Finally getting around to upgrading the wife's AquaTop. She wanted to stay in the 'cube' family and had very specific size requirements, so we ended up going with the Red Sea Reefer 170. Picked it up from the LFS over the weekend and have started gathering parts and planning the build. Unfortunately the LFS scratched the door and broke the lid while loading it in my truck, so those are both on order.
I knew there were a lot of things I didn't like about the 170 before the purchase, so a couple of changes will be done first:
1 - Tiny ATO reservoir and float will be removed and replaced with a larger container and sensor
2 - I dislike the water level in the DT, so replacing the drains with a custom design to allow adjustment & more flow
3 - The gate valve sucks, so the main drain under the cabinet will be replaced with new plumbing & a Spears gate. Plan on leaving the emergency drain as is
4 - With raised water level in the DT, I'll need a check valve or anti-siphon hole on the return line, haven't decided which yet
Parts accumulated so far:
Ecotech Vectra S2 - I love these pumps
Ecotech Vortech MP10QD X 2 - will be mounted on the back wall
Ecotech Radion XR15 G5 Pro
Jaebo Dosing Pump - transfer from the old tank with new tubing
3 section dosing container - Fritz RPM Alk, CA & Mag
InkBird Heater Controller
2x Eheim 75w heaters
eShopps S-120 Skimmer - small footprint for small sump
More to come and pics of the progress....
I knew there were a lot of things I didn't like about the 170 before the purchase, so a couple of changes will be done first:
1 - Tiny ATO reservoir and float will be removed and replaced with a larger container and sensor
2 - I dislike the water level in the DT, so replacing the drains with a custom design to allow adjustment & more flow
3 - The gate valve sucks, so the main drain under the cabinet will be replaced with new plumbing & a Spears gate. Plan on leaving the emergency drain as is
4 - With raised water level in the DT, I'll need a check valve or anti-siphon hole on the return line, haven't decided which yet
Parts accumulated so far:
Ecotech Vectra S2 - I love these pumps
Ecotech Vortech MP10QD X 2 - will be mounted on the back wall
Ecotech Radion XR15 G5 Pro
Jaebo Dosing Pump - transfer from the old tank with new tubing
3 section dosing container - Fritz RPM Alk, CA & Mag
InkBird Heater Controller
2x Eheim 75w heaters
eShopps S-120 Skimmer - small footprint for small sump
More to come and pics of the progress....