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

[Reefer525XL]

I only use the Kent scraper. I actually have two... one with the green pad scrubber attached and one with the stainless blade attached. I really only use the blade to get off coraline algae and down in where the sand meets the glass.

Thanks! Im trying to look for the "perfect" tool to clean the glass and not scratch it.

 

[msderganc]

Thanks! Im trying to look for the "perfect" tool to clean the glass and not scratch it.

I'd look at the Tunze Care magnet. It won't trap sand, which is where most of the scratches come from.

 

[cheezybuda]

I'd look at the Tunze Care magnet. It won't trap sand, which is where most of the scratches come from.

The flipper works as well

 

[Krazie4Acans]

Hey @Broadfield I just read through your entire thread. Amazing workmanship and detail. Congrats on the TOTM and the spotlight (the reason I found your thread).

I have a couple of questions that I did not see you cover in your posts. First is why did you choose to use a dedicated puratec ATO instead of setting up floats or optical sensors on the Apex you already had running on your tank?

Second In all of your pictures it seams that your iPad is up high enough in your stand that you have to bend over to see the graphs. Is there a reason that you didn't move it down to the center opening when you redid your control panels?

Third I notice that you use quite a few 90 degree elbows in your plumbing and I'm wondering how much that contributes to flow reduction on your system? I know your return is a pretty short run but lots of elbows.

Fourth was one of the reasons you moved the DOS to the basement control board to reduce noise while it's running? I've heard that they are a bit noisy and was just wondering if that was part of the decision beyond the tight fit and small space that was available in the control area?

Fifth when you created the new edge lit control panel covers is there a reason you chose not to use RGB LED's so that you could customize the color?

Sixth did you consider putting LEDs inside your sump as well as just in teh stand? Was there a reason you didn't do it if it was considered?

Thanks for the great pics and long read. Can't wait to see the Marine Depot write up and video. Nice work! Krazie

 

[Reefer1978]

Third I notice that you use quite a few 90 degree elbows in your plumbing and I'm wondering how much that contributes to flow reduction on your system? I know your return is a pretty short run but lots of elbows.

I believe BRS in one of their recent videos debunked the 90-degree elbow restricting flow. In our applications, it's not enough to notice any difference.

@Broadfield - I have another question for you if you don't mind, any recommendation on which bio-pellets you use, and why you choose those specific ones? I tried to find some good comparison, but nothing so far.

 

[Krazie4Acans]

I believe BRS in one of their recent videos debunked the 90-degree elbow restricting flow. In our applications, it's not enough to notice any difference.

I saw that but have experienced different results so I'm hoping @Broadfield has some input on this as well.

 

[Broadfield]

Hey @Broadfield I just read through your entire thread. Amazing workmanship and detail. Congrats on the TOTM and the spotlight (the reason I found your thread).

I have a couple of questions that I did not see you cover in your posts. First is why did you choose to use a dedicated puratec ATO instead of setting up floats or optical sensors on the Apex you already had running on your tank?

Second In all of your pictures it seams that your iPad is up high enough in your stand that you have to bend over to see the graphs. Is there a reason that you didn't move it down to the center opening when you redid your control panels?

Third I notice that you use quite a few 90 degree elbows in your plumbing and I'm wondering how much that contributes to flow reduction on your system? I know your return is a pretty short run but lots of elbows.

Fourth was one of the reasons you moved the DOS to the basement control board to reduce noise while it's running? I've heard that they are a bit noisy and was just wondering if that was part of the decision beyond the tight fit and small space that was available in the control area?

Fifth when you created the new edge lit control panel covers is there a reason you chose not to use RGB LED's so that you could customize the color?

Sixth did you consider putting LEDs inside your sump as well as just in teh stand? Was there a reason you didn't do it if it was considered?

Thanks for the great pics and long read. Can't wait to see the Marine Depot write up and video. Nice work! Krazie

I have a couple of questions that I did not see you cover in your posts. First is why did you choose to use a dedicated puratec ATO instead of setting up floats or optical sensors on the Apex you already had running on your tank?

I really like the Puratek. There are no sensors or floats of any sort that mount in the water. The Puratek sensor is VERY tiny and mounts on the outside of the sump... it can see through solid material like a black Brute trash can. It also has a max run timer built in for a backup. However, I will probably be switching over to the Apex FMM ATO kit once it's released.

Second In all of your pictures it seams that your iPad is up high enough in your stand that you have to bend over to see the graphs. Is there a reason that you didn't move it down to the center opening when you redid your control panels?

When sitting in one of the viewing chairs, the iPad is visible. However, I never actually utilize the iPad... it's more for display purposes. I use Fusion on my laptop 90% of the time and Fusion on my phone the other 10%.

