Roffs Red Sea Reefer 3XL 900 Exciting Build

[Roff542]

And so the adventure begins.
This build has been so much fun for me to work on.
I started with building my RODI setup in my basement. I mounted it above my washing machine which made it easier for me to tap into my water supply. The RODI water will be pumped approx 15ft away into my storage/mixing tanks
Equipment:
Kobalt Power Strip with Led Lights
BRS 7 Stage Pro Plus 75 GPD system
Aquatic 8800 Booster Pump Kit
Aquatic 75 GPD Auto Flush Kit
Triple TDS Monitor

 

[Roff542]

Storage tanks in place
Water will be pumped to the second floor approx 12ft up to sump
Equipment:
2-65 gallon Norwesco Tanks
1- RODI for auto top off
1- Salt mix storage/Auto Water Change
Kobalt Power Strip with LEDs

 

[Uncle_Matthew]

Following cant wait to watch the progress

 

[Roff542]

I decided to go with Neptune Apex to control/monitor everything with the system.
That being said there was no way to fit a control center under the tank with the limited space available and the plans that I had.
So with some online research I found a cabinet design I really liked (thank you ReeferGil) I choose to build it myself from scratch, so with a quick stop to Lowe’s I was in business.
The cabinet is made out of Maple with another type of wood for the trim.
One sheet of glass from a local glass shop custom cut for my door.
My only regret was in all of the excitement I totally forgot to take progress/building pictures until it was completed.
I have it here on my kitchen counter for some pictures before I painted it.
(Let’s just say my wife was not happy with my cabinet placement for pictures)

 

[Roff542]

All painted, Glass installed and ready for some new toys!!
“I love the smell of paint in the morning”
For all of you movie buffs out there

 

[Roff542]

Neptune apex equipment arrived. The box was destroyed during shipping. I still can’t believe nothing was lost out the openings in the box or damaged.
Looks like UPS rolled it to my house in PA from BRS

 

[Roff542]

After some careful equipment placement planing the control center is looking good.
I decided to install some LED lighting to add some pop to the equipment.

 

[Sgchick]

Wow!! Looks fantastic!!

 

[Roff542]

Tank placement planing time!
So with everything coming together nicely.
I had long talk with my wife about tank placement and how heavy this tank is going to be on our 2nd floor. After explaining/showing her how the joists run she agreed it would have to be set up in our family room
I did forget to mention the tank can not be set up on our rug lol.
The tape represents tank placement and the black line indicates where I will cut and run the tile
The tiles will run 3ft off the wall and approx 9ft in length

 

[Roff542]

Wow!! Looks fantastic!!

Thank you very much

 

[Roff542]

Rug cutting time!!
(The look on my wife’s face was priceless)
Next came thin setting & screwing down the Durock cement board I also took the opportunity to drill a hole through the floor to the basement for RO tubing feed lines

 

[Roff542]

Thin set and tiles going down

 

[Roff542]

Tiles grouted and looking nice and tight.
Still have to add a transition trim from the rug to the tile.

 

[Lavey29]

You got mad skills, looks awesome so far

 

[Roff542]

Now with the flooring reinforced on the 2nd floor.
Time to add a little extra support to the basement joist
If you look at these pictures the wall with the clock on it has 2 steel support columns within the wall holding a steel header beam for the house then 6 ft off that wall you can see a steel column wrapped in slated wood they run the length of the house holding a steel header beam for the house.
So I added 2 more steel support columns for the load on the second floor directly under the tank.
I’m very confident I won’t have any weight support issues.

 

[Roff542]

You got mad skills, looks awesome so far

Lol thank you
My wife and all my neighbors call me MacGyver

 

[Roff542]

It’s tank delivery day!!!
The delivery truck was able to back right up to my garage doors and lower the tank right to the ground on his lift gate then easily use a pallet jack to place the tank in my garage.

 

[Roff542]

Well everything looks good so far.
I do know they tell you to inspect the tank while the delivery company is there in case a claim needs to be opened.
There was no way I was going to unbox this monster and pull everything out while the delivery guy stands there it would take me well over an hour.
So with all of the excitement of my new tank finally sitting in my garage I did a quick once over of the outside of the shipping box.
Looks good and all the stickers say “Fragile” what could go wrong!!
Well a little later in the day when I was able to devote the time I would need to unbox this monster, I removed the black shrink wrap and found a little surprise hiding under the shrink wrap.

 

[X-37B]

All painted, Glass installed and ready for some new toys!!
“I love the smell of paint in the morning”
For all of you movie buffs out there

Smells like victory!

 

[Roff542]

Smells like victory!

For sure