House on a Hill Red Sea 750 XXL

[Deiblerj]

Following along. Looks like this will be a good build thread!

 

[Diesel48]

Worked a bit more on the tank this weekend. I am really trying to keep all of of the electronics and wires as clean as I can. I do not want to need an extra cabinet next to it for wires (my wife would not allow it anyways). I need as much room as possible in the cabinet as I plan on running a calcium reactor and will need space for it.

I mounted the APEX and two power bars. The 6 port power strip is for the Kessil LED's and its end is plugged into one power bar outlet. The smaller 3 port power strip is for the T5's and is plugged into one of the power bar outlets as well. The surge protector on the back wall is directly plugged into the wall outlet and is for anything miscellaneous that I do not think needs to be monitored, ie cabinet lights. I have been using zip ties and the electrical tie downs for items I know will not be changing or needing to be cleaned. I have power brick holders from Ecotech coming, velcro straps and cable raceway mounts on the way from Amazon. I will use the velcro to hold wires for equipment that might need to be removed for cleaning or replaced. Hopefully between these cable management tools it will maximize space and keep things clean and safe.

I have 3 - 1/4" plastic tubing going back to my maintenance room. The blue one goes to my RODI ATO reservoir (brute trash can), black goes to the DOS and drain, and the red goes to the DOS and my saltwater mixing station. My mixing station currently uses 33 gallon brute trash cans. I eventually plan on buying a 100 gallon water storage container for salt water so I will not need to make saltwater weekly. I purchased the spectrapure ATO peristaltic pump so I can keep the reservoir in another room. I hope the pump works as advertised. I have heard great things about it.

My DOS Pump and mixing station are in the maintenance room. I mounted the DOS and did a test calibration with it with some shorter lines. Worked as expected. I connected the actual lines and will recalibrate it when it comes time to do so.

I am planning on changing out 3 gallons daily from 11:00PM - 7:00AM. This will keep noise to a minimum. We sleep 2 floors away so I do not see noise being an issue.

I think the biggest question I have now is how are people connecting the RODI line to their storage reservoirs for the DOS? I have a couple of push connect 1/4" bulk heads that I planned on installing on the side and near the top of the brute trash cans. From there I was going to use a small piece of tubing to connect to a 90 degree RO line connector and then connect a long piece of tubing to go to the bottom of the brute trash can. I even purchased a T connector to put on the end of that to act as a weight and keep the line from floating up. What have others done in this situation?

The things I want to get done this week are move the tank from the garage to the stand, modify the metric plumbing to standard. Order plumbing parts for the sump so I can work on it this weekend assuming the tank gets moved. I also need a couple more nice power strips for my QT tanks and stands.

 

[Devaji]

glad to see your build coming along! yeah I hear ya it's not cheap to get these up and running eh?

love to auto WC system. you guys are making me wish I could do it.
keep the updates coming good sir! once more plumbing parts come in for me then I am back on.

 

[Diesel48]

Obligatory kid in the tank shots! They like to think they are mermaids so I told them this is their new home.

The tank has some sticky residue on the inside of it. I assume it is from items that were inside it when it was shipped. How should I clean it off? White vinegar, water and a razor? Not sure plumbing will happen this weekend. I ordered parts on Monday but they just shipped them yesterday. I can probably mount lights and work on my QT tanks.

 

[Anirban]

Nice one. Vinegar, water and razor blade should work well.

 

[Diesel48]

Just a word of caution if sanding down the 1" pipe to fit into the downspouts. The ABS on the red sea parts is fragile. I did not sand down one pipe enough and during a test fit it cracked the ABS connector. I really did not even push very hard, was surprised it broke. $21 later, I have a new pipe on the way.

 

[Devaji]

oh bummer man, that is why after some thought I went with the RS part that fits on the down pipes. I arrive on Monday i'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Whip]

That is a bummer. Hope all goes well with the reboot.

 

[MnFish1]

Hi Everyone!

Just a little background, I had 75 gallon saltwater tank from 2003 - 2008. It was a mixed reef, no sump, hang on back refugium and protein skimmer. It was very successful and was setup with live rock and sand. It survived a whole tank move from one house to another. Had to take it down due to painting our basement. Got married in 2007 and it had to come down. I told my Wife that at some point I will be getting another tank!

