Rob's Red Sea Peninsula 500 (105g) Reef

[R_oh_b]

Hey All,

So here's the reef story so far. I was extremely lucky and won this Red Sea Peninsula 500 from the ACC Bash in August 2018. I'll update this original post with eq and stocking updates as well posts further in the thread (for those that tl;dr). The plan is for a mixed reef - mostly LPS & Softies.

Equipment

Current:
Red Sea Peninsula 500
Marineland 1500gph Pump (Used - To be replaced)
3x AI Hydra 26
BRS 5 Stage RODI (Craigslist special - Used - missing two stages?!)
~100lb Misc Rock - Some Tonga, Pukani, etc
Bubble Magnus Curve 6 (Used)

Planned:
APEX Neptune Controller
Jabao Gyre* (looking at multiple options for gyres/powerheads)
2x Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0/4.0/5.0 (Going to modify plumbing and run a manifold eventually)
2x Cobalt Neo Therm 200w (redundancy)

Dream/Wish List Upgrades
APEX DOS

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Stocking
NB: I was originally only planning a 40-60g tank. So I haven't really researched bigger fish - if you have any suggestions drop a line - this is where I could use the most help.

Current:
None

Planned:
Pair of Lightning Maroon Clowns* (hearing they can get pretty aggressive as they get bigger)
or
Pair of Picasso Clowns or Mochas

Royal Gramma

Some sort of vibrant - tank appropriate tang

Goby/Pistol Pair

Golden Dwarf Moray Eel

Suggestions?



Dream/Wish List:

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Corals

Current:
None

Planned:
Hammer

Torch

Acan


Dream/Wish List:

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[Fully Set Up Tank Photo to go here]

 

[R_oh_b]

So first steps were picking up the tank from John @ ACC. We did a quick interview about my plans for the tank and then loaded into a buddy's truck for the hour and a half ride home. On the way, I called in reinforcements as I underestimated the size of this thing. I consider myself average height at 5'7" but I'll need a step stool to even reach in this tank past my forearm. Set up was fairly easy - the stand was flat pack/ikea style with camlocks and cam screws. Instructions were definitely ikea - nothing written - just pictures. Pieces weren't labelled either but *mostly* unique enough to figure out what goes where. We had 5 very handy people and it still took us almost 4 hours. The two most PITA steps were leveling the whole thing (looking at you 16 leveling feet) and getting the final cabinet door on - you have to strongly force on a clip with a glass sump 1/2" away. We ended up using a strong plastic measuring spoon handle which promptly snapped and left a nice gash in my finger - second attempt with second spoon was more successful. The stand is a good 100lb's fully assembled and the tank is upwards of 200.

It came with 3 AI Hydra 26 with a rail mounting kit - however it require it to be hung from the ceiling. I've emailed Red Sea to see if they have a leg kit for the light rack; my alternatives are the AI Hydra HMS mounts or building my own 80/20 Peninsula Stand for the lights (I've seen some really sharp looking ones).

Next Steps are changing the outlets behind to gfi, curing rock, and making a ton of salt water (total system volume is 132 gallons). Quick Q for anyone reading along - are there any issues with making the first batch of salt water in the actual system rather than in containers and then dumping them in? It'll take quite a few days with my 75 gal rodi set up - trying to order a 150 gpd set up.

Reinforcement's turn leveling the damn thing.



On the stand



A ruff day supervising

 

[Trio91]

You can mix the salt water directly into the tank as long as its empty. No rocks, sand etc. Just fill it and run it with a heater, then adjust if necessary.

You can also look at the jaebo crossflow pumps as a cheaper gyre alternative

 

[Trio91]

Just run the rodi directly into the tank. A new system, can process about 5gal of rodi per hour (give or take) so you can calculate how long it'll take you from there.

 

[diana a]

You are off to a great build thread and very exciting times with a new tank so I am following along! You have no idea how happy I was when I found out someone from NJRC won the setup. Good luck with the build! Love the dimensions of the new tank.

 

[R_oh_b]

I heard back from Red Sea and they do not offer a leg kit for the peninsulas.. Unfortunate, but it would've probably cost a pretty penny anyways. So I'll be DIY'ing a stand like the following in black anodized alum. or the HMS kits. DIY stand is my preference for aesthetics but it'll will come down to $$ over all as I'll be purchasing the rest of the EQ first to get the cycle started.

 

[iTzJu]

good luck with the build! beautiful tank!

 

[diana a]

How is this going?

 

[diana a]

bumping this....no updates on the tank you won at the @ACC Bash?