My 500G Osama Reef-2

[Midnightt]

In regards to your pumps I've been finding lots of mixed reviews from installers to users. Some say they are great some say the technology isn't there yet.

However, one thing that I'm pretty sure of is that it is the more common main pump in Europe. For some reason they have it all worked out. And, I'm willing to bet that the pumps they are using are not the Chinese built pumps. And, I don't hate the Chinese manufactures. But, lets face it in electronics they use cheap components.

I'm still doing the debate of to DC or not to DC on the tank I'm building. But, one thing is for sure. If money weren't an option I would go with the Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon DC pumps and skip all the Waveline, Diablo, etc.

I hope that gets worked out for you.

 

[Midnightt]

One more thing. In researching I found out that you can buy a power supply from just about any computer supply place to replace the cheap one that has failed on your house. Also, it may not be bad idea to have a backup.

Maybe you call Tiger direct and tell them the specs which, should be listed on the back and they can send you one? My understanding is that the power supplies are poor quality anyways and you may be able to get something pretty cheap and have a backup.

As for your APEX being overloaded I doubt it. Sounds like a programming/connection issue. They should be able to help you over the phone if you need them too.

 

[Osama]

Thanks Midnight for your help. Greatly appreciate it. I like the DC pumps so I beleve you will enjoy yours especially being a more robust supplier .. I do have a spare pump on standby and my installer is pursuing getting a replacement power supply. I will see how it goes with the spare I have and if I get another failure. If I get another failure I will switch from Waveline & Diablo for sure. I will report here on how the pumps are doing for others to know what I am experiencing. I also agree with you, APEX issues if any, got corrected by the Neptune people and mostly was some-kind of misunderstanding on my part.. Thanks.

 

[smb2415]

In regards to your pumps I've been finding lots of mixed reviews from installers to users. Some say they are great some say the technology isn't there yet.

However, one thing that I'm pretty sure of is that it is the more common main pump in Europe. For some reason they have it all worked out. And, I'm willing to bet that the pumps they are using are not the Chinese built pumps. And, I don't hate the Chinese manufactures. But, lets face it in electronics they use cheap components.

I'm still doing the debate of to DC or not to DC on the tank I'm building. But, one thing is for sure. If money weren't an option I would go with the Royal Exclusiv Red Dragon DC pumps and skip all the Waveline, Diablo, etc.

I hope that gets worked out for you.

Hi Midnightt, I agree with you that if money no option I'd use a Red Dragon as well. However, current pricing on the Red Dragon puts it at over 2x the price of a Waveline. I've always been one to buy the best I could afford and buy it once. However, the Red Dragon is still a tall order. I am happy with my Waveline although it is not my main return pump. If I was to use ANY of these small DC pumps I would either have a spare on-hand or use a 2-pump return.

I guess for me the 2x price is a deterrent as well as for that price if it had a failure I'd repair it. However, parts would likely need to be flown in from Europe. As for the Waveline it's almost a disposable pump other than the controller and power supply, which are both inexpensive and readily available.

Just my rambling and thought process and certainly not attempting to turn this thread into a whole Red Dragon vs. Waveline, etc debate

 

[Midnightt]

SMB I totally agree with you. That's why I'm not buying them either.

Osama from what I found the Waveline and Diablo are built with the same parts at the same place. So it does not really make a difference switching from one to the other with the exceptions that I think Diablo may have a better warranty. +1 on finding a spare power supply from a different manufacturer.

PS your tank is looking great!

 

[Osama]

To ALL it is slow going as my installer does this for me whenever he can as he has a store to run but I trust the guy, have known him for a while AND am happy with his work. He just finished framing the top half of one side of the tank. To see other pictures please go to my thread http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2347859&page=16

I will be posting few pictures later tonight or early tomorrow. Here is one picture This picture is from the Office Side. Other side ( family Room) is next

 

[smb2415]

I love the open sumps! Very neat and clean look!

 

[fishroomlady]

wow! what a beautiful system you have!

 

[Osama]

Midnight, I now know that both are built from same place. I have four pumps running my system and one spare. So for now and until one pump fails I am saving my money and not buying anything for now. If what I have lasts more than 2-3 years I will be Ok with one power supply failure. We shall see and thank you very much for your input.
smb has a good point, that the price of a diablo or waveline is Less than half of a red dragon. Had I known all these facts I would probably go for the red dragon and would have researched it a bit more to see if it would last more than twice as long as the other pumps and if convinced that it would I would buy it!!