And that brings us to today. 2 kids later and another on the way I am ready to start another tank! The older kids (5 and 4) are at a great age to enjoy it and help out. Hopefully stimulating their desires to become marine biologists, lol.

It seems somethings have changed in 11 years but a lot of the methods are the same. I am excited to have a controller and automate some of these processes. This will also be the first time I have a reef ready tank with sump.

I feel like the timing is great as I want to follow the BRS/WWC hybrid setup to a certain extent.

The current Plan:
Tank - Red Sea Reefer XXL 750
Sump - Red Seas Sump
Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus 200 INT
Return Pump - Varios 8
Run the Compact Roller Mat instead of filter socks
Controller - Apex
DOS Pump for AWC - run remote to my water mixing station
Auto Top Off - Spectapure I want to run this remotely to my water mixing station
Tank Flow - 2 MP60's and MP40s for maximum flow
Lighting - T5 / 61" LED Hybrid - Currently looking at 4 Kessil 360X for the LED's
100 LBS of Reef Saver Rock
3 Bricks of Brightwell Bio Xport Ceramic Rock
Run a bare bottom setup
BRS Carbon Reactor

I purchased the rock last month and did a mock aquascape. Check on the attachments.
The rock is now in a Brute trash can with a heater and 2 power heads. I dosed Dr Tims and one other bacteria in a bottle. I then added Doctor Tims Ammonia to give the bacteria something to eat.

I am not sure exactly when I will get the tank but it will be sometime this year. I wanted to get the rock cycling as soon as I got the go ahead from my wife

Thanks for following along!

I have that tank - its awesome - Curious - why are you cycling your rock in a trash can ? since its dry rock? Are you just trying to get a 'jump start'? Remember you need to keep adding 'ammonia' or 'something' (fish food is fine (and cheaper)) - to keep the rock 'fed' until you put it in your tank. One issue - just because the rock has 'cycled' in a trash can - doesn't mean it will be cycled 'enough' for you to add a bunch of stuff. Congrats though on the new tank (and the kids)

 

[MnFish1]

Thinking about the 2 - MP60s and 2 MP40s based on the WWC/BRS method for SPS. From their findings it seems like high flow is pretty important. I know it is their opinion but based on the video it seemed pretty legit. I was thinking of putting the two MP60s near the front and the MP40's in the back. Depending on the programming not all pumps will be running full blast at all times so flow will not be maxed out all of the time. I thought with the 4 I would be able to create random flow and keep all the detritus of the bottom. I will not be using sand so no worries there.

Agreed - the higher the flow the better imho. It will never hurt. It will always help (again My opinion).

 

[MnFish1]

I got the tank on two furniture dollies last night with the help of my brother and his friend. I then proceeded to bring all of the stand pieces to the basement. The next day I assembled the stand. I am very satisfied with the quality of the stand and assembly tolerances. I spent 7 years of my career working with product similar to this and can say this the cam lock / dowel system / and the quality of the wood Red Sea used for the stand is top notch.

So I have a few questions about placement. Red Sea recommends 24" from a corner and at least 4" from the back wall. I placed the tank at 24" off the corner and 6" off the wall. 6" does not seem like to much but having that hutch next to it my throw that off visually. The hutch will be going some where else. My wife will probably want something a bit smaller to fill the open area on the back wall. Based on your experiences what is a good distance to keep the tank off the back wall? Of course from a looks perspective the closer the better but I also like the appeal of being able to get to my outlets.

Last question regarding carpet. I would say the carpet we have is a medium ply. Not short but not long. Is it ok for the tank to be on carpet when it comes to leveling it off? Or should I cut a sheet of nice plywood, round over all of the corners with a router and paint it black. Use it as a platform that the tank will sit on. I have always had my tanks directly on carpet before but this is the first tank over 75 gallons. If the tank is 4" to 6" off the wall the carpet tack strip should not be an issue I would think.

where is the bottom of the stand - or is that a new version? usually you can't see the carpet under the stand? Maybe I'm just confused. BTW - I would not put it on plywood

 

[MnFish1]

Seriously curious - why can you see the carpeting under your stand (inside)? Im not sure that's right - OR?

