My Blue Heaven - Reefer-S 850 Build - First Saltwater Tank

[blaxsun]

Definitely let your LFS do this. They may also have to modify the overflow piping on the S-model sump, so again - one less thing you need to deal with.

Oh, and for $500 it's totally worth it to have them deliver and set everything up.

 

[swallace]

Definitely let your LFS do this. They may also have to modify the overflow piping on the S-model sump, so again - one less thing you need to deal with.

Oh, and for $500 it's totally worth it to have them deliver and set everything up.

100%. I will say the DIY'r in me was a bit disappointed that I wasn't going to do all this myself - that quickly changed after I looked at the install guide and saw the 1 million screws for the stand

 

[swallace]

On another note - I am a bit up in the air about what to do with regards to a lid for this monster. I have a friend that owns a CNC shop and has all the equipment to cut a nice poly carbonate lid. Though I am not sure if he will have the time to design it and cut it before I need it.

As a backup I called Tyler at TopLids and spoke with him yesterday to get some details on a premium quality lid but boy are those prices up there.

Forgive the lack of googling here but what are others doing to solve this problem? I see that the BRS diy parts dont have great reviews so I am open to creative solutions.

 

[blaxsun]

Custom Clearview lid - Pisces EXO would be my choice. This is what i'm planning to get for my tank down the road.

 

[swallace]

What am I doing today you ask? Definitely not stalking my LFS

 

[Projects with Sam]

Awesome build! Nice gear too! That is one heck of a mixing station! Regarding where you're putting the tank; is the HVAC duct going to be an issue? Can you turn off flow to it from the basement? Also, do you need, or have you put any jack-posts in to support the tank from below? Can't wait to watch your buildout!

 

[swallace]

Awesome build! Nice gear too! That is one heck of a mixing station! Regarding where you're putting the tank; is the HVAC duct going to be an issue? Can you turn off flow to it from the basement? Also, do you need, or have you put any jack-posts in to support the tank from below? Can't wait to watch your buildout!

Hi Sam, Thank you for stopping by and leaving some nice comments.

I dont think the HVAC will be an issue but I will want to monitor temps to see what it does seasonally. I did end up leaving about a foot gap from the wall to not block the vent and I do have gates on my ducts to shut off certain sections. One solution I thought of was to put a diverter on it to point it out the gap.

For the floor - Im not overly worried as its directly above a load bearing wall so there is 1 sister joist and a few other joists supporting it.


Good news thought! It arrived and even though I ran a tape measure over the area to get an idea, when you see it in person its massive.

Now the fun of setting up all the goodies and seeing how the wires are going to run! I already told the wife that I dont exist this weekend.

As a bonus, the ReefMat also showed up. I wasnt sure if it was going to arrive at the LFS in time but lucky for me it did. Also because I couldnt find any info on the fleece replacements - my LFS was selling them for $27 so I bought an extra roll.

 

[minorhero]

Hi Sam, Thank you for stopping by and leaving some nice comments.

I dont think the HVAC will be an issue but I will want to monitor temps to see what it does seasonally. I did end up leaving about a foot gap from the wall to not block the vent and I do have gates on my ducts to shut off certain sections. One solution I thought of was to put a diverter on it to point it out the gap.

For the floor - Im not overly worried as its directly above a load bearing wall so there is 1 sister joist and a few other joists supporting it.


Good news thought! It arrived and even though I ran a tape measure over the area to get an idea, when you see it in person its massive.

Now the fun of setting up all the goodies and seeing how the wires are going to run! I already told the wife that I dont exist this weekend.

As a bonus, the ReefMat also showed up. I wasnt sure if it was going to arrive at the LFS in time but lucky for me it did. Also because I couldnt find any info on the fleece replacements - my LFS was selling them for $27 so I bought an extra roll.

Awesome! You are the first non-youtuber non-fish store person I know of that owns a reefmat. Let us know what you think of it!

