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

[Whip]

dude those raceways look amazing! I am gonna steel that idea for my 750...if it ever gets up and running.

on a side note you could sell your old plumping. heck I would take it off your hands I like your manifold better than mine anyway.

@Devaji , my friend, sorry... it has already been spoken for. Another member has been building a XXL 750 and requested the pipe. I am just having him pay shipping. Sorry man.

PS - I have been watching your thread. I am hoping you get that 750 up and running. Good luck!

 

[Devaji]

@Devaji , my friend, sorry... it has already been spoken for. Another member has been building a XXL 750 and requested the pipe. I am just having him pay shipping. Sorry man.

PS - I have been watching your thread. I am hoping you get that 750 up and running. Good luck!

oh no worries I was half joking anyway. glad it's going to a good home.
yeah once we figure out if we are going to move or not its game on. until then i am setitng up a nano ...haha needed a reef tank.

keep the up dates coming excited to see this mature!

 

[Blutspitze]

Nice update with the raceways for the cables - keeps the whole look very clean for sure. Any particular reason for the change from red to orange? Just..... because?

 

[Whip]

Nice update with the raceways for the cables - keeps the whole look very clean for sure. Any particular reason for the change from red to orange? Just..... because?

I am going orange just because... a looooong time ago, I used to be a pipe fitter and welder, so I kind of enjoy fabricating intricate piping runs. Anyway, here is the finished product...

(and, yes, because I can’t leave well enough alone.... I am going to paint the valve handles orange too).

The header is just mocked up. I don’t know if I am going to have the tees drop vertical or horizontal. Regardless, they will be bushed down to 1/2”, then feed a 1/2” gate valve. The 1” 90 and gate valve on the left hand side will feed a flowmeter and UV sterilizer.

 

[NY_Caveman]

I am going orange just because... a looooong time ago, I used to be a pipe fitter and welder, so I kind of enjoy fabricating intricate piping runs. Anyway, here is the finished product...

(and, yes, because I can’t leave well enough alone.... I am going to paint the valve handles orange too).

The header is just mocked up. I don’t know if I am going to have the tees drop vertical or horizontal. Regardless, they will be bushed down to 1/2”, then feed a 1/2” gate valve. The 1” 90 and gate valve on the left hand side will feed a flowmeter and UV sterilizer.

Wow, nice job!

 

[Blutspitze]

Wow! The new piping looks great! Very clean install and so precise. Love to see builds like that.

 

[ScottW]

Great job on the build! Looks fantastic!

 

[Diesel48]

Beautiful work!

 

[Paul R Barnhart]

I would be interested in knowing what uv sterilizer you plan to have. I cannot find any that will fit in that location and still have the doors close. Awesome setup! Following!

 

[naterealbig]

Man definitely jealous of the new plumbing setup. It looks super sharp. Great attention to detail, and I'm happy to see I'm not the only one taking time with my build.

Cheers!

 

[SneakyTortuga]

WOW! This has to be the cleanest plumbing install I’ve seen in awhile! Well done! Overall your attention to detail is something to strive towards. Even the single cable raceways is next level!
Following along!

 

[Whip]

I would be interested in knowing what uv sterilizer you plan to have. I cannot find any that will fit in that location and still have the doors close. Awesome setup! Following!

Paul,

I am going with the Pentair Aquatics 40W. I have been following another reefer’s build thread that is using it in another location on his tank and he has been feeding me specific dimensions that I have been asking for. Based on his dimensions, it can be installed horizontally beneath the ceiling of the sump compartment. It’ll be a tight fit and NOT ideally installed to reduce air entrapment and for cleaning/bulb replacement, but it should fit

Man definitely jealous of the new plumbing setup. It looks super sharp. Great attention to detail, and I'm happy to see I'm not the only one taking time with my build.

Cheers!

naterealbig,

Thanks for following along and I am in the process of reading your build thread too.

I am finding that taking my time during the build has become quite rewarding. Some examples are:

1. After five months, I am still lightless. I have changed my mind on which lights I am going to go with at least five times and haven’t spent a dollar. Normally, I would have bought the wrong lights by now and would be regretting it. Ultimately, I would sell the wrong lights and buy new wrong lights. Patience is letting me take time to research the RIGHT lights.

2. I am able to tweak and tune the tank with zero pressure of losing coral (or fish). For instance, I started running two 800W heaters. They were tripping my breaker (now replaced as it was faulty) and in my research, I found I was risking overloading my Neptune EB832’s, so I went to two 300W heaters. Well, the weather just changed and I found out that I need to change at least on of them to a 500W. I also was worried about constantly cyclIng my EB832’s, so I bought two Finnex controllers. Now, the EB832’s don’t get cycled unless something really bad is about to happen.

There has to be ten other real simple revelations that I went through that made me appreciate how slow my build is going.

WOW! This has to be the cleanest plumbing install I’ve seen in awhile! Well done! Overall your attention to detail is something to strive towards. Even the single cable raceways is next level!
Following along!

