Elgringodiablo's Red Sea Reefer 450 Rebuild

[Elgringodiablo]

So, after 2+ years with my Red Sea Reefer, I have hit a wall. In it's current state it's a mixed reef with a ton of fish. I am utilizing Triton Method, but find that my fuge isn't adequate for nutrient control.

Current Setup:
- Red Sea Reefer 450 (92 gallon display)
- Red Sea Reefer Sump (24 gallon sump)
- Return Pump - Reef Octopus Varios-6
- Aux Pump - Neptune COR-15 (I realize this is overkill and would be adequate as my primary return, but I was part of the NSI beta)
- Skimmer - Vertex Omega 180
- Heaters - 2x Finnex 500w
- Chiller - JBJ 1/4HP
- UV - Pentair 25w (stopped using it about a year ago)
- Powerheads - Neptune WAV x2
- Lights - Ecotech Radion xr30 gen4 x3
- Monitoring - Apex Classic, EB8x2, WMX, PM2, ALD, ASM, 1 Link, Breakout Box, FMM + 3 flow sensors
- Dosing - Neptune DOSx2 - Triton Core7, BRS Doser for Vodka, BRS 50ml Doser draining my skimmer cup
- Biological - One Marinepure block, 2 plates, roughly 100lbs of live rock, what I think is a 10 gallon makeshift fuge separated by eggcrate in my skimmer chamber, Kessil H380 fuge light
- Artfully Acrylic screen lid

Livestock:
- Pair of 8-10" Crosshatch Triggers (selling them this weekend)
- Pair of Masked Swallowtail Angels
- Harem of 11 Sea & Reef Spotcintus clowns (selling them too, might keep the two smallest)
- Spotted Rabbitfish (giving him to my friend to deal with bubble algae)
- Desjardini Sailfin Tang
- Mandarin Dragonet (pretty sure it's a female, had a pair but the male vanished)
- Pair for Flame Wrasses
- Fine Spotted Fairy Wrasse
- Pearly Scaled Wrasse
- 5x Pajama Cardinals
- Huge Mertensii Anemone (selling it to my nem head friend)
- Big Sebae Anemone (selling to the same guy)
- 12ish BTAs (moving them do a different system)
- Some soft corals and a couple of LPS

At this point my nutrients are very high (NO- 64ish, PO 0.15ish), corals tend to die, my sandbed is disgusting, my fuge isn't adequate to handle the nutrients and I am burning through GFO. I feel like it's time for me to tear down and start over.

I plan to remove everything, clean the tank out, clean the sump out, clean all my equipment and rebuild with the following changes:
Adding:
- 2x Maxspect Gyre 250 + Icecaps for Apex control (keeping my WAVs as well)
- 120lbs of TLF Stax rock
- Black Starboard bare bottom
- 48" Aquatic Life T5 Hybid (adding to my Radions)
- Avast Vibe 2L Zeovit reactor (pulled it off one of my other systems)

I am going to attempt to go SPS dominant with less than half the bioload, a ton of light and a ton of flow.

The process sounds like a nightmare, but I look forward to the opportunity to clean my system up, redo the plumbing, redo the wiring and start fresh.

Below are a couple videos I took of some of the fish I was selling. I will post more videos and photos as I go.




Wish me luck!

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Good luck with everything! be sure to share pictures often! Folks on here love pictures!

 

[Elgringodiablo]

I’d love to get some opinions on flow if anyone is reading.

I currently run 2x neptune WAV pumps mounted on the back walls.

I plan on adding 2x Maxspect Gyres on the top sides. I will do conflicting current like the BRS setup, but also want to do full synced rotations and be able to reverse them. Like rectangular flow across the top, down the side, across the bottom and back up the opposite side.

1. Will two 230s be sufficient in a 92gal 59” display or do I need two 250s?

2. How likely am I to create a wave that dumps water out the side of my tank?

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Some shots I took this morning of a few Anemones I am selling. I am starting to remove corals and put them in my other tanks. Catching all the fish is going to be a real pain.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Removed the bulk of my corals, about half of my live rock and all but 11 fish. Removing the Anemones and the big rocks will probably not happen until I am ready to drain the system.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Spent the last two weeks catching fish and pulling out rocks. Finally got my display cleared out.