 

[swallace]

Awesome! You are the first non-youtuber non-fish store person I know of that owns a reefmat. Let us know what you think of it!

I know - it really makes me wish my tank was already established because I cant really be of any use other than to talk about build quality. It'll be quite awhile before there are any fish in my tank .

 

[lubeck]

It’s going to be a great weekend for you! Enjoy

 

[swallace]

It’s going to be a great weekend for you! Enjoy

Piece by piece its coming together. I got the lights and sump in.

By the end of the day I should have the pumps, skimmer, and reefmat dry fitted so I can start figuring out the cables and any various plumbing I am going to need. .

I am a little curious about where I am going to mount the UV. As big as the space is im sure it'll start to get real tight.

Before I can even think about testing everything and getting each piece in permanently I've got to wait until monday for the two APC 7901b PDU's to arrive. They should provide some nice control over each outlet.

 

[swallace]

Well think I am done for the day.

I was able to preliminary fit the skimmer, return pumps, UV, DT lights and the ReefMat. For anyone else with an 850 or 1000,thinking about buying the ReefMat, best I can tell they dont actually include a fitting to connect the corrugated hose to the main drain. They say that the hose will fit most 32mm directly without an adapter. The only adapter that they included for the 1 1/2 in main drain was an absolutely nightmare to get fitted. I had to heat the corrugated hose to stretch it and even then, it was a PITA.

I would be curious to see what others experience is.

I did include some dry sump pics with the equipment below because I couldnt find any good ones when I was researching this tank.


It looks like this is just gonna be the best spot for the UV, with the plug threaded on i have about an inch or so clearance from the door. Only downside is that I will have the mount the fuge light on the other side of the sump instead of cleanly against the divider.

Enjoy it while its still pretty and new.

I was really hoping the intake screen kit would fit on the return pumps but there is just no way.

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks for the feedback on the ReefMat. Did you go with the smaller or larger model? I was really wondering about that flexible that they include as well because there's really no way to attach it (the documentation says basically "oh, there's not really any pressurized water so you can just slip it on the overflow pipe").

 

[ReefRondo]

Loving this build!

 

[FMF0331]

 

[swallace]

Thanks for the feedback on the ReefMat. Did you go with the smaller or larger model? I was really wondering about that flexible that they include as well because there's really no way to attach it (the documentation says basically "oh, there's not really any pressurized water so you can just slip it on the overflow pipe").

I went with the 1200 which is the larger one and +1 on the docs, that section was pretty vague

Loving this build!

I’m glad you are enjoying it. It’s been a bit challenging getting everything to fit as clean as I would like, but it’s coming along.

 

[swallace]

I see why people have a fish room - I have no clue how I am going to stuff all these electronics into that small of a space. Rant over....

Plumbing for the UV complete. Not as clean as I would like but I think it’ll work just fine.

I’ve added the APC PDUs to the slide out controller board - still unsure of how this is going to work out with all the other controllers but we will see.

 

[Matt_G]

I found it very tight, especially when you add in an ATU. I put in DJ switches in a little floor standing rack and then attached the sockets from that to the back, but behind the tank, that's mess.....

then I've got the controllers, dosing pump etc. on the slide-out board, which left just enough room to fit in a 25l ATU container

 

[swallace]

I found it very tight, especially when you add in an ATU. I put in DJ switches in a little floor standing rack and then attached the sockets from that to the back, but behind the tank, that's mess.....

then I've got the controllers, dosing pump etc. on the slide-out board, which left just enough room to fit in a 25l ATU container

Yeah I still have to deal with the doser and ATO . How long is the 25L ATO lasting for you? I have a 15 gallon (56L) ATO container that I dont think is going to fit so I might just move it to the basement near my mixing station and just run some RO lines up.

Thank you for the pics.

 

[Matt_G]

The 25l is lasting me about 3 days, but then I imagine our climate is a bit different to yours, good luck getting in a 56l if only I had a basement to put things like that into.