Oseymour's Red Sea Reefer 350 (75 gallon) Build Thread

[oseymour]

I've always wanted to do a build thread and I finally have my chance.

I will be upgrading from a 50 gallon breeder to a Red Sea Reefer 350 which is about 75 gallons (47 long, by 20 wide by 21 high) It's not a large upgrade gallons-wise. We live in a NYC apartment so not much space but the wife and I feel like the upgrade is warranted for a couple of reasons.

• I'm using a standard Aqueon Pine stand and over the past year it's become rusted and stained with salt creep. The tank is in our living room and it's one of the first things people look at when they come over.
  
• The sump space is tight, I'm a big man(6"4) and it's hard to do maintenance. I had to assemble the vertex omega 130 in the sump.
  
• I'm using a glass holes overflow and it is LOUD. The Reefer uses the Herbie overflow so hopefully I can tune it to be silent.

I attached pictures of my current tank.

My equipment list for my new tank will be

• I'll use my current MP40s on the new build
• Single AP700 with 2 x 48" ATI T5 to supplement.
• Vectra M1 Return pump - I will also use this to run 2 reactors. I'm a little worried that this will cause the Herbie overflow to lose it's siphon over time so I'll use unions and build it in a way so it's easy to remove the reactors.
• Vertex Omega 150 Skimmer. I'm not sure if I'll re-use the 130 and return the 150.
• SkimZ BR83 Biopellet Reactor. (I feed heavy so carbon dosing will help keep nutrients down)
• I have 75 pounds of Pukani rock curing.
• I have a block of marine pure in my current sump being seeded with bacteria which will help the new tank. (I ordered another one but it came broken from BRS and I'm waiting on a replacement to be shipped.
• I will be using grey fittings with Red PVC (My wife's choice)

New tank is being leak tested and hopefully I have time to assemble to stand tomorrow. I need to make sure that my current stock of 5 fish transfers well.

 

[Reef Frog]

Nice tank. You're also using some good equipment there too. I'll be following along. One nice thing about these tanks is the subtle engineering that goes into them. You should be able to make it completely silent (water noise) and salt creep should not be a. Issue.

Have fun!

 

[oseymour]

I will be carrying my Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO and my Advanced Acrylics 9 Gallon ATO Box over to my new build.

I did a terrible job of cord management over the last year and a half so this is going to be a chore to squeeze behind this tank and undo/separate the wires. I can't believe I was this careless. I definitely have to do better this time around.

I'll also have to go to HomeDepot or Lowes and get holding containers for my live rock and fish while I break the old tank down and build the new tank.

I'll start to piece together the plumbing today as I heard people usually have to make 2 or 3 runs to the hardware store to get it done. Since I'm using the grey schedule 80 piping from BRS, It takes at least 3 days.

Added pictures of rock curing, the cord octopus behind the current tank and miscellaneous other equipment. Bonus shot of my 3 year old who loves the tank.

 

[oseymour]

Nice tank. You're also using some good equipment there too. I'll be following along. One nice thing about these tanks is the subtle engineering that goes into them. You should be able to make it completely silent (water noise) and salt creep should not be a. Issue.

Have fun!

Thanks, that's one of the reasons we went with the Red Sea. I saw one on display and I'm confident it will look like a piece of art in my living room.

 

[Herbie]

Following along too ! I was so impressed with these Red Sea Reefer tanks that I had to grab a 170 to try out for myself (actually have your old Kessil 360we on it !) . So far, I really like it and yes, it will be very quiet ! Its quiet enough for me and I am kind of a stickler on my tanks being , well ......... very quiet !
Good call on the 3155 . The only short coming on the Reefer tanks is that useless Red Sea top off system. I re-purposed my red sea top off reservoir into a refugium (pics are in the Red Sea Reefer thread) .
I would caution on using the main pump for anything else but a return pump. Even the slightest variance in pump pressure for any reason ,even barometric pressure changes and water level that the pump is running in, will change the pump flow ever so slightly that it will be hard to keep the tuned overflow adjusted perfectly . Adding reactors to that , will just compound things . Try it ..........but you may have issues keeping the tuned downflow adjustment rock solid.
Other thank that ..........your equipment list looks impressive. That AP 700 should be a perfect match for that tank.
Good luck on the build !

 

[oseymour]

I would caution on using the main pump for anything else but a return pump. Even the slightest variance in pump pressure for any reason ,even barometric pressure changes and water level that the pump is running in, will change the pump flow ever so slightly that it will be hard to keep the tuned overflow adjusted perfectly . Adding reactors to that , will just compound things . Try it ..........but you may have issues keeping the tuned downflow adjustment rock solid.

I hear you Herbie, your advice is the reason I've put so many areas where it's quick to disassemble if this becomes an issue. I have issues with my tank overheating in the summer and I'm trying my best to avoid another pump.

My LFS guy has assured me that the Vectra pump can sense the differences in pressure and adjust accordingly. I just posted in the Ecotech forum to get some confirmation.

I have an Sicce and a couple of Jebao pumps ready to go. If I decide to go with a chiller, I'll use the Jebao to run the reactors and chiller.

 

[sixpackgarage]

Looks like your son is enjoying the equipment! Looking good.. let's see some more pics!

 

[oseymour]

Over the last 2 days I finally got the tank up and running. It was a lot of work especially being in a tiny NYC apartment but it was worth it. We had buckets and pans and a huge blue barrel in my living room next to my TV.

