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Unread 06/07/2016, 08:42 PM   #26
tenurepro
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Originally Posted by mystikal View Post
nice looking tank!
Will tag along, really like the Red Sea Reefer tanks.


Thanks!


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Unread 06/07/2016, 08:48 PM   #27
tenurepro
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Well - bit the bullet and replaced the dct4000 with a Ecotech vectra M1. Should be here in a few days. Will try to hard plumb it so I can run the return and phosban reactor from it - any tips on plumbing would be great!
Red Sea is mailing me a replacement ato float assembly.
Finally - my pukani dry rock is 'cured' but still leaching phosphates. I am trying this pool product called phosfree to reduce the phosphates. Added it 3 days ago and my phosphates have been at 0 ppm since. Will give rock a good rinse and do a full water change and test again tomorrow. If the leaching stops, then it will be show time once vectra gets here !


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Unread 06/07/2016, 08:58 PM   #28
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I didn't see your power heads, what kind are you planning on using?


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Unread 06/08/2016, 09:31 AM   #29
tenurepro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mystikal View Post
I didn't see your power heads, what kind are you planning on using?


I have an Ecotech mp10 that I am running on my 30 gallon nano; Will place the Mp10 on the side of the tank, and will also add a tunze 6045 (also from nano) on the back of the tank. May replace the tunze with an mp10 in the future if I find that I need more flow


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Unread 06/09/2016, 03:49 PM   #30
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Ok, got the latest batch of equipment and Redsea sent me replacement ato float... Rock is reading zero phosphates for three days now... We may be ready to get wet ladies and gentleman!



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Unread 06/11/2016, 04:04 PM   #31
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Well after some running around figured out the plan for hard plumping (mostly) vectra m1 to reefer 250:
First shaved a mm from 3/4" sch 40 pvc as blue seat on vectra output is 19 mm.


The 3" pipe then connects up to a union, then a 1.75" pipe to a tee. From there we have a ball valve + female thread adapter than a male barbed 1/2 fitting to run gfo reactor. Up, we have another Union, a female threaded adaptor and another naked barbed 1/2" fitting which will soft connect the plumping to the reefer's return.
The total height of pluming and vectra is 21"

This is my first plumbing job so any tips would be appreciated - especially before I glue everything tomorrow



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Unread 06/11/2016, 08:35 PM   #32
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Nice setup!


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Unread 06/15/2016, 08:34 AM   #33
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Reefer 250 build

Leak tested the vectra plumbing and no leaks... Sounded much quieter than dct4000 in my tub... Hopefully it will stay like that in the sump. The ball valves works nicely to feed the phosban reactor.
Re. Noise of vectra vs dc4000 - the dct4000 generated a high pitched turbo whine, which was loudest when the pump was at the lowest power, got better but still audible at 60 to 70%, then got noisy again at higher levels. In the tub, vectra was virtually silent at below 40%, then made a lower pitched sound at higher power (but would never run it that high in the 250. Final judgment will have to wait till vectra is running in the tank, but tub test suggests that vectra is significantly quieter vs dct4000 in the 500 gph range

Rock update: phosfree treatment of pukani has helped leach out phosphates from the rock. Looks Good for aquascaping and filling the tank this weekend


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Unread 06/15/2016, 05:22 PM   #34
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Looking forward to seeing this build. The last few posts with pictures aren't showing for me.. anyone else have the problem?

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Unread 06/17/2016, 03:43 PM   #35
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CODE Wet CODE Wet CODE Wet


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Unread 06/18/2016, 01:01 PM   #36
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So tank is all clear now - here is a pick of the aquascape

Wanted to have a nice sps shelf up top and some bottom places for LPS. Lots of overhangs to create some shady areas for the corals that don't need much light. The 3" Fiji pink live sand is for my sand dwelling critters (cuc, conch, pistol shrimp and goby, and wrasse). Not blowing around which I am happy with

Sump has vectra, bubble magus curve a5 and phosban reactor running phosban.

Have to do a bit of a fix on the vectra reefer soft connection... Very slow leak that I am hoping to fix with some cable ties. But happy to report that the vectra is significantly quieter than dct4000 in my system. It's not silent but the sound it makes is very low and close to ambient noise in my house (vs dct4000 which had a high pitched whine that I could hear anywhere in the main floor).

Water cleared up really well and filter socks are doing a good job of polishing water. Tested water this morning and it's looking really good (but a bit early)... Ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 0 phosphates 0; ph 8, salinity a bit low at 27... Tempted to add a little hermit crab to test out the water. Dry rock was already cycled and added 3 large live rocks from my established nano, so hopefully that will help keep water free of ammonia and nitrites...

Thinking that I'll be able to transfer livestock from my 30g to the reefer in a week if water is still good.


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Unread 06/19/2016, 09:24 AM   #37
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Thanks guys...
Found this 3/4" male x barbed fitting that fits reefer 250 return pipe perfectly

I think it's schedule 80 pvc... It fits the reefer very snugly but a regular male x barb sch 40 fitting feels a bit lose. Will give this a try and run a 3/4" hose between vectra and reefer 250


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Unread 06/19/2016, 04:10 PM   #38
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Nice Clean tank Setup


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Unread 06/21/2016, 09:12 PM   #39
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A few updates
1) managed to get 3/4" male / hose adaptor on the reefer return plumbing. It took 3 attempts. What worked best is to take the o ring from the original male / 5/8" hose fitting, put a few layers of 3mm pink Teflon tape on the threads. Leak free connection to 3/4" adaptor on my vectra hardplumbing. Yay!


