SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[SuncrestReef]

My acan colony is doing really well, with great coloration and polyp extension. Take a look at how it moves in the water flow:

 

[EHaddad]

What fitting did you use here? I am guessing it is to adapt from metric to standard.

 

[SuncrestReef]

What fitting did you use here? I am guessing it is to adapt from metric to standard.

I answered this same question in post # 136 in this thread. Click here to see it.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I got my ICP test results today. It shows high Arsenic, low Iodine, and low Strontium. The arsenic is concerning, both for the aquarium and our drinking water. The EPA acceptable level is 10 ppb (or 0.01 ppm), so my water was over 3x the limit. Apparently RO/DI filters out certain types of arsenic, but not all without a pre-oxidizing it first to go from As (III) to As (V). I'm going to test the tap water next to see if the water going to my RO/DI is the source, or if something else I put into the tank caused it.



My last test back in July showed low Silver, low Bromine, high Copper, and low Iodine:

 

[SuncrestReef]

My tank only gets a few minutes of direct sunlight each day in December and January when the sun is low in the southern sky. It makes for a great fish shadow puppet display on my wall!

 

[NY_Caveman]

I need a curse word adjective to express how cool that really is. Great eye, friend.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I'm in the planning stages of adding an addition onto our house. My design goals include:

• 6' peninsula aquarium
• Dedicated fish room
• Billiards room
• Cocktail bar
• Larger, multi-level deck
• Built-in BBQ
• Hot tub

Here's the current partial floor plan of the living room/kitchen/deck:

Here's the new floor plan showing the addition with the peninsula tank and adjacent fish room:

Current exterior:

New exterior:

Here's a rendering from a viewpoint in the kitchen of the new peninsula aquarium and dedicated fish room as a divider between the living room and the new billiards/bar room:


These are still pipe-dream plans. I'm still working out the design details, financing, and approval from the wife!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Wow, very nice!

 

[datBme150]

It might be super cool to turn that peninsula tank into an in wall in the fish room.

 

[SuncrestReef]

My tap water ICP test shows zero arsenic. That's a relief!

Must be something I'm putting into my tank that introduced it. I'm sending in a sample of RO/DI to test next.

Tap water results:

 

[SuncrestReef]

It's just very calming when I sit and watch my chaeto tumbling in the refugium:

 

[Heisenberg 78]

Following.. great invention

 

[Heisenberg 78]

Following.. great invention

 

[Scubabum]

Just saw your vid on FB. Following along. Awesome build.

 

[Chris155hp]

WOW Great Thread and love the cheato chamber. might give that a shot!

 

[SuncrestReef]

My plate coral was trying to swallow a large chunk of food, and almost did it, until a fish swooped in and stole the food. Here's a time lapse video:

 

[RJ Murphy]

Almost had it all.

 

[Chris155hp]

Input Feed:

• 3/8" bulkhead, push connect on both ends
• 3/8" push connect elbow (qty 2)
• 3/8" push connect T fitting
• 3/8" push connect straight coupler
• 3/8" poly tubing

Where Did you purchase these from as im having trouble finding them?

Also im converting my sump Refugium section of my sump to do the same setup as you but its larger should i stick to 3/8 or go with 1/2" in your opinion?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Where Did you purchase these from as im having trouble finding them?

Also im converting my sump Refugium section of my sump to do the same setup as you but its larger should i stick to 3/8 or go with 1/2" in your opinion?

I got those fittings from MistKing.com, a supplier for mist irrigation supplies: https://www.mistking.com/Value-Fittings.html

Here are some of the part numbers:
Val38BH3 - Value 3/8" Bulkhead with O-Ring
Val38T12 - Value 3/8" Tee
Val38EL2 - Value 3/8" Elbow

As for your question about 3/8" vs. 1/2", I guess it depends on your refugium size and water flow. Mine is a 3.5 gallon Red Sea ATO reservoir, and the 3/8" tubing fed by a Neptune PMUP provides just enough flow to keep my chaeto tumbling gently. If you have a larger fuge, then maybe 1/2" and a stronger pump would be better, but I can't say for sure what would work best for you.

 

[Mystikal]

It's just very calming when I sit and watch my chaeto tumbling in the refugium:

That Cheato light is amazing. I love it because it’s a slim design.

 

[SuncrestReef]

My tank suffered a setback in December when I lost nearly a dozen corals to brown jelly syndrome. Things have been slowly improving, and several corals that were in bad shape are now looking good again. I'm finally feeling good about the tank again!

Here are some shots I took this morning:











I need to do something about this patch of algae next to my Oregon Tort. That's the only spot in the tank with algae, and my emerald crabs won't touch it:


Not all the corals fared so well. This is all that's left of my green slimer: