Red Sea Reefer 425 G2+ Upgrade

[amateur.alchemist]

Hello R2R!

My partner and I have his and hers tanks- I have a RSR350 in my home office, while she has a freshwater Oase Highline 300 in our living room. Well, had... The Oase started splitting at one end after just 3 years. Thankfully, we caught it before any major damage was done but we made the decision to condense into a single saltwater tank, in the largest size we could reasonably fit in our living room. Enter the Reefer 425!

An old pic but this was the freshwater setup

Also an old pic but this was the 350 about 2 years ago (apparently I don't take enough tank pics...)

The 425 was ordered through my LFS who helpfully had it delivered to the store, enabling me to pick up and build the cabinet before they brought the tank over.

Delivery day!

Leak testing / making 425L saltwater in the new tank. The plan is to drain ~20% from the 350 into a container, refill with fresh saltwater from the 425, fill 425 with old water, rinse and repeat. It means I'm wasting a lot of saltwater but don't have the complication of worrying about acclimatising livestock or how much water I have come moving day. Both tanks will be full of identical, relatively fresh water, so livestock can be hoofed directly from one tank to the other when ready.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along! Those are really nice tanks!

 

[amateur.alchemist]

Equipment
Most kit will be coming from the old tank, unsurprisingly.

Transferred
Reef Octopus Varios 8 return pump
Reef Octopus Regal 150-S skimmer
Red Sea Reefmat 500
GHL Profilux 4
GHL slave dosers x2
GHL Powerbar
GHL Mitras 7204 on GHL mounts x2
Some Caribsea Life Rock
Caribsea Ocean Direct Live sand

Expelliarmus
Reef Octopus OP-2 x2 (the keen eyed will have spotted the MP40s in the original 350 shot- the flow was too much in the 350 for my small LPS collection, so were switched out for OP-2s later)
GHL slave Maxi doser (used for ATO)
D-D 20w UV
Reef Octopus Varios 6 return pump (used for closed loop through UV)
GHL flow meters, redox sensor, level sensors for ATO reservoir and sump (simplifying where possible)
Eheim Thermocontrol E 250w
Reef Octopus Skimmer cleaner

Additions
Ecotech Vortech MP40 x2
Red Sea ReefATO
Adaptive Reef cabinet + GHL face plates
Reef Octopus ST-1 skimmer stand
Evolution Aqua 25w Pond UV
Caribsea Life Rock Shapes
Caribsea Ocean Direct Live sand
D-D 250w Titantium Heater + controller
A new Red Sea DIY net / cover

Equipment Change Thoughts / Ramblings of a Madman
The old 350 had a small cabinet on each side of the tank, meaning space for equipment was abundant. I've had to get a bit more creative to fit all of the gadgets I so love and depend on under the 425. Essentially, I have space for the 6 socket GHL Powerbar + a 6 socket multisocket and there lies one of the big constraints- I don't want to daisy chain power strips or any of that nonsense, so anything I could live without or simplify was sorted at this stage.

Vortechs - simply the best powerheads out there in my opinion. I much prefer not having cables in the tank- it means I can have a tighter fitting net and cleaning is much easier, which means I'm more likely to do it.

Red Sea ReefATO - it came with the tank, plus, the Maxi doser was LOUD and bulky. ReefATO has the advantage of adding another temp sensor and leak sensor with 0 cost and minimal bulk.

Reef Octopus Skimmer Stand - allows placing the skimmer in the refugium area while maintaining a more appropriate water level for the skimmer without losing aeration provided by leaving the refugium divider in place. This also allows more space for the UV on the back wall.

Evolution Aqua Pond UV - the pond UV is identical to the aquarium UV except the fittings are glued into the aquarium UV which massively restricts flow. Using the pond UV allows the use of 40mm x 1 1/2" fittings. With 2000LPH of available throughput, the return pump runs through the UV, removing the noise, maintenance, space and power that comes with a dedicated UV pump.

D-D Titanium Heater - the Eheim Thermocontrol heaters are the best I've found for temperature control but never last more than a year, even with deliberately undersizing the heater to reduce switching cycles. The D-D is more robust and much more compact. Having dropped the D-D on my foot, I can assure you it's made of strong stuff.

Reef Octopus Skimmer Cleaner - I loved this thing but didn't have the power outlet spare. On the 350, the skimmer was buried at the back so never got cleaned. Now that the skimmer more accessible, the plan is to clean it manually more regularly.

Plumbing
Custom. 32mm up to the tank, then splits into 2 x 25mm. The surface area of 2 x 25mm and 32mm are within about 13% of each other so I didn't see the point in going up to 40mm out of the pump as originally intended. Reef Octopus oddly supply a fitting for approximately 42mm piping (hard to say exactly, not a standard size in this part of the world) with the bigger Varios pumps but the outlet is much closer to 32mm.

 

[amateur.alchemist]

Livestock
Fish
2 x Picasso clownfish - had these guys a few years now, seem to be pair but don't spawn. Super chill, always come to say hi, couldn't ask for better
Squaretail bristletooth tang - model citizen
Banggai Cardinalfish
Peppermint Shrimp - had it for three years, literally never seen it, it leaves a moult out now and again to let me know it's still alive
Flame angel - tank bell end. Everyone is happier when someone keeps him in check
Mystery wrasse
Citron Clown Goby
Red Foxface
Algae Blenny
Turbo, bumblebee and nassarius snails x?
Tuxedo urchin x2

Coral
Green hammer
Blue branching hammer
Dragon soul torch
Toxic green torch
Duncan
Favia
Galaxea
Super red Goniopora
Candy cane
Blue + red Trachy
Green splatter Trachy
Chalice
Cyphastrea
Alveopora
Green bubble
Blue bubble
Green / blue tipped frogspawn
Orange oxide Zoa
Blue Pocillopora
Plating Montipora
Orange tipped Elegance
Yellow + green Fungia
Toadstool


Future Plans
+ Gem tang (on order, ~2 weeks out)
- Squaretail
+ Yellow Dottyback
+ Copperband Butterfly
+ Scooter Blenny
+ Indo torch
+ Gobstopper Zoa
Enjoy?

 

[amateur.alchemist]

Moving day was long but everyone made it! FTS showing the scape a few days after moving. Some corals have moved since this, some corals need to be moved; and I'm still perfecting the flow. Cyano is appearing on the sand bed but with the UV running as of a few days ago it already seems to be regressing.

 

[amateur.alchemist]

Quarantine
I've never bothered with quarantine and have been, admittedly, very lucky, having only had a few minor coral pests. It's getting to the point that I have so much time and money in this that I decided to quit while I'm ahead and get a QT tank for new additions.

I initially ordered a TMC Next Wave 60 and it was woefully bad. The cabinet fell apart under it's own weight because the tolerances were so sloppy on one side. The tank was cracked, scored and scuffed with no shipping damage. The silicone was so flimsy that the glass rattled when lifting the tank. With that returned, I bit the bullet and got a Red Sea Nano Max. What a difference...! They're very well built and aside from a heater, include everything needed in a single box.

With that installed, it was time for a new arrival. A fish I've wanted for many years but never had a display big enough to accommodate. Zebrasoma gemmatum- the gem tang. Just a few minutes after going into the tank it was already colouring up and picking at rocks from the DT sump.