RedSea Reefer 750 Renovation

[NorCalReefing]

Let’s start with a little history:

Started a RedSea Reefer 750 in 2019. The original goal was to keep a mixed reef with a colorful mix of Acans, Zoas, Hammers and some SPS. The tank started with dry Marco rock that was cured in my garage using a brute trash can and ammonia in a bottle.

The tank went through the uglies and eventually stabilized enough for fish and corals. And initially, things were going well. I had a strong refugium that was producing plenty of chaeto. The corals were growing and I was excited about progress.

Then I made the mistake of adding a stressed out little fish with Ich. It died and all my fish started getting it and I tore the tank apart to quarantine and medicate the fish. I had the long feral period and things went out of balance.

Fast forward to Covid and the tank really took a dive. With 3 kids under 5 in the house and a full time remote job, I found little time to get work on the tank done. Testing and Water Changes became less frequent. Excuses were made and I searched for quick and easy solutions. And predictably, none of those things made it any easier.

So fast forward to November of 2023. I have a tank with a “pile of boulders” Aquascape. Mostly softies with a few dying Acropora frags. I’ve got an huge Hammer that hasn’t been trimmed in years. All of my fish are healthy, but the tank is a mess as I have over fed and undercleaned.

So I started with water changes. Did 30 gallon changes twice a week for the first two weeks. Then went to single 30 gallon changes weekly. I removed all the detritus I could find in the sand and cleaned out the sump. And that is where we start our little renovation journey.

Current Stocking:
1 Powder Blue Tang
1 Kole Yellow Eye Tang
1 Potters Angel
2 Female Leopard Wrasse
2 Paired Perc Clownfish
1 Lawnmower Blenny
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Miniature Conch (not sure what type)
Unknown number of blue legged hermits
Unknown number of snails
3 baseball sized Zebra Turbo snails that only come out at night.

Corals:
RR Pink Cadillac Acropora that is dying off a bit
GARF Bonsai Acropora in slightly better shape
2 Hammer Coral colonies that are doing very well (besides the undersides that are shielded from light).
3-4 mixed Acan colonies
Lots of Zoas

 

[NorCalReefing]

So you might be wondering, what is my end goal? What am I trying to accomplish?

1. Redo the rock work to make it look more appealing. Currently, it’s just a pile of rocks that I quickly cobbled together using 2 part epoxy. I was rushing since the rock was cured before really having a chance to think through how I wanted to place it.

I’m planning on using a bunch of dried live rock to create a type of negative space aquascape that meets the needs of my specific corals. I’m going to bleach the old rock for seven days, rinse it off and set it out to fully dry. Then I’ll set it in a bucket with RoDI water to cycle through all the leftover junk. Once that’s complete, I’ll break up the rocks to create 3 distinct rock islands.

To avoid shocking the system, I’ll place a new set of rocks in 1/3rd at a time. Allowing the existing tank bacteria some time to seed the new rock.

2. For the original build I used a small crushed coral. Bigger grains than sand that I’ve discovered to be more of a detritus trap than I’d like. So my goal is to also replace the sand with 2-3 inches of Fiji Pink Dry Sand.

3. Adding a Kawkwasser Stirrer to simplify dosing. Historically, I’ve had to supplement way more Alk than Calcium. Unfortunately, it’s really easy to get out of balance. I picked up an EcoTech Versa Dosing Pump for this project. Will go very slow and test often until we get the right balance.

4. Would like to move away from my Reef Wave 45s to a pair of MP60s. Improve flow throughout the tank. I’ve been disappointed by the ReefWaves. I bought 2 when they first came out. One of them has constantly broken down and I’m done replacing the parts on it.

5. I’d like to add a few new acros, acans and zoa variants. Of course my initial goal is to get my current coral healthy. But I’d eventually like to add:

- Walt Disney
- PC Rainbow
- Tyree Pink Lemonade
- CB Maleficent
- Jason Fox Solar Flare
- Bill Murray
- Oregon Tort

- 5-6 new Aussie Acans

- Zoas (Hornets)

I’m going to really space out the acros and place them on their own high points. I’d like to really be patient with this build and think long term.

6. I’d like to add some more fish / inverts:
- Convict Tang
- Royal Gramma
- 5-6 Green Chromis
- Small group of Peppermint Shrimp for Aptasia control / perhaps a nudibranch.

