Making a come back

[Danielie21]

Hello everyone,

I've been out of the game for a couple of years but before i left the hobby i was a member of MCSAC here in the Tri Cites. After leaving the hobby i've lost contact with a lot of the members and finding out that the club was dissolved and the only LFS is closed, so i'm thinking of picking up the hobby again. I had a 55g with a 20g long sump with a couple of clowns and 2 6 line wrasses with a rtba. I wanted to do more at the time but the now X didn't want the tank anymore so off it went.

Since that problem is taken care of I would like to get back into having a tank and some corals. I've been eyeing the Red Sea Reefer 250 or 350 i'm up in the air with any other suggestions that you may have as well. I would like to keep it simple and start to teach my kids about keeping a tank and maybe down the road getting a little nano for them to take care of. The one of many question I have for now is before my tank was on a concrete floor in my old house and since then i've moved and have a sub flooring. Should I look at putting some kind of bracing under the 2 by 6's or would they be fine to hold that much weight?

[SuncrestReef]

Welcome back to the hobby, and welcome to PNWMAS!

I own a Red Sea Reefer XL 425.  I like it, but there are a few things about Red Sea that annoy me.  The worst thing about it is the overflow valve which needs constant adjustment to keep the overflow quiet.  It's a diaphragm valve which is very sensitive, so only 1/8 of a rotation is sometimes too much adjustment.  The second annoying thing is that the plumbing is brittle plastic rather than typical PVC, so you need to be very careful not to overtighten any fittings to avoid cracking them.  Lastly, the plumbing is metric, so connecting it to standard PVC fittings is a challenge.

I've heard a lot of good feedback about WaterBox, and also recently I learned of Neptunian Cube.  Both offer complete systems like Red Sea, so I'd recommend considering them before you buy.

I'm not a structural engineer, but from what I've heard a tank of the size you're considering should be fine without extra floor support as long as it's against a wall. Of course you should get second opinions on that.

You can see my detailed Reefer XL 425 build thread here:  https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/

Good luck!

[Danielie21]

@SuncrestReef Thank you for the welcome and the idea to look at the water box tanks. I've sent two days reading your build on r2r and dang that is a lot of information there and now i see what i miss this hobby. Your mixing station pictures had me going 90 mph thinking how i can do that in my garage. I hope you do mind but i'm going to borrow that idea. I have to say i'm going to get the Reef 130.4 model. I've made up a shopping list for now and was wondering if anyone wouldn't mind looking over it and offering up their two cents.

Red Sea MCP Test Kit Master Care https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/mcp-test-kit-marine-master-care-red-sea/

TurboStart 9000 https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/turbostart-900-saltwater-4-oz-up-to-100-gallon-tanks-fritz/

CSPDI 4 Stage 90-GPD  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/cspdi-4-stage-standard-90-gpd-ro-di-system-manual-flush-cspdi-90-mf-spectrapure/

eFlux Loop DC Flow Return Pump 1900 GPH https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-dc-flow-return-pump-1900-gph-current-usa/

40 lbs of Dry Rock  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/money-saver-aquarium-dry-live-rock-by-the-lb/

eFlux Loop Wave Pump 1050 gph kit https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-wave-pump-1050-gph-complete-kit-current-usa/

eFlux Loop Wave Pump 1050 pump only  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-accessory-wave-pump-1050-gph-pump-only-current-usa/

Arag-Alive Caribsea Sand 60 lbs https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/arag-alive-special-grade-reef-sand-20-lb-1-0-2-0-mm-caribsea/

ReefLed 90w LED lights  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/reefled-90w-wifi-reef-spec-led-red-sea/

 

 

[SuncrestReef]

15 minutes ago, Danielie21 said:

@SuncrestReef Thank you for the welcome and the idea to look at the water box tanks. I've sent two days reading your build on r2r and dang that is a lot of information there and now i see what i miss this hobby. Your mixing station pictures had me going 90 mph thinking how i can do that in my garage. I hope you do mind but i'm going to borrow that idea. I have to say i'm going to get the Reef 130.4 model. I've made up a shopping list for now and was wondering if anyone wouldn't mind looking over it and offering up their two cents.

