Cabo's BC29 to Reefer 170 Migration and Tank Build
- Thread starter Cabo2008
- Start date
Tell ya what man, it's a pretty big skimmer for that little sump, it fits pretty much like a glove, but makes it a PITA to get to the return pump and/or the ATO sensors. I think it'll be worth it though. Been chatting with Jeff over at Lifereef to make sure I get it setup right and to ensure I didn't screw anything up with the plumbing changes. He's pretty cool to work with.
I'm sure you'll like yours once you get it fired up.
Just a quick update.
I modified my return plumbing a little and added a "tap" for the BRS reactor so I don't need to run the extra pump (sump's getting a little crowded so I'm trying to free up some space). It worked out really well except now I've decided it should be on the other side of the cabinet, so I need to move it. :fun4:
I modified my return plumbing a little and added a "tap" for the BRS reactor so I don't need to run the extra pump (sump's getting a little crowded so I'm trying to free up some space). It worked out really well except now I've decided it should be on the other side of the cabinet, so I need to move it. :fun4:
soulpatch
New member
I want some pics of your acans man. I need to know what frags I need to beg you for here shortly as the large tank sees water.
I will probably take that overflow off of you as well so I can loop in my cube as a frag/fuge tank once I am running. Though I need to think through the plumbing a bit as well... LOL Always something...
I will probably take that overflow off of you as well so I can loop in my cube as a frag/fuge tank once I am running. Though I need to think through the plumbing a bit as well... LOL Always something...
Ha! I'm not posting any more tank or coral shots until I get a little more growth out of them. Between fighting off the black bugs, a rogue emerald crab, and some environment issues due to me trying like hell to get the WAV's to work in my tank they're needing a little "love" before they're happy again.
Hopefully my skimmer and lighting changes will help move that along a bit.
Hopefully my skimmer and lighting changes will help move that along a bit.
Well, the snow has given me time to work on things so I "tightened" things up in the sump to make more room.
The key changes were swapping out the ATO system, re-plumbing the skimmer to get the footprint as small as possible, pulling the BRS media reactor out, and improving the LED lighting inside the cabinet.
I ordered and installed an Avast ATO switch with probe holder (allowed me to only have 1 item in the sump instead of 2) and then worked on the plumbing for the skimmer. It's about as small a footprint as I think I can get now. I need the space in the sump so I can install the Avast Spyglass media reactor that's replacing the BRS one I had. It looks like I'll have just enough room so that should be cool.
The final thing I need to do now is either install the GHL doser I picked up or add a Kalk stirrer. I've done both in the past, but I'm trying to minimize the complexity as much as possible while keeping everything very happy.
Here's a couple of new shots of the cabinet/sump now.
The key changes were swapping out the ATO system, re-plumbing the skimmer to get the footprint as small as possible, pulling the BRS media reactor out, and improving the LED lighting inside the cabinet.
I ordered and installed an Avast ATO switch with probe holder (allowed me to only have 1 item in the sump instead of 2) and then worked on the plumbing for the skimmer. It's about as small a footprint as I think I can get now. I need the space in the sump so I can install the Avast Spyglass media reactor that's replacing the BRS one I had. It looks like I'll have just enough room so that should be cool.
The final thing I need to do now is either install the GHL doser I picked up or add a Kalk stirrer. I've done both in the past, but I'm trying to minimize the complexity as much as possible while keeping everything very happy.
Here's a couple of new shots of the cabinet/sump now.
Well, not much has changed recently (i'm trying really hard to "let it be" for a while). I did finally install the new Avast Spyglass reactor to replace the BRS one I had. All I can say about it is that if it works as well as I hope, it's pretty darn cool. This will be the easiest reactor I've ever had to change out media and/or clean. Guess only time will tell.
Here's a shot of the sump with the reactor installed.
Here's a shot of the sump with the reactor installed.
External, no. At least I can't think of a way to make that work that way.
