New House, New Tank! RSR750

[Rrwilson1223]

Hi everyone,

We just bought a new home (Santa Rosa CA) last fall and decided it was time to upgrade our reef tank. Spent a great deal of time looking at tanks at the LFS and online. Finally settled on the Reefer 750 XXL. One small problem, they were on back order on almost every site I tried. Eventually, I was able to put in my order with FishTanksDirect[.]com. Within a week, John got back to me to let me know why the 750s were so hard to come by.

Turns out, RedSea had to redesign the cabinets and sumps. A little research online showed that the issue with the cabinets led to some tanks leaking. Of course, this made me a bit nervous. However, I decided to move forward. The tank I ordered has the white stand and includes the RS 90 lights.

Long story short, it took months to get the tank. Everyone at FishTanksDirect was awesome and kept me appraised on what was happening. RedSea had a couple of delays but made it up to those of us waiting with a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff.

Our old tank (110 gallon mixed reef with Kessil LEDs) meanwhile was waiting at my mother in laws house. Had the following housed there:

- Potter’s Angel
- Yellow Eye Kole Tang
- Hawaiian Toby Puffer (wife’s fish)
- Pair of Snowflake Clowns
- 1 very fat Blue Devil Damsel
- 1 bubble coral
- 4 small colonies of zoas
- 3 heads of a hammer Coral
- Refugium with chaeto

Gave up everything else with the move. Fortunately, I only lost a single fish with all the moving. Also, the new home is a mile away from the old tank so transition would be a lot easier.

I bought a hundred pounds of MarcoRock and placed it in a brute trash can with water and circulation. Added bacteria and started dosing pure ammonia for about 2 months. When the tank arrived, I had good readings from my test kits for ammonia and nitrate.

New tank is now up and running. I’ll be posting later with each step of this journey. The good news, I’m very happy and hoping to meet other reef nerds like myself.

I included a few images of the new setup.

 

[Sonja]

I guess its ultimately good timing for you, as you have one of the new reinforced stands. Its really hard balancing the need for patience in this hobby, with 'I want to fill my tank with pretty coral!'

 

[SPR1968]

That looks great so far, very nice indeed!

 

[Rrwilson1223]

I guess its ultimately good timing for you, as you have one of the new reinforced stands. Its really hard balancing the need for patience in this hobby, with 'I want to fill my tank with pretty coral!'

Very true! I was happy to see the support bar. The new version also includes dual returns to the tank. You can either set up dual return pumps or use a “y” connector that they included. I was also told that the sump itself might be a little larger. Not sure if that’s true since I don’t have the measurements of the original.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

The whole process started with some Dr. Tim’s bacteria and a Brute trash can. Rocks were placed in salt water with an old pump and impeller. Doses ammonia every other day and monitored ammonia levels using a RedSea test kit.

This process went on for 2 months while I waited for the tank to arrive. I had a little bit of old rock from my previous tank that would also be transferred.

I wanted some finely crushed coral. Basically, getting the look of sand. Planning on adding Leopard Wrasses later on.

Tank finally arrived in December. A freight company called me and asked what would be the most convenient delivery date. Crate arrived without issue. It was a little bit beaten up (pallet) but contents were good.

Stand and plumbing were very straight forward. Loved the attention to detail RedSea puts into their stand. Covering all screws with caps and plumbing snapped perfectly without leaks. The v3 cabinet included a bar to brace the stand (heavy duty steel) and dual return lines as standard.

The tank itself was a heavy beast. Had to have 4 guys lift it and place it on the stand. Sump tank was also glass and heavy. But something that I was able to move on my own.

I went with the Sicce Syncra SDC 9.0 pump. RedSea provides a “Y” pipe to allow for a single return pump. Used a 1 inch return line cut to size with hose clamps.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

After placing the tank on the stand, we filled with water to check for leaks. Also used a level to verify that no adjustments were needed. Everything looked good so we went forward with mixing salt water. I went with the RedSea Coral Pro. The RedSea RS90 lights were easy to set up. The brackets are very sleek and look a lot nicer than the goosenecks I used with Kessil before. The ReefBeat app is pretty self explanatory. Watched a couple of BRS YouTube videos to make sure I understood PAR and placement.

Here is a list of my equipment:
- 4 RedSea RS90 lights and brackets
- 1 Sicce Syncra SDC 9.0 return pump
- RedSea 900 Skimmer
- 2 400 watt heaters
- Kessil H80 Tuna Flora (might upgrade later)
- Tunze Osmolator
- 2 older Hydor Impellers

Also running a lot of Seachem Matrix.

Will be adding:
- Jebao Dosing Pump
- Battery Backup (Icebreaker?)
- upgrade refugium light to Kessil H160?
- upgrade impellers to MP40s?