Red Sea MCP Test Kit Master Care https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/mcp-test-kit-marine-master-care-red-sea/

TurboStart 9000 https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/turbostart-900-saltwater-4-oz-up-to-100-gallon-tanks-fritz/

CSPDI 4 Stage 90-GPD  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/cspdi-4-stage-standard-90-gpd-ro-di-system-manual-flush-cspdi-90-mf-spectrapure/

eFlux Loop DC Flow Return Pump 1900 GPH https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-dc-flow-return-pump-1900-gph-current-usa/

40 lbs of Dry Rock  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/money-saver-aquarium-dry-live-rock-by-the-lb/

eFlux Loop Wave Pump 1050 gph kit https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-wave-pump-1050-gph-complete-kit-current-usa/

eFlux Loop Wave Pump 1050 pump only  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/eflux-loop-accessory-wave-pump-1050-gph-pump-only-current-usa/

Arag-Alive Caribsea Sand 60 lbs https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/arag-alive-special-grade-reef-sand-20-lb-1-0-2-0-mm-caribsea/

ReefLed 90w LED lights  https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/reefled-90w-wifi-reef-spec-led-red-sea/

 

 

Glad you liked my build thread.  You wouldn't be the first to steal my mixing station design.  Take a look at this thread from our fellow PNWMAS member @obrien.david.j who took my design to the next level with some awesome LED back lighting:  http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/topic/46664-fishroom-remodel-has-begun/?do=findComment&comment=462232

 

I don't have any personal experience with the hardware list you posted, but those look like quality products.  I'm sure others here may be able to chime in.

[Danielie21]

@SuncrestReef  yes i saw that this afternoon on here after going through your build thread. Wonderful idea wish i did something like that i was just using brute trash cans on caster wheels next to my tank to do water changes, had to stretch the carpets a to fix the rolls i created. 

Thanks for the input on the equipment i did relize that i forgot a skimmer as well so i'll do some digging on one of them. 

[Gumby]

Welcome! I like your list. Good research. I use 2 extra stage in my RO unit. I add an extra carbon filter and 2 DI stages. When the first DI stage is exhausted i refill and move the 2nd stage to the 1st so I get a little longer use. Don't know much about the red sea led but for around the same price the AI led light might be one to check out. I think also reef fi is making a single puck light but not sure of the price.

[Savo]

I saw a couple Red Sea tanks on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace 

[Danielie21]

I saw a couple Red Sea tanks on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace 

Savo,

I'm not sure where your located but there isn't much in the Tri Cities area to look at, and I no longer have a truck to haul it.

At lunch today I went ahead and bit the bullet and got a Waterbox Reef 130.4 with their auto top-off system. I will look around for my other parts else were to price them out later tonight or tomorrow.

Happy reefing

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[Danielie21]

What are some good online places to do some pricing on my equipment list. I know about brs, marine depot, and saltwater aquarium, i always just got my stuff at marine depot or petco.

[scubaethan]

Woohoo congrats on getting the Waterbox 130.4! Did you buy it direct from them? When is it supposed to arrive?

BRS, Marine Depot, and Saltwater Aquarium are the sites I look at the most too. I try not to buy from Amazon, but looking there often has more reviews than other sites just for research.

[Danielie21]

@scubaethan thanks, yes I bought it from their website and did the 24 month payments which wasn't bad ill have it paid off in a couple months.

Yeah i think i would stay away from Amazon on fish stuff but you never know. I did order my equipment list and it should be here by then end of the week. The tank im hoping for the sams but I'm in no hurry i just got 2 55g tanks to setup for a mixing station. So I will get some room cleaned out in my garage, the next trick is getting the rodi lines to where my tank is going to be.

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[SuncrestReef]

8 hours ago, Danielie21 said:

What are some good online places to do some pricing on my equipment list. I know about brs, marine depot, and saltwater aquarium, i always just got my stuff at marine depot or petco.

I get most of my products from BulkReefSupply.com, and harder to find plumbing parts at AquariumSpecialty.com and PVCFittingsOnline.com.

[Trailermann]

My two cents is that Amazon is great for purchasing standard supplies for next day delivery.  Too often, I discover I need a product badly and cannot wait for the BRS delivery time.  Sometimes the cost is a couple of dollars more.

[Higher Thinking]

Welcome to the club. Looks like a solid start! Joist direction, size, spacing, and current quality are what's important when considering load. Assuming you have standard 16" braces running perpendicular to you tank, you are most likely good. Best to be against the load bearing wall, but I've seen people get away with some crazy situations.

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[Danielie21]

Yes the tank will sit perpendicular on the joists and they are 2x10 on 16" centers so it should sit on 4 of them. I'll try to crawl under the house and get some pictures while I'm trying to find a way to route some hoses from the garage to the tank.

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[Danielie21]

If I did my math right the tank should be sitting to this side if the brace. Still gotta figure out how to get from the garage to the tank wall.

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[Higher Thinking]

If I did my math right the tank should be sitting to this side if the brace. Still gotta figure out how to get from the garage to the tank wall.

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Looks like you'll be sitting across those joists right next to that load bearing foundation so that's a solid place to be. You want to avoid being parallel with the joists and also avoid being in the middle of a long span. Seems you have avoided both so that's good.

I'll tell you the same thing my structural engineer friend told me after he worked through all the calculations for my house and my 360 gallon aquarium: "This information is worth as much as you paid for it." [emoji16]

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[Danielie21]

@Higher Thinking thank you for your input. Yes the tank should set across 3 of those joists, i think the center of the tank should be over the drain pipe or close to it.