"Giant Mini Fridge" - Red Sea MAX E-170

[revnull]

Today's project was to "fix" my ongoing low pH problem. I know a lot of people say not to chase pH and I agree to a certain extent, but if you are going to do it, I think doing it naturally when possible is better than chemically. For that reason, I chose to run a fresh air line outside.

Part list:

• 20-ft length of 3/8-in clear vinyl tubing
• 3/8-in push fit to 1/2-in male threaded adapter
• 1/2-in female thread to 1-in slip PVC elbow
• course sponge
• short length of 1-in PVC pipe

After screwing the push fit adapter into the PVC elbow I cut a section of sponge so that is was just slightly larger that the 1-in PVC opening. This sponge should filter dust and bugs from entering the tube. I'll have to keep an eye on it to establish a replacement schedule.

Using an old hole that a satellite TV company drilled years ago, I fished the 3/8-in tubing through to the outside (it helps to put something thin and ridged in the tube to help guide it through to the other side).

Once outside, I pushed the vinyl tubing into the PVC filter "thing". The extra length of 1-in PVC pipe helps hold the sponge filter in place and should keep the rain out. I plan on installing a pipe strap to hold it to wall and silicone the remaining gap in the exterior wall later.

For now, the fresh air line runs over the top of the 1/4-in ridged tube for my skimmer's silencer. I left enough length to be able to run it down to the skimmer venturi, but I'm still not sure it's needed yet.

 

[revnull]

I finally got around to mounting my fresh air pipe to the wall. It's been raining off and on and it seems to be working as designed.

I also hooked up my old BRS 1.1ml doser (actually 2ml) until I decide on a final dosing setup.

My only concern with this mounting point is what happens when my return pump turns off and the sump fills. Will it cause precipitation? Does anyone have a better idea for dosing line location in the Redsea sumps?

 

[revnull]

I tested it and the water level just barely touched the tip of the dosing line. I could have made an adjustment, but opted to relocate instead.

I'm thinking of finally biting the bullet and buying a DOS. Anyone have one for sale?

 

[revnull]

I ended up finding a great deal on a used DOS. Having a few loyalty points saved up at an online reef gear retailer, I also picked up a 1Link cable to power/data the DOS directly form my EB832. I have it mounted in place of the BRS doser and everything fits better than I could have hoped.

I also came across these great little container at my local grocery store. Since my fish load is still relatively small, I'm still only feeding about 1/2 of a frozen mysis shrimp cube. In these containers I can defrost a cube, feed half and store the rest in the refrigerator for the next day.

Last, but not least, I picked up this crown conch. It's much bigger and more active than my other conch and can crawl up the glass and rock work. So far, it's doing a great job turning over my sand bed.

 

[revnull]

It's been a busy month. I've been preoccupied with my other money pit of a hobby, 3D printing. I finally decided to try my hand at 3D modeling. After some reading and having no experience, I found the Fusion 360 was a good place to start. There are tons of tutorials online to guide you through almost anything you can think of. And what did I think of first? My own filter floss cup.

If you are familiar with 3D printing, you know that even a small calibration cube can take ~20min to print, so I decided I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and create a shallow cup that would hold just the right amount of filter floss and take less time to print. It took a little trial and error, but I got my first print in "natural" PLA (yes, not great for saltwater, but this are short term test prints).

It sits just below the water to reduce any water fall noise.

Even though that test print worked well, I had a nozzle obstruction issue that caused some minor under extrusion so I reprinted it in silver/grey PLA. This time remembering to take more pictures before putting it in the tank.

Here, you can see a small taper I added to the inner diameter at the top edge of the cup to encourage water to hug the wall and flow smoothly and evenly around the entire radius.

Used ~1-in wide strip of filter floss to coil inside of the cup.

Perfect fit in the Red Sea filter drawer.

I had a lot of fun with this project. I'm still looking into ways to improve the design and will post updated STL's on my thingiverse page: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2905077

OH, and not to leave out the latest addition to my tank.

He/She (?) has been happily grazing on pods for about 3 weeks now! Honesty one of my favorite fish.

 

[nycfishy]

awesome job on that filter cup print, and thanks for sharing the file.
What printer do you use?

 

[revnull]

awesome job on that filter cup print, and thanks for sharing the file.
What printer do you use?

I use a Tevo Tornado.

Today I replaced the filter cup with a Klir Di-4. I'm still working out the kinks, but I also created a 3D printed addapter/dam that allows the water level in the drain to reach the needed 1.5" to trigger the roll-up sensor.

I'm documenting it here if you are interested:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/red-sea-reefer-and-klir-filter.441932/

 

[kevin318]

You are an amazing fabricator! I'm new to R2R and recently picked up a Max E-170 and have spent the last hour and a half marveling at your skills to build equipment. I can't wait to see some pictures of your maturing tank. Thanks for sharing all of the details.