Has anyone used the Kessil refugium lights in a RS 750 sump? H80 was good in the old system. However, seems a bit weak for growing Chaeto in my new set up. Thinking about going with the H160 or H380. The refugium section is a bit oddly shaped however. It’s 10 inch by 25 inch with 10 inches of water depth.

Here is a pic of the current sump setup:

 

[Devaji]

nice love the setup I had a new 750 setting empty wanting for the reno on the new house to finish ended up trading it for a 650P. I mess the empty tank in livering room tho..haha

so whats new with the newer stand besides the center brace? did they use thicker wood or more reinforcement anywhere?

 

[Rrwilson1223]

nice love the setup I had a new 750 setting empty wanting for the reno on the new house to finish ended up trading it for a 650P. I mess the empty tank in livering room tho..haha

so whats new with the newer stand besides the center brace? did they use thicker wood or more reinforcement anywhere?

to be honest, I’m unsure how many changes were made aside from the brace. Haven’t really looked at the old cabinets up close. The vendor I used mentioned that they were a little larger. But again, I can’t say for sure.

 

[Devaji]

to be honest, I’m unsure how many changes were made aside from the brace. Haven’t really looked at the old cabinets up close. The vendor I used mentioned that they were a little larger. But again, I can’t say for sure.

cool well enjpy the tank it sure is a beauty!

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Added a few new frags from Tidal Gardens last week. A yellow birds nest, orange bam bam zoas and some rastas. So far, everything is growing great.

This was my first experience buying coral online and was very impressed. All specimens arrived in a very well thought out package. Were dipped and acclimated before going in the display.

I also stopped by my LFS and took home the largest Powder Blue Tang that I’d ever seen. He was brought to them after someone took down an existing tank. He eats like a pig and for the most part is not too aggressive. He’s got a lot of personality and is already my wife’s favorite.

Tank is doing real well. Small amount of diatoms on the sand and the rocks but nothing major. Should pass shortly with a few more CUC.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Added a few new frags from Tidal Gardens last week. A yellow birds nest, orange bam bam zoas and some rastas. So far, everything is growing great.

This was my first experience buying coral online and was very impressed. All specimens arrived in a very well thought out package. Were dipped and acclimated before going in the display.

I also stopped by my LFS and took home the largest Powder Blue Tang that I’d ever seen. He was brought to them after someone took down an existing tank. He eats like a pig and for the most part is not too aggressive. He’s got a lot of personality and is already my wife’s favorite.

Tank is doing real well. Small amount of diatoms on the sand and the rocks but nothing major. Should pass shortly with a few more CUC.

Pic of the tang doesn’t do it justice. He’s about 8-9 inches.

 

[jstephens24]

looking great. following along

 

[Zbryant]

So glad they added a second return. Hopefully the main issues with support/weight distribution are solved. You’re off to a great start!

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Tank is continuing to mature. Added 3 new fish and removed the Toby Puffer. The Hawaiian Blue started nipping at some zoas so I added him to a fish only set up I have upstairs.

New fish are as follows:
- Fox Face
- McCosker’s Wrasse
- Blue Throat Fairy Wrasse

Also added a Fire Shrimp and Scarlet Hermits.

Went back to Tidal Gardens and picked up:
- My Clementine Zoas
- Green Montipora Digitalia
- Peach Montipora Digitalia

I also upgraded the refugium light to the Kessil H-160.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Hi Everyone!

For those wanting an update on the RedSea 750, please check out the linked YouTube video. I’ll be keeping a monthly video log moving forward:

 

[Rrwilson1223]

I added a few more new frags from cultivated reef.

-Fire and Ice Zoas
-Mandarin Orange Zoa
-Oxides Zoa
-Rainbow Hornets Zoa
-Bam Bams Zoa

The Twisslers is also growing like crazy. A number of new heads over the past month. Here are some pics:

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Another video update. Enjoy and everyone stay safe!

 

[Phil D.]

nice love the setup I had a new 750 setting empty wanting for the reno on the new house to finish ended up trading it for a 650P. I mess the empty tank in livering room tho..haha

so whats new with the newer stand besides the center brace? did they use thicker wood or more reinforcement anywhere?

In addition to the braces on the stand, Red Sea put 45 degree silicone inside the tank along all the seams, Sides and bottoms.

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Video update:

 

[Rrwilson1223]

Added a ReefWave45 gyre to my Reefer750. Decided to use the moment to add a IceCap Battery Backup. Had to write a bunch of vendors to verify that they were compatible. Had some fun with the schedule setting up how much flow would be going through throughout the day. Went with a recommendation to go heavier flow at night when the lights were off. So far, very happy with my purchase: