SuncrestReef

It seems I can't go more than one day without adding another coral... Here's the latest from @CuttleFishandCoral:

@Lovesalt can you remember the name of these mushrooms? Maybe Jeff @CuttleFishandCoral can tell me?

Thanks! Yes, I placed them on a small island rock so they can't go far.

@Lovesalt, thanks for the beautiful mushrooms. I think they'll be happy in their new home: Good luck with your freshwater tanks!

Nevermind, I figured out it's a Scypha (pineapple) sponge.

Any idea what this white hairy thing is on my rocks? It's really small (about 2mm across) but I got good close-up photos with my macro lens:

So, were there any standout new products revealed at MACNA?

I started using the filter cups last month, but I'm not yet convinced if I like them better than filter socks. My Reefer shipped with the 225 micron mesh socks which are very easy to clean because they're very thin, but they build up detritus both inside and outside the mesh fabric, so if you don't swap them frequently all the exterior detritus falls off into your sump when you remove them. Next I tried the felt filter socks. These definitely trap all the detritus inside, but cleaning them is a major pain. So I bought a couple media filter cups and stuffed them with some Acurel filter fiber. I've found I can go about 4 days before they start to overflow, then I dump out the old filter fiber and stuff a new handful in. It's hard to say whether they trap more or less detritus than the socks, but they definitely are easier to clean/swap. For a lid I bought the Red Sea DIY kit. It's a bit flimsy, but it gets the job done. It also took a lot more time and work building it than I anticipated. Since you need to measure and cut the aluminum rails, I ended up using a metal cutting jigsaw with a guide fence to get clean cuts. I don't think a plain hacksaw would be very clean or precise. If I had to do it again, I'd probably order an acrylic lid.

I guess a lot of what I wrote doesn't apply since the cabinet is already assembled. Sorry for the long-winded response.

Is this a new tank in the crate, or a used tank already assembled?

I got the VCA Y-splitter 1/2" locline with two nozzles: https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/shop/red-sea-reefer-ultimate-return-line-upgrade-25mm-to-12in-rfg/ If I were to do it again I'd get the 3/4" version because the 1/2" really restricts return flow. There are no adapters needed. You just pull off the Red Sea nozzle and attach the VCA parts. They make these specifically for Red Sea Reefers.

I can't remember where I saw it, but they had a sign posted saying for an extra $10 they'll print a receipt that lists the amount you told your spouse...🤣

Nice choice. I have the Reefer XL 425. Here are a few thoughts that come to mind: 1. My Reefer shipped with one extra cabinet board. I ordered the black cabinet, but I found one white base board and I worried they screwed up my order. But it turns out that extra piece was just a filler piece during shipping. I'm not sure if they do that on all models of Reefers, but don't be surprised if you end up with one unused cabinet piece. 2. Use a power screwdriver during assembly if you have one, otherwise your wrist is going to be very tired. Just be careful not to over-tighten. 3. Be sure to mount the door hinges before you place the sump in the cabinet, otherwise you won't be able to get a screwdriver in there. 4. The door hinges can be a little finicky to get the doors level and evenly spaced. There are two adjustment screws on each hinge, but the instructions aren't clear on how to adjust them. Trial and error will eventually pay off. 5. Are you going to use hard plumbing? If so, keep in mind the Red Sea plumbing is metric so you won't be able to easily find a threaded PVC adapter. Most people end up using a 3/4" threaded fitting and wrap it with about 14 layers of teflon tape. Worked fine for me. 6. Many people have converted the stock ATO reservoir into a refugium. It worked well. I feed my ATO from a large RO/DI storage tank, so I had no need for the small 3 gallon ATO. Not sure if your sump will be the v3 that has a refugium divider option. 7. Adjusting the overflow valve can be a pain, but eventually you will get it dialed in and silent. Just make very, very small adjustments to the valve and wait about 2 minutes before making further adjustments. You can watch the water level in the overflow slowly rise or fall. Once you get the valve set just right the overflow level will stay constant. 8. I replaced the stock return nozzle with dual random flow nozzles from VCA and really like them. https://vividcreativeaquatics.com/product-spotlight/random-flow-generator/ That's all I can think of right now, but there are probably a lot of other details I'm overlooking. I wrote up a very detailed account of my whole build process in my R2R build thread (including converting the ATO to refugium) if you want to look at it for other ideas: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/ Good luck!

Glad to see that resolved the problem.

I put the $50 gift certificate from All Things Aquarium @ATA Wilsonville that I won at the meeting raffle to good use:

If you really loved us you would be live streaming this...😥

This photo gives you an idea of the scale:

I might need a bigger tank for one of these: (and I thought my pistol shrimp was obsessive about moving sand around...)

Last night I tried the H2O2 dip and it worked great! Here's a before and after shot, only 12 hours later: Thanks for the advice. 😀

I forgot to mention I also have diffusers on my Radions. It makes a huge difference to eliminate the disco effect and smooths out the light pattern. It does cause about a 10% loss in PAR, but I'm only running them at 80% max, so the loss is no problem.

I've seen great growth using two XR30 Pro G4's on my Reefer XL 425:

No, it's not branching. Each stem is coming straight from the rock. I also looked at photos of feather caulerpa but it does not appear to match what I have. The "feathers" on mine are very thin and less dense than the photos I've seen of feather caulerpa.

I have one zoanthid colony on a branch that has gotten overgrown with algae, and I think it is bryopsis. Can anyone confirm this ID? Here's a full frame photo and a macro zoom: At the moment it's isolated to this one branch. I'm thinking about removing it from the display tank and treating it with fluconazole as I've read other posts that this is usually effective in eliminating bryopsis. Any other recommendations?

Here's an updated full tank time-lapse video. A few new corals, but the same cleanup crew still working away:

Updated full tank shots: