Red Sea Reefer 170 Build - New to Hobby

[Nando]

Hey all,

New to the hobby. Spent a ton of time on this forum learning more about reef tanks. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. In an effort to pay it forward here is my build thread.

Tank: Red Sea Reefer 170

Equipment List:

Live Rock: BRS Reef Saver Rock 40 lbs
Live Sand: CaribSea Special Grade Arag-Alive! 25 lbs
Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
Return Pump: Sicce Syncra 2.0
Lighting: EcoTech Radion XR30W
PowerHead: EcoTech Vortech MP10wqd
Battery Backup: EcoTech Battery backup for MP10wqd
Skimmer: Reef Octopus 110-SSS
Heater: 150W Eheim Jager Heater
ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155
ATO Reservoir: Custom from Advanced Acrylics
Power: Neptune Apex
Modules: Neptune WXM to control EcoTech Radion and Vortech

I'm currently on Day 13 of the Red Sea Reef Mature Starter Kit Cycle. Haven't added a CUC or fish yet as my levels are still too high. Taking it slow as most experienced reefers have recommended.

I also made a custom sliding cabinet behind the tank to store all of the wiring and controls. I really wanted to avoid having another piece of furniture next to the tank. So far I'm pretty happy with how it came out and is functioning.

 

[dbl]

Wow...this turned out great...congratulations. I love the slide out equipment cabinet. Did something similar myself. Looking forward to watching this one grow out. Really great job.

 

[Bubbletips]

I’m following. Plan to get the same tank.

 

[Jhillreef]

How’s the return pump. I have the same I feel it’s weak.

 

[444rich]

Great work , what it the tall black box to the left of the sump?

 

[Nando]

How’s the return pump. I have the same I feel it’s weak.

I think it's pretty good. I have it fully open and it provides pretty good flow. I actually just tee'd off of it to provide some flow to the refugium I made out of the original ATO so I am thinking about jumping the pump up to the next size because of that. I'll post pictures of the refugium later tonight.

 

[Nando]

Great work , what it the tall black box to the left of the sump?

Thanks. It's a custom ATO I had made from https://advancedacrylics.com/. I was really trying to avoid having a separate cabinet next to the tank so I had this made along with the slide out cabinet behind the tank for all of the controls/electric. The ATO that comes with it is really small and I'd be filling it every other day so I turned it into a mini refugium like others have done in the past. Will post pictures later tonight.

 

[mckinney0171]

Love the sliding electronics cabinet. Does it protect everything from spills and splatters?

 

[mckinney0171]

I also used the reef mature pro kit. It really does work great!

 

[Nando]

Love the sliding electronics cabinet. Does it protect everything from spills and splatters?

Yeah, pretty much, I don't see how I could get any water in it even with a significant amount of water coming down on it. The reef mature pro kit has been great although I'm currently on week 5 of my cycle and decided not to put the CUC or fish in when it suggested to because my ammonia and nitrites were not 0 yet. I'm at 0 now on both but my Nitrates are a bit on the high side (25-30) so was hoping to get them under 20 before putting any fish in. How long did it take you to fully cycle using the reef mature pro kit?

 

[Hazenight]

how many gallons of rodi does the ato reservoir hold?

 

[solitude127]

very nice. I really like my RSR 170. It's a great little tank. Which lid is that on your tank?

 

[WannaBSpaghetti]

Did you happen to put together a DIY on that pull-out cabinet?

 

[mckinney0171]

Yeah, pretty much, I don't see how I could get any water in it even with a significant amount of water coming down on it. The reef mature pro kit has been great although I'm currently on week 5 of my cycle and decided not to put the CUC or fish in when it suggested to because my ammonia and nitrites were not 0 yet. I'm at 0 now on both but my Nitrates are a bit on the high side (25-30) so was hoping to get them under 20 before putting any fish in. How long did it take you to fully cycle using the reef mature pro kit?

My ammonia cycle happened pretty much as was predicted with their kit. The only problem I had was I was never able to get nitrates or phosphates to the specified amount as my system processes them too efficiently. I did add the fish and CUC within a day or two for of what it asked for. I would use that kit again.

 

[Nando]

how many gallons of rodi does the ato reservoir hold?

The original ATO holds 1.5 gallons. This one is around 5.5 gallons.

 

[Nando]

very nice. I really like my RSR 170. It's a great little tank. Which lid is that on your tank?

I ordered it from Clearview lids. Took about a month to get but the quality is great. I had them add a few feed doors.
http://artfullyacrylic.3dcartstores.com/Red-Sea-Lids_c_54.html

 

[Nando]

Did you happen to put together a DIY on that pull-out cabinet?

I didn't but I can put together a quick list of parts I used for it if you'd like to try and build one.

 

[WannaBSpaghetti]

I didn't but I can put together a quick list of parts I used for it if you'd like to try and build one.

I would! I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on an APEX but was struggling with the idea of space - this would help immensely!

 

[Nando]

Sure thing. I'll try to take some measurements tonight and put a quick list together with the overall dimensions and supplies needed.

 

[easily_fishstracted]

that's a really nice tank, and great job on maintaining the slick aesthetics and keeping things tidy. the narrow ATO is also very cool!