Third I notice that you use quite a few 90 degree elbows in your plumbing and I'm wondering how much that contributes to flow reduction on your system? I know your return is a pretty short run but lots of elbows.

I don't really know or have an answer for you... sorry. All I know is that I have a ton of return flow... actually more than I need and more than most reefers run.

Fourth was one of the reasons you moved the DOS to the basement control board to reduce noise while it's running? I've heard that they are a bit noisy and was just wondering if that was part of the decision beyond the tight fit and small space that was available in the control area?

It just took up too much valuable space. The noise wasn't one of the reasons... didn't really bother me. I am happy that I moved it to the basement though... there's just no reason to have it in the stand.

Fifth when you created the new edge lit control panel covers is there a reason you chose not to use RGB LED's so that you could customize the color?

I didn't really care about other colors... any other color would of looked out of place with the rest of the orange theme going on. On top of that, they don't make the RGB in the really thin strips like I used. I needed something that was no more than 1/4"... the ones I used are 3/16". Whereas the typical strips are 7/16" wide. The strips are laid on their side to aim in towards the frosted acrylic edge.

Sixth did you consider putting LEDs inside your sump as well as just in teh stand? Was there a reason you didn't do it if it was considered?

I have LEDs in the sump, the stand and the edge lighting. I use white LED lighting for the stand on both sides, orange for the sump and orange for the edge lighting.

This is sump with orange LEDs off:

IMG_7088 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

Compared to the orange LEDs on:

Sump by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

I believe BRS in one of their recent videos debunked the 90-degree elbow restricting flow. In our applications, it's not enough to notice any difference.

@Broadfield - I have another question for you if you don't mind, any recommendation on which bio-pellets you use, and why you choose those specific ones? I tried to find some good comparison, but nothing so far.

I have always heard good things about EcoBAK, so that's what I have always used. I have no other data to support my decision.

 

[Krazie4Acans]

I really like the Puratek. There are no sensors or floats of any sort that mount in the water. The Puratek sensor is VERY tiny and mounts on the outside of the sump... it can see through solid material like a black Brute trash can. It also has a max run timer built in for a backup. However, I will probably be switching over to the Apex FMM ATO kit once it's released.

Maybe you can add a flow sensor to your FMM to measure your return flow rate as well?

When sitting in one of the viewing chairs, the iPad is visible. However, I never actually utilize the iPad... it's more for display purposes. I use Fusion on my laptop 90% of the time and Fusion on my phone the other 10%.

Got it, Expensive graph display.

I don't really know or have an answer for you... sorry. All I know is that I have a ton of return flow... actually more than I need and more than most reefers run.

Got it. Refer to first response above. lol

It just took up too much valuable space. The noise wasn't one of the reasons... didn't really bother me. I am happy that I moved it to the basement though... there's just no reason to have it in the stand.

Good to know. Will help me decide where mine is going.

I didn't really care about other colors... any other color would of looked out of place with the rest of the orange theme going on. On top of that, they don't make the RGB in the really thin strips like I used. I needed something that was no more than 1/4"... the ones I used are 3/16". Whereas the typical strips are 7/16" wide. The strips are laid on their side to aim in towards the frosted acrylic edge.

Good to know. I actually found some rgb on a 3/8" strip that I am going to try and place in a small dado around the plexi dado to allow it to work. I'll let you know if it comes together.

I have LEDs in the sump, the stand and the edge lighting. I use white LED lighting for the stand on both sides, orange for the sump and orange for the edge lighting.

I guess I only noticed the picture with the whites before and not the one with the orange in the sump.

Here is the reason I asked so many questions. Similar ideas. Now I need to clean up my entire Apex setup and make a control panel for the outside of my stand.

 

[costacarles]

Love that board and all the clean setup you got there! Always an inspiration!

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

Toby, I just wanna say your tank is my inspiration on my 80 Gallon build. You did a great job and I hope for mine to come out half as nice!

 

[T-Bucket]

Hey Toby,

I'd like to know how you have such great success in keeping multiple Anthias? I just got my first one, a male Lyretail, and always thought there was a 3 female to 1 male ratio? But I saw how many different ones and different amounts you have and that's awesome if they all get along well.

 

[Broadfield]

Hey Toby,

I'd like to know how you have such great success in keeping multiple Anthias? I just got my first one, a male Lyretail, and always thought there was a 3 female to 1 male ratio? But I saw how many different ones and different amounts you have and that's awesome if they all get along well.

I have one male anthias... the large squareback. He definitely rules the entire tank. The rest all get along though. Hopefully that doesn't change.

 

[Rory's Reef]

So I've decided to switch out my sump on my 250 which is going to make me redo all of my plumbing. Since I know you switched your's out while it was running with inhabitants I was wondering if you had any tips that may help me make the transition run more smoothly . Thanks!

