DustinDec
Community Member
Earlier this year, my wife and I started seriously looking into getting a small tank after seeing how much our kids were interested in fish, especially after my two-year-old son's preschool teacher brought in some of her own fish to showcase, and he just kept getting excited when he saw them. We both had our own tanks as kids, but only freshwater. Initially, we budgeted for a small 10-15g tank to have a Betta fish. After a ton of research and help from my brother-in-law, who is very much into the hobby, we went to our LFS to look at tanks. That's when we saw their saltwater collection, and the kids loved them! When we left, my wife turned to me and said, "How difficult would it be to go with saltwater?" I was thinking the same thing! After some additional research, we ended up picking up a Fluval Flex 32.5g tank, and around 4 months later, we ordered a Red Sea S 550 G2+ tank with the help of our LFS, Aquarium & Reptile Depot.
This decision came after extensive research into IM, Waterbox, Cade, Aqua Dream, and of course, used Facebook postings. Each tank had its pros and cons, so it was tough. But the Red Sea fit everything we wanted overall, and we had heard nothing but positive feedback on the new G2+ tanks. The biggest concern with Red Sea initially was the plywood stands, and seam issue. But the S series resolved that by providing an awesome aluminum stand, along with a slide-out control board and updated G2 models supposedly resolve the seam concerns.
First Tank:
Our first saltwater tank, a Flex Fluval 32.5g! We thought it would make things easier having an AIO as our first tank, but ultimately we found it limited us without using workarounds. For example, I wanted to upgrade the filtration, but given the limited space, it would really need a sump. Some folks have had success using a HOB, but after researching, we decided it didn't make sense to spend the money. It's a cool little tank, but we have the space and wanted larger fish.
Spot picked out for new tank:
The original tank we had sat on a solid cabinet that also had space for all of our media equipment. So we had a tricky decision to make, given we absolutely love having our tank where everyone could see it while hanging out or watching a show/movie. As you can see in the images, I had just moved the cabinet and still had the mounts for our AI Nero 3 units and Apex energy bar on the wall. Initially, we thought we could push the new tank all the way to the far left corner in the image and add a smaller cabinet for media equipment. There is also space behind that wall as it was originally open so a CRT TV could sit recessed, but the last owner dry-walled over it. We had a couple of ideas but wanted to see the tank in person before making a decision.
Picking it up at LFS:
They had provided the shipping information, so I knew when it arrived, even before they texted me. Jeff at Aquarium Depot knew how excited we were, so he got it inspected and let me know it could be picked up on a Friday (the same day), even if it meant staying late. I ran over, and he loaded it in with a lift. Thankfully, we have family and friends willing to help. The FedEx tracker claimed the entire crate with everything was over 2.5k lbs! With three people coming over the next day to help get it out of the bed of the truck, I parked the truck in the garage to mitigate the risk of theft and started working on the cabinet.
Building the cabinet:
I knew that if the cabinet was not built to the point where it was at least ready for the tank that night, I would need to get a whole crew to come over again to lift the tank up. So that night, I grabbed my favorite crate, threw in whatever tools I thought we would need, and got to work while my wife and kids kept me company. Unfortunately, it took around 5 hours, which meant staying up until a little past 1 AM. By then, my family had long gone to bed, which was for the best given some of my choice of words during the build. Unfortunately, there was a problem, which I wouldn't find out about until the next day.
Unloading and lifting the tank/sump
Wow, that was heavy! My uncle did not realize how large the tank was, nor did he believe me when I tried to tell him it would be heavy. He actually called me a wimp when I told him we had to wait for at least two other people to show up, as one person canceled last minute. Thankfully, I bought a couple of extra dollies earlier that week, so we had a total of four along with moving straps for our arms.
I ended up backing my truck up so it was as level as possible with my steep driveway, leaving about a 1.5' drop to the ground. We pushed the tank out of the back of the truck and slowly lowered it from the bed onto two dollies, keeping a blanket behind so it wouldn't roll downhill. From there, we pushed it from the rear and lowered the back onto one more dolly. It took all four of us to get it up the hill and to the side of the house, where we went around back. Then we needed to lift it up about 6-8" through the backdoor. That meant removing the sump and everything else from the crate (which, in hindsight, we should have done anyway). We also took off the wood siding. Even with just the tank and pallet, it was rough getting it through the door.
