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

Broadfield · Mar 1, 2017

atlorange said:
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.

I used 1" because that's what my pump and flow requirements dictated. So you will use whatever size if right for your setup.

Broadfield · Mar 1, 2017

nvladik said:
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?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r2r-reef-of-the-month-spotlight-broadfield-march-2017.292771/

justingraham · Mar 1, 2017

Broadfield said:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r2r-reef-of-the-month-spotlight-broadfield-march-2017.292771/

Is that how ur going to answer everything now?? If I won totm I would congrats and well deserved

Broadfield · Mar 1, 2017

justingraham said:
Is that how ur going to answer everything now?? If I won totm I would congrats and well deserved

LOL, no... I had just finished typing that up yesterday morning, so I knew the info he sought was in there.

slammin · Mar 2, 2017

Hey Brookfield, beautiful setup! congrats on the TOTM

quick q, i skimmed through this thread but couldnt see how you drain your tank for water changes...i read that you use gravity, but where is it connected under the tank?

Broadfield · Mar 2, 2017

slammin said:
Hey Brookfield, beautiful setup! congrats on the TOTM

quick q, i skimmed through this thread but couldnt see how you drain your tank for water changes...i read that you use gravity, but where is it connected under the tank?

The orange pipe that comes in from the right side of my cabinet, that has the ball valve on it, goes into the sump and sits about 3/8" off the bottom of the sump. It goes behind my Apex display on the right and down through the bottom of the cabinet. It then goes straight down through the floor and into my mixing station in the basement. That line is naturally primed after I fill the sump up for a water change. All I have to do is open the drain ball valve in the basement, then open the ball valve that I mentioned earlier that goes into the sump... instant syphon! It will drain the sump in minutes. Then I turn a couple of ball valves in the basement, turn on the mixing pump and the sump will fill back up with fresh saltwater in a matter of minutes.

Sump by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

slammin · Mar 2, 2017

thanks Toby, how do you start the siphon if it's broken? just start refilling for a min to put get the air?

hmm I see how this works now...

Broadfield · Mar 2, 2017

slammin said:
thanks Toby, how do you start the siphon if it's broken? just start refilling for a min to put get the air?

hmm I see how this works now...

Correct! If for some reason there isn't water in the vertical pipe, then I can simply turn on the mixing pump for a few seconds, shut the valve before the mixing pump, then shut off the pump. I have never had that happen in 18 months though.

slammin · Mar 2, 2017

perfect! love the setup, might attempt it myself...only downside for me I'd that my mixing room is like 20 ft away

gpinto81 · Mar 2, 2017

Congrats on the tank of the month. Unbelievably amazing set up.

Jstn · Mar 2, 2017

I just read your TOTM article, congrats! It may be anecdotal but I found my acans "happiness" to be best when I dose SrCl2, red sea calcium has 1% Strontium in it, and I just mix 1% by mass into my BRS two part. I have been doing this for years and get really puffy happy acans for the most part and previously when they were not looking so hot a experienced reefer told me about how he dosed SrCl2. It may have no effect but I have not seen any problems; I plan on running ICP (triton test) at work to see if my levels are elevated or not in the near future.

fabutahoun · Mar 3, 2017

Congrats for TOTM, outstanding build and design

atlorange · Mar 3, 2017

Ordered the recommended O ring kit. Thanks. Do you have the smaller Aquamaxx fluidized media reactors (UJ5311), or the larger Biomax reactors (UJ5111)?

Broadfield said:
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!

Broadfield · Mar 3, 2017

atlorange said:
Ordered the recommended O ring kit. Thanks. Do you have the smaller Aquamaxx fluidized media reactors (UJ5311), or the larger Biomax reactors (UJ5111)?

I have both. Those two part #'s you just provided are the same exact size... the standard size. One is for traditional media(GFO/GAC etc) and the other is for bio pellets.

Fin · Mar 3, 2017

Congrats on TOTM! Well deserved. This is still one of my favorite tanks, from top to bottom. Lots of inspiration here for my new build, but I think you have set the bar a little too high for me.

Bonese · Mar 6, 2017

Congratulations on TOTM! Totally deserving. Also thanks for all the help over the months. You're a wealth of knowledge and it's much appreciated.

pwilliaml · Mar 7, 2017

Hey Broadfield, are you still using the Oxydator? Do you just use regular 3% H2O2 in it with 2 of the catalysts? How long does it last you?

Broadfield · Mar 7, 2017

Bonese said:
Congratulations on TOTM! Totally deserving. Also thanks for all the help over the months. You're a wealth of knowledge and it's much appreciated.

No problem, I'm happy to share what I know!

pwilliaml said:
Hey Broadfield, are you still using the Oxydator? Do you just use regular 3% H2O2 in it with 2 of the catalysts? How long does it last you?

I am not using it at the moment. My tank seems to run too clean and some of my LPS were not happy. So I removed it to see if that might be part of the issue. I used 35% and made up a batch of 9% and ran just one activator. I will revisit it again once I get my LPS concerns figured out.

amnesiac · Mar 7, 2017

Wow CONGRATS on the TOTM Broadfield!!! Sooooooooooooo deserves it!!!

pwilliaml · Mar 7, 2017

Thanks for the info. I just got one, but it's running off 3% until my 35% bottle gets here. How do you know it's empty, does it just fill up with oxygen? I'm trying to get rid of some GHA growing in my tank for some reason. Thought I'd try H2O2 for a while and set up a GFO reactor instead of mixing GFO with my GAC. I know you had luck with it getting rid of your red slime with it. Ever heard of it working on GHA? Thanks. Congrats on Tank of the Month. Wish I had the room you have in my 250.