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

[Scurvy]

Wow! Great Lense, great shot! As good an image I've seen anywhere including vendor sites. I suppose having healthy specimens to shoot helps As always, You're a step ahead.

 

[Rory's Reef]

Just got a new lens yesterday, so trying it out.

Leather by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

What lens are you shooting with?

 

[Broadfield]

Wow! Great Lense, great shot! As good an image I've seen anywhere including vendor sites. I suppose having healthy specimens to shoot helps As always, You're a step ahead.

Well I don't know if it's quite that good, but I really appreciate the feedback. I'm sure I'm one of my toughest critics, so I'm never completely happy with the shots.

What lens are you shooting with?

Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L II USM

 

[amnesiac]

Broadfield I love your tank!!! I've been stalking this thread since page 14 and every update is mind blowing. Truly truly a work of art and I hope that one day I can knock it out the park the way you have
I hope you don't mind a question or two. The EA sump had to be modified to accommodate the drain and emergency drain piping. I was wondering how you were able to get the cut so smooth. Was it as simple as a jigsaw and a lot of sandpaper or was it something else??? What kind of flow do you have through the main tank??? I know you have a mix of softies and hard corals and want to know what kinda water movement is working for you. And lastly PLEASE tell me that before you take your pics you're giving the equipment a quick wipe down!!! If your sump looks that clean just on a normal day then screw it, I'm out of the hobby. I just need to take up juggling or something

 

[revhtree]

Nice lens!!

 

[Broadfield]

Nice lens!!

Yeah, I'm thinking I am in love with it already. When I shot that leather pic, I turned around and one of my dogs was laying right behind me on one of the reef viewing chairs. So I snapped a quick pic of her... the sharpness of the lens is a lot better than what I'm use to. I obviously had the f-stop way low for shooting the reef, as her eyes/face are in focus and the nose is out of focus.

Millie 1 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

 

[drawman]

Is your return pipe mounted to your stand at all? I've always been a little nervous of the weight of one that doesn't go straight down...

 

[Broadfield]

Is your return pipe mounted to your stand at all? I've always been a little nervous of the weight of one that doesn't go straight down...

Yes, the piping is mounted to the underside of the cabinet in several choice locations. I have degrees in physics and mathematics, so I tend over do it sometimes lol.

 

[Broadfield]

Broadfield I love your tank!!! I've been stalking this thread since page 14 and every update is mind blowing. Truly truly a work of art and I hope that one day I can knock it out the park the way you have
I hope you don't mind a question or two. The EA sump had to be modified to accommodate the drain and emergency drain piping. I was wondering how you were able to get the cut so smooth. Was it as simple as a jigsaw and a lot of sandpaper or was it something else??? What kind of flow do you have through the main tank??? I know you have a mix of softies and hard corals and want to know what kinda water movement is working for you. And lastly PLEASE tell me that before you take your pics you're giving the equipment a quick wipe down!!! If your sump looks that clean just on a normal day then screw it, I'm out of the hobby. I just need to take up juggling or something

Hahaha, stalk away!

For the opening, I used a method called template routing. It's very popular in high-end car audio installation(which is what I do for a living) and custom automotive interior work. So you are simply taping a template to what you want to route and run a flush bit up against the template. So as long as your template is perfectly smooth, then you get a perfectly smooth end product. I also used this method to make all of my trim panels etc. If you look back through this build, I show the template taped to the top of the sump. Typically template routing is done in several steps... and the sump was no different. It took four template steps to get one oval opening. A half circle at each end and then the straight edge on each side to make it into essentially an oval. In my images, I only show a circle template taped to one end of the opening to route the half circle. Once that is routed, then I move it to the other end and tape it down again to make that half circle. Then I taped a straight template to each side to connect the two half circles. The alignment of each template has to be absolutely perfect when you tape it down. Otherwise the transition from the half circle into the straight edge will not be correct. This method of custom work is FAR beyond me typing a paragraph here. If you are more interested in it, please check this channel out... he's not a professional installer per say and his videos are geared towards DIYers. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4FiN46mPTtkJxzRXJY21lQ