We picked up one side, set it on two dollies, and rolled/slid it forward while supporting the back and getting the other two dollies situated. Lifting it up to the stand was beyond sketchy, and if I were to do it again, I would see if there was something I could rent to help or at least get 1-2 more people. We made it happen, but the fact that the pipes stick out on the bottom meant we didn't just have to get it onto the stand; we had to get it to the point where the pipes were in the open spot on the cabinet so they wouldn't get damaged. Once that was all in place, we checked to make sure it was still level, and I moved the media equipment to the side, which fit perfectly and out of the way! Eventually, I'll build something to house it, or at least make sure it doesn't get water on it.
Finishing plumbing, cabinet and tank
This is where an earlier mistake cost me a fair amount of pain. After putting in all the pipes, I realized a couple of pipes did not line up with the support hooks. After looking through the manual, I realized I must have put that support beam in the middle the wrong way by rotating it. With the tank on top and the back screwed in, I initially hesitated and tried a workaround with zip ties, as seen in one of the above images. I just wasn't sure if it was a good idea to try taking it apart since I had no help at that point to lift the tank off, and I really didn't want to even try, to be honest.
I spoke with the LFS about it later when I went to pick up additional dry rock, sand, and other supplies. They said as long as there wasn't any water in the tank and it wasn't left off for long, it should be fine. I also realized the overflow top was not seating properly, which really bugged me. After speaking with some folks on the Red Sea FB group and their support folks, I realized that the pipe needed to be screwed in further. I was hesitant since, at that point, it was very difficult to tighten further, and I even took it all the way out. But, it did tighten, and that was one problem down.
Later that night, I looked at those zip ties and decided there was no way I was going to leave it like that. Especially since it was causing the return Y to hang so far down, I was having trouble plumbing in the Cor-20. So, I managed to push the tank and stand out enough to unscrew the back and went to work on getting everything inside undone. It took a couple of hours and a lot of hating life, but I did it! I didn't realize just how much better I would feel knowing I didn't jerry-rig such an expensive tank together.
Prepping Saltwater and in goes the sump along with the initial equipment:
With the top overflow pipe, return pump, and support braces sorted, I was able to quickly install the rest of the plumbing and start with the rest of my equipment! This was my first ReefMat, but it was simple enough to hook up. I threw in a couple of spare dry rocks and then started wiring everything.
Aqua scaping and water
This is only the second time we've ever done aquascaping, and with a tank this deep, it was rough. After a couple of hours, we got it to what we thought would work well and liked how it looked. Since we used most of the rock from our first tank, we had to pull off our existing coral and put them in water. After adding sand, we started filling it up, 5 gallons at a time, until we had one empty 32-gallon container. From there, we set the 32-gallon container in the house on a dolly and filled it up 5 gallons at a time from the garage. We rolled it over to the tank and pumped the water into the tank. This took a while, and we also took 10 gallons from our original tank, so I had to replace that with freshly mixed saltwater. The coral was glued in place just before filling. After filling with water, we checked to make sure it was still level, and everything looked great! We used Fiji Pink sand this time around, finding it to be a solid middle ground between fine and coarse sand.
Heater problems
We didn't immediately move over the fish, as I wanted the water temperature to be stable. However, we noticed it was barely going up, even after 24 hours, and I realized the 200W heater wouldn't stay on. After testing, I figured out that two of my temperature probes were actually off and needed recalibration. I also ordered a second Finnex Titanium 300W heater so they would match. Additionally, I typically use the Fluval heater to heat water for water changes.
With the Red Sea ATO, Apex probe, and Inkbird probe, I moved all the sensors around so that I had a temperature probe in each section of the sump. The Inkbird, which controls the heaters, is now in the section where the water first enters the sump. I did this after receiving a fair amount of feedback from the community.
Dori (Blue Tang) heath concerns, adding Hydra 32 and lights in the cabinet
As everyone can see in an earlier post I made, our Blue Tang had signs of HLLE. This was very concerning, and thankfully the community gave immediate feedback on how to handle the situation. With my original tank only having filter floss and no skimmer, and with me not paying close enough attention to her diet despite the amount of time I was spending on the tank whenever I had free time, it led to this unfortunate situation. After discussing it with some folks directly and with my wife, we decided to move the fish over sooner than planned. We also started introducing more variety in her food and plan to add even more. Currently, we're giving Formula 1 and 2 flakes in the morning, nori soaked with Selcon and garlic extract every other day, and a mix of frozen food in the evening. The frozen food is primarily targeting omnivores, but I'm going to pick up Prime Reef specifically for herbivores. Since making these changes, Dori appears to be doing well, very active, and the signs of HLLE seem to be diminishing, but it's too early to say for certain.
