Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

[NY_Caveman]

Congratulations on the win Shaun! It is well deserved.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I usually only take pictures on a rainy day when i have nothing to do and then I have a supply to edit as needed.

Praying for more rainy days then.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Praying for more rainy days then.

Quote of the day.

 

[DennistheMenace]

Beautiful tank! Thanks for sharing.

 

[SPR1968]

Beautiful tank! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you and thanks for stopping by!

 

[Crabby48]

The new tank is looking great. Liking the size of the sump!

 

[Blutspitze]

Congrats on the pic win and the sump is indeed looking huge! Can't wait to see everything wet. Do you have a webcam setup to monitor the sump, hence the anywhere in the world aspect?

 

[SPR1968]

The new tank is looking great. Liking the size of the sump!

Thanks, and yes I know the sump and also the cabinet is massive!

Congrats on the pic win and the sump is indeed looking huge! Can't wait to see everything wet. Do you have a webcam setup to monitor the sump, hence the anywhere in the world aspect?

I basically have a HD camera pointing at the tanks so if I get an alert from Apex I can check what’s happening. When I’m away I leave the cabinet doors open and then I can switch the light on via Apex and look inside

It’s very handy as an alert when you can’t see things is very worrying and it could easily be a defective float switch or something

 

[SPR1968]

So then a little up date of what’s been happening today.

The maintenance free (plastic) shed has been built and put into place along with the 2 425 litre water containers, one for RODI and one for fresh saltwater.

I supervised the build once again to make sure it was all done correctly ........ a builder does it properly, I get easily fed up or distracted and don’t......

And before anybody spots the brass outlets on the outside of the tanks, they’re undrilled so that’s just on the out side part, not inside which is sealed.

The shed isn’t finished yet as it’s going to be insulated with Kingspan insulation and then 12mm wooden panels will be installed throughout including the roof and it will also have a shelf above the tanks. This will mean I can attach other equipment like for example the UVC, Chiller, etc rather than having it under the sump.

Anyway pictures.......

 

[Janci]

Also the sump is huge, I’m not sure these pictures show it but it is

Looks like Christmas in there. With such a build, you are actually having Christmas till the end of the year....

Looks great, and yes hugeeeee

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Beautiful, that’s one good looking tank and nice choice of fish and corals. Well presented.

 

[Blutspitze]

Perfect fit of the tanks in the new shed - looking forward to seeing the final plumbing setup for the station. Lots of great and simplifying possibilities.

 

[SPR1968]

Looks like Christmas in there. With such a build, you are actually having Christmas till the end of the year....

Looks great, and yes hugeeeee

It is Jan it’s huge!

Beautiful, that’s one good looking tank and nice choice of fish and corals. Well presented.

Thank you so much and thanks for saying hello

Perfect fit of the tanks in the new shed - looking forward to seeing the final plumbing setup for the station. Lots of great and simplifying possibilities.

Well I spent 2 months measuring everything and deciding what size tanks I wanted, and yes these are a perfect fit, which clearly I was confident of, not!

When it was built I was looking at it thinking these tanks aren’t going to fit, so just had to measure them again, but of course the were a perfect snug fit..... ! Lol

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Nice water station setup. How did the plumbing get routed?

 

[SPR1968]

Nice water station setup. How did the plumbing get routed?

It’s not been done yet Rich

The plumbing for the tank sump is awaiting some joining pieces and the shed water plumbing is awaiting the builder doing it. It may get done today with the insulation but depends on the weather as it’s been raining here. And no I haven’t taken any pictures! Lol

 

[SPR1968]

I’m currently debating the sump cabinet lights. The LED strip ones I’ve installed in the cabinet seem to be peeling off, an effect of gravity, sunlight etc. I’m not going to permanently fasten them because they aren’t the best quality and I’m not screwing to the underside of the tank

The shed is not covering most of the patio doors now so there is a lot of natural light into the sump so it’s bright in the daytime, but I may need to address this (algae growth etc)

I basically want cool white or daylight white otherwise warm light which I have now makes the sump look dingy.

So I’m currently debating either these, which are the same/similar as in the 650 and are on a 12v transformer. I would also attach these with heavy duty Velcro which will hold them

https://www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/...lf_p6907505.html?category_id=4001&prm=1.4.1.1

But then I think why not something like this which is IP66 rated



The connecting to full electric concerns me a little, but then again this would be screwed to the wooden frame at the rear of the sump, so a permanent fixing. It would only be ‘on’ when I’m around so no real worries of electrical issues. But I’m concerned so will probably go with the ones above on the transformer which would be safer.

I’ve spent days trying to find something I like. Basically cool white, very bright (I mean very bright as I hate low light in a sump) and big enough to cover a 3 metre sump area, so any ideas greatly appreciated

 

[PanchoG]

Both options seem to be good for me, maybe a I am little bit more inclined for the Amazon one.

 

[SPR1968]

So back to the light dilemma

I think my problem is that I’ve stuck the lights to the wood, which is absorbent, and as ‘my builder’ has pointed out it won’t work long term. Infact it won’t work short term because their already hanging down.

So having located some more lights I’ve ordered 6 of these.

https://www.lightbulbs-direct.com/phoebe-600mm-8w-led-link-light-cool-white/

Now me being a super internet shopper, and with the principal watch the pennies and the pounds will watch themselves (just ignore the price of the equipment list for this paragraph!), I found the lights somewhere else, and then discovered these were being offered with a 50% price reduction and they also just plug in and can be linked together.

And although I only needed 5 lights, if I purchased 6 I got free postage so the 6th light was nearly free and I do like a bargain!

So with these which are better quality I might just get some very small, short screws and screw then to the wood under the tank, or use heavy duty Velcro with some Gorilla glue for good measure to bond to the wood.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

A free light shall never be turned away. Dilly dilly!

 

[SPR1968]

The shed has now been fitted with a 25mm layer of Kingspan Insulation material. This is really good stuff and should prevent any freezing temperature water issues inside.

Next step is to install 12mm of wood so that we can attach equipment and shelving to the walls.