PPBlimpy's S1000 downsize / upgrade

[PPBlimpy]

Blimpy is my Porcupine Puffer - this is where the name comes from. I have had a PP in every tank over 120G. All have been mixed reef and they have been mostly model citizens when you know what not to ad to the tank.

Anyways this will be a continuation from PPbimpy's 300g. This past weekend 7/27/25 I downsized my system from an acrylic 300G DT with 125G sump to a Redsea S1000 262g that I recently picked up used.

No need to warn me about RedSea tanks. I have researched and understand the risks of what I have brought in to my house.

S1000 came with a bunch of equipment including -
4 x 32hd hydras
Apex A2 system with an extra control unit, an energy bar and a DOS - Looks like both control units were bricked. Replaced the SD cards / factory reset and both units are fully operational.
Icecap K1-200 skimmer
57W aqua UV sterilizer
50g Mixing barrel
6 stage rodi along with a bunch of other things

I am keeping the best of both systems and going to see how this turns out.

From my old system I am using my lights- 3 x Noopsyche K7 V2 Pros and 2x Noopsyche k7 V3, both are hand held controllers. Running similar setting.
Also currently running both skimmers- my old E-shopp PSK-300 and the Icecap K1-200. This will only be for the first couple weeks.

I had 75 lbs of rock curing in a tub since I set up the 300 back in March that I planned to ad when I added sand- neither happened so this was my chance.

Spent Friday night and Saturday morning cleaning old used sand I had left over from old systems I have bought and taken down.
rented a cement mixer for $50 and made short work of 300 lbs

Used the 75 lbs as a base, installed my PVC internal closed loop setup I built for my old 125G and started dumping sand in. added approx 150lbs.
From there it was just get 150 lbs of good rock and water in the tank without hurting corals or anemones. Not easy when you have 50+ BTA attached to almost every piece of rock and other corals everywhere. I have already seen a hand full of newly split BTA so i am guessing there is now 60+.

by 10pm Sunday night fish were all in, tank was running in a minimalistic form, return pump, skimmer and heater. Had to reused all the water from the old system. luckily i have a couple old horse troughs and lots of tubs sitting around.
I thought I had another box of Fritz rpm salt to make new water but apparently I used the old empty box when we moved and filled it with all the power supplies and plumbing fixing I have been looking for.

I am borrowing a design for floating canopy from another s1000 owner here on R2R and will building it soon. Until then my lights are mounted via a temporary PVC system

current Fish list
Blimpy the Porcupine Puffer

The TANG Gang-
D.Sailfin Tang
Purple Tang
Unicorn Tang
Blue Hippo
Gold Rim

One Spot Foxface
Female Darwin Clown- lost the male back in March

Anyways tonight I am planning on building a large acclimation box, and tinker with the apex, also have a couple more fish being delivered today and need to figure out where exactly they are all going. on top of this s1000 i have a 45G Frag tank and a 13.5G BTA Nano.
Soon to be setting up a 90-120G 4' tank for my wife to learn and take care off so she can put things she wants in it and not non reef safe stuff in my big tank.

 

[Rocks reef]

Looks great!! Keep us updated on the progress.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Tank and inhabitants are doing well. I still have so much to do though.

Last friday, week ago today I got a bit carried away with a fish order and made a not so wise purchase. Knowing I would be taking the tank and downsizing that weekend and that the new fish may not exactly mix the greatest with my current fish.
Well they showed up Tuesday, all healthy and active.

Well I ordered 5 more tangs. 4 of the 5 will be kept in this tank, I do not think the 5th, a powder brown would be a good addition and will be going in another tank temporarily. My gold rim Tang has barely left him alone for the past 2 days.

Anyways I am adding a Clown tang, Scopas, Bristle tooth, and a Naso. All are very small and currently in acclimation boxes. When I am ready to let them out I will be finalizing my rock scape and adding a mirror to the side of the tank. As of now none of the fish in the tank pay any attention to the acclimation boxes except the Goldrim and powder brown.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Yesterday morning I released 3 of the 5 new Tangs into the tank, the clown tang, Scopas and Bristletooth. Everyone is active and getting along. The Naso and Powder Brown are still in acclimation boxes. Giving the Naso a couple more days to get adjusted.

items still needing attention- listed in importance but may not be the order in which it happens due to time/money constraints. I own all the major equipment listed unless specified

aquascape
installing cabinet doors
ad wood trim / paint to lower frame/brace
ad ATO
start cryptic fuge in chamber 3
swapping return pumps and ad manifold to supply water to algea scrubber and Calcium reactor
ad UV sterilizer
ad Algea scrubber
get apex a2 online
build mixing station and run ATO lines under house
adding a surface skimmer to the sump extension / refugium
buy ikea wardrobe for storage
clean 50G water drum and place next to tank for Kalk storage
install kamoer 3-head dosing unit
3d print dosing resevoir holder
ad PH monitor
ad calcium reactor - get Co2 bottle
build floating canopy
in all my infinite time- design, 3d print, prototype, install and test my own mat roller


that list is still pretty long.