As for changing the media, you just pull the reaction chamber out (it comes with a cap to keep it from leaking on your floor while taking it to where ever you change your media). Dump out the media, insert new, run RO/DI through it (it'll run out the bottom of the chamber). Then re-insert it back in the outer housing. That's it.
No messing with special wrenches to take it apart, cartridges, filters, etc.
It really is silly simple.......which makes it perfect for me.
They've got a couple of good videos on their site that kind of shows you how to set it up and how it runs if you want to check it out.
As for changing the media, you just pull the reaction chamber out (it comes with a cap to keep it from leaking on your floor while taking it to where ever you change your media). Dump out the media, insert new, run RO/DI through it (it'll run out the bottom of the chamber). Then re-insert it back in the outer housing. That's it.
No messing with special wrenches to take it apart, cartridges, filters, etc.
It really is silly simple.......which makes it perfect for me.
They've got a couple of good videos on their site that kind of shows you how to set it up and how it runs if you want to check it out.
Well, I figured out another issue with my tank. I needed to clean and re-calibrate my PH probe.
I recently switched from dosing 2 part back to a kalk reactor to see if I could improve stability a little and my tank doesn't really have enough of a coral load to need dosing yet. I was watching my PH fluctuate a lot and decided to pull the probe and give it a good cleaning. After cleaning it up and then re-calibrating it, I found out that it had been reading about .6 to .8 higher than what the PH really was............that's no bueno. So all this time, when I thought my PH was at about 8.3 it was really at 7.5-7.7. I did validate that with a quick test kit check too, and it lines up to the new readings.
So now it's all starting to dial in right and I'm back to testing everything on a schedule. Which is good since my Mg was a little low too. So back to proper maintenance beyond just water changes and tank cleaning.
I only started discovering and fixing things last night and I can already see an improvement.
Funny thing is, I know better than to skip testing and calibration of equipment, I just got a bit lazy.
I recently switched from dosing 2 part back to a kalk reactor to see if I could improve stability a little and my tank doesn't really have enough of a coral load to need dosing yet. I was watching my PH fluctuate a lot and decided to pull the probe and give it a good cleaning. After cleaning it up and then re-calibrating it, I found out that it had been reading about .6 to .8 higher than what the PH really was............that's no bueno. So all this time, when I thought my PH was at about 8.3 it was really at 7.5-7.7. I did validate that with a quick test kit check too, and it lines up to the new readings.
So now it's all starting to dial in right and I'm back to testing everything on a schedule. Which is good since my Mg was a little low too. So back to proper maintenance beyond just water changes and tank cleaning.
I only started discovering and fixing things last night and I can already see an improvement.
Funny thing is, I know better than to skip testing and calibration of equipment, I just got a bit lazy.
North Borders
New member
Hey Cabo! Love the build thread!
I have the Nano version of this tank. I'm also using the NanoBox Duo light. Quick question for you...what do you run your lights at on the BlueFish? We seem to have similar corals and I've been kind of been confused as to how high to run them.
Thanks!
I have the Nano version of this tank. I'm also using the NanoBox Duo light. Quick question for you...what do you run your lights at on the BlueFish? We seem to have similar corals and I've been kind of been confused as to how high to run them.
Thanks!
timfederwitz
New member
Hey Cabo, still liking the Red Sea Reefer? If you could do it all over again, would you buy it or something else?
I am looking at getting a larger tank and the Reefer 250 is in the running. Also looking at possibly a custom tank and sump. Not sure if I like the Red Sea Reefer sump as it seems a bit limited in what you can do with it. Also, custom would allow me to use ALL possible area I have in the location I will put it.
I am looking at getting a larger tank and the Reefer 250 is in the running. Also looking at possibly a custom tank and sump. Not sure if I like the Red Sea Reefer sump as it seems a bit limited in what you can do with it. Also, custom would allow me to use ALL possible area I have in the location I will put it.
