Jonny's Reefer 350 Build W/ Clarisea SK5000

[jonnyeatworld]

After Being out of the hobby for 6 years, I'm Back!!! I had a IM Nuvo 38 that had a ton of issues with Leaks and living in an apartment was a disaster.

Moved into a new house 2 years ago and the wife finally let me get a tank in the basement. Not the ideal spot but it allows me to get a tank and keep the mess away from her.

I decided on the Reefer 350 because it gives me the perfect opportunity for me do everything i want without being too intrusive and taking up the whole basement.

Delivery of the tank is happening today! Nervous about it, from making sure it is in perfect condition, to trying to convince the delivery guy to help me get it in my Garage, $$$, to moving it to my basement.

This is where the tank will be going, The other side is a utlity room. I will be cutting a small hole through it once the stand is in place to feed my ATO reservoir ( i want to upgrade from the one that comes with the reefer)

This is the mess of a Utility room but its good enough to put an ATO in so i can hold more Gallons of RODI water without taking up room in the cabinet:

Here is a shot of some of the equipment i loaded up during the black friday sales at BRS. Still need a Skimmer. Waiting for the Redsea Skimmers to come out soon:

Once i Get the Tank installed, i will trace it out and start figuring out how i am going to the the aquascape. I have a ton of Macro rocks, shelf rocks, and life rock shapes. Hoping to come up with something i don't hate.

Stay tuned for pics about the delivery today!!

I love this forum and I look forward to sharing this journey with you guys!

 

[SPR1968]

That’s a great start Jonny!

And don’t forget to post the pictures of your aquascape so we can ‘approve’ it! Lol

You might find the following helpful:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brand-new-aquascape-forum.386276/

And welcome to R2R as well!

 

[mch1984]

Glad you got the go ahead, looks like you have a good stock of supplies already. Looking forward to following along.

 

[jonnyeatworld]

That’s a great start Jonny!

And don’t forget to post the pictures of your aquascape so we can ‘approve’ it! Lol

You might find the following helpful:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brand-new-aquascape-forum.386276/

And welcome to R2R as well!

Glad you got the go ahead, looks like you have a good stock of supplies already. Looking forward to following along.

Thank you guys! Of course i need the approval of everyone for my aquascape lol

 

[Hulley]

Great start, looking forward to the build! You had commented on my build about the Clarisea filter roller, this was easily the best upgrade I've ever had. It would be much easier to add before you get it wet!

 

[jonnyeatworld]

Great start, looking forward to the build! You had commented on my build about the Clarisea filter roller, this was easily the best upgrade I've ever had. It would be much easier to add before you get it wet!

Yup! You were my inspiration. Already plan on taking the ATO outside of the cabinet so i can account for the roller. I came across the bubble magnus filter roller which looks very similar. So i need to figure out which one to get soon.

 

[Hulley]

Yep, I researched several and due to size and flow capability, I chose the Clarisea SK-5000. This model fits perfectly and supports a ton of flow. BTW, cutting out the filter sock area was actually pretty easy, I'm certainly not the first do do that with a RSR, there are several people that have done it on the Red Sea Face Book page, that's where I got a lot of inspiration and questions asked.

 

[jonnyeatworld]

So delivery went great ( besides the fact that UPS was an hour late to the 3pm-5pm window that i had to leave early from work for). The Driver was great and was willing to load the tank into my Garage

I bought the tank from SaltwaterAquariums.com during their black friday sale and it came with a free Lid kit for the 350 and then they give out freebies for spending $$ so i got the foundations test kit.

Very impressed with the packaging and handling of this. Was very nervous that everything was going to be broken into a million pieces.

Now the next part was getting it down the stairs, by on loading the sump and misc parts from the tank box and With the help of my Brother in law, it was relatively easy.

With some beer and the right tools, building the cabinet was a breeze and took about an hour ( pay no attention to the blanket from the 80's)

Waiting on some parts to hard plumb the sump and my brother in law to come back to help me lift the tank onto the stand.

 

[Hulley]

One word of advice:
Make sure you get the cabinet doors on and level before you fill the sump up, otherwise you will not be able to access the left door hinges for adjustment!
Looking good, this is the fun part!

 

[jonnyeatworld]

One word of advice:
Make sure you get the cabinet doors on and level before you fill the sump up, otherwise you will not be able to access the left door hinges for adjustment!
Looking good, this is the fun part!

Thanks! i also just bought composite shims to get the cabinet level. i checked and its the floor not the cabinet that isn't level, so the shims should get it in aliment.

 

[saintsreturn]

This is exciting! Congrats on the return and looking forward to watching your progress!

 

[Hulley]

Thanks! i also just bought composite shims to get the cabinet level. i checked and its the floor not the cabinet that isn't level, so the shims should get it in aliment.

It may change a little when you get the display on, so be sure and check it again, although your probably on the homes foundation so it's probably not an issue. Mine is on our main floor with the basement below so mine moved ever so slightly.

 

[jonnyeatworld]

It may change a little when you get the display on, so be sure and check it again, although your probably on the homes foundation so it's probably not an issue. Mine is on our main floor with the basement below so mine moved ever so slightly.

Yeah, being in the basement these tiles are directly on the foundation so those aren't moving, but maybe ill shim it once i get the tank on the cabinet for safe measure.

 

[Hulley]

I'm excited for you, I had a ton of fun setting mine up over the summer! My last tank was 10 years ago and I'm amazed at the advancements in reefing and hardware.

 

[jonnyeatworld]

This weekend, i took to finishing up modding the sump to fit the Clarisea Sk5000 roller filter. This was very time consuming as you needed to take your time to cut the silicone around the sock holder and glass baffle. Eventually everything came out and i scraped it clean the best i could.

(pre clean up of silicone bits)

The SK5000 fits perfectly now

Adjusting the cabinets has been the most annoying thing about this build so far, but finally got them as close to square as possible

I also Cut out a pass through to utility room so i can tap into unlimited space and my ATO!

 

[jonnyeatworld]

Time work rock work!! This is a mix of reef saver rock, foundation rock, and life rock shapes.

This is what We ( my brother in law and myself) came up with. What do you guys think? Also added the x15 lights to the tank

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Great build !!! Looking good....Following>>>

 

[jonnyeatworld]

Great build !!! Looking good....Following>>>

I appreciate it! Thank you!

 

[Hulley]

Awesome! You're gonna love the Clarisea and your rock scape looks fantastic! I'm in the process of a remote ATO system in my basement directly below the tank, I should actually have some items show up today from BRS!

 

[saintsreturn]

Beautiful work so far look forward to watching