ReefConcept's Red Sea Reefer 450 Project

[ReefConcept]

Hey everyone! Starting a Reefer 450 project and thought we'd share the experience.

Now entering incipiency.

Feel free to follow and be involved with any suggestions or ideas.

 

[ReefConcept]

Current Layout Plan:

Rock & Sand:
-Caribsea Dry Fiji Pink Sand 120lbs
-Live Real Reef Rocks 80lbs
-Live Real Reef Shelf Rocks 45lbs

Lighting, Heating, & Filtration:
-3x EcoTech Radion XR15w Pro
-3x EcoTech XR15 RMS
-2x EcoTech MP40 QD
-EcoTech Vectra M1 DC Pump
-Eheim Jager 200W Heater
-Vertex Omega 180i Protein Skimmer
-Vertex RX-U Media Reactor
-Santa Monica Surf2 ATS
-Tetra Whisper 300
-Avast Marine Davy Locker Skimmate
-Avast Marine Swabbie Lid 7"

Monitoring, Supplement, & Controls:
-Neptunes Systems Apex Gold
-EcoTech ReefLink Setup
-Vertex RX-C 6D Calcium Reactor
-Beverage Elements 5lbs CO2 Cylinder
-Reef Fanatic CO2 Regulator
-Milwaukee Digital Refractometer
-Red Sea Test Kits
-Hanna Checker (Calcium, Alk, PO4)

 

[ReefConcept]

Some goodies that arrived today:

EcoTech Vectra M1

2x EcoTech MP40 QD

 

[ReefConcept]

More goodies:

Vertex Omega 180i

Vertex RXC-6D

Vertex RXC-6D Installed

Vertex RX-U Media Reactor

 

[Brian Kim]

Awesome equipment selection....following

 

[ReefConcept]

Awesome equipment selection....following

Thank you. Expect some really exciting updates.

 

[ReefConcept]

Neptune Systems is now here:

Apex Gold Package

Probes

 

[ReefConcept]

For those unfamiliar with receiving the probes from Neptune Systems, they only come with ONE pH probe...so you will have to order an additional one if you plan on using it to monitor a calcium reactor's pH in conjunction w/ the apex controller as a dedicated pH controller.

The calibration packets provided are only for readings of pH 7 and pH 10, which means you will need to purchase pH 4 and another pH 7 buffer solution so that the calcium reactor can have the correct reading range while the main tank will utilize calibration from the pH 7 - pH 10 solutions.

Note: the secondary pH probe (calcium reactor) replaces the ORP probe and connection.

 

[Scubafrog]

Great looking start. Following this build.

 

[StrawberryShortcake]

Following. Expecting many pics

 

[ReefConcept]

This:

Santa Monica Surf2 ATS

 

[FDAWG]

Congrats on the new tank. Nice line up of products. This is going to be a sweet build.

 

[Napa Reefer]

Following

 

[nervousmonkey]

Looking awesome RC! Can't wait to see it coming together! One of the best things about this hobby is setting up new systems. It's like Santa Claus on steroids.

 

[tristanfish]

Following, just put water in my 450.

 

[melypr1985]

Wow. This is going to be top notch! I used the Real Reef Rocks in my 75 and can't be happier with them.

 

[ReefConcept]

Congrats on the new tank. Nice line up of products. This is going to be a sweet build.

Thank you. We are hoping for this project to be a sweet build.

Looking awesome RC! Can't wait to see it coming together! One of the best things about this hobby is setting up new systems. It's like Santa Claus on steroids.

Totally agree--gotta love how the holidays give us an excuse to purchase so much without any guilt.

Following, just put water in my 450.

Lucky. I can't wait to put water in. Need to start plumbing and prep sand soon. Link me if you have a thread going.

Wow. This is going to be top notch! I used the Real Reef Rocks in my 75 and can't be happier with them.

I can't wait to see these Real Reef Rocks. Never done them with any of my systems, so this is very exciting.

 

[ReefConcept]

Alright, last night was an easy plumbing process and the outline delineated for this build rendered out beautifully--addressed a lot of friction, heat, and bottleneck concerns.

The result was a few tricky angles with some fallback safeties to reassure maintenance, yet proper feeds and returns where they belong.

Parts:

3/4" Sch 40 Pipes - As our main line and fits snug directly hard plumbed to the Vectra M1. Schedule 80 piping was the intended solution to match the native accessories the Reefer distributed. Somewhere during ordering parts I noticed this true union ball valve in white w/ red knob and decided to cohere with the Vertex theme. Much better cadence and cleaner look imo. If you desire a glossy and less time consuming pipe to clean, select furniture grade PVC instead.

1/2" Sch 40 Pipes - Necessary to feed into the Media Reactor and adapter for the Source Line to the Calcium Reactor.

True Union Ball Valves - Very paramount for situations where it's needed to turn water off or when equipment failure ensues. It will be of tremendous help too for when the return pump needs a routine cleaning or to control flow on the Media Reactor + removal for media replenishment. Be careful when purchasing this specific item as some of them are very faulty if cheap in quality and the ballhead will pop right out once you remove the union caps--don't stint in research and finances when considering one.

Acetone - To remove prints, streaks, marks, imperfections that may be apparent on the pipes.

Oatey Clear Primer - Such a staple for most basic plumbing tasks to help prime the pipes before joining them.

Oatey Regular Clear PVC Cement - Usually, it's the good purple stuff used...but this job we wanted a very visually pleasing ReefConcept aesthetic so the choice was clear--no pun intended.

Feed Water Adapter for RO Systems - Found this handy adapter from Marine Depot and will have it wide open while 2 needle valves will be the primary precision adjustments for the effluent/drip feed--peristaltic pump may still be the best option although this works well and if done correctly, performs w/ reliable n steady performance.

A lot of work ahead. Can't wait to add sand, rock, and livestock soon. Thanks to all of you that have been following this journey thus far--truly appreciated.

 

[StrawberryShortcake]

Glad I'm following, CLEAN setup! Very inspiring. My boyfriend is now thinking of getting one too.

 

[ReefConcept]

Didn't get a chance to post this earlier today:

As you can see, left side was drilled a 1/4" hole to snake the ATO line that will lead into a custom cabinet we are currently building to house the reservoir tank and additional accessories.

The right side has two 3/4" pockets to feed the Temp/pH/Cond probes to the main Neptune Systems control panel and also the drain tube from the skimmer to the right side where the Skimmate will be located.

Avast Swabbie is mounted and replaces the OEM Vertex Omega cap. Atm, the Calcium Reactor is just there temporarily--the ATS will be positioned there for final sump setup.

Heater is adjacent to the M1 about 1/2" above headroom, allowing better cable management to the back yet low enough so that it doesn't meet air once the top off system operates. So far so good.