7. Add a new controller to help with some basic automation, testing and data collection. This will probably not occur until the end of next year.

If anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Tank looks great!

 

[kevgib67]

Wow, you have this really well thought out. I can’t think of a reason this not going to reach its successful conclusion. I’m a big zoa fan and man yours looks so happy and healthy.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Wow, you have this really well thought out. I can’t think of a reason this not going to reach its successful conclusion. I’m a big zoa fan and man yours looks so happy and healthy.

Appreciate the vote of confidence. Trying not to rush anything (as I probably would’ve done in the past). I love the look of Zoas with Acans mixed together. So that’s going to dominate the bottom of this new scape. I’m gonna try to grow some nice large acro colonies on the top so I’ll create some nice shelves that hypothetically the Zoas will have trouble reaching. Just got to keep it all looking natural and eye appealing.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Rocks were soaked in a 1/10 bleach mixture for 7 to 8 days. It was surprisingly difficult to find a bleach without a bunch or crap mixed in. I eventually found one at Safeway.

Rock was rinsed with a hose and set out on the concrete to dry. It’s been a bit cold out so it may take a few days to fully dry. Once that’s done, I’m going to throw them in RODI with the dechlorinator (overkill I know) and an impeller for a few weeks.

I also got my Kalk Stirrer and Doser in today. Going to measure Ca and Alk usage for a few days before setting this all up. Then we will dose low and slow and measure changes.

Stirrer is the Avast Marine K1 Kalk Stirrer.
And the Doser is the EcoTech Versa.

 

[NorCalReefing]

So got some motivation on Sunday night and started putting the Kalkwasser Stirrer together. Very simple design with a very small footprint. Since RedSea filled the Sump area of my cabinet completely, I decided to add it to the back compartment next to my Protein Skimmer.

I’ve been testing CA and Alk using a RedSea kit. Calcium is low going from 390 to 370 ppm. Alk went from 10.9 to around 10.2 dKH.

Started by adding some RODI to the chamber with about a cup of kawkwasser solution that was provided as a gift by Avast. Going to let the solution stir overnight before starting to dose.

Added my first ExoTech Versa pump to the system. It’s connected to the K1 Stirrer and the RODI top off container.

Also, my original plan was to take the pile of rocks outside and soak in RODI for a few weeks. However on second thought, I’m going to take the rocks and build the first Aquascape structure first. Then place that structure in RODI for the 2-4 weeks to get any remaining PO4 out. Figured it would make more sense than pulling it out to dry again.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Dosing Kalkwasser has started. Very little impact to CA and Alk so far which is expected. I do like the Versa pump’s UI:

Tank has been very active lately. Even the inverts have been all over the place the past few days. Here’s my cleaner shrimp:

And a Conch that has been in there for years. I don’t remember what exact type it is:

 

[NorCalReefing]

Put in an order with @Cultivated Reef. Couldn’t resist! Order came in looking great. Put them all on the frag rack to acclimate while I put together the new rock work.

Walt Disney

PC Rainbow

Oregon Tort

Bam Bams and Rainbow Hornets

I’ve ordered from them before and Holly is great. Would highly recommend them to anyone!

 

[NorCalReefing]

Been a little while so I’ll provide some updates:

New corals are all doing good. Slowly moving the frag rack up to better PAR. Good PE on the Disney and Tort. The PC Rainbow has been kind of brown but it’s been that way since arrival. Zoas are both doing great.

Cherry Corals had a sale and I made some more purchases. Going to place them on the rack to encrust a bit. Picked up a JF Solar Flare, JF Fox Flame and a CC Bill Murray.

My tank also has had an aptasia issue for quite some time. Peppermint shrimp have been hard to come by in my area so I’m rolling the dice on a Copperband. Always loved the colors but it’s risky as I have an established Powder Blue Tang. So since I’m rearranging rock work anyway, I moved the Poweder Blue to the sump refugium and introduced the CBB.