 

[PPBlimpy]

weekend progress,
-got 3 of the 4 doors installed. Need to replace 2 hinges.
-added a makeshift ATO, well its my normal ATO jbj but just using a 5 gal bucket sitting in front of the tank for now.
-finally figured out the Apex A2 issue and got it on wifi- now i can start getting it fully setup.
-cleaned the 50G water drum but my wife was not excited about it going in the house so it remains outside.
-pulled out my calcium reactor and started looking at that project- need to pick up a c02 tank. i contacted some gas supply companies and seeing if they do an exchange program. i have 2x 5lb oxygen tanks and a 300 cu argon/s02 that is a spare that i may trade if they let me. would supply c02 for probably 2 years between fills.

The clown tang I introduced 2 weeks ago has not been seen in 3 days. very sad about this. I liked him alot.He was super small. the other 4 are all doing okay, except the powder brown is still in an acclimation box because my gold rim will not leave it alone.

so currently 8 tangs living happily and 1 still locked up

 

[PPBlimpy]

Very excited but I just picked up 3x 3/4" sea swirls this weekend from a club member. 2 will need to be Frankenstein together but should have 2 complete good working units soon. 1 bad case, 1 stripped gear.

I have wanted a pair since I started in the hobby in 2001. Think I am going to run a 9k DC reutrn pump from inside the tank to run as closed loop. I want to be able to have my apex turn the flow down at night.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Going to work on finalizing things in my sump this weekend and possibly plumb in my 3/4" Sea swirls I picked up last week.

I am thinking about running socks(roller eventually) -> skimmer (C1) -> refugium/ frag rack/ turf algea (extension sump) -> cryptic Fuge (C3) -> bubble trap -> returns.

Keeping the left side of my stand dark and the right side lit. Its kinda nice having the divider.

I need to replace my return pump - currently has a 1200 gph unit that came with the tank. Not enough flow after head loss in my opinion. Maybe flows 700 gph.

I generally like running 2 return pumps- My previous 300G had 2x 12k lph pumps running at 60% thru 1" pvc. After head loss I am estimating 1400 gph each. 1400 gph is about the max flow for 3/4 plumbing and not sure the overflows can handle 2800 gph, so going to have to run a single pump for the time being. I have 4x 12k pumps sitting here on the shelf. At lest I don't need to buy a backup.

I also have a 9k lph dc pump that I will start to plumb into the sea swirls.

Anyone plumb a UV sterilizer and Turf algae scrubber in series? Would simplify my sump considerably.
manifold off the main with a valve, to the UV then thru the opening in the center to the turf algae that will be sitting on top of my refugium(extension chamber).Think I am going to make a different post regarding this. probably more traffic there.

will get updated pictures this weekend

 

[PPBlimpy]

Got more done this weekend on the system.

Decided to turn my refugium into Frag grow out area, pulled the Nicrew 100 G1 off my Fluval evo and installed it on frag tank.
Going to run a Chaeto Reactor using a MR1 media reactor I have sitting around. I actually have three of these and may run chaeto in 1 and something like dragons breathe in the second and see how they work. Got the first one plumbed in and circulating. Have not added chaeto yet because I haven't bought lights for it yet.
Little worried about the heat from the LED ropes wrapped around the reactors and raising water temp.


--aquascape
--installing cabinet doors - got 3 of 4 installed. two hinges are bad. need to order replacements
--ad wood trim / paint to lower frame/brace - got trim cut down, need to finilize / paint before install
--ad ATO
--start cryptic fuge in chamber 3 - added rock rubble to chamber 1 instead filing in the area under my skimmer stand off. also transplanted a bunch of sponges from the DT to this area to hopefully seed it better
-swapping return pumps and ad manifold to supply water to algea scrubber and Calcium reactor
--ad UV sterilizer - got it mounted and plumbed in, installed new bulb
--ad DIY Algea scrubber - still working on this design
--get apex a2 online its up and running- need to calibrate probes and replace orp probe with another ph for CalRx
--build mixing station and run ATO lines under house - cleaned and moved both 65G drums into utility room. need to build a stand
--adding a surface skimmer to the sump extension / refugium frag tank- temporarily added a powerhead to refugium frag tank.
--buy ikea wardrobe for storage
--clean 50G water drum and place next to tank for Kalk storage
--install bubble magus 3-head dosing unit - still need to install, picked up another 3 head and 4 head extensions and brackets to make a shelf. Don't see needing 7 dosing heads plus my apex dos but I got a really good deal on the units.