Here are some progress pictures:

Took awhile but I managed to pull all my nems off the rocks, but I did end up hacksawing a corner off one rock to get one.

Up next is draining the sump and cleaning all my gear in there.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Started to take apart my plumbing and drain the sump.

Soaking most of my gear in diluted vinegar and diluted hydrogen peroxide.

Also just got 120lbs of Stax for the new scape

 

[Streetdoc77]

Sometimes you need to start fresh ! I like where your going with it , those stax rocks are pretty cool ! On my current build going with BB also , never liked cleaning the sandbed.

 

[Denisk]

I look forward to seeing this tank evolve into an sps dominated Reef.

Good luck!

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Almost done cleaning out my sump and overflow box. Think I need a shop vac to get all the dead stuff out. It’s crazy how much stuff has grown in there.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Cut and glued the starboard and started laying out the first level of rock. I had a heck of a time getting a clean line with the router to cut the space for the overflow box.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Finished cleaning out my sump. Didn’t feel the need to make it spotless but I did vacuum out all the debris and gave it a decent scrub.

Also did my scape. I used 120lbs of TLF Stax rock. I used e-Marco 400 to cement the more precarious part. I don’t think it’s perfect but the pictures don’t really do it justice in terms of depth and dimension.

A few takeaways:
- 120lbs is probably too much rock for a 92g display.
- Stax is hard to drill without breaking. My previous build was BRS Pukani, which drilled and sawed like butter.
- e-Marco 400 worked best for me when I would put a glob on my target then put the rock on there and pushed it down to get the cement to spread into the holes.

Hopefully I don’t need to get any fish out who are too smart to trap. Not too worried about dead spots considering how much flow I should have.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Started re-plumbing my pumps. Plan to have a much better layout this time around.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Got my lighting setup. Not as pretty as my Radion only setup but more power. Was able to make the hangers for about $60 at Home Depot.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Little bit of plumbing handiwork for my auxiliary pump looping back into my main return line.

 

[Streetdoc77]

Super Fresh !!!! What a comeback looks awsome .

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Super Fresh !!!! What a comeback looks awsome .

Thank you! Still a little plumbing to do and water to add, but should be done in the next week.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Plumbing seems to have worked as planned, but had to order another 6 feet of silbrade for my Zeovit reactor that I couldn’t fit inside my cabinet with my chiller. Also ordered some titanium hose claps for the hose connections over the sump, which won’t arrive until Monday.

I created a bit of a baffle out of egg crate and black plexiglass with drilled holes for a miniature refugium. Def not big enough for Triton but hopefully help with nutrients and biodiversity to help make my dead rock more SPS ready.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

As Murphy’s Law would have it, I’ve experienced a number of leaks with the Red Sea stock connections to the overflow.

First it was drips from the drain pipe bulk heads. Took them out, drained the overflow (mostly on my floor...). Dried the overflow, added some silicone to the threads, let it dry overnight, problem solved. Draining right, no drips.

The real fun started when I got the return going...
First I found that one of my union connections had no gasket because the male end was from a cpex ball valve... cut that off and replumbed it...

After that I started getting drips from the collar connections to the RSR return pipe. Tried tape, thread sealant, silicone... all to no avail. Gaskets present and look fine.

I think it was not fully connected because my schedule 80 was tweaking it. Cut another section out, remove the union that was tight against the back wall. Still getting leaks, either from the overflow bulkhead connection or the RSR 3/4” female adapter union.

Drained the overflow again, this time with an Neptune PMUP to save my floors. Pulled the return pipe, cleaned it, siliconed the threads, refit it, reconnected my schedule 80. Added a clamp on the back wall to support some of the weight.

Drying overnight. Praying to the reef gods for no more leaks....

 

[Elgringodiablo]

No leaks on my main return. Still waiting on my titanium hose clamps before I get my secondary pump (chiller, Zeovit, GAC and GFO reactors) running.