John’s Red Sea Reefer 250

[Pakman2]

@powers2001 I purchased two bags of the
CaribSea Special Grade Arag-Alive. Based on the videos from Bulk Reef Supply, they stated that this sand is best if you plan on having your power heads set for higher flow rates. I’m planning on having a shallow sand bed. I’m aiming for 1-1.5”

 

[Pakman2]

@Pakman2 That’s definitely along the lines of NSA (negative space aquascaping) which is becoming trendy. Are you going to use sand and if so what variety? Personally this time around I’m starting bare bottom but might add sand at a later date.

@powers2001 I’m planning on working on the second rockscape this weekend. My goal is to have the rockwork completed, sand and saltwater in the tank and starting the cycle hopefully by this upcoming Sunday.

 

[Pakman2]

The additional Marco rock arrived today so I can complete the second rock structure for the tank. Also, I ordered 100 feet of 4 different color RODI 1/4” tubing. I’m going to automate this as much as possible. The black line will be used to remove water from the tank and to the drain. The white line will be for freshly mixed saltwater to the tank from the basement. And the blue line is fresh RODI water that will goto the ATO unit. More to follow.

 

[Pakman2]

So I noticed something today while tinkering with the tank. The center pipe in the overflow is the emergency drain pipe. I just realized that it’s sitting lower than the main drain pipe. Is that normal?

 

[powers2001]

@Pakman2 maybe you have those two pipes switched.

 

[Pakman2]

@Pakman2 maybe you have those two pipes switched.

Looks like that’s how it’s designed.

 

[Pakman2]

Spent all day today trying to level the tank stand. I guess that’s what you get for having an older house. This is the before picture without any shimming.

 

[Pakman2]

After 8 hours of standing and laying on my back and cursing at the engineer who decided not to 1) design the stand with adjustable legs or 2) give customers the option of purchasing adjustable legs specifically for this purpose. It would of made this job so much easier and quicker. But in the end it all worked out.

 

[powers2001]

Looks like that’s how it’s designed.

@Pakman2 the main drain is just a hair bigger in diameter than the emergency drain. However there’s a big pipe that fits over the top of the main drain and sticks up quite a bit. The big pipe also extends down into the overflow box. The big pipe that fits over I believe is for keeping things from going down the main drain. I believe it also draws water from lower down in the overflow box instead of constantly skimming water from the same top level. Is this what you’re talking about?

Mitch

 

[Pakman2]

@Pakman2 the main drain is just a hair bigger in diameter than the emergency drain. However there’s a big pipe that fits over the top of the main drain and sticks up quite a bit. The big pipe also extends down into the overflow box. The big pipe that fits over I believe is for keeping things from going down the main drain. I believe it also draws water from lower down in the overflow box instead of constantly skimming water from the same top level. Is this what you’re talking about?

Mitch

Yes. I wasn’t paying close attention to that large pipe with the clear plastic that goes over the main drain pipe. In between the clear plastic and the black tube has slots for the water to enter which is inches below the emergency drain. Completely my fault for not paying attention to details.

 

[Pakman2]

Now that the tank and stand are level, it’s time to add the sand. I chose the Caribsea Arag Alive special grade. I decided to go with a shallow sand bed. No more than 1”.

 

[Pakman2]

Completed both Marco Rock aquascape structures and placed them in the tank. I used up more real estate than I initially intended on using but we will go with the current design and see how it all works out.

 

[Bonsai reef]

looks great...following along...

 

[Pakman2]

Tank is topped off with RODI water and Tropic Marin pro-reef salt mix. We added the Fritz fishless fuel (ammonia) followed by the Fritz turbo start 900 to start the nitrogen cycle.

 

[Pakman2]

Purchased 2 Ecotech MP40’s for this tank. If these power heads are overpowering for this tank, then I can turn the overall power down on both units. Right now I’m going to place them on the back glass so they blend in rather than having magnets protruding from the sides. Time will tell if that location will provide ample amounts of flow.

 

[powers2001]

Purchased 2 Ecotech MP40’s for this tank. If these power heads are overpowering for this tank, then I can turn the overall power down on both units. Right now I’m going to place them on the back glass so they blend in rather than having magnets protruding from the sides. Time will tell if that location will provide ample amounts of flow. View attachment 2235166

@Pakman2 you should really like your Vortechs I know I liked mine. Since they can’t be controlled by the Apex anymore I went with IceCap Gyres this time that have limited control from the Apex. And I’m still hoping Neptune will come out with a WAV Jr. I’m too afraid to try the only WAV they have as they are big and push a lot of water.

 

[Pakman2]

I’ve completed the installation of the Klir 4” fleece roller filter along with the Klir diverter cap. The cap itself needed some modifications as it was too large for the Red Sea 3.5” sock holder dimensions. So far so good. No issues to report.

 

[Pakman2]

We purchased the Ink Bird temperature controller to control two BRS 200w heaters. I’ve been emailing Ink Bird support back and forth due to connectivity issues with my wifi router. It took 3 or so days but we finally got the issue corrected.

 

[Downfall]

How have the MP40's on the back wall worked out for you? I like the idea of pumps on the back wall, but thinking the overall flow might work better on the sides of the tank. Working on setting up a reefer xl 300, very similar to your tank

 

[powers2001]

We purchased the Ink Bird temperature controller to control two BRS 200w heaters. I’ve been emailing Ink Bird support back and forth due to connectivity issues with my wifi router. It took 3 or so days but we finally got the issue corrected.

@Pakman2 not sure if I told you or someone else. I couldn’t make any sense of the InkBird Wi-Fi app. So I’m going with a non Wi-Fi InkBird heater controller. The Wi-Fi model gives you an alarm if your temperature stays at the same degrees for awhile. The purpose is because InkBird thinks the temperature should vary between your low and high settings without stopping on any certain degree for awhile. I thought that didn’t make any sense. It seems like there’s a lot of bugs in the system as well.