monkeyCmonkeyDo
7500 Club Member
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Pacific Northwest Reefers
Build Thread Contributor
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2019
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- Review score
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- Location
- Puyallup, Wa USA
Is that a clown tang?
D
D
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This meme this is my partner 100%. Love this build by the way!June 16. R-Day +1
In preparation for my ReefMat upgrade I decided to unbox everything, find out what parts are all included, how everything works and goes together and how the actual installation and removal process for the fleece roll works. From what everyone says, the ReefMat is light years above the other fleece rollers - and the fact that even I could figure it out in a few minutes probably speaks volumes.
This is everything you get with your Red Sea ReefMat 500 (minus the German Tropic Marin salt and the PVC adapter from Home Depot that's too big for the locking collar immediately adjacent to it). You even get carbon!
View attachment 2714023
But let's get the nitty gritty stuff out of the way. For a non-G2 Reefer setup with at least the 625 models and up (and possibly the 425 and 525, but I'm not sure about the overflow pipe diameters on those) - it comes with everything you need (except the sump modification kit). When you cut the main overflow pipe Red Sea provides a locking collar adapter with gasket that the ReefMat hose simply screws onto. You only need to find a 1-1.5" piece of PVC to glue the collar to your existing overflow pipe (don't worry - I'll post pictures of all this before I do the install). On the other Reefers you can just slip the flexible tubing over the overflow pipe (after cutting) and affix it in-place with either sealant or zip ties.
Addendum: It looks like a 1-1/4" PVC adapter will fit the overflow pipe « » locking collar, but I'll confirm later. Home Depot didn't have anything smaller than a 2" diameter so I'll have to hunt around.
The flexible hose for the ReefMat screws onto this collar (lefty tighty in this case), and since you can unscrew the collar you have the option of either sealing the flexible hose to the collar with the included sealant or leaving it (I'll probably opt for the latter since it's basically gravity fed and there's actually a fairly tight seal already).
The ReefMat is ambidextrous - meaning you can install the tubing, motor or sensor on whatever side of the unit makes the most sense (the motor and sensor do have to go on the same side, though). I'm opting to run everything on the right of the unit - even if this means I have to slide it over slightly to the left to access the controls (this saves about 1' of wiring that would otherwise have be placed behind the unit). All the necessary plate and pipe covers are provided to seal up whatever side of the unit you don't utilize.
Size-wise it's smaller than I expected (a good thing), and takes up roughly the same space as the 8x4x4" MarinePure media blocks in my media chamber. It will block a bit of direct viewing and access to the pair of Nyos reactors I run in the back - so I'll have to view those from an off angle (this isn't something I regularly do anyway - other than to occasionally check on the flow).
Minor gripes: packing was great, but I wish that Red Sea would place the ReefMat unit itself in an inverted plastic bag just to keep the dust (etc.) off everything. A quick wipe/dry remedied this (it wasn't too bad). Everything else was bagged, boxed/sealed and bubble-wrapped so this seemed like an odd oversight. As with most Red Sea instructions these can be somewhat lacking, so if you're confused about a specific part you may need to refer to the Red Sea website section for the ReefMat. I definitely recommend pre-assembling and trying out the unit on "dry land" as opposed to trying to do this after you've placed it in the sump - as it will be a much dryer and less 'colorful' experience when you invariably screw something up.
My wife gave me a hand reviewing and setting everything up along with advice on how I should "blow out/discount all the old filter socks and trays" (do you think someone's anxious to see this installed?), and took the opportunity for a joke at my expense about replacing the fleece rolls. I think this sums up her impressions best:
View attachment 2714008
The in-cabinet RO is half empty, so it looks like I'll probably be looking to install this on Sunday at the earliest.
I actually have two lyretail anthias which we haven't named yet (both female), so I think it's a great idea!I'm sorry, but I must insist you add 2 more females so you can have "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!"
(Doh!), yes.Is that a clown tang?
D
I think the really bad part are the Koala bears... no way I am letting one of those near me...View attachment 2722634
right seriously this is ridiculous! This is at the office today…
Stranger that you zoomed in on that LOLI think the really bad part are the Koala bears... no way I am letting one of those near me...
