Trying to "do it right": My RedSea Reefer-S 850

[beesnreefs]

Tomorrow is the day!!!

In the meantime, late last week I got notification from @AquaBiomics that they had a batch of clean live ocean sand available. So I ordered a pound and it was delivered today, just in time to go in the new system tomorrow. Between the OceanDirect sand and this stuff from AquaBiomics I’m confident I’m seeding this system with a clean, healthy microbiome from the start

 

[beesnreefs]

Why the sad face @Sean Clark ?

 

[Sean Clark]

I love the live sand seeding of any reef tank. The @AquaBiomics is the sad part. I wish the best for your tank.

 

[beesnreefs]

I love the live sand seeding of any reef tank. The @AquaBiomics is the sad part. I wish the best for your tank.

Can you say more? I’d like to understand what makes the AquaBiomics the sad part…

 

[swallace]

Can you say more? I’d like to understand what makes the AquaBiomics the sad part…

Yeah same here.

@beesnreefs any reason you chose them over Indo-Pacific Sea Farms?

 

[beesnreefs]

Yeah same here.

@beesnreefs any reason you chose them over Indo-Pacific Sea Farms?

I’ll actually use both.

I hadn’t planned on getting the AquaBiomics live sand, to be honest. I had signed up to be notified of availability a long time ago, thinking if use it to boost the biome in my current 65g system. When I got the email last week and saw the timing of shipping it just made sense to get a pound to add to the new build.

I’ve used IPSF in the past and had some great success. Gerald is fantastic and the products he provides are incredible.

Given the package I’ll be getting from IPSF will contain miso crustaceans like mini brittle stars, snails, etc, Gerald advised me to wait until the tank is definitely nitrogen cycled before getting the package from him. So that’s my plan

 

[Chrisv.]

I love the live sand seeding of any reef tank. The @AquaBiomics is the sad part. I wish the best for your tank.

I still need to watch the video!

 

[swallace]

I’ll actually use both.

I hadn’t planned on getting the AquaBiomics live sand, to be honest. I had signed up to be notified of availability a long time ago, thinking if use it to boost the biome in my current 65g system. When I got the email last week and saw the timing of shipping it just made sense to get a pound to add to the new build.

I’ve used IPSF in the past and had some great success. Gerald is fantastic and the products he provides are incredible.

Given the package I’ll be getting from IPSF will contain miso crustaceans like mini brittle stars, snails, etc, Gerald advised me to wait until the tank is definitely nitrogen cycled before getting the package from him. So that’s my plan

Yeah, you definitely want the tank cycled so that does make sense. Good luck - I bet you are excited to get it up and running.

 

[beesnreefs]

It’s here!!!!! I can’t even begin to express my excitement.

My LFS (Biggs Lagoon in Firestone, CO - huge shoutout to the Nelson family and Mike) showed up with the tank, stand, and water this morning. Together the three of us spent about 9 hours setting everything up. It was a blast.

Biggest challenge was hanging the lights, three ATI Stratons. Lining yo the grommets to the lights were spaced right, lined up, and centered over the tank was….entertaining. But the Biggs Boys came through! These lights look CLEAN. So glad I went with them and decided to use the standard hanging kit. Love the look!

Used 120 lbs of OceanDirect and added a pound of AquaBiomics clean live sand to the sump. HYDROS (Pro pack with Xp4 and Xp8) set up along with a Wave Engine. Skimmer installed (off for now while tank cycles). Helio heater system setup and running. Two Sicce 7.0 pumps dialed in at 60%. Running like a well oiled machine…and omg is this tank QUIET!

Cloudiness from the OceanDirect is almost gone already just a couple of hours later.

I’m in heaven. So excited to get this journey going!

With the sand I’m using no bottled bacteria is necessary. I threw an algae tab in the sump to ghost feed the system. I head out of town for a work trip tomorrow so I’ll be testing ammonia, nitrite, nitrate when I’m back in town on Tuesday afternoon. Plan to continue ghost feeding until the first fish come - a trio of Lyretail anthias from @tsmaquatics, set to arrive on August 19th.