The water parameters have been relatively stable with the new Kalkwasser reactor. I’m very slowly ramping it up. Went from 1L a day to 2L. My Calcium is around 430 and my DkH is at 9.0-9.2. PH at 8.15.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Finally had some time to start working on the first third of the aquascape. Used the BRS gel superglue to put rocks together. Focusing on creating arches and shelves. The lower section will be ideal for zoas and acans. Keeping them isolated from the Acropora that will hang from the upper section. I then reinforced with 2 part epoxy and sand/rock/glue combinations. Still lots to do but off to a good start.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Love your rockscape!! Great work!!

 

[NorCalReefing]

Love your rockscape!! Great work!!

Appreciate it! Wanted something more functional and visually appealing instead of just stacking rocks!

 

[NorCalReefing]

Spent some more time tonight on the rock structure after the kids went to bed. This is what I came up with.

The entire structure breaks down into 2 parts. Both fit into a plastic tub to rinse with RODI. Added some Seachem Prime and an old impeller. After a few weeks, it’ll be time to introduce it to the fish.

 

[mtraylor]

Well, I read through your thread and first off. The tank looks great. Wasn't expecting that after the read. My first thought is that you are making huge mistake by not using some of you existing rock for the new rock BUILD.

I really like the new stack, you just built. Lools great. You need to incorporate the existing rock into your stack number 2/3. Just be sure to get back in water asap. I think that will help with your bacteria growth and less uglies as that new structure you just bult will go throigh all the ugly stages and pose strsss on all those corals you have.

Everything is looking amazing so keep up the great work.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Well, I read through your thread and first off. The tank looks great. Wasn't expecting that after the read. My first thought is that you are making huge mistake by not using some of you existing rock for the new rock BUILD.

I really like the new stack, you just built. Lools great. You need to incorporate the existing rock into your stack number 2/3. Just be sure to get back in water asap. I think that will help with your bacteria growth and less uglies as that new structure you just bult will go throigh all the ugly stages and pose strsss on all those corals you have.

Everything is looking amazing so keep up the great work.

Yeah, was thinking about that a bit more. Changed my mind on replacing the sand this year. Going to slowly make that change once the new rock work is established.

The idea of adding established wet rock to my scape is a good one. Thinking about breaking up some of the wet stuff in a bin of salt water next to my cured dry rock for parts 2 and 3. The glue dried really fast and I’ve got plenty of epoxy. I could simply place the whole thing in salt water when finished. Plus spraying it down with tank water in between work.

The 1st batch of rock will have some live rock on it when I break up the sections that the coral is on. It’s a small amount but every bit helps.

I could always add a few pieces to the sump as well temporarily.

Appreciate the input. It helps as I think through all of these changes.

 

[mtraylor]

Yeah np. I just went through a redo with all dry rock and it wasn't fun. All the uglies and phases. With that georgous rock you have. You can just break it up and build what you want and skip all that.

Rock on. Your reef build so far is georgous, so I know you will benefit more by repurposing the existing rock you have. Can't wait to see what you make. It's the fun part

 

[NorCalReefing]

Decided it was time for more flow! The ReefWaves were just not cutting it. Snatched up a couple Ecotech MP60s from BRS while they were on sale.

Went with one on each end of the tank. So far, I set them at Reef Crest 85%.

 

[NorCalReefing]

Couple of updates. Went ahead and moved the first section of rock into the tank. Ended up rinsing it in RODI several times and ran a few tests. No chlorine or other issues so we added the rock.

Glued some of the existing frags and moved over the old rock to a tub with impeller and heater. Hopefully I’ll be able to fashion a new section of rock in the next week or so.

Cooperband is doing great. He’s been picking at the rocks and taken to frozen mysis. Once the rocks are all changed up, I’ll reintroduce the Powder Blue. That should be interesting…

Overall everything is going good. Getting good PE from the new Acros. All the Zoas and Acans have opened up.

 

[NorCalReefing]

So the whole family was hit with a nasty flu bug. Somehow I was still able to make some updates to the Reefer.

Added a few new frags from Cherry Corals. Got some great deals during Polypalooza.

JF Solar Flare:

JF Fox Flame

WWC Pink Passion

CC Bill Murray

Another PC Rainbow

2nd section of rock work has been updated. Used a lot of the current wet rock. Of course, ended up with a little Dino outbreak. But so far, not too bad.

I’ll post a pic as soon.

Added some more live rock in the sump to help combat it. Also added 4 jars of eco-pods to help reseed the aquarium.