2) added lights and mp10... Tank is pretty tranquil! Love that I can control light and water flow with my phone (reeflink is pretty buggy and slow but once it's set up, it's easy to use) tank is pretty quite. So glad I went with vectra. I am sitting on my living couch beside the tank and the loudest noise I hear is my neighbor's AC fan. The mp10 is good in there. Even at 100%, it's not blowing my Fiji pink sand which I was worried about. May end up dialing up the tunze 6045 once I get corals in and get a better sense of flow. May also turn up vectra which is running at about 30%

The only thorn in my side is the curve a5... It's making like a bottle of champagne and overflowing like its 1999. Tried soaking it in vinegar but nothing working so far. I am just letting it run with the hose connection open, returning bubbly water to sump. I am guessing this is the dreaded breaking period everyone talks about! But I wonder if the biomagnet clarifier that came with the sand is partly to blame?

3) parameters and livestock
Water is clean 4 days in a row; 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, 0 phosphates... I threw a little frozen shrimp two days ago, so seems like my cured dry rock and the two live rock from my nano are doing their job. A little red feather duster that hitch-hiked on my live rock is alive and well, and so are some pods that have been running across my live rock (pod on bottom left, feather duster on top right- sorry for crappy pics... Phone!)
Encouraged by the water quality, I threw in a blue legged hermit crab in the reefer... If he is alive tomorrow, then I'll add a couple of snails, and if they are alive by the weekend, then I'll start moving some of the fish from my nano
... Getting there!



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Unread 06/24/2016, 09:36 PM   #40
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Still struggling with my overflowing bm curve a5 skimmer, but water parameters are looking good and stable. Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0, phosphates 0, salinity at 35 ppt. My crash test
dummies - a hermit crab and an Astrea snail - are alive and well after 36 hours in the tank. I think I'll move my corals and some of the fish from the 30 gallon tomorrow !


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Unread 06/27/2016, 10:13 PM   #41
pa1ntbru5h
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Nice setup!
My Reefer 250 just shipped so I should be receiving it pretty soon.
I also plan on using the Vectra M1, MP10, and probably 2x XR15 Pros


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Unread 06/28/2016, 05:30 AM   #42
Kuzuri_86
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I have a very similar reefer 250 set up. I am using a SICCE syncra pro 1500 turned down on low, it is in my living room and isn't quite as quiet as the curve 7 or the new MP40 I have, but I think I misplaced the damping pad, if I would of put it back or forward I think it would of done better. However if all the Eco tech those vectras are awesome though Lfs has a few tanks running them.

Very interested in your build man as we chose very slightly different equipment. I would imagine with all the reeflink you won't go with any apex equip, that's what I'm most interested in. Nice job



Last edited by Kuzuri_86; 06/28/2016 at 06:04 AM. Reason: Didn't read far enough
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Unread 06/28/2016, 11:50 AM   #43
tenurepro
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Thanks! Was tempted by Apex, but this will be my first big tank and wanted to simplify things a bit with reeflink. Love the iPhone functionalities. Tank is looking very nice now that my nano livestock is moved over, so will post pics / videos soon!


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Unread 06/29/2016, 06:15 AM   #44
tenurepro
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Replaced Ato with tunze osmolator.
Got things a bit organized. Thinking of keeping the supplied ato reservoir to hold dosing liquids and doser ?





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Unread 06/30/2016, 07:13 AM   #45
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Looks nice. I am thinking hard about going to a manifold off the return pump for my GFO and Carbon reactors. My sump is a little on the small side and is a bit cramped. I would like to reclaim a little more capacity and an outlet on the Apex.

Your pics show me exactly what I need to do to make the conversion.

Thanks for sharing.

Matt


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Unread 06/30/2016, 07:37 AM   #46
tenurepro
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MattGatten View Post
Looks nice. I am thinking hard about going to a manifold off the return pump for my GFO and Carbon reactors. My sump is a little on the small side and is a bit cramped. I would like to reclaim a little more capacity and an outlet on the Apex.

Your pics show me exactly what I need to do to make the conversion.

Thanks for sharing.

Matt


Thanks Matt! Sump is a bit small but, with some thought and organization, can accommodate some good gear!
Good luck


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Unread 06/30/2016, 07:46 AM   #47
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Ah just reading through this thread and everything looks great. I have a reefer 250 as well and was looking to switch out for a vectra return, so it's good to see the stuff about your plumbing for a reference when I go about it.


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Unread 07/04/2016, 06:19 AM   #48
tenurepro
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Ah just reading through this thread and everything looks great. I have a reefer 250 as well and was looking to switch out for a vectra return, so it's good to see the stuff about your plumbing for a reference when I go about it.


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Thanks! Very happy with vectra


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Unread 07/04/2016, 06:19 AM   #49
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Here is a little video update on the tank!
https://youtu.be/dYguO6_mV9I


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Unread 07/06/2016, 03:47 PM   #50
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A few more pics with iPad ... Nicer than I phone
Fts

Fighting conch - Mike Tyson - is doing a number on algae in the sand bed... I scaped in a way that allows him access around all the rocks in the tank... His own little race track

Red digit looking good

Lps garden

Clowns and wrasse loving their new home...



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