Hentz
New member
Howdy folks!
This will be a build thread on my downgrade. Why the downgrade?
Seeing this tank in person at the LFS a while ago, I fell in love with it and the whole Red Sea Reefer series. What amazing and clean looking setups. As I picked this one up, it was smaller than I recalled. It had me a little worried until I set it up with my rock and realized it's quite a decent size!
The one issue I had with the tank is the loudness of the drain. After realizing with all Reefers, it takes some tweaking and tuning to get the drain dialed in just right. Though once its there, it's quite a silent tank!
The stand that comes with the Reefer 170 is very neat, modern, and sleek looking. However it is quite compact. That being said, while there is some room to allow you to get creative with cable management, its a possibility I may be building a side cabinet for electronics. Something sleek and black that will match the stand perfectly. This will allow for a much neater look underneath the cabinet. My OCD is pretty bad and looking neat and clean is a big deal to me!
Lighting was a tough decision. I love T5's and have had great success with them. My only drawback on T5's was, I had no where to hang a T5 fixture. I had the option to mount something to the wall or stand to hang them, however I like a clean clean look. Plus the house I'll be in gets quite warm in the summer (Las Vegas heat..) and I didn't want my tank to reach above 80.5 degrees. So LED's were my option. I love LED's a lot and have had great success with them in the past, especially Hydra 26HD's. I wanted to go Radion, which is still a possibility in the future. The SPS AB+ profile setting Ecotech Marine really intrigues me. The reviews I have read show people having great success with the profile. Though with the release of the new HMS mount from AI and past success I've had with the Hydra 26HD, I love the look and color it gives. I was short on time as the few Acropora I do have, were dwindling away with no light.
The Gyre 130 is a downgrade from the Gyre 150 I was previously using on my 56 Gallon Reef. I haven't had a chance to setup the Gyre 130 completely. Its pushing water, but I believe I may have the powerhead completely angled wrong so its not really doing much. Though when I have a chance, I'll get on it and get the flow situated.
The Bubble Magus Curve 5 may be a tad too tall for this sump. The water depth I had the skimmer in my Emerald 26 Sump was perfect and was skimming very nicely. Now its not skimming the greatest and the foam is a little too low in the neck. I'm hoping with a little tweaking or maybe even settling in the new water height, it will start pumping again. If not, I may need to slightly downgrade that as well.
Overall, I'm impressed with the tank. While I had a tank similar to it in size, IM Fusion 40, having the sump makes it a lot better. I love the size of the tanks. They're small and compact, but still allow you to have some fun. My aquascape will allow me to place a variety of Acropora across flat-ish surfaces while still getting a perfect amount of light from above.
System Type: ZEOvit SPS Dominant
Display System:
Display Tank: 24.5x20x20 Reefer 170 - 34 Gallons
Display Lighting: Hydra 26HD w/ HMS Mount
Sump: 12x10
Support System:
Display Flow: Maxspect Gyre-130. (May go MP10QDx2)
Return Pump: EHEIM Compact +2000 Pump
Reactor: Vertex RX-Z 1.5 ZEOlite Reactor
Skimmer: Bubble Magus Curve 5 Protein Skimmer
ATO: Reefer Series ATU
Doser: BRS 1.1ml Doser x2
Controller: Apex Jr. w/ Energy Bar 4 & 8
Chemical Support:
Alkalinity: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #1
Calcium: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #2
ZEOvit:
Planned Water Chemistry: ZEOvit Recommendation
Nitrates: 0 ppm
Phosphates: 0 ppm
Alkalinity: 7-7.5dKH
Calcium: 410 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Magnesium: 1250 ppm
Potassium: 400 ppm
System Plan:
The plan for this system is to run it as close as possible to ZEOvit's guide. This would mean keeping the system ULNS (Ultra Low Nutrient System) while maintaining bright and healthy Acropora. I also plan on doing my absolute best to keep unwanted algae and pests out of the system. I'll also be focusing on purchasing mini colony to colony size acropora. However I'm sure I will obtain a select few frags.
This will be a build thread on my downgrade. Why the downgrade?
