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Unread 06/10/2018, 10:02 PM   #1
incloud
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Red Sea Reefer 450 Setup

I just got the deal of a lifetime but at the same time the headache of a lifetime. I got a brand new Red Sea Reefer that has never seen water off of Craigslist. It was from someone who was obviously very serious about reefing. It came with bags and boxes full of equipment that is mostly brand new. The lighting system is all custom LED's and Drivers, it has a Bubble Magus Curve 9 Skimmer, what I believe is a Bubble Magus Kalk Stirrer, an Algae Scrubber, and all sorts of random reefing equipment. Unfortunately, I am not sure what it all is or how to put it together. I've been watching videos and slowly going through the parts and plumbing to make sense of it all but was in hopes that you guys here at the Reef Tank may be able to help me get this sorted. I'd like to avoid spending wasted money on what I think I need and get what is actually needed.

Once the main components are discovered my dilemma is that I just recently plumbed my 65 gallon reef tank into the basement with a 150 gallon stock tank as a sump. My intentions were to have a custom tank built and upgrade from my 65 to a 120-150 in the same spot and replace the 65. I couldn't pass this deal up, it would have been absolutely foolish of me. That said, I have now decided to have the 450 as a second tank in my living room. I know the Red Sea Reefer series is great but I'm in a toss up of integrating the 450 into my new sump system or to run it on its own. Running it separate would of course be the easiest solution but it would be a waste of all my efforts in building my sump system in the basement. Not to mention water changes, additional equpiment (top off and such) would be a hassle and added expense. The 450 is at the opposite side of my house versus the new basement system. I'm trying to figure out whether I should run a separate pump from the sump or T off of the existing pump. I am only using the pump at 40% of its power right now but am not sure how it would do pushing 2 returns. Any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure more information will be necessary to really see what is going on and I'm going to make a video showing my current setup along with the system i am trying to accomplish. I am looking very much forward to this and just want to be sure and do it right. Thanks so much in advance for any and all replies on this matter, I truly appreciate it!


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Unread 06/13/2018, 07:22 AM   #2
ReefWreak
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I set up a reefer 450 3ish months ago, and love the tank. I was looking to go 55-90 gallon, and ordered a 425xl, and the 450 showed up. I kept it because I wanted to be able to have larger tangs anyway, so it worked in my favor.

I wouldn't set up a second tank, I'd focus my efforts. The nice thing about a basement sump system is that you can set up one-off tanks down there (crypto-fuges, macro fuge, seahorse, whatever you want) hidden away and easy to access, while keeping a single display tank upstairs that is the focus of the room. I would plumb the 450 into the sump system for simplicity sake and leave your pump at 40% power.

I think you didn't get many responses here because your question is kind of vague and has a lot of different ideas without asking a specific question, and it doesn't help that you copy and pasted this to multiple forums (ahem):

Quote:
in hopes that you guys here at the Reef Tank may be able to help me get this sorted
I hope this feedback helps. I love my reefer 450, and you will too. Be aware that it does bow about 1/4" in the center of the glass. Made me really nervous when I noticed it, but such is life, and it's a known thing with the tanks and Red Sea says its' fine.


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Unread 09/14/2018, 01:53 PM   #3
cdhappy
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Sounds like a score; ha e you set up the reefer yet?


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Unread 09/14/2018, 02:00 PM   #4
FortyFour
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I recently set up a 525XL. It’s a great system. If you’ve already plumbed a sump to your basement, I would roll with that, for 1 tank. You can use the sump that is included as a refugium.


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Unread 10/03/2018, 09:45 PM   #5
incloud
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Okay guys, it's been a bit since I posted but I now have my Reefer 450 setup and it has been tested with tap water converted to standard plumbing. So now I have my 65 gallon reef running off the 150 gallon basement sump with all my equipment and as of now the 450 as a separate system. It's amazing and I love how silent the 450 is but the fact that I have a huge basement sump all set up for easy water changes and all my equipment attached so it seems like a waste to not take advantage of it with the Reefer 450. I'd love to have both the 65 and the Reefer 450 run off the basement sump but am very confused on how to run the plumbing safely to avoid any catastrophes. Tying into the system is easy enough and getting back to the Reefer is no problem. But once I get to the Reefer and use a second pump underneath to return, there's a lot to worry about. If the pump for the Reefer fails or the power goes out for any reason I'd have 150 gallons or more from my basement being pumped all over my living room. I have been trying to figure out a safe way to do this but the more I plan it, the more confused I'm getting.