 

[Whip]

Seriously curious - why can you see the carpeting under your stand (inside)? Im not sure that's right - OR?

It’s normal. I just assembled the same tank. The floor of the sump and dry compartment are one of the last things to be installed.

 

[Diesel48]

I have that tank - its awesome - Curious - why are you cycling your rock in a trash can ? since its dry rock? Are you just trying to get a 'jump start'? Remember you need to keep adding 'ammonia' or 'something' (fish food is fine (and cheaper)) - to keep the rock 'fed' until you put it in your tank. One issue - just because the rock has 'cycled' in a trash can - doesn't mean it will be cycled 'enough' for you to add a bunch of stuff. Congrats though on the new tank (and the kids)

Yes I am trying to get a jump start on populating beneficial bacteria on the rock. I am cycling it, not curing it. It has been in there since December, I have been feeding the bacteria about once a week. Also hoping this helps with the new tank uglies and algae once it goes into the tank. That probably will not happen but it does not hurt anything. This will not be an instant tank at all. Once the rock is in the tank it will be at least 30 days before fish anyways as they need to go through QT.

Seriously curious - why can you see the carpeting under your stand (inside)? Im not sure that's right - OR?

I have not put the bottom panels down yet. You level the tank with small leveling feet which are accessible under the bottom shelf with a small wrench. The stand is designed to remove the bottom shelves in order to do this. The glass was just moved to the stand this week so I expect some settling on the carpet to occur.

 

[Diesel48]

That is a bummer. Hope all goes well with the reboot.

I was shocked that it cracked. Leads me to believe that the joint must have been stressed out or the PVC insert was hot from sanding. I was not forcing it in there at all. Oh well, the other two proceeded to go well. Lots of glue to make sure the joints were sealed. The 1" PVC pieces did require more sanding than one would have though. Glad I had my brothers bench top sander.

 

[MnFish1]

It’s normal. I just assembled the same tank. The floor of the sump and dry compartment are one of the last things to be installed.

Interesting - I didn't remember it that way. IN any case I thought that was the finished product

 

[MnFish1]

Yes I am trying to get a jump start on populating beneficial bacteria on the rock. I am cycling it, not curing it. It has been in there since December, I have been feeding the bacteria about once a week. Also hoping this helps with the new tank uglies and algae once it goes into the tank. That probably will not happen but it does not hurt anything. This will not be an instant tank at all. Once the rock is in the tank it will be at least 30 days before fish anyways as they need to go through QT.


I have not put the bottom panels down yet. You level the tank with small leveling feet which are accessible under the bottom shelf with a small wrench. The stand is designed to remove the bottom shelves in order to do this. The glass was just moved to the stand this week so I expect some settling on the carpet to occur.

LOL WOW - How stupid am I - I kept wondering - how the heck to I level the bolts on the back of the tank I was ready to pull my hair out. (i.e. I put in the bottom pieces before leveling).. You learn something new every day. you'll like the tank

 

[MnFish1]

The one tricky thing with the leveling (and may be especially so on carpet) - is that I was able to easily level it with no water, etc in the tank - however, once water was in the tank - it was slightly off.

 

[TX_Punisher]

I’ve had mine almost two years. You’ll want to ditch the Red Sea top off quickly. The other issue I have is moisture in the sump area, tho I’m on the third coast. I installed computer fans to bring in fresh air and a large fan over the sump but I’m running an 8 bulb t5 so it heats the water quickly.

I’d run the new gyre 350’s if it were me. They spread the flow better than mp’s.

Lastly, I’ve found the Varios 8 is overpowered for the Red Sea plumbing. I run mine on 3 of 5.

 

[TX_Punisher]

I’ve had mine almost two years. You’ll want to ditch the Red Sea top off quickly. The other issue I have is moisture in the sump area, tho I’m on the third coast. I installed computer fans to bring in fresh air and a large fan over the sump but I’m running an 8 bulb t5 so it heats the water quickly.

I’d run the new gyre 350’s if it were me. They spread the flow better than mp’s.

Lastly, I’ve found the Varios 8 is overpowered for the Red Sea plumbing. I run mine on 3 of 5.