Here is the best full tank shot I could get. I still gotta learn to work my very expensive camera.

The Kessil AP700 is about 13 inches above the water line.

 

[Brieninsac]

Setup is always a chore, but the end result will be worth it.

 

[oseymour]

Here is a picture of the sump. The Skimz biopellet reactor is behind the Vertex 150 skimmer running 1/3 a cup of Vertex biopellets. I sucessfully used carbon dosing in the past but I figured this time I would start early rather than reacting to high nitrates.

I messed up with sizing the plumbing and purchase 3/4 inch schedule 80 grey and red PVC when the return hose is 1/2 inch. I'll need to wait a couple days for it to be delivered from BRS. I went to homedepot and lowes and they didn't have the grey pvc in stock.

So I'm using my old Jebao return pump while i wait for my BRS order to arrive.

The right side of the sump is a mess, still have to do some cable organization there.

I'm not using the included Red Sea top up system.

 

[oseymour]

Setup is always a chore, but the end result will be worth it.

I certain hope so, I love this tank. Wife moved it to prime location next to our TV in the living room when she saw me putting it together and it is the highlight of the apartment.

Now I need a bigger TV to compete with the tank for attention . I have a 50 inch but might need a 70.

 

[oseymour]

It's been a while since I updated my build thread and a lot has gone on with the tank. Here is my latest full tank shot.

I changed out the MP40s and added Tunze 6095 on the back wall. I felt I wasn't getting enough flow in the back of the tank and with the pumps now on the back wall and aimed properly, I get flow all over the tank.


Full tank shot with the lights going down.



Full tank shot from an angle

 

[oseymour]

To get full coverage with the AP700 I had to have the fixture more than 20 inches above the tank - this was causing a couple of issues.

• It was covering one of my wife's pictures
• I was still having issues getting coverage on the corners because of the aquascape.
• It was also causing too much light spillover in the living room.

I had to lower the fixture to about 10 inches above the tank.

I added 2 Kessil A160 to provide cover. I had an extra port on my VDM module so I just control them through the Apex. Got a great price on the sales area of RC. I've been doing a lot of buying and selling there recently.

 

[oseymour]

Made changes to the sump.

• I swapped out the Vertex Omega 150 for a Skimz Monzter SM162 External Skimmer. It's fed from a manifold. I was sold based on the BRS 160 Skimmer video. It's performing great and easy to tune.
  
• Still using the Skimz biopellet reactor.
  
• I'm now using an AquaMaxx reactor to run GFO - I couldn't keep the GFO low enough with biopellets. Nitrates are holding at 5.
  
• I'm running carbo in a BRS mini reactor (on the right) - I change it every 2 weeks.
  
• If you notice the pipe on the left from the return pump is white while the rest is red and grey. Somehow I forgot to glue that piece when I set up the tank. You can imagine what happened. It took me about 10 seconds to get my bearings and turn off the pump, it was on full so a couple of gallons spilled. I had to get my carpet deep cleaned to prevent any residual smell.

Red Sea Reefer 350 Sump area by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

 

[oseymour]

I spent almost 2 grand on a Fuji XT1 camera and then had it sitting on a shelf for more than a year. I finally took a photography class to learn how to use it.
My pair of clownfish in their leather coral. My first saltwater fish
Clownfish in Leather Coral by Oral Seymour, on Flickr


My copperband butterfly. He ate all my acans and most of my brain corals but it's my wife's favorite fish so for now he stays.
Copperband Butterfly by Oral Seymour, on Flickr


My friend had this purple tang in a 20 gallon tank. The tang was in bad shape with head and lateral line disease. I've had him for a month and he's looking better - he's eating better and coloring back up nicely. He's now the boss of the tank.
Purple Tang by Oral Seymour, on Flickr


Flame angel hanging out above the reef. He's hasn't touched any corals so far
Flame Angelfish by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

 

[mystikal]

Awesome looking tank

 

[oseymour]

Awesome looking tank

Thanks, this is my 3rd tank and I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of the hobby. It's the first tank where I felt like I wasn't fighting an uphill battle from the start.

I think starting a small amount of bio-pellets at the start helped a lot with nutrient control. I'm not the only one that feeds - so getting a handle on feeding amounts was a losing battle.

 

[oseymour]

My rose bubble tip anemone - Stopped feeding it a month ago on the advice of someone here and it seems to be doing well. Hasn't split and I don't want it to.
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

Zoa garden
Zoa garden by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

Zoa garden top down view
Zoa Garden by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

Euphyllia garden. My wife is a fan of hammers and frogspawns. So far we have 6 and a torch. She's still looking for more. All of these were added as small frags.
Euphyllia Garden by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

 

[oseymour]

I hated the return on the Reefer tanks, the straight return nozzle was blowing all the sand away from the front of the glass, it prevented me from turning up the return pump more than 50%. Broadfield made me this return where he added loc-line to the reefer return tube.

Here is the image
IMG_6031 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

Here is how it looks on the tank. I can direct the flow where I need it to
Loc line return Red Sea Reefer 350 by Oral Seymour, on Flickr

 

[oseymour]

My rose bubble tip anemone split yesterday!

My wife is more excited than I am - I'm worried it's going to move. Luckily I had the anemone isolated on it's own rock. I stopped feeding it for about 2 months now.