Are those the bio bricks wrapped in plastic on the right side?June 20. Z-Day Part II: Installation
I know I hinted at a video but you'll have to be content with a few post-install images. 15 minutes my a**. Maybe if you have an empty, dry sump sitting on a pedestal in front of you under a spotlight. But for most of us stuck working within the confines of the Red Sea cabinet, you should factor in at least an hour + cleanup time going around with a net to scoop up all the tiny pieces of black silicone.
It took me 3.5 hours in total, which included:
* Removal of all my media from the refugium chamber (15min)
* Cleaning off the Neptune probes (5min)
* Scrubbing the sump, decalcifying the waterline in the sump and snail removal (40min)
* Filtering all the crap out in the sump with a Sicce Zero pump into a filter sock (30min)
* Hacking and slicing the filter compartment out (1hr)
* Cleaning up all the excess silicone still left on the glass (20min)
* Running cables for the ReefMat and relocating a Sicce Nano Voyager for the sump (20min)
* ReefMat installation: connecting to ReefBeat, updating firmware, configuration (20min)
I have two minor leaks (drips) in my plumbing which I'm attributing to old silicone, so I'll have to briefly take my system offline again tomorrow to apply a few beads of silicone to seal everything up.
View attachment 2717459
I didn't have the time (or energy) to perform maintenance on the Sicce SDC 9.0, clean that section of the sump, swap out for silicone tubing or replace the in-cabinet RO reservoir (the Neptune ATK is just sitting on one of the reactors in a green bag so it doesn't get any salt creep). I also want to upgrade my heating system to a new Innovative Marine Helio - so I'll need access for this (I won't lie - not looking forward to it).
Right now I'm running between 0.8-1.0" of fleece every 20 minutes. It's picking up an obscene amount of crap and the tank is crystal clear (maybe the clearest it's ever been). I suspect (and hope!) this will start slowing down after the first 24-48 hours, so I'll be following up with an updated graph on fleece usage. The 375ml media tray under the ReefMat 500 has been put to good use with the included Red Sea carbon.
What I wasn't expecting was how much more room I have in my sump. It's actually pretty incredible. The two MarinePure blocks above were previously sandwiched together on the left side - so I have a ton of room for more media. I temporarily threw the 1.5" MarinePure spheres into the media cups for now (I'll need a few more of those or something larger). Although you can barely see it on the right, there's a Sicce Nano Voyager providing flow in the right side of the new and improved refugium/media chamber (there's only a trickle down the emergency overflow so I moved the wavemaker there to ensure a continuous flow in that part of the sump).
I picked up some of the new Polyp Lab Genesis rocks, so once I get caught-up I'm going to populate those and place somewhere in the sump as well (possibly under the ReefMat). They look to be much higher quality (and less chip-prone) than the MarinePure blocks.
Was this worth the effort? Definitely. Is the G2/ReefMat-ready sump worth every penny? Absolutely. For those of us who don't have a G2 system, the Red Sea Sump Modification Kit is an absolute must. And from what I can see so far - the ReefMat is performing beyond expectations.
Those are the 8x8x4" MarinePure bio blocks - there's a wavemaker just to the right of them which is generating some nice ripples/reflection action.Are those the bio bricks wrapped in plastic on the right side?
Oh ok I'm blind it looked like they were in plastic bags. How much volume is the sump 120g ?Those are the 8x8x4" MarinePure bio blocks - there's a wavemaker just to the right of them which is generating some nice ripples/reflection action.
No worries - it does actually look like they're shrink-wrapped, lol. The sump is the stock 40 gallons, but if I had to estimate actual water volume I'd probably place it somewhere around 30-34 gallons. As you can see from the image - without the filter sock and overflow compartment it actually frees up a lot of real estate. I could easily place another pair of MarinePure bio blocks in that section, but I'm content simply having improved flow and more access.Oh ok I'm blind it looked like they were in plastic bags. How much volume is the sump 120g ?
Did we go back in time??June 19. Z-Day Part V: The End of an
Haha, that infernal Wayback machine is so touchy lately...Did we go back in time??