Some pictures below from today’s install party:

 

[Av8tor2]

NICE. Looks great.

I see the foreman (the cat) gave the go ahead to put the tank in place!

 

[beesnreefs]

A couple of notes from my install day:

• Despite months of planning, I still missed some things. For instance, getting a power strip simply didn't occur to me. I guess I figured with the HYDROS Pro Pack (X4 & XP8 with 8 outlets) I wouldn't need one...I did. Haha.
• Because I was planning on running the system with no lights for the first month I figured I'd install the Startons later. My LFS convinced me otherwise and I'm so glad I listened to them. Hanging lights that require this much precision with placement would have been darn near impossible over a running tank.
• I love the HYDROS system and have been using it joyfully on my 65g system for almost 2 years. So of course I went with the same on this one. Didn't even occur to me until installation that the 4k Gyre that comes with the WaveEngine does not come with the connectors to plug the gyres into the WE. I love what @CoralVue_Marketing has with the HYDROS system but this is a pretty big what the heck. I had to make a run to the LFS to buy the connectors.
• RedSea shipped the wrong slider mounts for the slide-out panel in the stand. I'm going to have to reach out to them to get the right parts so, for now, my electronics bay is a big mess. Looking forward to working with RedSea's customer service for the first time.
• CaribSea's sand calculator was wayyy off. It said I'd need 5 bags of the OceanDirect to get the coverage & depth I wanted. I only needed 3 bags. Thankfully the LFS took the 2 extras back and gave me full credit.
• OceanDirect does make the system cloudy....it's almost cleared out 12 hours later but I suspect it'll be a couple of days before it really polishes out. No worries, though....the biome advantage makes it well worthwhile in my eyes.

 

[blaxsun]

Does OceanDirect include a clarity packet like CaribSea? I've had really good success with Red Sea customer support - so here's hoping they can help sort you out. Do you plan to mount the electronics right to the slide-out panel or are you going to mount something like an Adaptive Reef panel to the slide-out panel? (I've seen a few setups where this looked really slick)

Looks like the cat directed the action and the dogs earned a much-deserved nap.

 

[beesnreefs]

Does OceanDirect include a clarity packet like CaribSea? I've had really good success with Red Sea customer support - so here's hoping they can help sort you out. Do you plan to mount the electronics right to the slide-out panel or are you going to mount something like an Adaptive Reef panel to the slide-out panel? (I've seen a few setups where this looked really slick)

Looks like the cat directed the action and the dogs earned a much-deserved nap.

It did include the clarity packs and they seemed to help a lot. I think the cloudiness would have been significantly worse without them.

I am planning on mounting all the electronics and will definitely look into the Adaptive Reef panel! Thanks for the suggestions. Do you, by chance, have any links to others with a similar system to mine that have used those panels? I'd love to see images for inspiration.

Yeah, the cat needs to supervise everything....haha.

 

[blaxsun]

It did include the clarity packs and they seemed to help a lot. I think the cloudiness would have been significantly worse without them.

I am planning on mounting all the electronics and will definitely look into the Adaptive Reef panel! Thanks for the suggestions. Do you, by chance, have any links to others with a similar system to mine that have used those panels? I'd love to see images for inspiration.

Yeah, the cat needs to supervise everything....haha.

I'm trying to find the system where I saw it (I of course "watched" instead of bookmarking, so I have to sift through a few threads...)

Here's one with just the Red Sea slide-out panel:

Large Build - Red Sea S-1000 Build

Well..... After 3 tank upgrades in the past year and a half, I think I might be able to find some time to share my journey with you all!!! I have had freshwater Cichlid tanks for the past 15 years or so and decided to try saltwater Nov. 2020. I started with a 36 gallon bow front. I then picked...

www.reef2reef.com

Here's one with (I believe) the Adaptive Reef cabinet like I have on my 750XXL:

Large Build - RedSea Reefer S-1000 Build

Dream build - love your thread and progress!

www.reef2reef.com

Here's another Red Sea slide-out panel:

Build Thread - Antics - Red Sea Reefer XL 300 G2

Great start! looking forward to seeing the progress on this.

www.reef2reef.com

My friend Susan's dosing setup on her Red Sea slide-out panel:

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

So help me G-- if any of them hatch and become baby DD's Awe, but they'll be sooo cute... :face-blowing-a-kiss:

www.reef2reef.com

This thread has lots of configurations:

controller board which one if any?

