Susan's RS Reefer 3xl 900 Fantasy-Dream Build

[Susan Edwards]

If you want I can post a few pictures of my sump and wiring so you can see how I set things up.

Yes please!! I'm going to do a cardboard mock up. So if you can provide wxdxh inside that'd be awesome.

I'll check with the lfs guy on the UV's but that is what he recommended yesterday. As I don't plan to do any QT, I figure I need the UV! I've lost more fish doing QT!

 

[Susan Edwards]

Tip: Invest in about a dozen 1’, 3’ and 6’ extension cables (I can give you the Amazon links if you want). When I did my wiring I wired the extensions from my outlets to the main tank area, and then bundled the cords for everything. This way, when I need to remove stuff for maintenance I can pull out the whole skimmer, reactor (etc.) without having to rip out all the wiring.

That would also be good. I think I used some of the 1' and 3' before but show me what you used. Current tank has cable channels and it was a pain to undo to get powerheads out for cleaning. Never got it back together.
This time, anything that might need removing/replacing will be separate. Here is part
of what we did for the 125g

you don't have a build thread?

 

[blaxsun]

Yes please!! I'm going to do a cardboard mock up. So if you can provide wxdxh inside that'd be awesome.

I'll check with the lfs guy on the UV's but that is what he recommended yesterday. As I don't plan to do any QT, I figure I need the UV! I've lost more fish doing QT!

Please refer to the following diagram for my sump dimensions. The post-filter chamber is 24.6" x 8.85". This is where I have my two MarinePure bio blocks and the Sicce Silent 2.0. The second chamber is 24.6" x 11.3", and I have the Nyos 160 and pair of Nyos Torq reactors located there.

In the following image you can see how I've jury-rigged my UV. The Sicce Silent is on the far left by my frag rack and Neptune probes and helps keep water circulating in that section. The UV is just hung off the RO reservoir and pulls water from the front section to the rear. It's not perfect, but I still have room to reach in and easily maintain and clean anything.



I just ran all the cabling along the pipes to keep it well out of contact with any water. On the left above the yellow and green zip ties you can see the ends of the extension cords I was referring to (these are wired back to the Neptune energy bars). Anything I need to physically remove is wired this way so I don't have to re-wire everything, which is a major pain as there's little if any room to maneuver when the RO reservoir is in-place.

 

[blaxsun]

The pair of 15-watt UVs you plan to run may be enough - you just need to check the flow/radiation rating for each. The magic number you want is 90,000. If you're hard plumbing these into your mains (which is what many do), you just need to ensure that you have enough return flow for your tank that also doesn't exceed the maximum flow for each UV to hit 90,000 radiation.

 

[Susan Edwards]

so your sump is the same one in the 3xl 900? I wish they'd put inches on the drawings lol's. will have to go convert! I asked the lfs for pricing on UV so he'll give me the brand and more info that I can then search on. What does your tank look like? Share?

 

[blaxsun]

so your sump is the same one in the 3xl 900? I wish they'd put inches on the drawings lol's. will have to go convert! I asked the lfs for pricing on UV so he'll give me the brand and more info that I can then search on. What does your tank look like? Share?

No, the sump on the 750 XXL is smaller overall. The sump on the 900 3XL is larger when you include the split sump portion. Yes, everything is metric so you have to convert.

This isn’t the greatest photo (I didn’t have a filter on), but you can see our happy reef inhabitants and the rockscape. We went with a low profile marco shelf rockscape that’s probably about 40-45% of the tank height (less incentives for jumping fish when they’re chasing each other around near the bottom of the tank). I’m running a pair of Radion XR30’s and a single XR15 in the middle, and a pair of ReefWave45’s on either end facing inwards.

Right now I’m hovering around 20 fish.

 

[fishguy242]

found ya'..3pgs...
loooong day today,will catch up in morning...
Happy 4th ..have a great night.

PS: scape looks awesome..;HappyLOL'S...

 

[Susan Edwards]

Just a FYI, the 225-micron nylon socks that Red Sea typically includes are useless - and will end up snagging in the laundry (you can keep them for a backup or something for Rupert to play with!) You'll want either the 100-micron sock filters or the 225-micron sock filters. The 100-micron catch significantly more but the 225-micron offer less maintenance (since they filter less). The 225-microns can be advantageous for when you go on holidays.

So you're using the felt socks? I'm checking BRS website to see what I need.

 

[blaxsun]

So you're using the felt socks? I'm checking BRS website to see what I need.

Yes. The 225-micron nylon ones will let a lot through (more than the 225-micron felt). The 100-micron felt is my preference, as they trap an insane amount of stuff.

 

[Susan Edwards]

found ya'..3pgs...
loooong day today,will catch up in morning...
Happy 4th ..have a great night.

PS: scape looks awesome..;HappyLOL'S...

Nice!!!! And thanks. Now to start cementing!

 

[Susan Edwards]

So I may have an answer as to why I can't keep LPS corals. Or SPS in my 125 g tank. I think my ginormous toadstool is putting out toxins. It is so huge, and as the clowns host it, I think it is always irritated

So it is not going into the new tank. If I can't find a new home for it, I'll put it in the observation tank, but it is actually too big for that tank, esp. with 2 white Tipped leathers.