--3d print dosing reservoir holder
--ad PH monitor -not sure why I had this separate but it is part of the apex
--ad calcium reactor - get Co2 bottle - got CalRx installed and plumbed under the tank, still need to hook up c02 -bottle but not ready to bring online yet
--build floating canopy - finish designing light shrouds, need to 3d print them now before continuing on canopy
--in all my infinite time- design, 3d print, prototype, install and test my own mat roller - started designing , need to order drive motor and roll of paper.

New things I need to do as of 8/25/2025
--plumb 50G kalk storage to Apex dose and start dosing.
--plumb CalRX to Apex to pull effluent thru.
--fill 20lb Co2 bottle
--really dive in and learn the APEX system.....
--3d print tube guards for the extension housing-
--picked up a pair of 3/4" SeaSwirls for $30!! ( have wanted a set for 20+ years) need to print mounts and plumb these in.
--following another thread that recently started I may make cross beams for this tank and center mount 2 of my smaller gyre wavemakers off the beams to help with flow.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Photos

 

[PPBlimpy]

I have decided to experiment a bit more. I am going to plumb both of my media reactors in parallel and use the plant grow light 12"x12" that I had on my refugium.. I will then box them in with cardboard( for now) and line it with aluminum foil to help reflect the light around the best I can, eventually I will pick up a second light. This way it is up and running with no money spent.

I am not to fond of the idea of wrapping LEDs around the reactor as I have seen people stating it ads a lot of heat to the water and causes cracking overtime to the reactor body.

Then I am considering repurposing the Large korallin Calcium reactor body I have into a cryptic fuge, just going to fill it with a ton of rubble. I will run the cryptic fuge in series before the cheato reactors. may run chaeto in one and dragons breathe in the other if I can get my hands on any.

You can probably guess I have an issue with high phosphates and nitrates and trying to tackle it in a way that does not cost me money monthly by using gfo or phosban etc.

 

[PPBlimpy]

On Going todo list - updated

--aquascape
--ad wood trim / paint to lower frame/brace - got trim cut down, need to finilize / paint before install
--ad DIY Algea scrubber - still working on this design - postponed due to setting up Macro reactors
--get apex a2 online its up and running- need to calibrate probes and replace orp probe with another ph for CalRx
--build mixing station and run ATO lines under house - cleaned and moved both 65G drums into utility room. need to build a stand
--adding a surface skimmer to the sump extension / refugium frag tank- temporarily added a powerhead to refugium frag tank.
--buy ikea wardrobe for storage
--install bubble magus 3-head dosing unit - still need to install, picked up another 3 head and 4 head extensions and brackets to make a shelf. Don't see needing 7 dosing heads plus my apex dos but I got a really good deal on the units.
--3d print dosing reservoir holder
--ad calcium reactor - get Co2 bottle - got CalRx installed and plumbed under the tank, still need to hook up c02 -bottle but not ready to bring online yet
--build floating canopy - finish designing light shrouds, need to 3d print them now before continuing on canopy
--in all my infinite time- design, 3d print, prototype, install and test my own mat roller - started designing , need to order drive motor and roll of paper.
--plumb 50G kalk storage to Apex dose and start dosing.
--plumb CalRX to Apex to pull effluent thru.
--fill 20lb Co2 bottle
--really dive in and learn the APEX system.....slowly getting there.
--3d print tube guards for the extension housing-
--picked up a pair of 3/4" SeaSwirls for $30!! ( have wanted a set for 20+ years) need to print mounts and plumb these in. - picked up necessary plumbing pieces to get this installed. have had them running on the gound for about a week now just testing.
--following another thread that recently started I may make cross beams for this tank and center mount 2 of my smaller gyre wavemakers off the beams to help with flow.

