Red Sea Reefer 800 .... piggyback

friendlyguy

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Hi there!
I am a happy owner of a Red Sea Reefer 350 which is thriving and giving me a lot of joy.
However, that "huuuuuuuge" tank filled quiet rapidly with corals and yeah, I reached a level where I don't necessarily want to put more corals in it.
Since I am that keen on getting more ( and for some other but more profane reasons) I bought another tank, the Reefer XL 525.
My idea is to connect both (Display) Tanks to the sump of the Reefer XL 525 and place them next to each other. (Like with a 30cm gap between the tanks)
Did anybody try that with those specific tank models before?
My hope is obviously that the sump will hold the volume of water that flows back from both of those displays when I turn off the return pumps / experience a power outage.
I don't know exactly how much water that will be and I cannot think of a way to calculate it.
So I think I am going to try this with a couple of buckets and towels prepared.:D;Doctor
Ideas and thoughts welcome, maybe somebody achieved something similar before?

Have a nice evening!
 

brmreefer

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I have plumbed my newer 30 gal JBJ with my orginal 120 DT and 110 Sump/Fuge. Volume wise I had no concern, because only the very top portions of both DTs can be siphoned back into the fuge.
In my opinion, I would definitely look into plumbing them all together for the sake of maintaining parameters for one big system versus two smaller seperate ones. To this day, I would definitely do it again.
 

metzer

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I have RS 900 and RS 750 connected to a single sump. One thing i installed to prevent flooding the sump was a Wye Check Valve as close to each return pump to prevent siphoning.
 
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friendlyguy

friendlyguy

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That sounds like an amazing setup. Are you willing to share a couple of details how you did that? Maybe even some pictures?
At the moment its more a rough idea rather than a specific plan: Get those three pipes from the 350 to the 525s sump.
I haven`t done any plumbing yet so i am pretty unsure on how to do this.
 

metzer

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The plumbing was a bit of a challenge; balancing 90 degree bends and loss of head pressure. Flex hosing can help you get around the tight bends and access the internal cut outs with ease.

My sump is detached, not underneath either tank, so the plumbing was a bit different but i still had to get all the pipes out and to the sump.

Converting the redsea plumbing over to standard is usually the biggest pain and the change overs take up needed space. There are a few posts in RR to go over the equipment required for redsea change overs. I typically use a metric coupling to metric to standard changeover. I cut the RS pipe and install the metric coupling, install the metric to standard adapter (metric adapter will slide right into the coupling, then put a union on the standard side). There are other methods for conversion, this is the one that worked for me. If you can find the part number of the redsea piping assembly for your tank, you could purchase it ahead of time and start to experiment in change overs and fittings.
 
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friendlyguy

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To keep you guys updated: I`ve just ordered a big bunch of pipes, elbows, valves and stuff :)
once the order arrives ill post a bunch of pictures.
The reefer 525 will arrive today:)
 

metzer

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Awesome! Let the fun, glue and stuck fingers begin ;).

My biggest mistake during gluing, i used my wife's dish dish cloth to clean up a little bit and it got ruined.
 
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friendlyguy

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Haha... I bet she absolutely loved that :)
So, the first things arrived at my home and I`d like to share them with you guys.
I am already so keen on putting everything together and filling it with water... its so hard to wait on the last couple of things... (and I am not even talking about the ion director which still didnt show up since i ordered it back in march :D )
Meanwhile:

Thats the Display sitting on some metal stands so I can work on the cabinet.
62872098559__78A869AB-B8D2-4893-AFD1-84C65DF301D8.jpg


The cabinet:
62872096766__5E62256E-3D79-4E82-86C3-B6A7D6604168.jpg


And some of the toys i am going to use (currently sitting in my frag tank which i am preparing as well) :
IMG_20201207_210729.jpg


Expecting the reef ceramic to get finished in maybe 10 days or so. We came up with a nice plan for the reef...addon :)
It has a floating part as well as some smaller archs in it while still having the "pillar" elements / style which i currently have in my reef. You can look at my current reef here.
If you have some phantasy... you can try to imagine whats coming by using the construction picture we came up with. but its... at the very best abstract art :)


letscallitart.jpg


Have a nice one everyone!
 
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friendlyguy

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Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen ;)
As things proceeded further with the "Reefer 800" I thought I`d give you guys an update.
I`ve received all the parts needed for my plumbing:
IMG_20201222_163945.jpg

And I`ve received the reef ceramik: I just love it.
Who can spot similarities to the earlier drawing? :) :)
IMG_20201231_124914.jpg

I drained it for 2 weeks in rodi water to wash away dust and production leftovers.
Holidays came and I intended to get everything set up and filled with water within those days... But:
Just when I was about to start to work on hardplumbing I discovered that the return as well as the emergency drain pipes were broken... yay, so I had to wait for replacement parts again.
IMG_2226.jpg

Used the time to prepare some of the pipes:
Photo-2020-12-29-13-22-51_2168.jpeg

Those are the pieced I decided to put in between the two tanks as well as the return pump connector for the 350.
I also gave all the other parts a thorough cleaning.
To get rid of the nasty stuff I soaked everything in citric acid... which did its job, look at that gunk:
IMG_2234.jpg
Photo-2020-12-04-14-19-59_2237.jpeg