It's a relief to know probably what has been going on, but also a reason/excuse not to put that huge thing in my new tank. So no leathers unless I get a true weeping Japanese willow. Those I love

 

[Susan Edwards]

OMG today started out with a huge happy: I was the chosen winner of the marco rock giveaway. That was a thrill. And then a "What?" If you saw my pics above you know how much rock I just picked up this last weekend (245lbs). So I did the sensible thing to do and asked Daniel to do a redraw! I like to enter contests to support R2R.

Then I got another happy-good-news from this thread https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/page-72#post-9132741

I won't have to do a separate cycle! I think pages 70 or 71-72 have my posts which I will be referring back too! By putting in the few rocks with corals on them (NOT the leather!), and if I choose to add more rock to the sump, that takes care of my cycle.

So my plan is (subject to change)
Day 1:
-Tank up, sand and water added. Add rocks with corals and get them into the rockscape.
-Add rock into the sump refug area to get pods going.
-Add bottle bacteria even though Brandon says not needed. Probably do Prime and or stability as well. A bit of redundacy I know.

Day 2:
-Remove all rock from old tank except where the goby/shrimp liveIf parameters okay and temp/salinity, add fish.
-catch and transfer fish to new tank. Goby and shrimp last.
-Decide what to do with clean up crew. Move them over and feed extra? Tie small piece of shrimp to a weight and put in? Hmm....

Jazzed I don't have to wait.

 

[blaxsun]

I dosed my tank with Bio-Spira and moved everything within 24 hours, so it’s definitely doable if you have existing seeded rock. Don’t forget to turn your skimmer off for a few days if you go this route.

I also seeded the new rock in a rubbermaid tub for a few weeks prior using old tank water, filter floss, etc. (kept it heated and circulated)

I moved the cleanup crew when they were easy to snag, and scooped up any remnants after all the rock, corals and fish were moved and was sifting through the substrate for stragglers.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Thanks @blaxsun. I always use biospira and I'll prob. use one other. Fritz or the brightwell one. That sounds a plan with the cuc. i'll have to check rocks for the bumble bee snails too. Why turn off skimmer? Tank will be cloudy from sand, right?

If I had some spare tubs/totes/brutes I'd put the completed rockscapes in water but all brutes will be needed for water to fill the tank! Plus, the water would add weight to the rocks to be added. 1 structure is 45ish lbs, 1 at 31 lbs.

My watermaking plan:
30 gal brute
30 gal brute
20 gal brute (might use this for ato later)
30 gal brute of old tank water cycling for additional bacteria
65 gal saltwater storage ready to fill above brutes
65 gal RO water storage ready to mix up more saltwater if needed.

The above gives me exactly 240 gal! Which with rock and sand added, and the sump not filled to top, should be more than enough!!

 

[blaxsun]

Depending on the substrate you’re going with, I’d leave most of the equipment out of your sump if you’re going with the live stuff. It left a film on everything which was a bit of work cleaning up (less so with nothing in the sump). I went with the pump, heaters and 4x 100-micron sock filters. Everything else got added post-cleanup (including various probes, which I then didn’t have to wipe and recalibrate).

The skimmer will probably go into overdrive and end up just foaming over anyway, and then you’ll have to clean it top to bottom to get that white film from the live sand out. Those clarifying packets work wonders!

You can still pre-wire everything and get it all ready to go and just add after everything once it has settled down (typically within 24 hours).

 

[blaxsun]

Tip for cleaning your sump: I invested in a Sicce Zero Utility pump that I can just plop in the sump and suck everything out from any chamber. It’s all plastic/ceramic and can even suck out any loose particles (etc.) and leaves it surprisingly clean. I connect it to a 10’ Python extension hose and Python hook for ease of use. You can easily run the output through a 100-micron sock filter to pickup all the crap, then reverse and pump the water back in. Works slick!

 

[Reverend Turtle]

If you are going to spend the money, get a single Pentair UV sterilizer, especially since you are more after parasite control than algae. I think the 40 watt unit is rated for a tank your, but the flow rate is much lower for parasites, so low I would run a separate pump from your returns.
Here's a link to BRS website you can check out what they recommend flow wise. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/emperor-aquatics-smart-uv-40-watt.html

 

[fishguy242]

...
@blaxsun .....nice reef,great info...nice..

 

[Susan Edwards]

Tip for cleaning your sump: I invested in a Sicce Zero Utility pump that I can just plop in the sump and suck everything out from any chamber. It’s all plastic/ceramic and can even suck out any loose particles (etc.) and leaves it surprisingly clean. I connect it to a 10’ Python extension hose and Python hook for ease of use. You can easily run the output through a 100-micron sock filter to pickup all the crap, then reverse and pump the water back in. Works slick!

what a great idea!!

 

[Susan Edwards]

what a great idea!!

I was going to try this when I vacuum sand bed. Just run hose into sump sock (fresh) vacuum into the sump and let return pump it right back into display. If I do a 1 gal water change daily, this should do the trick unless I need a major change