Jump to content

Davids Reefer 350 build.


DavidK

Recommended Posts

Decided to start a build thread to track the progress on my reefer 350. I am almost done setting it up so but here is the progress I have so far.

Picked up the tank on October 11th 2017. 

20171011_172508.jpg

Bought a lot of goodies. 

20171212_232504.jpg''

On October 18th I finally got around to moving my current tank and putting the reefer 350 in its place. Didn't have all the plumbing parts I needed for the vectra so I hooked up a spare sicce pump I had laying around. I added some caribsea sand and about 100lbs of dry rock that I had cycling and filled the bad boy up with some water.

 

20171018_113006.jpg

Took my son to Disneyland for Halloween. A little after we got back all the parameters were testing good so I started moving over some live stock and corals.

FragMove.jpg

 

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I slowly worked on stuff underneath the tank and on 12/12 I finally got the time to hard plumb in the vectra m1 and convert the stock ato into a fuge.20171212_160905.jpg20171212_231703.jpg

It was almost midnight when i turned everything back on. Still need to get some chaeto for the fuge and hookup the reactor back up.

Edited by DavidK
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Emerald525 said:

Whoa !! Christmas came early for you! Very nice clean build and nice equipment! I love the Red Sea Tanks ! So are you planning on dosing trace elements and supplements too along with the calcium , alk and mag?

Yes. I have been succssfully using the complete red sea reef care program for the last two years. I dose trace elements based on calcium uptake and test every few weeks to make sure they are still in alignment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The red sea program is the only thing I have ever used so I don't have anything else to compare it to but it has been working well for me. 

Received a shipment of pods today. Finished up the fuge and got the reactor hooked back up. Also picked up a few sticks from cuttlefish.20171215_133537.jpg20171215_133827.jpg20171215_231749.jpg20171216_121857.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

55 minutes ago, Gil&Fin said:

Really nice build, David.  Is that an iPad I see on the stand door?

Thanks! Its a Surface Pro I had laying around. I have it connected to my Seneye instead of buying their web server. It comes in handy for keeping track of test results as well.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Little update on the tank. Been busy with the holidays but was able to mount most of my frags. Last night I swapped out the bubble trap foam in the sump for some marine pure blocks. I have seen both good and bad reviews about these them be decided to give it a shot. They are pretty brittle so we will see how they hold up.

IMG_0013.JPG20180108_235754.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Bubbles said:

How do you like the Jebao doser? I'm on my third one in a month.

So far they are working out just fine. I have had them setup for just over a month and measured the output just last week and everything was still spot on. I have read about a pretty even mix of good and bad reviews about jebao stuff but the dosing pumps seem to be more on the positive side. I was using two of their wave makers on my previous tank for well over a year without any issues so decided to give the dosing pumps a try. Hopefully the $60 a pop doesn't turn out to be a costly mistake. What issue have you had with yours?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, DavidK said:

So far they are working out just fine. I have had them setup for just over a month and measured the output just last week and everything was still spot on. I have read about a pretty even mix of good and bad reviews about jebao stuff but the dosing pumps seem to be more on the positive side. I was using two of their wave makers on my previous tank for well over a year without any issues so decided to give the dosing pumps a try. Hopefully the $60 a pop doesn't turn out to be a costly mistake. What issue have you had with yours?

The motor shaft slips on the rollers I would prefer a dosing pump where the rollers are physically attached to the like the libra. But I cant afford it. I have recently started putting rubbing alcohol on the dosing head to keep salt creep and moisture to a minimum which so far has been working. The other problem I've had is one of the units just completely stopped working altogether. I'm thinking about modifying the head so it will be more accurate and robust. If it works ill create a thread about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Got one of the new screen kits from red sea today. Even though the pictures showed cutouts for the light brackets, I guess you have to order the cutouts for those seperate so i wont be able to assemble it until then. On a side note this kit seems top notch. It's hefty aluminum and better quality then the kit from BRS I was running on another tank. 

20180123_201920.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, youcallmenny said:

I just put the BRS screen kit on mine.  I couldn't find the first party red sea one. Where'd you find it?  Also what light are you using for the wire cabinet?  Trying to decide how to light mine up. 

I got it from https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/. The seem to be one of the first retailers in the US to get them. This was my first order from them and they ship fast. Only took two days to get here. 

For the cabinet lights I was in a hurry to get something down there so I just went to home depot and picked up a couple of these https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-18-in-Battery-Operated-LED-Utility-Light-27510/205972249. They work out pretty good. I was worried about them being battery operated but so far the batteries have lasted 3 months with almost daily use. The only thing I would change would be to get the ones with motion sensors. 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I see your using a Keesil H80, what spectrum do you have it set to,  about how far off the water surface do you have it, and whats your thoughts on Cheato Growth? I have been using one for a few months and it might be positioned a little high but I running it on 100% intensity on 55 (between Growth & red) and I'm not really impressed with what I'm seeing, was thinking about upgrading to an H380 and from other reviews online it seems others might be having issues as it is only 15W.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Exodus said:

I see your using a Keesil H80, what spectrum do you have it set to,  about how far off the water surface do you have it, and whats your thoughts on Cheato Growth? I have been using one for a few months and it might be positioned a little high but I running it on 100% intensity on 55 (between Growth & red) and I'm not really impressed with what I'm seeing, was thinking about upgrading to an H380 and from other reviews online it seems others might be having issues as it is only 15W.

I have it set to 100% on grow and its about 2 inches off the surface I usually keep a baseball size of cheato and it will grow to fill the whole ato tank in about 3 to 4 weeks and then I toss the excess and start over again. I have ran 3 different lights on various sumps I have had and this is by far the best growth I have seen but it is also the most expensive of the lights I have run on a sump. The others were the eshopps curve and a magnafuge. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...