 

[Broadfield]

So I've decided to switch out my sump on my 250 which is going to make me redo all of my plumbing. Since I know you switched your's out while it was running with inhabitants I was wondering if you had any tips that may help me make the transition run more smoothly . Thanks!

Well, it depends on how involved your plumbing layout is going to be!?! Mine was fairly complicated, so I mocked up the new sump, plumbing, reactors and return pump outside of the stand. Spent hours and hours running numbers and taking measurements. That way I knew the manifold would bolt to the underside of the stand and perfectly line up with the Red Sea return fitting when I inserted it all into the stand. Once I was confident that it was exact, I glued everything together and set aside a night to swap it all over. Even being off by 1/8" could of affected my alignment to the Red Sea return. If your manifold is not getting bolted to the underside of the stand, then that makes it a lot easier right off the bat.

 

[Rory's Reef]

Well, it depends on how involved your plumbing layout is going to be!?! Mine was fairly complicated, so I mocked up the new sump, plumbing, reactors and return pump outside of the stand. Spent hours and hours running numbers and taking measurements. That way I knew the manifold would bolt to the underside of the stand and perfectly line up with the Red Sea return fitting when I inserted it all into the stand. Once I was confident that it was exact, I glued everything together and set aside a night to swap it all over. Even being off by 1/8" could of affected my alignment to the Red Sea return. If your manifold is not getting bolted to the underside of the stand, then that makes it a lot easier right off the bat.

Yes, I think that's what got me worried the most. I'm going to be plumbing in two Aquamaxx XS reactors and plan on strapping it to the top. As usual I'm drawing inspiration from your awesome sump, but it sounds like getting measurements exact is absolutely crucial. I think I may take a night to take out my current setup and do a fit test with the new one before I glue it all. A little extra work but may be worth it in the end.

 

[Ed Reefer]

I'm not sure which bolts you are referring to?... on the light itself or for attaching to the ceiling?



I purely did it because of the sand blowing around. I prefer the look of the Miniflakes, but the Reefflakes are very nice.



I'm using the 24" - 36" model: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24538



It seemed like it helped in the beginning, but that's about it. I stopped using it after 2 doses.



LOL, I originally plumbed everything in schedule 80. Had I done my orange themed sump from the get go, I would of indeed done the basement plumbing in orange... it's really not that much more expensive.

 

[Ed Reefer]

I'm not sure which bolts you are referring to?... on the light itself or for attaching to the ceiling?



I purely did it because of the sand blowing around. I prefer the look of the Miniflakes, but the Reefflakes are very nice.



I'm using the 24" - 36" model: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=24538



It seemed like it helped in the beginning, but that's about it. I stopped using it after 2 doses.



LOL, I originally plumbed everything in schedule 80. Had I done my orange themed sump from the get go, I would of indeed done the basement plumbing in orange... it's really not that much more expensive.

Quick question regarding your mixing station. As I mentioned I have the same tanks. I assume the bulkhead at the bottom are 1 1/4" fittings?

 

[Cscultho]

Well, it depends on how involved your plumbing layout is going to be!?! Mine was fairly complicated, so I mocked up the new sump, plumbing, reactors and return pump outside of the stand. Spent hours and hours running numbers and taking measurements. That way I knew the manifold would bolt to the underside of the stand and perfectly line up with the Red Sea return fitting when I inserted it all into the stand. Once I was confident that it was exact, I glued everything together and set aside a night to swap it all over. Even being off by 1/8" could of affected my alignment to the Red Sea return. If your manifold is not getting bolted to the underside of the stand, then that makes it a lot easier right off the bat.

Broadfield - how did you go about attaching (bolt) the plumbing to the inside of the tank stand? I'm getting a 250 and I don't want to drill into the board if i dont need too....

Beautiful setup you have!!

 

[Broadfield]

Quick question regarding your mixing station. As I mentioned I have the same tanks. I assume the bulkhead at the bottom are 1 1/4" fittings?

Correct, they are 1-1/4"

Broadfield - how did you go about attaching (bolt) the plumbing to the inside of the tank stand? I'm getting a 250 and I don't want to drill into the board if i dont need too....

Beautiful setup you have!!

I simply used PVC pipe mounts screwed to the underside of stand.

 

[dullyxxx]

@Broadfield hello! I am trying to conduct as much research as I can on the Giesemann AURORA HYBRID LED / T-5 & Giesemann SPECTRA HQ / T-5 and not much is out there when it comes to Giesmann information all I know hybrid lighting system is simply the best solution all round, I have read thru your thread, I see you have experience on both of them , could you kindly give a breakdown con's & Pro's between the two lighting system, visual differences, life support information between the two and most importantly why did you change from the Aurora to the Spectra?

I am in UAE I can only import the light and they came with a price tag & shipping is just expensive I just want to decide once on which system to pick and not regret it, thanking you in advance for any information