Seeing this tank in person at the LFS a while ago, I fell in love with it and the whole Red Sea Reefer series. What amazing and clean looking setups. As I picked this one up, it was smaller than I recalled. It had me a little worried until I set it up with my rock and realized it's quite a decent size!
The one issue I had with the tank is the loudness of the drain. After realizing with all Reefers, it takes some tweaking and tuning to get the drain dialed in just right. Though once its there, it's quite a silent tank!
The stand that comes with the Reefer 170 is very neat, modern, and sleek looking. However it is quite compact. That being said, while there is some room to allow you to get creative with cable management, its a possibility I may be building a side cabinet for electronics. Something sleek and black that will match the stand perfectly. This will allow for a much neater look underneath the cabinet. My OCD is pretty bad and looking neat and clean is a big deal to me!
Lighting was a tough decision. I love T5's and have had great success with them. My only drawback on T5's was, I had no where to hang a T5 fixture. I had the option to mount something to the wall or stand to hang them, however I like a clean clean look. Plus the house I'll be in gets quite warm in the summer (Las Vegas heat..) and I didn't want my tank to reach above 80.5 degrees. So LED's were my option. I love LED's a lot and have had great success with them in the past, especially Hydra 26HD's. I wanted to go Radion, which is still a possibility in the future. The SPS AB+ profile setting Ecotech Marine really intrigues me. The reviews I have read show people having great success with the profile. Though with the release of the new HMS mount from AI and past success I've had with the Hydra 26HD, I love the look and color it gives. I was short on time as the few Acropora I do have, were dwindling away with no light.
The Gyre 130 is a downgrade from the Gyre 150 I was previously using on my 56 Gallon Reef. I haven't had a chance to setup the Gyre 130 completely. Its pushing water, but I believe I may have the powerhead completely angled wrong so its not really doing much. Though when I have a chance, I'll get on it and get the flow situated.
The Bubble Magus Curve 5 may be a tad too tall for this sump. The water depth I had the skimmer in my Emerald 26 Sump was perfect and was skimming very nicely. Now its not skimming the greatest and the foam is a little too low in the neck. I'm hoping with a little tweaking or maybe even settling in the new water height, it will start pumping again. If not, I may need to slightly downgrade that as well.
Overall, I'm impressed with the tank. While I had a tank similar to it in size, IM Fusion 40, having the sump makes it a lot better. I love the size of the tanks. They're small and compact, but still allow you to have some fun. My aquascape will allow me to place a variety of Acropora across flat-ish surfaces while still getting a perfect amount of light from above.
System Type: ZEOvit SPS Dominant
Display System:
Display Tank: 24.5x20x20 Reefer 170 - 34 Gallons
Display Lighting: Hydra 26HD w/ HMS Mount
Sump: 12x10
Support System:
Display Flow: Maxspect Gyre-130. (May go MP10QDx2)
Return Pump: EHEIM Compact +2000 Pump
Reactor: Vertex RX-Z 1.5 ZEOlite Reactor
Skimmer: Bubble Magus Curve 5 Protein Skimmer
ATO: Reefer Series ATU
Doser: BRS 1.1ml Doser x2
Controller: Apex Jr. w/ Energy Bar 4 & 8
Chemical Support:
Alkalinity: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #1
Calcium: E.S.V. B-Ionic Comp. #2
ZEOvit:
- ZEOstart3 0.1ml Morning/Night.
- ZEObak 1 drop three times a week.
- ZEOfood7 usage depends on corals.
- Sponge Power 1 drop every other night.
- Flatworm Stop 1ml every night (Once tank gets more stocked with Acropora.)
- Will add other ZEOvit products as needed.
Planned Water Chemistry: ZEOvit Recommendation
Nitrates: 0 ppm
Phosphates: 0 ppm
Alkalinity: 7-7.5dKH
Calcium: 410 ppm
Salinity: 1.026
Magnesium: 1250 ppm
Potassium: 400 ppm
System Plan:
The plan for this system is to run it as close as possible to ZEOvit's guide. This would mean keeping the system ULNS (Ultra Low Nutrient System) while maintaining bright and healthy Acropora. I also plan on doing my absolute best to keep unwanted algae and pests out of the system. I'll also be focusing on purchasing mini colony to colony size acropora. However I'm sure I will obtain a select few frags.
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