Shaun's 2000 Litre (530 USG) Living Reef & Red Sea Max S 650 LED Design & Build

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Im not doing it, I might break it! lol

If you think about it, when one of the pumps has stopped working did it make any difference ? I seem to recall it didn't and I only noticed it wasn't working when I added some reef energy/food and it didn't get blown around.

I know if the one on the left is working because the Apex auto feeder drops food infront of it and its gets blown around so I can see its working.
Aha.....I switched off all pumps three times last week ! I have been attacking the invasive Green Mushrooms with the DIY Death Juice, and doing it bit by bit. Every time all the pumps came back up with no problems ! It is easy to see that the one Viper Pump I have has a much better performance than the original pumps.
 
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SPR

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Aha.....I switched off all pumps three times last week ! I have been attacking the invasive Green Mushrooms with the DIY Death Juice, and doing it bit by bit. Every time all the pumps came back up with no problems ! It is easy to see that the one Viper Pump I have has a much better performance than the original pumps.
And did it make any difference to the down flow pipe ?
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
When I switched them all off? Oh yes.......because the Return Pump was also switched off :)
Well next time you get your death juice out, just turn the circulation pumps off first and see if it makes any difference and then report back.

I think you'll find it doesn't. All their doing is pumping water back into the main display, but really because of the bottom vents the water levels are the same, or thereabouts. You still have the same amount of water going over the overflows.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Now this may be made by Neptune, but it’s not a part from a Trident submarine or the USS Alabama or anything like that.

It’s the plumbing required to install a 2 inch Neptune Apex flow sensor into 32mm pipe work. It’s about 18 inches long including the union and ball valve connectors to make it easy to remove if needed.

Adjustments.JPG
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
I’ve installed a few systems over the last few days, or at least partially other than some of the plumbing and tubing, including the 2 Apex DOS units, UVC and now the Clarisea SK5000.

I’ve also ordered the final main equipment items including the Deltec Twin Tech 1500 Calcium Reactor, additional Apex ATK module to replace the one used recently on the S650 and many other (expensive!) items to the tune of around £3600.

I spent a few hours this afternoon staring at the pipework, altering it and dry fitting it, and then finally solvent welding it into place. The 40mm downpipe reduces to 32mm just under the ball valve which is the correct size to fit into the Clarisea

The ball valve is in addition to the gate valve so I can just turn the water straight off when I want to take the clarisea out, rather than messing with the gate valve every time and then having to fine tune it.

The additional union connector means I can also just disconnect it there if need be for any reason

Adjustments.JPG
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I know this is too late for your build, but on the new Red Sea reefer 900xl I do like the twin return pump outlets idea. Having two smaller return pumps instead of just one larger one provides for better redundancy, and would also help with the flow around the tank.
However, it must be said that your Return Pump is the Dog's Gonad's :)
 
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SPR

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I know this is too late for your build, but on the new Red Sea reefer 900xl I do like the twin return pump outlets idea. Having two smaller return pumps instead of just one larger one provides for better redundancy, and would also help with the flow around the tank.
However, it must be said that your Return Pump is the Dog's Gonad's :)

I’ve had an extra return built in already and it comes up the left hand side back of the tank and originally I was going to use the spare Red Sea pump, but now I’m keeping it running I’ll need to get another, probably a Vectra L2 with battery backup.

The Abyzz are supposed to be bulletproof so I might keep the spare lifted out of the water and just put it in when I’m away. Basically connect with hose rather than hard plumb at the bottom if you see what I mean.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
It was raining yesterday, so when it’s raining I normally do one of my other hobbies

A Festival London Porter Ale, and a Mangrove Jacks Pink Grapefruit IPA that smells delightful!

‘Shaun’s Shine’.......

IMG_0861.JPG
 

emvanburen

Well-Known Member
On the comments about the recirc pumps, they cause more flow over the weir and thus raise the water level a bit in the display. They don’t really impact the flow down the drain when they off much other than running at a slightly lower water level (higher sump level). I’ve thought about how to improve them and contemplated putting small dc varios pumps in there but decided not to bother. They are frustrating but out of sight.

I would not replicate that setup. They require a whole chamber to be hidden which adds 5 inches of depth to the tank that is unusable. Add to that the clearance for the down flow valve and the tank has almost a foot of offset from a wall to useable tank space. It looks clean and works but if you are trying to optimize in a location it adds a lot of constraints.

I love the 650 because it got me back into high gear and works and is large enough to be impressive and has a lighting system that looks presentable. Once you start caring about these other details however it is time to move on to a traditional design, in my opinion, and which is what I’m doing now. Hopefully the tank will find a new owner who can have the same positive experience as we all have!