SneakyTortuga,

Thanks for the compliment! I am finding my OCD ways to be quite rewarding during this build. Even better, I am getting a lot of help from people making sure my attention to detail follows logic and I don’t sacrifice function over fit and form.

 

[Devaji]

man that sump looks good, when I get mine moved to the new house if we ever get that project finished I need to take a long slow look at your plumping and redo mine.

I was thinking of the pentar UV ran in the sump as well so i'll just kick back and see how you do it and just copy as you will do it better anyway so no need to reinvent the wheel.

I do wonder about a horzentail mount tho?

BTW that is a ton of filter media on the sump :O

 

[Whip]

man that sump looks good, when I get mine moved to the new house if we ever get that project finished I need to take a long slow look at your plumping and redo mine.

I was thinking of the pentar UV ran in the sump as well so i'll just kick back and see how you do it and just copy as you will do it better anyway so no need to reinvent the wheel.

I do wonder about a horzentail mount tho?

BTW that is a ton of filter media on the sump :O

Devaji,

I’ll let you know how the UV sterilizer goes in. I am going with a slight uphill slope to mitigate any air entrapment. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Because my DT is bare bottom with a “slightly” minimalist look to it, I wanted to make sure I had enough surface area to house beneficial bacteria. After some thought, I even found room for more by removing two filter media cups and replacing them more MarinePure Spheres.

ETA - I used white corrugated plastic to make the blanks. It’s the same stuff they use on signs (open house, election, for sale, etc.). You can pick it up at Home Depot.

 

[Devaji]

Devaji,

I’ll let you know how the UV sterilizer goes in. I am going with a slight uphill slope to mitigate any air entrapment. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Because my DT is bare bottom with a “slightly” minimalist look to it, I wanted to make sure I had enough surface area to house beneficial bacteria. After some thought, I even found room for more by removing two filter media cups and replacing them more MarinePure Spheres.

ETA - I used white corrugated plastic to make the blanks. It’s the same stuff they use on signs (open house, election, for sale, etc.). You can pick it up at Home Depot.

yeah if I went BB I would do what you did as well.

 

[ReefKeeperElite]

LBCobra,

Thanks for following along on my build.

I got the pipe holders from some crazy place called Farmer Boy Ag... they were great!

https://www.farmerboyag.com/Quick-Latch-Pipe-Hangers?updatecartitemid=0

They were like $1.18 each. They are very similar to the ones sold at BRS for $5.99 each.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sm-clamp-for-pvc-pipe.html

How are the clamps secured to the stand walls?
Did you have to drill into the walls and screw them on, or did you use some kind of adhesive or glue?

 

[Whip]

How are the clamps secured to the stand walls?
Did you have to drill into the walls and screw them on, or did you use some kind of adhesive or glue?

I secured them by drilling a starter hole and installing a stainless steel screw. It took a while to find the right screw. I ended up getting some stainless, pan-head screws from Amazon. They were a little pricey, but I wanted stainless to reduce the chance of rusting. They are 1/16” too long, so I had to grind off the very tip of the screw, but because I drilled a starter hole, the tip of the screw wasn’t needed anyway.

Phillips Pancake Head Sheet Metal...

 

[dson78]

Looking awesome, keep up the good work.

 

[ReefKeeperElite]

I am going orange just because... a looooong time ago, I used to be a pipe fitter and welder, so I kind of enjoy fabricating intricate piping runs. Anyway, here is the finished product...

(and, yes, because I can’t leave well enough alone.... I am going to paint the valve handles orange too).

The header is just mocked up. I don’t know if I am going to have the tees drop vertical or horizontal. Regardless, they will be bushed down to 1/2”, then feed a 1/2” gate valve. The 1” 90 and gate valve on the left hand side will feed a flowmeter and UV sterilizer.

What plans do you have for the other manifold ports besides the UV? Any thoughts on setting up carbon/gfo reactors, what brands, and plumbing for them?

 

[Whip]

What plans do you have for the other manifold ports besides the UV? Any thoughts on setting up carbon/gfo reactors, what brands, and plumbing for them?

Besides UV, no plans to plug anything into the manifold just yet. It’ll be nice to have if I decide to run an ATS. I don’t want to run reactors if I can avoid it as I am a fan of keeping it simple and low maintenance.

If I do run anything, it’ll be hard-piped in 1/2” pipe and fittings.

Anyway, this opens the door to an update...

I’ve been lightless since April 2019 and researching lights since November 2018 (when I decided I was going all in on an RSR).

I couldn’t decide and was hesitant to make a poor purchase on something so expensive. Well... on this Black Friday, I finally pulled the trigger on some Orphek Atlantik V4 Gen 2 panels.

For others to take or leave... please see my reasons for taking so long in making my final choice:

3 Radion XR30W-G4 (with diffusers): Exceptional customer service and system integration (I run a lot Ecotech Marine equipment already).

5 Kessil A360X (with WiFi): Set it and forget it, in-house LED manufacturing, and the legendary shimmer.

5 Red Sea REEFLED 90: Based solely on price.

2.5 Orphek Atlantik V4 Gen 2 (two full-size and one compact): Based on coverage and non-shadowing.