And in the meantime: I even received the replacement pipes :)
Day X has come and the 350 had to move about 60cm to the left and a couple of cm from the wall in order to squeeze the 525 next to it. Easier said then done: Thats for sure. Take a look at it:
IMG_20201229_145134.jpg

First we had to disconnect and remove the chiller and the uv-sterilizer and then the ghl-stack had to "go away" (temporarly).
Once that was done we turned off the return pump and emptied the sump into big tanks and removed it entirely.
Quick check: Nope, 275L in the display are too much to move this thing. So we pumped about half of it into more tanks:
21-01-01 12-51-03 2195_defaced.jpg

And finally: We could move it :)
We were even able to moved it off the wall to get some much needed space to work on the plumbing. As you can imagine, from the point on where we turned off the return pumps I was getting more nervous and nervous by every minute. I didn't take a lot of pictures and focused on getting the plumbing done in order to get a) the water back into the system and b) the filtration running again and c) connecting my dosers again so I can keep the water parameters in check again. However, I did take one from the backside once we had the pipes connected and everything "glued together. All pipes are intentionally angled a little bit downwards towards the sump, thought that might help a bit with "dirty" pipes.
21-01-01 17-43-06 2199.jpg

Once we tested the plumbing was leak free we moved both tanks back against the wall and filled all the water back into the system. After we ruled out some minor "hiccups" like: "Oh, we forgot to glue that thing in" and a torq that has fallen apart it was finally ready to get turned back on.

Wooosh: nothing. No leaks, no horrors, no explosions. Tuned in the return and it was running "just like before".
This was around midnight. So, roughly 15 hours without sump and dosing. Two more hours and I had all the technology connected again.
21-01-02 00-37-12 2200.jpg

The temperature dropped by about 2°C, the Alkalinity by about 1 dkh. The Ion-Director corrected that for me within roughly 12 hours.
I spend the next day cleaning the livingroom and even found some time to move the carmic into the system:
IMG_20210103_193903.jpg

I`ve been producing saltwater for the last week to fill this beauty and now its done :)
But... I dont want to just turn the return pump on and hope for the best.

I was wondering if somebody can give me some good advice on how to start that 2nd system.
I mean currently there are roughly 400l of saltwater in the system and I am about to mix it with another 400l fresh saltwater. Apart from checking and correcting parameters that i can measure / influece: Any advice?
I had the idea to turn the return pump down to its lowest setting and maybe only let it run every couple of hours.
The return pump (red dragon eco 5) delivers 2880L per hour with 1m of head preassure. IF its possible to run it at 1% that would be roughly 30L per hour. which still would mix up all the water within ~12hrs.
I can turn it on and off via the profilux controller at pretty much every frequency i want to, so its all about the interval.
For example I could turn it on for 1 hour every 16 hours. That would give me roughly 10 days for one mix.

At the same time this could be a very bad idea because the water that mixes inside the 525 is then cut off from any living thing...

What do you think? Any advice? Previous experiences?

62872200479__FB0AD94B-0E38-4A4E-A6B1-E5F570DEC9AA.jpg IMG_2225.jpg
 

Bepis

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Following. I saw you on the post about mixing the tanks and saw you got your answer. Came over to check out the tank!
 
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friendlyguy

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Hi Bepis!
Thanks for your comment. I am "that" close to mixing them up...;Drool
Waiting for another delivery: the next goal is to equalize no3 as well as po4 before mixing them. Temp / Salinity / Alkalinity / Calcium / Magnesium are already in check.
In the meantime:
I played a bit with the RS ReefWaves: I`ve got two 45s connected.
At first i had them attached to the left and right of the... "return chamber". But I don`t like several things:
- I cannot attach Corals to the Back of the tank, they would get a direct hit by those powerheads.
- maintenance is probably a pain: those magnets don't move in the return chamber. the rubber attached to it makes that quiet impossible. Took me some time to get the magnets out of there again.
- they are stirring up the sand in the rear corners: even at speeds around 10%
- I did like the optic though... but functionality comes first.

So now they are on the left / right side of the tank. this creates a much nicer flow.
I do like the RS Random Program that ships with the pumps. Just from looking at it for a couple of minutes: I could not see a reoccuring pattern.
However: I am experiencing issues switching patterns / intensity. Most of the time 1 out of 2 pumps isnt switching to the new pattern or is ignoring my settings when it comes to its strength.
So I often had to restart pumps and apps:
I think there is room for improvement dear Red Sea ;) Firmware 2.9.0.3.3.0, Android App v.3.5.1.
 
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friendlyguy

friendlyguy

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Hey there!
The two tanks are connected (gates open) since 23.01.2021.
Overall i am really statisfied with the merge. I didn't experience any loss and there was no big bang or something. Due to a rise in Po4 as well as Si I experienced a lot of diatoms and a small patch of cyano grew large: within like a week it covered the entire sand in the old tank.
I take it as a sign that there is something off balance and i hope i can get that under control with the bacteria and stuff from kz... fingers crossed.
I`ve created a video from my tank(s) during sundawn and i invite you to take a look.
Have a nice one!

 
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friendlyguy

friendlyguy

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Ladies and Gentleman:
I proudly present my newes Project: another expansion of my Reef.
We connected another tank: 270x40x40 cm to the circuit and just put the first coral in it.
Its so much joy :)
I also found a name for our reef: Its now called the "Great Beringer Reef" :) :)
 

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