After addressing the above, I realized I was getting tired of having no light under the cabinet where I worked. I was using a headlamp and flashlight, but I found an old post suggesting a kit from Amazon, Litever LED with a door-activated controller. Ordered and installed, it made a huge difference. I also ran into a problem with the Red Sea ATO, as the black siphon break would go underwater and cause water to continuously flow. I just pulled it up for now, but I plan to try to add a mount or something to ensure that doesn't happen. We added the new Hydra 32 HD to the center. We plan to eventually have two Hydra 32s, but we do not have an immediate need for it right now, and they're expensive. Lastly, we added one more bag of sand as some spots were exposed on the bottom due to the Orbit 4. This makes 100 lbs of sand total
New Red Sea DIY lid
These are an absolute pain to put together! Unfortunately, the LFS set us up with two of the wrong additional bags, and I made a serious mistake when cutting two of the bars. This meant I had to basically buy it twice, though it was still not even half the price of a Kraken lid. We went this route to have a solid-looking lid we could play with while we figure out all the equipment we may need or want in the future before getting a nicer lid. We learned our lesson when we purchased our first Kraken lid for our original tank, as we wanted to add equipment later. I plan to add a feeding port in the very near future. While we like it now, I cannot emphasize how much of a pain this was to put together. Sure, after doing it once, I could probably do it much easier now. But the first time was definitely painful. Many mistakes were made!
Skimmer ordered and installed
After the concerns with Dori, I installed a smaller Tunze Skimmer 9001 that I had on hand but never set up for our original tank, as we would be using it as a QT going forward. That said, I immediately ordered a Simplicity 240DC skimmer for our new tank after receiving several suggestions. I had little experience with skimmers and wanted something simple yet trustworthy, and everything I researched pointed to this skimmer. Thus far, it definitely seems to fit that description, but we won't know for certain for at least a few weeks or months. The new under-cabinet lights have been a huge help, and I absolutely love them!
Current update:
As of today, Dori seems to be doing better. The HLLE marks are still present, but it's only been a few days and we're keeping a close eye on her. The tank still needs some adjustments, but as everyone in this hobby knows, it's all part of the fun. We plan to eventually pick up a UV light and DOS in the near term. In the long term, we want to add another Orbit 4 on the back right instead of the Nero 3. Currently, the refugium is not set up, but we also plan to get that going eventually. Lastly, I need to figure out what exactly I'm going to do with the media equipment on the left. It's out of sight, out of mind right now, but I do want to put something simple together. We think it's fine there, but at least something to prevent water from getting to it, just to be safe.
This decision came after extensive research into IM, Waterbox, Cade, Aqua Dream, and of course, used Facebook postings. Each tank had its pros and cons, so it was tough. But the Red Sea fit everything we wanted overall, and we had heard nothing but positive feedback on the new G2+ tanks. The biggest concern with Red Sea initially was the plywood stands, and seam issue. But the S series resolved that by providing an awesome aluminum stand, along with a slide-out control board and updated G2 models supposedly resolve the seam concerns.
First Tank:
Our first saltwater tank, a Flex Fluval 32.5g! We thought it would make things easier having an AIO as our first tank, but ultimately we found it limited us without using workarounds. For example, I wanted to upgrade the filtration, but given the limited space, it would really need a sump. Some folks have had success using a HOB, but after researching, we decided it didn't make sense to spend the money. It's a cool little tank, but we have the space and wanted larger fish.
Spot picked out for new tank:
The original tank we had sat on a solid cabinet that also had space for all of our media equipment. So we had a tricky decision to make, given we absolutely love having our tank where everyone could see it while hanging out or watching a show/movie. As you can see in the images, I had just moved the cabinet and still had the mounts for our AI Nero 3 units and Apex energy bar on the wall. Initially, we thought we could push the new tank all the way to the far left corner in the image and add a smaller cabinet for media equipment. There is also space behind that wall as it was originally open so a CRT TV could sit recessed, but the last owner dry-walled over it. We had a couple of ideas but wanted to see the tank in person before making a decision.
Picking it up at LFS:
They had provided the shipping information, so I knew when it arrived, even before they texted me. Jeff at Aquarium Depot knew how excited we were, so he got it inspected and let me know it could be picked up on a Friday (the same day), even if it meant staying late. I ran over, and he loaded it in with a lift. Thankfully, we have family and friends willing to help. The FedEx tracker claimed the entire crate with everything was over 2.5k lbs! With three people coming over the next day to help get it out of the bed of the truck, I parked the truck in the garage to mitigate the risk of theft and started working on the cabinet.
