Twin Red Sea Reefer 1000 build (freshwater)

[harrisonsaid]

I'm not a particularly gifted writer, but i wanted to document to new fish/tv/general hang out room I'm going to be building over the next couple of months. I recently moved into a new house and found myself with a 16x14' media room, and since I'm more into fish and not very into movies I figured this would be a much better alternative.

I spent about 4 months (while the house was being built) considering all options for new tanks. I currently have a 125 geophagus tank and a 75g community and I had plans (and budget) for a much larger setup...but unfortunately the entry way for the room made all plans for the 600+ gallon tanks impossible.



32" door opening and the narrow hallway made a longer tank impossible.

I made a few calls about tanks built on-site, and they all told me the same thing...it would be cheaper to open the wall and repair than have them build on site.

So, I decided to do a pair of larger than current, smaller than planned tanks instead. Since I had a fixed width and wanted a dominating "wall of fish tank", I landed on the reefer 1000. 83" wide and I have 170" to work with, leaving 4" wiggle room (oh boy).



The wall the tanks will be on:


I placed an order for more aquarium equipment I ever have before, and I will talk through the plans in the next post.

 

[harrisonsaid]

I had a few requirements for the new setup...the biggest one and the one that required that specific wall to be used was a constant/automatic water change system. I want to be able to trickle 10-15% fresh water daily on top of the standard filtration and make larger water changes monthly instead of weekly (driven by nitrate levels). I actually recently made a post about the water changes and got some great advice,

This wall is shared with my bathroom, and I've hired a plumber to come out and tap into the supply and drain lines, as well as install a mixer for a consistent 80 degree output. I've also hired an electrician for a couple of dedicated 20 amp plugs to drive the equipment.

I ordered the tanks the and they already arrived:




I plan on running all Kessil A360X Tuna Sky lighting (4x per tank, been running them on the 125 and like them) and a pair of Ecotech Vectra M2 return pumps per tank (ordered 5 total so I have a spare). I have 2x 300w jager heaters (with inkbird controllers) per tank now, but those will likely be changed




Next steps are for the contractors to finish their work on the wall, then I'm going to put up a vinyl rustic looking flooring on the wall to accent it.

Then I get the fun job of moving the tanks in the room. This is one of the bigger challenges...the tanks are VERY heavy and will need to be stood on end, then rotated in the room, then lifted onto the stands without being able to lift from the sides. I still haven''t solved that challenge yet, but I'm working on it.

Any feedback is appreciated, and looking forward to the next steps!

 

[Backfromthedead]

Very very nice. I recently had the pleasure of completely breaking down an old red sea max 525. They have quite a bit of engineering and thought behind their design. Very sturdy, well built. Are those tanks rimless?

 

[harrisonsaid]

Thanks! Fairly expensive package, but the size, completeness of the tank with plumbing and sump and everything, and aesthetic ultimately made it worth it for me. I'm a regular canister filter guy, these will be my first sump tanks so I was happy to have an easy button to push.

They are euro braced, so not exactly rimless but there is no perceived brace from the basic tanks I'm used to.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Thanks! Fairly expensive package, but the size, completeness of the tank with plumbing and sump and everything, and aesthetic ultimately made it worth it for me. I'm a regular canister filter guy, these will be my first sump tanks so I was happy to have an easy button to push.

They are euro braced, so not exactly rimless but there is no perceived brace from the basic tanks I'm used to.

Sumps are great. Easier than they seem once you get one up and running and the red sea is even easier since it's all pretty much set up already. Are you just going to remove the skimmer since you're going freshwater?

Yeah most red seas have a slick inset eurobrace that's barely noticeable yet provides a lot of support and functionality. Cool tanks and if kept well probably maintain a lot of value if you ever upgrade down the road again.

 

[Backfromthedead]

As for moving them, I would get the tanks onto the stands somewhere nearby with enough space to be safe, then scootch the whole setup into position. If you lay some pieces of cardboard under the corners you should be able to slide it somewhat "easily".

I just don't like the thought of trying to maneuver that pretty glass onto a stand in a confined space.

 

[harrisonsaid]

Sumps are great. Easier than they seem once you get one up and running and the red sea is even easier since it's all pretty much set up already. Are you just going to remove the skimmer since you're going freshwater?

Yeah most red seas have a slick inset eurobrace that's barely noticeable yet provides a lot of support and functionality. Cool tanks and if kept well probably maintain a lot of value if you ever upgrade down the road again.

While they had a package that came with reefing equipment like lighting and skimmer, I bought the basic version that only had tank, stand, sump, plumbing, etc. I'm going to keep the filter socks for now (more on that below), and once I get the tanks installed I'm going to start planning on the biological side of the filtration. Ideally I would like a fluidized bed with K1 but I still need to plan all of that out.

Red Sea did recently come out with a roller filter, which the sump is set up to run out of the box. You remove the filter socks (luckily I have the version where this is reversible and doesn't need to be cut out) and the roller installs in its place, then you move the overflow to drain into it. I like the concept of a roller filter quite a bit, as it takes the waste out of the water and between that and the constant WC system, should make for some very good parameters. The only issue...they use a solid state water sensor that requires salinity to advance the roller. Something about the conductivity...I won't pretend to understand it.

I've ordered one regardless, and I'm going to put a test meter on it and see if I can replace their sensor with an optical sensor or something reliable that will still work with fresh. If so, I will move both tanks to rollers eventually.

 

[harrisonsaid]

As for moving them, I would get the tanks onto the stands somewhere nearby with enough space to be safe, then scootch the whole setup into position. If you lay some pieces of cardboard under the corners you should be able to slide it somewhat "easily".

I just don't like the thought of trying to maneuver that pretty glass onto a stand in a confined space.

Me either. I did talk to a moving company that does aquariums about the project and provided pictures of al the spaces...they claim it's no issue and only want $400. It might be worth taking them up on that, assuming they can provide some sort of insurance. My big concern is lifting the tanks in a way that will compromise the seals, but that could just be paranoia.

 

[phreeflow]

I’m also running a Red Sea for freshwater and aside from removing the skimmer, they’re pretty much setup for success. There’s not much to change. I also use Ecotech pumps and they’ve never failed me.

The only thing you’d want to swap out like you’re already planning to are those inkbird temp controllers if you got the ones with the stainless probes. They rust out eventually and put you in a bad position with the heater getting too got. They have a newer one with a rubber probe and those are supposedly built to last

 

[Backfromthedead]

I've seen those roller filters and for now I'm unconvinced as to how well they would work. Seems to me like some gunk would get past and murk up your sump. At their best I doubt they could work any better than good ole socks. I think the draw is less maintenance (replacing socks) and they also give an "impressive" look for the reefer types who have to have the fanciest new gadget.

I think the seals would only fail in the case of an extreme shock load. In list form I would rank the potential danger like this:

1. Yourself! You are squishier and lighter than this tank lol
2. The glass
3. Your walls and floor
4. The seals