Cook's Red Sea Reefer 170

[Cook]

This build started because of a protein skimmer, at least that is what I like to tell myself. If you have seen my 85 gallon thread, I got a 3 month old Vertex Omega 130 protein skimmer with that tank that has been staring at me since January. I have been reluctant to sell it, partly because I wanted to start up a second tank to allow me to have something for frags and coral quarantine for my 85. I have a 40 gallon that has worked well for me as a temporary home and fish quarantine, but it takes up a lot of room where it is, it's noisy, and I'd prefer to push that out into the garage for emergencies.

I cleaned the skimmer up just about the time that @liverock27 started parting out his setup to move back to a big tank. From the sump dimensions, I knew this skimmer would just fit. He documented his original Red Sea 170 build well, so if you're curious, the thread link to his post is here:

LR's Red Sea Reefer 170

I have been away from the hobby for about 5 years now, but after our move last summer I started looking into setting up a new tank in my home office. I decided I didn't want to do another large tank and after a lot of research went with the Red Sea Reefer 170 system(34g tank w/9g sump). After...

atlantareefclub.org

What I bought from @liverock27 in May :
Complete Red Sea Reefer 170 aquarium with the custom lid he purchased for it. (Truth be told, I wanted the lid as much as the aquarium!)
2x EcoTech Vortech MP10WQD's
Reef Octopus VarioS-2 DC return Pump

I have other priorities right now, like a 1976 Trans Am, so this tank is a work in progress that will take a while to complete.

 

[Cook]

First things first. I cleaned up the tank and sump and re-assembled the plumbing. I also upgraded the return line tubing to a slightly larger diameter with a new hose barb. Drew, if you were missing a snail or hermit crab, I found a shell trapped in the gate valve. I plan to use the Red Sea Auto top off for now. The overflow plumbing has been leak tested.

 

[The_Harris_co]

I just ordered a reefer 170 so I’m excited to watch your build

 

[gt6188aa]

1.5 years old my redsea 170

 

[The_Harris_co]

1.5 years old my redsea 170

Looks awesome. So much rock

 

[Cook]

I have been back and forth on lighting. I am going to go with two Kessil A360X's with the narrow reflectors installed. According to Kessil, these lights need to be spaced 8" apart with the reflectors on. It should allow me to get the lights up higher to stay out of my way, avoid spillover into the room, and stick to a similar spectrum as the AP700 on my display tank. I will mount these to the back of the 170 stand using the Kessil extension mounts. I should be able to shutdown my quarantine tank over the weekend and fill the 170 with water once the parts arrive and I have the hangers installed. It will be a while before I can spring for the lights, I need a couple of months to cycle the tank properly anyway. I do plan to seed using the sponge from the quarantine tank, it's been running fallow for almost 60 days.

 

[The_Harris_co]

That’s some extreme lighting. I have one on my reefer and I doubt for any reason I’ll go over 60% intensity. It lights up the entire room plus throws light into my kitchen.

 

[The_Harris_co]

I’d Start with one without the Nero reflector and see how it goes and add the second one if needed. I highly highly doubt you will need two lights Unless you’re trying to light up the whole city

 

[Cook]

It’s not just about intensity in regards to two kessil A360’s vs one. I doubt I will need to run them very high. Plenty of time to cross that bridge before purchase. I did go ahead and mount the light brackets to the stand.

I also took down my quarantine tank and filled the 170 Sunday night. I threw some rubble in there I picked up at Pure Reef as well as a sponge from the quarantine. I have added about a quart and a half of marine pure spheres in the sump. Not a lot of room left over down there.

 

[Cook]

I bought a Bonsai Reef fixture from West Mariculture. It was a month long wait, but its finally here.

 

[Cook]

A couple of updates. The tank is cycled, everything tests normal. I came to realize that the Vertex skimmer has a chipped impeller also. I am waiting on a replacement impeller which should arrive next week. I don't need it at the moment anyway.

Lighting: I was planning to go with 2 A360X Kessils, but I found a Mitras 7206 on Reef2Reef that kept sitting there and buying it saved me a ton. It very cleanly fits the Kessil mounts I had already purchased with just a few extra screws needed, and some reorienting of the mounting hardware. I didn't even have to change the spacing of the brackets mounted to the stand! I was not previously aware of the Mitras, but they seem to have good reviews, similar color spectrum to the Kessil and I like the spacing of the LEDs. Now I just need to figure out how to turn the lights on.

 

[Cook]

 

[Cook]

The lights are on. What I have learned so far is that there really isn't a set program everyone universally agrees on and runs for the Mitras. I have loaded Vinnie's settings posted on the Facebook GHL group, time will tell what the results are. I am in the process of fragging some of the corals in my display tank. Bicolor hammer and WWC Slimeball so far. If anything, this is pointing out I may have some water quality issues in my display tank, the hammers are happier in the 170 than ones I left in the 85.

 

[Cook]

 

[Cook]

Sometimes you learn that just because you can cram something into a small sump, it doesn't mean you should. The Vertex Omega 130 skimmer just fits, but it's creating some issues with my Marine Pure spheres and the platform I built to use it is causing some vibrations for an otherwise silent tank. I bought @ichthyoid 's Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer. It almost looks like a baby compared to the Omega, but doubles my available sump space, so let's see how it performs in the Omega's place.

 

[Cook]

Things are going well so far. I am running the Mitras in high efficiency mode. I moved the RR Pink Floyd frag I got from @francoerick to this tank from my 85 gallon at the end of September. It was bleaching out and had stopped growing, but has recovered nicely in the 170. It's interesting how some corals react differently to the same conditions. I moved some WWC Slimeball frags from the 85 and thought that I killed them, but they have also now recovered after lowering them 6" and are uniformly green again. I will need to invest in an ATO at some point before I take a big trip for work. I am using Kalkwasser in the Red Sea Auto Top off, 1/2 teaspoon per gallon and it's fine for now, but not something I would trust long term. The Curve 5 skimmer hasn't settled in yet, but only two emerald crabs, a cleaner shrimp, and a Snyder goby in there besides the corals.

 

[Cook]

There was a lot that went down with this tank that I didn't document. It didn't help matters when I spent 15 days in China at the end of last year. Here is the summary. All my SPS slowly went pale and the frags themselves are basically frozen in time, not dead but not growing. For the longest time, I thought it was lighting, but it appears to be nutrients. I got diatoms in January. This tank only ever had a small bio load and I've covered the saga of ich contamination that happened to this tank in my 40 gallon frag tank posts. This tank has been fallow since February. I have been dosing 10ml of Red Sea Reef Energy AB+ daily and can see some small improvement in coloration after 4 weeks. When my fallow period is over on May 5th, I will be taking this tank down and moving these frags to the other tank where hopefully they will continue to recover.