than it actually is. It is actually a perfect transition and it allows us to view the tank a little longer.
  
  
  
  

[USCG CWO]

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together. Very nice setup Rob.

 

Shane

[Rob Allen]

After the tank had been running with the pre-cured live rock, algae & corraline growth has started. We started introducing some inverts. We also added some coral that was a little rushed, but so far so good. We started adding fish today and it is starting to look better with some movement.

 

Here is what we have so far:

FISH

• (3) Yellowtail Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema)

• Sixline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)

• Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula)

 

CORAL

• Yellow Sun Coral (Tubastraea aurea)

• Green Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens)

• Orange Ricordea (Ricordea Yuma)

[newfisher]

Looks great so far! I need one that size next to the bed so I stop faling asleep on the couch....

[Benny503]

Very nice clean looking tank. I can't wait to see all the corals in it :-)

[ThePremiumAquarium]

That is a very clean and nicely done system! I look forward to seeing what it looks like all stocked up

 

Excellent stuff!!

[grassi]

Nice tank and equipment! What's that black round thing on the bottom of the TO bucket?

[Rob Allen]

Nice tank and equipment! What's that black round thing on the bottom of the TO bucket?

 

I had a left over Koralia #4 that used to keep the top off water moving, but it was too big for the job and heated up the water. The black circle is the magnet on the outside of the bucket. I changed it out for a Maxi-Jet 900 instead.