Eric's Red Sea Reefer 525XL Build

[Broadfield]

Not much has happened in the last few days... Being sick as a dog really doesn't help so the build has been put on hold. I received my under cabinet LED light today and since I was feeling a little bit better I decided to get it mounted and will tidy up all the wiring tomorrow. Oh I did get the tank filled on Friday and luckily there was only a small drip coming out of the drain pipe. A simple 1/4" turn fix the leak. I then added Fritz RPM salt so its official, we got a Saltwater tank again!!

#reef2reef, #worldwidecorals, #mywwccontest


Reefer 525XL -2-27-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

NICE!!!

 

[chefjpaul]

Great job

 

[Pandy]

Your sump looks amazing really want to ditch my top up as it looks so much cleaner without

 

[Reefer525XL]

very sweet! Along for the ride

Welcome aboard!

NICE!!!

Great job

Thanks

Your sump looks amazing really want to ditch my top up as it looks so much cleaner without

Thank you! I was going to use the ATO for a while till I figured out another solution for it but I decided to just remove it now to clear up some space and also be able to mount my two Royal Exclusiv pump control boxes. With that said, I need to figure out where to hide an ATO reservoir so that I get things automated again.

 

[carlson]

I like the sump design it's very interesting. Your running all three of your reactors off one pump, genius . what media are you going to use?

 

[Reefer525XL]

I like the sump design it's very interesting. Your running all three of your reactors off one pump, genius . what media are you going to use?

Yes everything is being fed by the RD3. The reactors are for Carbon/GFO/BioPellets. As far as brand of media Im not sure yet. Also don't plan on running Carbon 24/7 but I rather have it there for when its needed.

 

[stevo01]

Well here we go again. I feellike I've been down this road a couple of times now . It's time for anotherupgrade. If we are looking at number of gallons this is a downgrade/downsize,however in a few minutes you will find out why I’m calling this anupgrade.

Some of you know the story behind this new buildand some don't but to keep things short my 300g reef tank crashed a little overa month ago and I didn't have the desire to start back up from scratch withsuch a big system (500g system split between 3 tanks) so I made the decision tosell off everything and start fresh with a smaller and simpler system thatwould be easier to maintain and with a modern look.

I’m a DIY person and love building things. Whilethis saves me a lot of money it also takes a lot of time from me and my familyand time is money, therefore; the decision was made to stop the DIY projects(to an extend lol) and get a tank that was ready for water as soon as itarrived. No more building stands, light racks or drilling holes. Based on whatI wanted the options I had were ELOS, Red Sea or CadLight. That quickly wentdown to two options since ELOS was way over what I wanted to spend on thetank itself. I didn't want to have a custom tank made because that would mean Ihad to find a tank builder, someone to build a stand (remember no more big DIYprojects) and a sump.

Ok, back to my two options... I first began toconsider CadLight. They had an appealing price and I had the option to opt outfrom some of the equipment included with the tank which would bring the priceeven lower. However, I wanted a rimless tank. I know the euro bracing comes inhandy when working in the tank but this wasn't a major concern for me. Whatsteered me away from (spoiler alert) CadLight was the reviews I found online. Alot of complains about customer service and a handful of tank failures. Anotherissue I had with the CadLight systems is the size of their sump. I think we canall agree that when choosing a sump, the bigger the better. The CadLight sumpstake up the entire length of the stand or at least the model I wanted did. Thiswould leave no room to place equipment/electronics away from the water,everything would need to be mounted above the sump. I wanted a dry space awayfrom the sump to keep all the electronics far from the water and to keepeverything neat and organized.

By now I’m sure some of you have guessed I wentwith Red Sea.... The Reefer series is the obvious choice. I get a tank, stand,sump and plumbing, everything I wanted, rimless with 5/8" Low Iron Glassand a dry space in the stand for electronics.

