Broadfield's Red Sea Reefer 450 Build - OCD Inspired... Going Back To a Reef

Broadfield · Sep 2, 2015

Highgrade said:
Nice setup. I'm on the fence about a 350 or the 450. What return pump are you using?

I'm using a Sicce Syncra Silent 5.0. It's the perfect amount of flow for the tank in stock form. However, not that I have added the reactors, I think I'm going to switch out to a Sicce Syncra Pro 1900 to get back to the same flow I had with the Silent 5.0.

Scubafrog said:
Wow, awesome and clean build. Love it. Love the electronic set up in the "chiller" compartment. Does your ATO come from your basement tank? Can you show a full shot of your sump compartment.

At the moment, RO water comes directly from the basement and plumbed into the stock float valve in the sump. I obviously don't trust the float valve in salt water, so I have a shut-off valve in the sump area. I just open the valve every couple of days and set a timer for 30 minutes. I still need to figure out what I want to do for a fail proof ATO. I'll get full shots of the sump soon.

Broadfield · Sep 15, 2015

I snagged an EcoTech Vectra M1 while I was at MACNA. Once I plumbed in the reactors off of a manifold, it was apparent that I needed a higher flow pump. This thing is impressive and really quiet. Even with it attached directly to the schedule 80, it's hard to tell that it's on.

IMG_4164 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

IMG_4166 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

Broadfield · Sep 17, 2015

Took a couple of iPhone pics of the first inhabitants... well, besides the CUC.

This hermit is officially king of the mountain! His shell was sticking up out of the water earlier.

Reefer's Paradise · Sep 17, 2015

Such a stunning set up you have! Tagging along to see where this goes and I'm sure it'll only get better!
I also have the vectra M1 it's such an amazing pump! Talked to a guy from ecotech the other day and I was the first person he talked to that had a Vectra, I'm happy to see someone has it and enjoys it like I do

Reef_Junkies · Sep 17, 2015

Sweet build! I would expect nothing less from Broadfield. I remember reading about your car on Zilvia and Super Street... your attention to detail is out of this world.

Broadfield · Sep 20, 2015

I decided enough-is-enough with the odd sized 4" filter socks that Red Sea uses. The Vertex 4" socks are verified to fit the Reefer holders... however, those are also hard to come by. So I decided to make a big mess and open up the grey sock holders and the black tray that the sock holders slide into. I used a drum sander on a die grinder to perfectly enlarge the openings on the sock tray and the tray holder. Now standard 4" socks just drop in and snap in snuggly. NOTE: I am not using the Red Sea ATO reservoir that hovers over the socks. Since the trays no longer slide out with the socks in place, you would need to remove the reservoir to get the socks out. Or do some extra modification to the sock holders to get the trays to be able to slide in and out, with the socks in place. But this is perfect for my application.

jaysauce · Sep 25, 2015

Do you remember what is the size of the return tubing or the size of the return hose barb?

Broadfield · Sep 30, 2015

jaysauce said:
Do you remember what is the size of the return tubing or the size of the return hose barb?

It's a dual barb that will fit 3/4" and 1".

revhtree · Sep 30, 2015

Looking great!

Broadfield · Sep 30, 2015

Well, I didn't have the Hydra 52's on it for long. Here's a pic with all three on the tank:

Broadfield · Sep 30, 2015

I swapped out my (3) Hydra 52's for (5) Primes. I'm sure some might think I'm crazy, but I'll explain why I did it. First off, I have had Hydra 52's on a couple of different tanks and have never been happy with the spectrum. I could never get the crisp white/blue color like that of a Kessil. So I walk into MACNA this year and the first thing I see is the Aqua Illumination booth. There sits an Innovative Marine tank with a couple of Primes over it. I'm instantly drawn to it because of the light spectrum. I immediately ask one of the AI guys if they mind giving me the color percentages they are using so I can get the same look on my 52's. He says "NO"! As I'm thinking in my head, "what a ****", he instantly follows up with: "no, because the 52's cannot duplicate this spectrum." I obviously assumed the Primes used the same pucks as the 52's and 26's... but I was wrong. The Primes use Cree Blues in place of the Cree Royal Blues found on the 26/52. So my very next question was about the PAR levels of the Primes and if they would be enough on my tank. He said that they absolutely would be enough for a Reefer 450. He claimed they have them on plenty of tanks at the office with same depth and have great growth from SPS that are midway to high in the tank... which is exactly what I want since I'm doing LPS and softies also. So I pulled the trigger and sold all of my 52's, mounts etc and purchased the Primes... even made some money in the whole deal.

So got them on about a couple weeks ago and am very happy that I took the chance on them. My PAR fears were eliminated once I pulled the PAR meter out. I'm at 500 PAR at 6" below the water line and around 60-75 on the substrate. That's even with the lights sitting as high as they can on the AI brackets. I also don't get any spill, front-to-back, like I did with the 52's. On top of that, I really like the look of 5 much smaller fixtures.

I just got my Neptune WAV kit put in last night... I'll be posting up info about that soon. First impressions: WOW!

A tad bit of modification to the Reefer overflow cover:

I put my new light fixture up also

abecker · Sep 30, 2015

Where did you mount the WAV pumps?

Broadfield · Sep 30, 2015

abecker said:
Where did you mount the WAV pumps?

I'll have images in my next update, but they are in a similar location to that of the MP10's in the images above. Ends of tank, towards the back and up high... angled somewhat towards the front.