As for flow, I run a ton of flow through my sump... which translates into a lot of flow out of my return nozzles. Then on top of that, I have the two WAV units which are capable of insane amounts of water movement. Right now I'm doing a .25 second pulse mode with one of the WAV units inverted... obviously giving me a wave motion. If I'm not running that, I run Mavericks mode, which is the same as Reefcrest on a Vortech pump. It has been a challenge to say the least to make everything happy. Whether it be the lighting, flow or nutrients. I've actually been fine tuning it for the last year. If there's one thing that's not always happy in my tank, it's my acans. I have ramped up feeding more lately to see if I can perk them up. I have even shut off my GFO completely... we'll see what happens.

As for cleaning the tank, sump etc... it always looks like that lol. I basically wipe down the glass about every 3 days and do my sand bed cleaning at the same time. That whole process takes at most 15 minutes. I will use a brush on the inside of my sump really quick about once a month while doing a water change... but that only takes a couple of minutes. I do a 15% water change every Sunday FWIW. My setup is super maintenance free. I spend less time doing maintenance than I use to on my old nano. I find that if I spend just a few minutes on cleaning things every week, that nothing ever gets built up and I never have to perform a crazy deep cleaning.

 

[Elder1945]

I cheat with CNC machines I still however use my router table almost everyday. Thanks for sharing, Finding out how people make things is always interesting to me.

 

[amnesiac]

Broadfield, thanks for the super in depth reply. Yes, I spent a ton of time checking out the routing work you did and even checked out the routing templates kit (SFS Professional Kit) once I saw how dope your project turned out. I guess I'm just confused on routing in general. I thought that routing work like yours always had to be done on a routing table and thought it unlikely that you had the entire sump upside down on a routing table. Excuse me if I sound like an idiot lol. I only recently bought my first table saw so it still surprises me what can be done with power tools. I'll DEFINITELY check out the link provided.
That is insane that your tank always looks like that!!!! I feel like a slacker now lol. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions

 

[pelphrey]

Maybe I missed it somewhere, easy to do! How are you liking the new light?

 

[Broadfield]

I cheat with CNC machines I still however use my router table almost everyday. Thanks for sharing, Finding out how people make things is always interesting to me.

Yeah, I can think of a LOT of things I would do if I had a CNC and/or a 3D printer.

Broadfield, thanks for the super in depth reply. Yes, I spent a ton of time checking out the routing work you did and even checked out the routing templates kit (SFS Professional Kit) once I saw how dope your project turned out. I guess I'm just confused on routing in general. I thought that routing work like yours always had to be done on a routing table and thought it unlikely that you had the entire sump upside down on a routing table. Excuse me if I sound like an idiot lol. I only recently bought my first table saw so it still surprises me what can be done with power tools. I'll DEFINITELY check out the link provided.
That is insane that your tank always looks like that!!!! I feel like a slacker now lol. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions

LOL, no I did not run the sump upside down across the router table.... although I thought about it hahaha. I simply used my other router that I use for free handed stuff like this.

Maybe I missed it somewhere, easy to do! How are you liking the new light?

The new light is absolutely nuts. I see why metal halides are still considered the gold standard. I'm loving the 21k Giesemann bulb. It has the crispness and shimmer like a Kessil... which there's never anything wrong with that lol. My growth has definitely increased.

 

[atlorange]

Hey Broadfield,
I am stealing all of your plumbing, down to the orange pipe. Would you mind posting a list of of parts you used for manifold? Are you happy with the Aquamaxx reactors? Probably going to go with those too.

 

[Broadfield]

Hey Broadfield,
I am stealing all of your plumbing, down to the orange pipe. Would you mind posting a list of of parts you used for manifold? Are you happy with the Aquamaxx reactors? Probably going to go with those too.

This is a list for my entire plumbing setup, from the pump to the tank bulkhead.