The only safe way I can think of is to not use the sump under the 450 and only use the basement sump and the one pump. But then i'm wasting my 450 sump and won't be able to use my Bubble Magus Skimmer due to space. Plus without the sump under the 450 there would be no emergency drain unless another line of PVC was run down to the basement from the Reefer.

I'm sure I'm way overthinking this by now and that's why I've come here in hopes of some suggestions on what to do. All my sand and a couple cases of Reef Crystals will be here tomorrow so I'll have all I need but a plan.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/T6PjomsRYKFQt5fb8




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Unread 10/03/2018, 09:55 PM   #6
incloud
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Here's my basement sump so you have an idea of what I'm referring to.



Here's the layout showing my already running 65 gallon and the 450 across the room.

[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yXSZqvNK8uQ3tI5kSxQquoMd_aVtyGcS20FI-D_vkmvrOb4qnriCZGnF3ILQdxaRy86yvmfHEr8oj24-rUWhfQVQWeugVM9iC09rSRxC87b6jH1Ftaxo5wAeM42P1oTUgtlSh_tpdBSUy5_XP2YWgdJ28dJ_OV1GtW6X-AzYg1_gujqp7zA1WIyGwrqLtZEEixl6EVNiNHTeNLt8Uf-cKTxaI5TD3nfDtucgUfudmRc4nzBVAaHlCF8pOJTdv73VlUBaof4L5941932igSDAqG8eUWupvLgxo5Bc8uqBfqVycbp1MaLZ_Ef DfoAHPB4fa0xRsGthX-MksxOHrhAC64FJsHKTCNBOLiK8wABIvlRLenxg0coXPcpWp9v15oUPRRi1vt5IcYhdb9vVqVsj258eX-Q7E3opdiaKRXAeGEgD-kvg7Gge_CoTmMKIZDFmw2RXX_xBFDTkG5-sHoofX_g3KvLQO5dA5YjH0LLTwYGzIiLFzwBrY9eNHYI0k0Ra59HklsAcdL****zQiujKMyEegLjSWAKwLc0BcR4nnETAUePwu9X oyTMpll4Pi8VO8J_2FWh35bQUf87jdXoazIGncKuPuiGr9Cdu6k1EMdwYl04FKK4HWee3KSL9BFc=w2290-h1145-no[/IMG]


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Unread 10/10/2018, 07:00 AM   #7
vrba
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Unread 10/11/2018, 06:37 PM   #8
incloud
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Had an idea as a safety precaution for my 150 sump and added a vertical pipe with a screen fitting just below the water line to avoid the sump pumping all 150 gallons into my living room if the Red Sea pump fails.


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Unread 01/09/2019, 01:57 AM   #9
jjencek
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I got the RedSea 350 about a week ago. I have a mixed feeling about the ATO reservoir. One one hand I don't like the small size which runs out of water in 3 days, but on the other hand I love that if it is fails and dumps all water into the sum, it will not spill over.

So I am keeping the small reservoir and I am planning to add a second 10 gal one next to it. This one I will turn on every two days via APEX. It will have a APEX ATO. The idea is it gets power only every other day, fills it up and then I turn it off.

I am probably too paranoid about spills, but I hope it gives me the extra safety.

Any feedback on the above?


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Unread 01/09/2019, 02:20 PM   #10
ReefWreak
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That sounds appropriately excessively cautious for your needs/preferences.

I stopped using the ATO for now, as I bought at 15 gallon external ATO with the Neptune ATK kit (which I've been loving). I hope to use the ATO for a refugium, though everyone has scared the goodness out of me by telling me that it's definitely going to crack the second you look at it with a drill bit in your hand, though there have been a number of people who have successfully drilled it, including some videos of the process on youtube.


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