New things I need to do as of 8/29/2025
-need to 3d print frag plugs for my frag racks
-going to ad my second reactor for macro, Will plumb these in parallel to slow the flow down.
-cryptic Reactor- on the same circuit of the macro reactors I am going to repurpose an old korallin Calrx body I have as a cryptic Reactor I guess, just cram it full of medium size rubble. Will plumb in series the cryptic chamber and then into the two macro reactors in series.


finished since the last update-
--installing cabinet doors - picked up a set of hinges from Lowes, not exact but they work with a couple new holes drilled

 

[PPBlimpy]

Got the hinges installed from lowes. $8 for the pair. redsea wanted $50 for 2. Screw holes in the door did not line up but not a big deal and they wall mount side only used 1 set of screws instead of two like the REDSEA hinges but they lines up. Happy to have the doors on and looking like a complete system again.

played with the DOS to rugulate the Calrx. Not sure that is the way I want to go. Unit is noticeably loud and it would be running a lot. Will be fine for dosing Kalk but need to find a better solution for Calrx

 

[PPBlimpy]

Made progress on the floating canopy tonight

Still need to cut the pockets for the lights, mount the anchor bars, sand, fill and paint but making progress.

Walls come down 2.5” below the floor of the canopy. The shades I am 3d printing will raise the lights 1” above the floor. This should help with the lights creep in the eyes and our parlor from glowing blue constantly.

Last photo is the inspiration from another s1000 member found on this site. If you see this I forgot your name! Thank you!

 

[PPBlimpy]

double post

 

[PPBlimpy]

double post

 

[PPBlimpy]

I have been working on my Filter roller design. got the sump modeled up. will slide into the original Cup mount on my s1000 sump.

50 micron Coolant paper- 8" wide x 150 yards long. Rolls cost $24 each. Will attempt to be controlled by a JBJ ATO brain at first, 3 rpm motor. Will have a float switch mounted inside the chamber to activate the roll to advance. If the JBJ doesn't work out I will get the apex to control it. Have about $100 worth of buy outs to order including Petg filament, and estimating 70-90 hours of printing.

I think I have more fun designing this stuff then actually using it. Added a drawer on the lower portion that can house a bag of carbon or other media stuff. I will need to pull my old printer out and get it all setup here soon.

Need to print the shades for my lights before I start this roller.

Speaking of lights, canopy is built, need to cut out the holes for the shades and have the mounting hardware on order. should be here next week. i will cut the holes for the shades this weekend and finish painting the canopy along with the trim under the stand.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Not much new to update. Currently just refilling the ATO daily and feeding.

I did Pick up a second apex DOS this weekend. Traded a couple frags for it. Didn't need it for anything but... now I have an extra A2 controller and a DOS.
I got my wyze camera installed and sitting next to the tank. Allows me to livestream during the day at work.

Slowly getting the Kalkwasser storage bin in place and need to run lines for it.
need to transfer the cheato from the Sump into my reactors.

Hopefully will make some progress this weekend on the tank. wife is going out of town. Need to swap engines in my little jeep to get it back on the road so i am not driving my lifted k20 100 miles a day and then with whatever time I have left will go to tank stuff.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Small update-

Got the cryptic fuge installed- 4”x24” - repurposed old school calcium reactor - no clue if it will do anything but I like experimenting.

Now working on plumbing the dual macro algae reactors. Then to clean out the refugium and need to print legs for the frag racks.


Eventually I will clean up the wiring under the tank because it is horrible.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Found out why my protein skimmer has been acting up. I don't mind the free cleanup crew but they can be a pain.

Also got the macro algae reactors plumbed in and setup. I ended up taking some 1/2" hard foam I had laying around and gluing Aluminum foil to one side and wrapping around the reactors to hopefully get some more light on the far sides, and block excess light from my sump. If this does work I will pick up another panel light and just mount in opposite of this one.

Picking up some chaeto from a local tomorrow to seed the reactors. Looking for calurpa or dragons breathe also. I think these will grow better then the chaeto in the reactor, but starting with chaeto because i can get it easily.

I had some and was growing well but my small tank zeroed out when I wasn't paying much attention to it and the chaeto died and then in my big tank just slowly went away. I am not sure if it was the lighting over my frag tank/ refugium, nicrew 150W g1 running heavy blue or what but it didn't do well after removing this grow light that i had originally on it.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Getting a 1G freezer bag full of chaeto tonight from a friend to put in the Macro reactors. Going to test the tank and see what kind of reduction it starts pulling. will try to test weekly and document.

Was looking at the cryptic fuge with a flash light and found some hitch hiker snails in the chamber. Also some aptasia that was on the rubble appears to be enjoying life in solitary.