Building the cabinet:
I knew that if the cabinet was not built to the point where it was at least ready for the tank that night, I would need to get a whole crew to come over again to lift the tank up. So that night, I grabbed my favorite crate, threw in whatever tools I thought we would need, and got to work while my wife and kids kept me company. Unfortunately, it took around 5 hours, which meant staying up until a little past 1 AM. By then, my family had long gone to bed, which was for the best given some of my choice of words during the build. Unfortunately, there was a problem, which I wouldn't find out about until the next day.
Unloading and lifting the tank/sump
Wow, that was heavy! My uncle did not realize how large the tank was, nor did he believe me when I tried to tell him it would be heavy. He actually called me a wimp when I told him we had to wait for at least two other people to show up, as one person canceled last minute. Thankfully, I bought a couple of extra dollies earlier that week, so we had a total of four along with moving straps for our arms.
I ended up backing my truck up so it was as level as possible with my steep driveway, leaving about a 1.5' drop to the ground. We pushed the tank out of the back of the truck and slowly lowered it from the bed onto two dollies, keeping a blanket behind so it wouldn't roll downhill. From there, we pushed it from the rear and lowered the back onto one more dolly. It took all four of us to get it up the hill and to the side of the house, where we went around back. Then we needed to lift it up about 6-8" through the backdoor. That meant removing the sump and everything else from the crate (which, in hindsight, we should have done anyway). We also took off the wood siding. Even with just the tank and pallet, it was rough getting it through the door.
We picked up one side, set it on two dollies, and rolled/slid it forward while supporting the back and getting the other two dollies situated. Lifting it up to the stand was beyond sketchy, and if I were to do it again, I would see if there was something I could rent to help or at least get 1-2 more people. We made it happen, but the fact that the pipes stick out on the bottom meant we didn't just have to get it onto the stand; we had to get it to the point where the pipes were in the open spot on the cabinet so they wouldn't get damaged. Once that was all in place, we checked to make sure it was still level, and I moved the media equipment to the side, which fit perfectly and out of the way! Eventually, I'll build something to house it, or at least make sure it doesn't get water on it.
Finishing plumbing, cabinet and tank
This is where an earlier mistake cost me a fair amount of pain. After putting in all the pipes, I realized a couple of pipes did not line up with the support hooks. After looking through the manual, I realized I must have put that support beam in the middle the wrong way by rotating it. With the tank on top and the back screwed in, I initially hesitated and tried a workaround with zip ties, as seen in one of the above images. I just wasn't sure if it was a good idea to try taking it apart since I had no help at that point to lift the tank off, and I really didn't want to even try, to be honest.
I spoke with the LFS about it later when I went to pick up additional dry rock, sand, and other supplies. They said as long as there wasn't any water in the tank and it wasn't left off for long, it should be fine. I also realized the overflow top was not seating properly, which really bugged me. After speaking with some folks on the Red Sea FB group and their support folks, I realized that the pipe needed to be screwed in further. I was hesitant since, at that point, it was very difficult to tighten further, and I even took it all the way out. But, it did tighten, and that was one problem down.
Later that night, I looked at those zip ties and decided there was no way I was going to leave it like that. Especially since it was causing the return Y to hang so far down, I was having trouble plumbing in the Cor-20. So, I managed to push the tank and stand out enough to unscrew the back and went to work on getting everything inside undone. It took a couple of hours and a lot of hating life, but I did it! I didn't realize just how much better I would feel knowing I didn't jerry-rig such an expensive tank together.
Prepping Saltwater and in goes the sump along with the initial equipment:
With the top overflow pipe, return pump, and support braces sorted, I was able to quickly install the rest of the plumbing and start with the rest of my equipment! This was my first ReefMat, but it was simple enough to hook up. I threw in a couple of spare dry rocks and then started wiring everything.
- Apex A3
- Cor-20
- 2 x AI Prime 16 HD
- Red Sea ATO
- Red Sea reefmat
- InkBird heater/cooler controller
- Fluval Heater 200w
- Finnex Titanium heater 300w
- 1 x AI Nero 3
- 1 x AI Orbit 4
Aqua scaping and water
This is only the second time we've ever done aquascaping, and with a tank this deep, it was rough. After a couple of hours, we got it to what we thought would work well and liked how it looked. Since we used most of the rock from our first tank, we had to pull off our existing coral and put them in water. After adding sand, we started filling it up, 5 gallons at a time, until we had one empty 32-gallon container. From there, we set the 32-gallon container in the house on a dolly and filled it up 5 gallons at a time from the garage. We rolled it over to the tank and pumped the water into the tank. This took a while, and we also took 10 gallons from our original tank, so I had to replace that with freshly mixed saltwater. The coral was glued in place just before filling. After filling with water, we checked to make sure it was still level, and everything looked great! We used Fiji Pink sand this time around, finding it to be a solid middle ground between fine and coarse sand.