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

To ALL it is slow going as my installer does this for me whenever he can as he has a store to run but I trust the guy, have known him for a while AND am happy with his work. He just finished framing the top half of one side of the tank. To see other pictures please go to my thread http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2347859&page=16

I will be posting few pictures later tonight or early tomorrow. Here is one picture This picture is from the Office Side. Other side ( family Room) is next

The look of the tank and systems under the tank look so clean and professionally done.

 

[Osama]

Latest Pictures

Latest Pictures

It has been slow going as my installer does this for me whenever he can as he has a store to run . Here are the latest pictures of the tank taken from the "Office" side. The bottom section that houses sump, refugium and frag tank is now open and I will have doors installed that I can remove or keep on, depending on which look we prefer.
This is our retirement "Show Tank" Installed by Matt of a store named after my tank "Sho-Tank". I hope it is OK to mention the store name. I have known Matt for several years now and I trust his work and you can judge for yourselves from the end results.


here is Matt examining his work

 

[Osama]

Thanks Wayne, fishroomlady and smb... It has taken us a while to get to this point but Wife & I are both extremely pleased with the outcome so far...

 

[jformani]

incredible tank and nice thread. i'm ordering a 130" inch from glasscages shortly so i may bounce some things off of you!

 

[smb2415]

@jformani - research glasscages carefully. I believe I have one and am relatively pleased with it, although I bought it used. Others have had bad experiences.

 

[Osama]

I second smb's statement to research anything you are buying for such a large setup. I did not research things as I relied on my supplier/LFS, not a very good decision on my part. I bought my tank thru a supplier/installer of my system and trusted his decision about all purchases and installation setups etc... I got a scare when I noticed void in the seems as shown below. These voids did not materialize into any leaks so far in 6 months... More pictures are in this post... I would prefer a tank with clean seams and no voids

 

[jformani]

Yes wow I just read the entire thread and saw this. Makes me question this builder. Wondering if I can make sure before they send there are no bubbles? I may do this.

 

[jformani]

I do have to admit I've fired off several questions, made several calls and they are on top of things. Answered every question with in an hour of me sending them over. Not so with other custom tank manufacturers. I've yet to get a response to VM and email and its been over a week. Just called one on east coast that has a discount listed on their website and the guy was so rude I knew in 10 seconds I'd never deal with him. Thanks for the feedback and again great info!!!

 

[Osama]

Maybe others can comment on their experiences with larger tanks if they have seen void in the seams and is this the norm or a defect. Although I do not like seeing these voids I do not know what is the norm: Should we expect or not expect to have long seams free of bubbles. I would hope that we should get seams free of bubbles/voids but I am not sure of what the industry practice is So I am hoping that the tank never leaks and so far no leaks..

 

[SPotter]

My 500G Osama Reef-2

I would expect seems that have any kind voids in it on any size tank. When I first got back into the hobby and started looking around for tanks I sent inquiries to glass cages and they were very quick to respond. But the more I read about them the more concerned I was. Apparently there prompt responses aren't so prompt after the sale and especially when there's a problem. Their warranty isn't that great. Other companies won't respond as quickly to new inquiries but when there's a problem they will be there to fix it not give you a bunch of excuses why you should live with it. There's a member on here with a 500 gallon tank from AGE and a few months after the tank was up he noticed gas bubbles in the glass. AGE had people come out to take his tank back to their shop, they replaced the front and re-delivered it to him. Yeah it was a hassle to take everything out of the tank but they stood behind their product. You will never see that from glass cages and if they do cover something under the warranty you will have to pay for the shipping. I'm happy that Osama's tank has been holding up but for the size tank you're talking about doing I don't think I could sleep at night if if was built by glass cages.

 

[Osama]

First sorry for not posting for three months. Explanation to follow. First if I had done my homework and researched for best tank supplier and not relied on my contractor's recommendation I would probably have selected a different brand. Although the tank is holding water I will always be uncomfortable with having a very expensive setup that has as the main display a tank with multiple voids!!! I keep examining the voids and they seem to be increasing in number size and some seem to me to be joining together.. Pls see next post for reasons of not posting