Equipment List:

Red Sea Reefer 525XL - 139-gallon Total System Volume - White cabinet.
48" ATI 3x75w 8x54w T5 Powermodule.
Royal Exclusiv RD3 Speedy 80w Return pump.
Bubble King Double Cone 180 w/ RD3 Speedy 50w Skimmer.
AquaDriver SkimClean Helix 180 Self Cleaning Head.
Ecotech MP40wQD x2.
GHL Profilux 4 Ultimate Set w/ Vortech and Royal Exclusiv Controller Module + Flow meter.
GHL 2.1 4-Head Stand Alone Doser.
Aquamaxx Media Reactor x3 (GFO/Carbon/BioPellets)
Artfully Acrylic Clearview Tank Lid.
80lbs of BRS Pukani Dry Rock
90lbs of Tropic Eden Reeflake

I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. More are coming soon!


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-12 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-13 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-14 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


By the way the Low Iron Glass on this tank is AMAZING!!!

AWESOME! Love the scape, following

 

[stevo01]

Here is a sneak peak as to what the sump area is beginning to look like.


Reefer 525XL -2-20-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

Well done!

 

[Reefer525XL]

Not much to report but something is better than nothing I was able to get the Powermodule somewhat programmed this weekend. For now Im not running the T5's as I have no corals in the tank, why waste the bulbs . Im only running the LED's at 10% and mostly white just to give the fish some light...

I added 8oz of Fritz Turbostart 900 so I was able to add fish immediately after. Fish have been in the tank now for 4 days and there has been zero ammonia spike. I will be adding the skimmer tomorrow or Tuesday because after the introduction of Fritz turbostart the skimmer needs to be off for 5 days and since I had yet to put it in the sump I decided to just wait.

Here is a FTS, you can see the new inhabitants on the right side. 3 Lyretail anthias.


Reefer 525XL -3-05-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

 

[Preme]

So amazing!!!!

 

[fredjr]

Not much to report but something is better than nothing I was able to get the Powermodule somewhat programmed this weekend. For now Im not running the T5's as I have no corals in the tank, why waste the bulbs . Im only running the LED's at 10% and mostly white just to give the fish some light...

I added 8oz of Fritz Turbostart 900 so I was able to add fish immediately after. Fish have been in the tank now for 4 days and there has been zero ammonia spike. I will be adding the skimmer tomorrow or Tuesday because after the introduction of Fritz turbostart the skimmer needs to be off for 5 days and since I had yet to put it in the sump I decided to just wait.

Here is a FTS, you can see the new inhabitants on the right side. 3 Lyretail anthias.


Reefer 525XL -3-05-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

Looks nice man. What kind of top do you have on there?

 

[Reefer525XL]

So amazing!!!!

Thanks

Looks nice man. What kind of top do you have on there?

Artfully Acrylic Clearview Lid

 

[stevo01]

Love the scape!!! This clearview lid is the best man

 

[fredjr]

Thanks



Artfully Acrylic Clearview Lid

I hear they are really good looking tops

 

[Fudsey]

Looking like a very nice start. Can't wait to see more pics

 

[Reefer525XL]

Love the scape!!! This clearview lid is the best man

I hear they are really good looking tops

Yes they are very nice looking. I do have to send mine back because the screen is too tight and is pulling the frame in, creating a bigger gap between the glass and lid. Not a big deal but Im sure a fish will find the gap and jump out lol.

Looking like a very nice start. Can't wait to see more pics

Thanks

 

[bpapo]

Here is a sneak peak as to what the sump area is beginning to look like.


Reefer 525XL -2-20-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

Great looking tank... I am also in the market for XL525 and was wondering if you have a parts list for the manifold . plumbing is not my long suite and need all the help possible.

 

[Reefer525XL]

Great looking tank... I am also in the market for XL525 and was wondering if you have a parts list for the manifold . plumbing is not my long suite and need all the help possible.

I will work on a parts list tomorrow or as soon as I get some free time but I'll get it to you soon.

 

[stevo01]

I would like to see the list too

 

[bpapo]

I will work on a parts list tomorrow or as soon as I get some free time but I'll get it to you soon.

Great I am hoping to get the Tank this month.