Colored Pipe: BRS
Schedule 80 adapters, gate/ball valves etc: PCVfittingsonline.com
Colored fittings: Aquarium Speciality and Amazon

PIPING

• 1/2"
• 1"

COLORED FITTINGS

• (4) 1" 90 degree elbows
• (1) 1" 45 degree elbow
• (3) 1" tees
• (9) 1/2" 90 degree elbows (may need 2 extra if you are doing the same sump as I have)

STANDARD SCHEDULE 40/80 FITTINGS

• (1) 1" True Union
• (3) 1" x 1/2" bushings
• (3) 1/2" gate valves
• (6) 1/2" MPT x 1/2" SLIP adapters (for top of reactors)
• (1) 3/4" MPT x 1" SLIP adapter(for connection to Red Sea return fitting)

ADDITIONAL FITTINGS NEEDED IF DOING THE MAIN AND EMERGENCY DRAINS LIKE MINE ON A RED SEA REEFER

• (2) 3/4" MPT x 1" SLIP adapter(for connection to Red Sea return fitting) NOTE: You will need to purchase 2 additional Red Sea barbed return assemblies.
• (1) 1" gate valve

O-RINGS NEEDED FOR ADAPTERS ON TOP OF REACTORS... YOU NEED 2 PER ADAPTER, SO 4 PER REACTOR.

• (12) I.D. of 11/16" with an O.D. of 7/8" with a thickness of 3/32"

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Construction

I recommend getting this kit above to keep at your house... has a ton of different sizes and is cheap. I actually have this kit and the metric version. You never know what you might need an o-ring for around the house!

 

[Reefer1978]

Hi Broadfield, could you please explain what you are running in the reactors? I love how clean your tank is and want to try something similar. Apologies if this was discussed before and I missed it.

And how do you maintain the glass?

 

[Broadfield]

Hi Broadfield, could you please explain what you are running in the reactors? I love how clean your tank is and want to try something similar. Apologies if this was discussed before and I missed it.

And how do you maintain the glass?

Well, my tank is going to be Reef of The Month for March on here... and I believe it's getting posted today. It will answer all of those questions!

 

[Reefer1978]

Well, my tank is going to be Reef of The Month for March on here... and I believe it's getting posted today. It will answer all of those questions!

Congrats man, well deserved!

 

[pelphrey]

Well, my tank is going to be Reef of The Month for March on here... and I believe it's getting posted today. It will answer all of those questions!

Congrats and deserved!

 

[atlorange]

This is a list for my entire plumbing setup, from the pump to the tank bulkhead.

Colored Pipe: BRS
Schedule 80 adapters, gate/ball valves etc: PCVfittingsonline.com
Colored fittings: Aquarium Speciality and Amazon

PIPING

• 1/2"
• 1"

COLORED FITTINGS

• (4) 1" 90 degree elbows
• (1) 1" 45 degree elbow
• (3) 1" tees
• (9) 1/2" 90 degree elbows (may need 2 extra if you are doing the same sump as I have)

STANDARD SCHEDULE 40/80 FITTINGS

• (1) 1" True Union
• (3) 1" x 1/2" bushings
• (3) 1/2" gate valves
• (6) 1/2" MPT x 1/2" SLIP adapters (for top of reactors)
• (1) 3/4" MPT x 1" SLIP adapter(for connection to Red Sea return fitting)

ADDITIONAL FITTINGS NEEDED IF DOING THE MAIN AND EMERGENCY DRAINS LIKE MINE ON A RED SEA REEFER

• (2) 3/4" MPT x 1" SLIP adapter(for connection to Red Sea return fitting) NOTE: You will need to purchase 2 additional Red Sea barbed return assemblies.
• (1) 1" gate valve

O-RINGS NEEDED FOR ADAPTERS ON TOP OF REACTORS... YOU NEED 2 PER ADAPTER, SO 4 PER REACTOR.

• (12) I.D. of 11/16" with an O.D. of 7/8" with a thickness of 3/32"

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Construction

I recommend getting this kit above to keep at your house... has a ton of different sizes and is cheap. I actually have this kit and the metric version. You never know what you might need an o-ring for around the house!

Awesome. Thanks. So you did 1" from your pump to the reactors, then down to 1/2"? I had planned to do 3/4" down to 1/2". I guess this would work. Thanks for all the information. And congrats on TOTM! I think you are setting a new standard and trend for clean builds.