Hi My wires are a mess even when I tried to clean them up. I'm hoping a board will help almost solve that issue. I did just get an apex also. If a board is a good idea which one? https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/basic-aquarium-controller-board-black-adaptive-reef.html or...

www.reef2reef.com

..........

I couldn't find the exact image of the system I saw on R2R, but basically they mounted their controllers to the Adaptive Reef panel, bundled up the cords behind it and then screwed that directly into the Red Sea slide-out control panel.

 

[beesnreefs]

I'm trying to find the system where I saw it (I of course "watched" instead of bookmarking, so I have to sift through a few threads...)

Here's one with just the Red Sea slide-out panel:

Large Build - Red Sea S-1000 Build

Well..... After 3 tank upgrades in the past year and a half, I think I might be able to find some time to share my journey with you all!!! I have had freshwater Cichlid tanks for the past 15 years or so and decided to try saltwater Nov. 2020. I started with a 36 gallon bow front. I then picked...

www.reef2reef.com

Here's one with (I believe) the Adaptive Reef cabinet like I have on my 750XXL:

Large Build - RedSea Reefer S-1000 Build

Dream build - love your thread and progress!

www.reef2reef.com

Here's another Red Sea slide-out panel:

Build Thread - Antics - Red Sea Reefer XL 300 G2

Great start! looking forward to seeing the progress on this.

www.reef2reef.com

My friend Susan's dosing setup on her Red Sea slide-out panel:

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

So help me G-- if any of them hatch and become baby DD's Awe, but they'll be sooo cute... :face-blowing-a-kiss:

www.reef2reef.com

This thread has lots of configurations:

controller board which one if any?

Hi My wires are a mess even when I tried to clean them up. I'm hoping a board will help almost solve that issue. I did just get an apex also. If a board is a good idea which one? https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/basic-aquarium-controller-board-black-adaptive-reef.html or...

www.reef2reef.com

..........

I couldn't find the exact image of the system I saw on R2R, but basically they mounted their controllers to the Adaptive Reef panel, bundled up the cords behind it and then screwed that directly into the Red Sea slide-out control panel.

Wow - THANK YOU for sharing all those links! That’s incredibly helpful. Lots of good inspiration there

 

[beesnreefs]

Set up the HYDROS system. It gave an option to enter the tank name.

This system shall heretofore be known as “BigAssJoy”

 

[beesnreefs]

Seeded my first batch of copepods yesterday. Took advantage of @AlgaeBarn current sale and grabbed a four-pack of Galaxy pods (love that it includes five species!). One bottle went in the sump, 3 in the display.

I’ve been ghost feeding algae tabs into the sump every 2-3 days. I’ll now add phyto to the display as well daily to support the pods.

Lights are still off to allow bacteria to grow without competition from photosynthetics.

I have a package of biome goodies coming from Indo Pacific Sea Farms coming in 8 days…live sand, live mud, amphipods, micro brittle stars, micro hermits, some small snails, etc.

First fish coming in 9 days!

 

[gbru316]

Following as I'm in the planning stage for a similar size tank.

Looks good so far!

 

[beesnreefs]

Following as I'm in the planning stage for a similar size tank.

Looks good so far!

So far I absolutely love this tank! The build of everything is solid, beautiful, and functional. Excited to see what you end up putting together!

 

[gbru316]

So far I absolutely love this tank! The build of everything is solid, beautiful, and functional. Excited to see what you end up putting together!

I'm still unsure of what tank I want to start with -- Red Sea, Cade, Waterbox, etc but we're planning major renovations within the next year and the tank isn't happening until after they're complete so I've got plenty of time to decide.

TBH, the only thing really holding me back from RS is the seam issue.