Broadfield's Red Sea Reefer 450 Build - OCD Inspired... Going Back To a Reef

[Broadfield]

What do you want to change on the sump?

Just full custom.... size, features, cosmetics etc.

 

[klondike4001]

Just full custom.... size, features, cosmetics etc.

So, everything then, minus the colors.

 

[Broadfield]

So, everything then, minus the colors.

LOL, basically. I need to sit down and draw out what I want and come up with some design ideas. May just end up building it myself, but we'll see. With that being said, I love what I have... it's just not exactly what I want size and layout wise.

 

[klondike4001]

LOL, basically. I need to sit down and draw out what I want and come up with some design ideas. May just end up building it myself, but we'll see. With that being said, I love what I have... it's just not exactly what I want size and layout wise.

Less space in the skimmer area, add fuge? You have piqued my interest...

 

[Fin]

Just don't mess it up! This is my favorite system and it has inspired me to try harder with my build - but it will be nowhere near this.

 

[CDavmd]

wow...just keeps getting better and better....

...looks like an enterprise panel! "...these are the voyages of the reef tank Broadfield...."

 

[Broadfield]

IMG_1432 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

IMG_1282 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

IMG_1282 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

IMG_1257 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

IMG_1301 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

 

[ourcoralreef]

Very very nice

 

[tdunmore2]

Also, those doors came out very nice.

 

[tdunmore2]

@Broadfield Fantastic work! I'm looking to setup a sump drain similar to yours. It will run from the first floor to the basement. I'm currently planning on running RODI tubing instead of hard pipe. How does the priming system work? Once the sump is drained, wouldn't air have entered in to the pipe? At which point, wouldn't the pipe have to be primed again before the next drain? How does filling up the sump accomplish this? Just through capillary action?
Thanks!

 

[Broadfield]

@Broadfield Fantastic work! I'm looking to setup a sump drain similar to yours. It will run from the first floor to the basement. I'm currently planning on running RODI tubing instead of hard pipe. How does the priming system work? Once the sump is drained, wouldn't air have entered in to the pipe? At which point, wouldn't the pipe have to be primed again before the next drain? How does filling up the sump accomplish this? Just through capillary action?
Thanks!

The line stays primed from when you fill the sump back up. So as the sump is filling and you get to the full level, you will close the valve that is in the sump area, then turn off the mixing pump... that is it. The water will stay in the vertical line... just like when you have a straw in liquid, then you put your finger over the end of the straw and then lift the straw out. So a shutoff valve is a must in the sump area... as seen in the following image:

IMG_8111 by Toby Broadfield, on Flickr

 

[tdunmore2]

Gotcha. I didn't put 2 and 2 together before. You use the same pipe to drain that you do to fill. Many thanks!

 

[Broadfield]

Gotcha. I didn't put 2 and 2 together before. You use the same pipe to drain that you do to fill. Many thanks!

No problem, just let me know if you have any other questions!

The other nice thing about this setup is that I have a soft hose that is fitted to another gate valve collar. So I can simply remove the drain pipe inlet to the gate valve and attach the hose in its place. I then can drain the sump and vacuum it at the same time!

 

[schaNYC]

I have a canon dslr collecting dust on the shelf because I have been too lazy to learn how to use it in a way other than a point and shoot. What settings should I be aiming for as a starting base? Also do you do editing for your tank photos in photoshop? They are amazing pics!

 

[schaNYC]

I have a canon dslr collecting dust on the shelf because I have been too lazy to learn how to use it in a way other than a point and shoot. What settings should I be aiming for as a starting base? Also do you do editing for your tank photos in photoshop? They are amazing pics!

 

[ryanncully]

Question...what did you have to do to hard plumb those reactors into your plumbing? I’ve been trying to find reactors that fit my color scheme and can be plumbed with PVC.

 

[Broadfield]

I have a canon dslr collecting dust on the shelf because I have been too lazy to learn how to use it in a way other than a point and shoot. What settings should I be aiming for as a starting base? Also do you do editing for your tank photos in photoshop? They are amazing pics!

This is what I suggest for the camera:

• Shoot in RAW mode.
• Shoot in Aperture Priority mode... which is Av on a Canon.
• ISO around 400 - 800
• For white balance, shoot in Kelvin mode... crank it all the way up to 10,000
• Then adjust WB correction/shift to suite your lighting. For mine, I use a WB shift of around B3, G3

This is what I suggest in Photoshop for blanket, basic adjustments:

• First open in the RAW editor and adjust your white balance if needed. You may need to shift it a little to make it look like what you are seeing with your eyes.
• You can also adjust contrast, vibrance, saturation etc in the RAW editor. I usually bump those up a few spots... maybe a tad more. Depends on the shot, but I adjust to what it looks like with my eyes.
• You may need to tick the clarity up a tad too, but nothing drastic at all.
• Now you can open the photo within Photoshop.
• Go to the Spot Healing Brush Tool and remove any of the little particles that you see. These will be very pronounced on a black background. They are simply particles in the water column that are difficult to see with the eye and the fact that they are moving around in the water column. But when you take the shot, they will stand out because the camera catches it in still form and can even blur the particles depending on the length of the shutter.
• Once you get rid of all of the little specs and whatnot, then go ahead and crop the image if necessary.
• At this point, make sure to click on Layer > Merge Visible
• Lastly, go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask. Usually a setting around 100 - 200 will do the trick. You can click on the preview button and see the before and after. Don't go too high as it just won't look natural.

So those are just easy, basic adjustments to get your image looking like what you see with your eyes. I do other stuff sometimes, but not too much... I don't get crazy with it. However, I make take 200 photos and only get a handful that are acceptable. NOTE: I just dabble in photography, so I don't really know that much lol.

 

[ReeferMadness80G]

Toby, how do you keep the water so clear? I’ve been having issues for like a week now with cloudy water. Do you run Carbon or GFO? I need secrets! TIA

 

[Broadfield]

Question...what did you have to do to hard plumb those reactors into your plumbing? I’ve been trying to find reactors that fit my color scheme and can be plumbed with PVC.

For the Aquamaxx reactors, you simply need a 1/2" MPT x SLIP and two o-rings to convert each port over to hard pipe.

 

[*HOVA*]

I used standard NPT thread and it worked perfectly fine with enough Teflon tape. I just found out though that CoralVue sells the metric threaded adapter.

http://www.coralvue.com/metric-male-coupling



Thanks for looking!

First off, as you can see I’m setting up a RedSea and digging your build with this dig up here LOL

I’m looking at the photo on CoralVue and it appears the thread is standard and the slip is metric? Am I looking at that right?

 

[Broadfield]

First off, as you can see I’m setting up a RedSea and digging your build with this dig up here LOL

I’m looking at the photo on CoralVue and it appears the thread is standard and the slip is metric? Am I looking at that right?

That piece is not correct for the Reefer application... as you stated, it utilizes standard MPT and metric SLIP