Marco S Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL Build

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Marco S

Marco S

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My Pentair SMART UV Sterilizer came today!!! A day early at that, (Thanks UPS)!

It actually isn't as massive as I was thinking so I think I will install it standing up beside the tank and hard plumb it. Here are some pics of what I am thinking...
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I guess I have to take care of the cable management first and will probably be ordering red pipe from BRS so I won't have this complete until the weekend at the earliest, but wanted to post an update. I am super excited to get this beast installed!
 
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I have not installed the UV sterilizer yet, but ordered the required plumbing. It should be here Friday so I will make sure to update this thread with pics when they come in. I want to thank @MSB123 for helping me out with the parts I needed for the plumbing!

I also ordered my refugium light, (went with AI Prime) and my ATO reservoir, (went with IM 15 gallon) and that should also be here Friday. Friday will be like Christmas for me!!!
 

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OMG!!! All those boxes look amazing! How exciting to start. Also, what a super cute puppers!!!
 
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Marco S

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OMG!!! All those boxes look amazing! How exciting to start. Also, what a super cute puppers!!!
I figured I would go all out for my first reef tank since it's in my Family Room. All those boxes are long gone, but I have a bunch more coming today!!!

The dogs name is Chewbacca, (Chewy for short) and he is my baby. He loves watching the fish and every once in a while I have to wipe slobber off the glass. :)
 

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I figured I would go all out for my first reef tank since it's in my Family Room. All those boxes are long gone, but I have a bunch more coming today!!!

The dogs name is Chewbacca, (Chewy for short) and he is my baby. He loves watching the fish and every once in a while I have to wipe slobber off the glass. :)
That's super cute! I have a 7 pound poodle. She liked watching the tank about 5 years ago. I'd say it only catches her eye once every other month now.

Hopefully you're getting a bunch of good stuff!
 
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My packages arrived today and I was sooooo excited to get them.

To my surprise, the IM 15 gallon ATO reservoir came in a huge box that was not labeled "Glass" or "Fragile" and I immediately got a sinking feeling in my stomach as I picked it up to move it in the house and I heard broken glass rattle around inside. :( Sure enough the actual box was inside the bigger box and it sounded even worse once I got it out. Here are some pics of my broken ATO Reservoir:
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I did make a video on the actual unboxing, but I might have said a few things I can't post on this family friendly site, (I was pretty upset:mad:) so I wont post it.

I did contact @Bulk Reef Supply support, so we shall see how good their customer service is and how quickly I get a replacement. I have heard nothing but good things about their support, but unfortunately I am on PST and they are on EST, (or CST ???) and they are closed now and it is Friday so I guess I will have to wait until Monday to hear anything back. I will try and not let this ruin my weekend though...I'll just have to wait a little longer to setup the ATO.:(
 

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My packages arrived today and I was sooooo excited to get them.

To my surprise, the IM 15 gallon ATO reservoir came in a huge box that was not labeled "Glass" or "Fragile" and I immediately got a sinking feeling in my stomach as I picked it up to move it in the house and I heard broken glass rattle around inside. :( Sure enough the actual box was inside the bigger box and it sounded even worse once I got it out. Here are some pics of my broken ATO Reservoir:
IMG_1558.JPG
IMG_1560.JPG
IMG_1561.JPG


I did make a video on the actual unboxing, but I might have said a few things I can't post on this family friendly site, (I was pretty upset:mad:) so I wont post it.

I did contact @Bulk Reef Supply support, so we shall see how good their customer service is and how quickly I get a replacement. I have heard nothing but good things about their support, but unfortunately I am on PST and they are on EST, (or CST ???) and they are closed now and it is Friday so I guess I will have to wait until Monday to hear anything back. I will try and not let this ruin my weekend though...I'll just have to wait a little longer to setup the ATO.:(


Oh no! That is terrible when things go awry in shipping. Sometimes it feels like the items would have been safer in a washing machine. Right, @JDowns ?
 