Heater problems
We didn't immediately move over the fish, as I wanted the water temperature to be stable. However, we noticed it was barely going up, even after 24 hours, and I realized the 200W heater wouldn't stay on. After testing, I figured out that two of my temperature probes were actually off and needed recalibration. I also ordered a second Finnex Titanium 300W heater so they would match. Additionally, I typically use the Fluval heater to heat water for water changes.
With the Red Sea ATO, Apex probe, and Inkbird probe, I moved all the sensors around so that I had a temperature probe in each section of the sump. The Inkbird, which controls the heaters, is now in the section where the water first enters the sump. I did this after receiving a fair amount of feedback from the community.
Dori (Blue Tang) heath concerns, adding Hydra 32 and lights in the cabinet
As everyone can see in an earlier post I made, our Blue Tang had signs of HLLE. This was very concerning, and thankfully the community gave immediate feedback on how to handle the situation. With my original tank only having filter floss and no skimmer, and with me not paying close enough attention to her diet despite the amount of time I was spending on the tank whenever I had free time, it led to this unfortunate situation. After discussing it with some folks directly and with my wife, we decided to move the fish over sooner than planned. We also started introducing more variety in her food and plan to add even more. Currently, we're giving Formula 1 and 2 flakes in the morning, nori soaked with Selcon and garlic extract every other day, and a mix of frozen food in the evening. The frozen food is primarily targeting omnivores, but I'm going to pick up Prime Reef specifically for herbivores. Since making these changes, Dori appears to be doing well, very active, and the signs of HLLE seem to be diminishing, but it's too early to say for certain.
After addressing the above, I realized I was getting tired of having no light under the cabinet where I worked. I was using a headlamp and flashlight, but I found an old post suggesting a kit from Amazon, Litever LED with a door-activated controller. Ordered and installed, it made a huge difference. I also ran into a problem with the Red Sea ATO, as the black siphon break would go underwater and cause water to continuously flow. I just pulled it up for now, but I plan to try to add a mount or something to ensure that doesn't happen. We added the new Hydra 32 HD to the center. We plan to eventually have two Hydra 32s, but we do not have an immediate need for it right now, and they're expensive. Lastly, we added one more bag of sand as some spots were exposed on the bottom due to the Orbit 4. This makes 100 lbs of sand total
New Red Sea DIY lid
These are an absolute pain to put together! Unfortunately, the LFS set us up with two of the wrong additional bags, and I made a serious mistake when cutting two of the bars. This meant I had to basically buy it twice, though it was still not even half the price of a Kraken lid. We went this route to have a solid-looking lid we could play with while we figure out all the equipment we may need or want in the future before getting a nicer lid. We learned our lesson when we purchased our first Kraken lid for our original tank, as we wanted to add equipment later. I plan to add a feeding port in the very near future. While we like it now, I cannot emphasize how much of a pain this was to put together. Sure, after doing it once, I could probably do it much easier now. But the first time was definitely painful. Many mistakes were made!
Skimmer ordered and installed
After the concerns with Dori, I installed a smaller Tunze Skimmer 9001 that I had on hand but never set up for our original tank, as we would be using it as a QT going forward. That said, I immediately ordered a Simplicity 240DC skimmer for our new tank after receiving several suggestions. I had little experience with skimmers and wanted something simple yet trustworthy, and everything I researched pointed to this skimmer. Thus far, it definitely seems to fit that description, but we won't know for certain for at least a few weeks or months. The new under-cabinet lights have been a huge help, and I absolutely love them!
Current update:
As of today, Dori seems to be doing better. The HLLE marks are still present, but it's only been a few days and we're keeping a close eye on her. The tank still needs some adjustments, but as everyone in this hobby knows, it's all part of the fun. We plan to eventually pick up a UV light and DOS in the near term. In the long term, we want to add another Orbit 4 on the back right instead of the Nero 3. Currently, the refugium is not set up, but we also plan to get that going eventually. Lastly, I need to figure out what exactly I'm going to do with the media equipment on the left. It's out of sight, out of mind right now, but I do want to put something simple together. We think it's fine there, but at least something to prevent water from getting to it, just to be safe.
