Lost in the RedSea... but building soon anyway

[TastesLikeChicken]

I agree that this is not an easy not expensive hobby. But, done correctly, it’s very enjoyable.

With respect to ATO and need to replace fluid, I recommend a good lid. Right now I have the acrylic lid that Red Sea offers but I don’t care for it. I will be ordering a lid from top lids in the future. This will help decrease the evaporation quite a bit and hence the need for less water replacement.

 

[Spartan1218]

Got my tank today... somewhat amusing to get up to a 2nd floor apartment. I asked a friend to help me move it. I looked it up before we went to get it. 210 pounds is easy sauce. I lift that fairly regularly in training. I brought along someone to help because it was so awkward.

SO WHY AM I ABOUT TO DIE? WHY AM I ABOUT TO DROP THIS THING?

I asked all of this while going up the stairs thinking that I couldn't possibly have gotten this weak during treatment (yes, you can by the way). A neighbor was heading to the store and helped us get it upstairs. I went back and saw the same 210 listed. But wait....RedSea is in the UK? OOOOOOOOOO! This thing is 210kg!

Yeah, never want to do that again in the history of ever. EVER.

Working on the cabinet now. Photos soon!

 

[Spartan1218]

I agree that this is not an easy not expensive hobby. But, done correctly, it’s very enjoyable.

With respect to ATO and need to replace fluid, I recommend a good lid. Right now I have the acrylic lid that Red Sea offers but I don’t care for it. I will be ordering a lid from top lids in the future. This will help decrease the evaporation quite a bit and hence the need for less water replacement.

Top Lids is who I am going with once I get all the equipment set up.

 

[Spartan1218]

A lot of equipment is starting to show up and today I went with a friend to pick up the RS Reefer 350 I bought. Can't wait to start putting it together!

 

[Spartan1218]

Been hitting a few snags. It seems like all of the equipment that I have decided to go with so far (Nyos G2, Clarisea..) have showed up broken in box. Even though I bought them through saltwateraquarium.com, I have been redirected both times to deal directly with Ecotech. Apparently, they are the distributer for both of those companies around here. Not going to lie, I wish Saltwater Aquarium would just replace the units and reconcile on the back end. Ecotech makes you jump through a number of hoops.

The good news is that on the plumbing side, I have found most of the parts I need to do the work I want to with the system. A few things I plan to do:

1. Remove the filter sock area and replace with a Clarisea.
2. Remove the stock gate valve and replace with a Spears gate valve. That will serve two purposes: installation of a better valve and conversion to US PVC measurements. I have some reading to do but I think I can get this done.
3. Most of my sump units are overflow style. I will have need for limited plumbing.
4. Install a check valve on both the return pump and the pump for the UV.
5. I will plumb 3/4" PVC for the Pentair UV system. I still need to get that figured out. I plan on drilling two holes, installing grommets, and then anchoring the UV system to the outside of the cabinet. It will be easier to maintain that way.
6. Plumb the Adaptive Reef Inline Probe holder into the pipe on the way to the UV input. Since I'll be running lower flow for parasite control, that seems to be the perfect place for it.
7. Install flow sensor on return from UV @1".
8. Install unions for easy removal of the UV and pumps.
9. Plumb 3/4" to a barb connection to connect to existing return via flexible tubing. Not sure if this is the right thing to do, but it is certainly easier.

I'm probably missing some things, but I'm taking my time and making sure I have it right before I do any of these things. I'll be posting up my plumbing plans to the proper area on here to make sure my design is solid before I start.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I’ll be honest. If a company sent me broken material, no matter the reason (manufacturer, shipper, etc) I expect them to replace it and deal with it on their own end. You didn’t give them broken money when you bought it and they shouldn’t give you a broken product and expect you to deal with the manufacturer. That is profoundly poor form. I would get back on that phone and make it very clear that you are not pleased and that future sales and reputation will be affected by their response. Sorry for your troubles.

As I’m writing this I’m seeing aqua cave advertising. Maybe remind saltwater that there are also other vendors.

 

[Spartan1218]

I agree with you but it is just easier to get it done for me right now. I have surgery coming up and don't have time to get into screaming matches or otherwise. The way it comes across to me is that they want to sell equipment and be a big player (which they are), but when something needs to be returned, they like to fall back to the idea of being a "small, family business" so that they don't have deal with it. I've already spent the money there, but good to know AquaCave also has the Gen 3. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Sorry for your troubles! There are a lot of vendors out there. Perhaps they will have better customer service. Good luck with your surgery.