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I did get in all my plumbing and my AI Prime refugium light today. This is the first time I have ever glued PVC and it got pretty sloppy. Good thing I put down some cardboard because I definitely got purple primer all over, but I got the job done. Tomorrow I will install the UV sterilizer.
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The two pieces up front are for the intake and output of the UV sterilizer, (1 1/2" to 1/2" barb) and the back one is for my return pump, (1 1/4" to 1" barb) because I currently have a fitting that is way to big for the 1" tube and I super glued it on the inside of the barb temporarily until I figured out what I was going to do with it, (don't judge me...I'm a noob to this;) ).

IMG_1568.JPG


The AI Fuge light is a lot smaller than I thought. It's actually the same size as the picture on the box and the whole thing fits in my palm...
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I will probably get this setup later tonight. I still have to do some water changes and re dose PraziPro so maybe...or maybe not...

Edit: Had to add that my hands are not dirty, (really!!!) that's from the purple primer...I told you I got it all over. o_O
 
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I waited 24 hours for the plumbing to cure and hooked up my UV Sterilizer for the leak test. During the test I realized that it cannot support itself standing up with water running through it so I had to prop it up against the tank for the test. I waited too long to start this so I didn't have time to run to the store and get some brackets to set it up permanently so the test is all I will be doing tonight.
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In case you noticed...yeah my skimmer hose really does have a drill bit stuck in it...o_O I lost the stopper, (probably threw it out with the huge mess of boxes and bubble wrap) and that little rubber piece was the only thing I had nearby along with a drill bit that just happened to fit perfectly. I know it looks really tacky, but it works so I keep putting off looking for a new stopper. One of these days I'll fix it. ;)
 
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The new ATO Reservoir arrived yesterday in perfect shape. The customer service was above and beyond and they even contacted me to get the new unit shipped outside of business hours. Thank you @Bulk Reef Supply !!!

I did get my UV Sterilizer installed, but still need to cut the tubing to size. I rigged a PVC hanger to hold the UV Sterilizer upright since I really didn't want to install it laying down.

Here is a pic of the hanger I used:
IMG_1601.JPG


I just screwed it into the side of the stand and put the UV Sterilizer inside. This way it is not permanent but it should hold it sturdy so it will not fall over.
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I still need to cut the tubing to size so there is no slack on it and do cable management, (Been really lazy on that) :(
 
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No real update on the tank, but I did pick up the following coral at the WWC Live Sale over the weekend.

Gold Hammer:
Gold Hammer.jpg


Purple Green Hammer:
Purple Green Hammer.jpg


Lavender Duncan:
Lavender Duncan.jpg


Kryptonite Candy Cane:
Kryptonite Candy Cane.jpg



Incredible Hulk Leptoseris:
Incredible Hulk Leptoseris.jpg


Orange and Green Ricordea:
Orange and Green Ricordea.jpg


Ultra Green Ricordea:
Ultra Green Ricordea.jpg


Ultra Orange Ricordea:
Ultra Orange Ricordea.jpg


Green Star Polyps:
Green Star Polyps.jpg


Neon Green Birdsnest:
Green Birdsnest.jpg


And I also picked up an Incredible Hulk Candy Cane at a local auction from my LFS:
Incredible Hulk Candy Cane.jpg


These will all be going into my Innovative Marine 20 gallon AIO QT Tank that I am setting up now. Will post picks as I go, but the corals won't be here until Wednesday of next week. I am soooooooooo excited to get my first coral!!!
 
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Exciting times! I had the back wall of my last tank covered in gsp and I thought it looked good. What color was that torched the LFS?
The tentacles looked purple and the tips were neon green. If I turn the white LEDs off and the blue ones all the way up on the lights I get the same effect even with the plant lights. I can't wait to get them under an actual reef light.
 
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I got my light, egg crate and power head for my coral QT today!

This is what I went with:
IMG_1667.JPG


I started setting up the QT and got the tank cleaned, the ATO setup and the light mounted and programmed. I still haven't figured out if I want to go bare bottom or use the sand I had left over from my DT, (about 30 lbs) and if I want to use rock to prop up the egg crate or PVC. I will be using filter media and water from my DT to jump start the cycle so the sand and rock will be mostly for looks. I will post pics of the final setup tomorrow, but here is what I have so far:
IMG_1668.JPG


I am excited to start filling it with coral!
 
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