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SPR

Well-Known Member
I love the 650 because it got me back into high gear and works and is large enough to be impressive and has a lighting system that looks presentable. Once you start caring about these other details however it is time to move on to a traditional design, in my opinion, and which is what I’m doing now. Hopefully the tank will find a new owner who can have the same positive experience as we all have!
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I agree completely and I’m going to keep the S650 running for the foreseeable future, or until I get tired of maintenance on it. To be fair it’s not really that bad, it’s just those little jobs that I hate doing, but in reality don’t take long.

One thing I am finding it that the back wall it getting more and more difficult to clean without breaking some coral pieces off as they are really growing and this is probably why I’m dosing 260ml of alkalinity a day!
 
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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
I agree completely and I’m going to keep the S650 running for the foreseeable future, or until I get tired of maintenance on it. To be fair it’s not really that bad, it’s just those little jobs that I hate doing, but in reality don’t take long.

One thing I am finding it that the back wall it getting more and more difficult to clean without breaking some coral pieces off as they are really growing and this is probably why I’m dosing 260ml of alkalinity a day!
260ml a day! Wow
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Shaun - As you may be catching a few fish in the near future, have you seen this new type of fish trap?

You can’t get it here in the UK, but I’m confident I can get them with the one I have. Especially when the only food to go in the tank goes in it if I struggle!
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
You can’t get it here in the UK, but I’m confident I can get them with the one I have. Especially when the only food to go in the tank goes in it if I struggle!
Or, you hire a Dentists's chair, place it in the same room as the tank, and get a little kid to start screaming ! The fish will soon be jumping into the trap to escape. I saw it once in a documentary called 'Finding Nemo'!
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Or, you hire a Dentists's chair, place it in the same room as the tank, and get a little kid to start screaming ! The fish will soon be jumping into the trap to escape. I saw it once in a documentary called 'Finding Nemo'!
Lol! It might be me screaming. I don’t know ‘who’s’ moving yet, well apart from the Blue faced Angel as I’m convinced he’s munching on things. I might try it on him when I get back from Spain!
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
I’m in my home in spain at the moment hitting my golf balls ‘far and wide’ especially ‘wide’’

My new tank is slowly being built and I’ve had a great deal of help from the guys at DD on some of the new equipment, flow rates etc.

I’ve also been looking on their web site.

If you haven’t seen this already, this is one of the most beautiful reef tanks in the world, and when and only when you have 12 minutes of your life to spare, no rushes or other thoughts, with a glass of wine watch this, it’s simply beautiful..........

 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
It sure is beautiful.
I didn't see any GSP, so I assume that like me Mr Saxby can't grow it ! Ha, I am in good company.
Is that the fattest Powder Blue Tang in the world?
I love the pink and yellow Anthias. I have to get some.
You see he is feeding live Shrimps. They are a lot bigger than my Brine Shrimp, but I feel that I am heading down the right path. Any idea as to what shrimp he was feeding, plus does he breed them himself? Can you please ask him next time he comes round for coffee?
That Pulsing Xenia will take over the tank...........I still say in the wild it is one of the most beautiful corals you will see, especially in a very large colony.
I thought the water surface movement was a bit limited, or is that just me? Maybe there is 'stuff' in the engine room that helps with the gas exchange?
 
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SPR

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It sure is beautiful.
I didn't see any GSP, so I assume that like me Mr Saxby can't grow it ! Ha, I am in good company.
Is that the fattest Powder Blue Tang in the world?
I love the pink and yellow Anthias. I have to get some.
You see he is feeding live Shrimps. They are a lot bigger than my Brine Shrimp, but I feel that I am heading down the right path. Any idea as to what shrimp he was feeding, plus does he breed them himself? Can you please ask him next time he comes round for coffee?
That Pulsing Xenia will take over the tank...........I still say in the wild it is one of the most beautiful corals you will see, especially in a very large colony.
I thought the water surface movement was a bit limited, or is that just me? Maybe there is 'stuff' in the engine room that helps with the gas exchange?
Lol!

I thought exactly the same about the ‘plump’ powder blue tang, he’s a healthy boy! I love the Yellow Tang with the black markings whatever it is.

I quiet like your live shrimp experiment. I wonder if you feed them with something will they get bigger, like stir fry bigger as the fish would love that?!
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Lol!

I thought exactly the same about the ‘plump’ powder blue tang, he’s a healthy boy! I love the Yellow Tang with the black markings whatever it is.

I quiet like your live shrimp experiment. I wonder if you feed them with something will they get bigger, like stir fry bigger as the fish would love that?!
With the second harvest I did take some of the shrimp out this morning to feed the tank, and I left the majority in the breeder and added three drops of Photoplankton. I thought it might do something. There is some special food you can buy from JBL to feed them, so I may get some of that. You do feel like a mad scientist though with the cone bubbling away !
 
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