 

[Spartan1218]

Sorry for your troubles! There are a lot of vendors out there. Perhaps they will have better customer service. Good luck with your surgery.

As long as I can get the tank physically set in place, I have all the time in the world afterwards.

 

[Spartan1218]

The RS Reefer 350 tank build is coming along! I have one Sky LED up and running and I have another on the way. I couldn't resist getting it up and mounted. I love the Ecotech mount bar for this! It's perfect for the Sky LED. If I decide to take the multi-light bar down, I already have the mounts for individual use. It's perfect.

I am in the process of putting together an Ikea cabinet that I will be using for the bulk of my Apex deployment. I realize there are ready-made cabinets and such, but I prefer to have a piece of furniture instead of the industrial look of the Adaptive Reef stuff. By the looks of it, I will have shipments coming in over the next few weeks.

Brad

 

[CanuckReefer]

The RS Reefer 350 tank build is coming along! I have one Sky LED up and running and I have another on the way. I couldn't resist getting it up and mounted. I love the Ecotech mount bar for this! It's perfect for the Sky LED. If I decide to take the multi-light bar down, I already have the mounts for individual use. It's perfect.

I am in the process of putting together an Ikea cabinet that I will be using for the bulk of my Apex deployment. I realize there are ready-made cabinets and such, but I prefer to have a piece of furniture instead of the industrial look of the Adaptive Reef stuff. By the looks of it, I will have shipments coming in over the next few weeks.

Brad

Following. Love the white stand... this gonna be GOOD!

 

[Spartan1218]

Following. Love the white stand... this gonna be GOOD!

I appreciate that. I'm hoping so. I have a LOT of gear on the way. I may run out of sump space before anything else.

I picked up the 15 gallon res from IM. I figured I wasn't planning on using a chiller right now, so why not? I need to tighten up that right door set of hinges. It's sagging a bit.

 

[Spartan1218]

Found all of the adapters I need for my custom plumbing for the Reefer 350. I also found a few extras, because I don't want to do that again.

Sometime soon I will start cutting the plumbing. I am removing the stock gate valve and replacing with a Cepex gate valve. I needed to do the conversion to plumb to the Clarisea unit anyway, so I may as well kill two birds with one stone.

I still need to modify the sump to hold the Clarisea, but I'm a bit nervous about it. Hopefully I won't muck it up.

 

[Spartan1218]

So, I was today years old when I learned that I can integrate Alexa with Apex. That is definitely happening. All I have to do now is buy a device with Alexa. I have never had use for one before now.

 

[Spartan1218]

Stock ATO removed without messing up the other seams. Can’t even really tell it was there. Utility knife + cooktop scraper = winning!

Working on the sock filter next. That will take some time to do right.

 

[Erin O]

@Eagle_Steve @fishguy242 @Lost in the Sauce @F i s h y Spartan is working on his plumbing, and I thought you might be able to offer some suggestions

 

[wilsonline]

I have to do the same here. Got the Clarisea filter long ago and never installed that bc I was already running the tank. So I have no suggestions. Oh, I recommend using silicone grease on the O-rings for a better seal.

 

[Spartan1218]

Thank you! I should have a layout of what I have and where I intend to have everything soon. I'm working on it now. The issue is finding the space for the UV right now. I have a power back up on one side and the ATO reservoir on the other side of the cabinet. That silly reservoir doesn't fit in the cabinet. I went with the IM Hydrofill 15 gallon. It's about an inch too deep, so it stole where the UV was going to be placed.

The UV is the Pentair 25w and it's big. I have 3D printed brackets to mount it to the outside of the cabinet. I'm just running out of room. Don't get me started on where I'm putting all the Apex gear. I am building out a storage cabinet I got from Ikea to house it all on the power backup side.

More to come this evening with the ideas on the layout.

 

[Spartan1218]

I have to do the same here. Got the Clarisea filter long ago and never installed that bc I was already running the tank. So I have no suggestions. Oh, I recommend using silicone grease on the O-rings for a better seal.

On which O rings? On the Clarisea? I can take a look. Thanks for the heads up!

I'm in the process of exchanging it. It was broken in half in the box and Saltwateraquarium has sent me to Ecotech to replace a broken Nyos Torq Gen 2 and Clarisea from the same order instead of helping me themselves directly. I'm starting to think Saltwateraquarium has horrific packaging practices.

 

[fishguy242]

hi,not sure how i can help ,but here now...