Whip’s Red Sea Reefer XXL 750 Hybrid Bare Bottom Build

[Whip]

Yep, I've consolidated and didn't use them much although I'll probably end up with another 650 and maybe a Rock Chucker, who knows?

I still save my brass!

Instead of the Rock Chucker, I went with the 550 BL and use it as a single stage press for precision reloading (6.5 Creedmoor) and semi-quick production of .300 Blackout and .223. The Square Deal B’s are just for mass production of pistol ammo.

I had a full blown 650 with all the bells and whistles, but there was just too much going on (too many moving parts) and the changeovers were complicated and costly. I gave a friend a smoking deal on it.

 

[Hulley]

Instead of the Rock Chucker, I went with the 550 BL and use it as a single stage press for precision reloading (6.5 Creedmoor) and semi-quick production of .300 Blackout and .223. The Square Deal B’s are just for mass production of pistol ammo.

I had a full blown 650 with all the bells and whistles, but there was just too much going on (too many moving parts) and the changeovers were complicated and costly. I gave a friend a smoking deal on it.

Yep, I'm actually wanting a 6.5 Creedmoor for PRS and may add a .300blk to a SBR registered lower that I have. I could really crank out the 9mm on the 650 though!

Oh well, not to derail the thread too much.

 

[Whip]

Finally! Ordered 12/8, was scheduled to be delivered 12/21, and actually delivered 12/27. The wait was painful, but worth it!

It was meticulously packed and the packaging was first rate.

Now that it is here... time to do some crazy mods that I have conjured up during my dream state.

• Cut and peel the black background off (not including the overflow). After seeing this on the tank @Broadfield did, the before/after was amazing!
• Paint the interior white. The clean look it offers is simply amazing.
• Convert the piping to standard using the technique that Ryan @R&J Reefs did. A long, long, time ago, I used to be a pipefitter, so hopefully I’m not too rusty to make it look good. I’m going with red and white.
• Cut through the interior wall and plumb in an external, recirculating skimmer in the dry side of the cabinet.
• Purchase two side cabinets for all the electrical and (like @Broadfield did)... make it look cool! I will likely have to bore a hole through a side panel for that. Still debating this.

As you can imagine, some of these mods have me sweating bullets a little bit.

ETA: After seeing these online for so long, seeing it in person is crazy. These things are HUGE. Pictures don’t do it justice.

 

[Bfactor84]

I am fairly lazy/busy (not good in this hobby) and I absolutely hate going down to the LFS and getting buckets of RODI water. I figured acknowledging my laziness is the first step in making an effort to combat it. In doing so, I needed to design and construct a saltwater mixing station.

This system accomplishes the following:

• Upper Tank RODI Fill
• Upper to Lower Tank RODI Gravity Transfer
• Lower Tank Saltwater In-Tank Recirculation
• Upper Tank RODI Gavity Bucket Fill
• Lower Tank Saltwater Gravity Bucket Fill
• Upper Tank RODI Pump to Tank via Hose
• Lower Saltwater Pump to Tank via Hose

All of this is powered by a Pan World 50X.

Now (because my laziness knows no bounds) the next step is to run tubing from the garage (where the mixing station is located) to the den (where the tank is located). This is about 60 feet. I plan to set up a Neptune DOS and run black tubing (old saltwater removal/disposal) and white tubing (new saltwater feed). Since I’m in the attic, I’ll run some blue tubing (RODI feed), but I don’t plan on hooking that up yet as I’m nervous about live-feeding RODI top off.

I already have holes in the wall from my wall-mounted TV, so I’ll just repurpose them for the tubing feeds.

Just 0ut of curiosity, how do you get salt inside the bottom tank? gap between the top and bottom shelf looks really small.

 

[Whip]

Just 0ut of curiosity, how do you get salt inside the bottom tank? gap between the top and bottom shelf looks really small.

Thanks for checking out my build thread!

The angle of the camera shot makes it look tighter than it is and there is hollow cavity above the opening. If I had to do it over again, I would have given myself more room, but my ceiling is 10’-5” and the stacked unit is 9’-5”. I might have been able to snag another 6”.

Regardless, I can get my arm in it up to my elbow, so dumping salt cup by cup is the only way I can do it.

 

[Bfactor84]

Thanks for checking out my build thread!

The angle of the camera shot makes it look tighter than it is and there is hollow cavity above the opening. If I had to do it over again, I would have given myself more room, but my ceiling is 10’-5” and the stacked unit is 9’-5”. I might have been able to snag another 6”.

Regardless, I can get my arm in it up to my elbow, so dumping salt cup by cup is the only way I can do it.

Ahh ..... this will help: https://www.amazon.com/JUMBO-Scoop-...qid=1545945611&sr=8-18&keywords=plastic+scoop

 

[Whip]

So, in order to spread the cost of a new tank out, I started buying support equipment for it almost a year ago. One of the difficult things about that is you don’t have the tank/sump available to take measurements off of. One of the things I was stressing out about was that I wanted four Maxspect XF280’s on the back glass and I wasn’t sure they’d fit and trying to find inside dimensions of a RSR XXL 750 (or any tank for that matter) was like searching for a unicorn. Anyway, when this tank landed, that was the first thing I wanted to check out. Well, four don’t fit. On to Plan B:

Two XF280’s and two XF250’s will do the trick.

 

[Whip]

Ahh ..... this will help: https://www.amazon.com/JUMBO-Scoop-...qid=1545945611&sr=8-18&keywords=plastic+scoop

Yes it will!!! Thanks for the idea and link!

 

[Whip]

Busy day today...

First, let me say I am not a painter, but my OCD ways help out a bit.

I’ve been watching a lot of builds and I knew RSR XXL 750’s came with a black interior. I’m not a fan. I am sure it is a method to reduce cost in the manufacturing process, but it sucks nonetheless. I really like the look of white interiors. With that said... GAME ON!!!

I was reading an old thread where Daltrey was thinking about painting his interior (I don’t think he ended up doing it) and mentioned Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. I watched a video, read some reviews, and decided to pull the trigger (literally).

If you decide to do this, spend the extra $6 and get the spray can trigger.

Here is the primer:

Since I couldn’t find anyone that had painted the interior of a RSR, I ran an experiment on the extra toe board piece Red Sea gives you for the white or black option.

I did the following:

• Sand + Prime + Paint
• Sand + Paint
• Prime + Paint
• Paint

Here is my test coupon:

Here is the difference when sanded with 220 Grit:

Here is the particulate that comes off when sanded:

Now I wanted the “just paint” to work, but my results were as follows:

Even though I didn’t wait for the entire cure time, I could tell what was going to work and what wasn’t. My project just got a bit more work intensive... I had to Sand + Prime + Paint. Brutal.

I had to intensely review the instructions to see and understand which pieces would have black exposed interior surfaces. I have my fingers crossed that I painted the right side. We will find out tomorrow.

Time to sand...

Now to wipe off the particulate...

Primer (first coat)...

After several coats of primer and paint, I had to put them inside to fully cure... my garage was too cold.

I went through about five cans of paint and primer.

If you do this, there is a re-coat and/or top coat window that you should follow religiously... the prime was 30 minutes and the epoxy was 60 minutes.

 

[Whip]

Getting ready to move some glass!

Special shoutout to @ESH (Eric) for sharing where he got his suction cups and some tips on how they operate. I went with a slightly less expensive version so I could get four rather than two for about the same price. Less capacity, but four should do the trick.

I have a hole saw kit, but it is a cheap set. If I am going to be cutting holes in this cabinet, I needed a good set.

https://www.amazon.com/Woods-Powr-Grip-N4000-Vacuum-Handle/dp/B000LDEH64

 

[CMO]

Great build with some unique ideas! Love the hybrid sandless rock bottom idea and look forward to seeing it in the tank.

Following.

 

[Whip]

Great build with some unique ideas! Love the hybrid sandless rock bottom idea and look forward to seeing it in the tank.

Following.

Thank you for the comments!

I need to get back on the rock work. I have 100 pounds of Pukani that will sit on top of the Tonga baseplates. At current, I am trying some different scapes out. I’ll post them soon.

 

[csund]

I am fairly lazy/busy (not good in this hobby) and I absolutely hate going down to the LFS and getting buckets of RODI water. I figured acknowledging my laziness is the first step in making an effort to combat it. In doing so, I needed to design and construct a saltwater mixing station.

This system accomplishes the following:

• Upper Tank RODI Fill
• Upper to Lower Tank RODI Gravity Transfer
• Lower Tank Saltwater In-Tank Recirculation
• Upper Tank RODI Gavity Bucket Fill
• Lower Tank Saltwater Gravity Bucket Fill
• Upper Tank RODI Pump to Tank via Hose
• Lower Saltwater Pump to Tank via Hose

All of this is powered by a Pan World 50X.

Now (because my laziness knows no bounds) the next step is to run tubing from the garage (where the mixing station is located) to the den (where the tank is located). This is about 60 feet. I plan to set up a Neptune DOS and run black tubing (old saltwater removal/disposal) and white tubing (new saltwater feed). Since I’m in the attic, I’ll run some blue tubing (RODI feed), but I don’t plan on hooking that up yet as I’m nervous about live-feeding RODI top off.

I already have holes in the wall from my wall-mounted TV, so I’ll just repurpose them for the tubing feeds.

Very nice setup! Are those containers a true 18x18”?

 

[Whip]

Very nice setup! Are those containers a true 18x18”?

Thanks for the comments!

Yes, the vessel has a true 18” X 18” footprint.

 

[ESH]

Looking awesome so far! Glad you were able to pick up some suction cups! Can’t wait to see your build progress!

 

[Whip]

Done!

Overall, my wife said my paint job “looks factory”.

Let me know what you think about a “white” RSR!

Anyway, my OCD ways paid off when it came to masking the parts off.

As mentioned before, it is really difficult to determine what black internal surfaces will be shown and need to be painted white. I almost got it right... except I forgot a board that was front and center and needed to be painted white. Brutal. It set me back about five hours. Here is the board! :mad:

And here is what a RSR XXL 750 looks like with white internals!

 

[Hulley]

That looks fantastic! The sump area will really look so much brighter!

 

[Crabby48]

That looks fantastic! The sump area will really look so much brighter!

It came out great. It’s a shame the white stand is black inside.

 

[Whip]

That looks fantastic! The sump area will really look so much brighter!

Thanks Hulley! It is a lot brighter. I've started looking into plumbing that'll look good with the white.

It came out great. It’s a shame the white stand is black inside.

Thanks Crabby. I agree completely. I almost went with the peninsula model in white just because the interior was white, but even though it was more work, going with a 750 in white and converting the interior to white was the right way to go for what I was wanting.

 

[Whip]

Sump plumbing ISO.

Nothing is to scale, but it gives a good idea of the plan.

Pump 2 can be valved in to serve as a back up, but will normally feed the manifold and UV.

All piping is 1".

UV is 1-1/2" bushed down to 1".

Pumps are 1-1/4" bushed down to 1".