Eric's Red Sea Reefer 525XL Build

[Reefer525XL]

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!!!

[vithimiris]

Looks freaking nice! I just sold my 250 reefer yesterday, no time to set it up.

Starting a 120 juwel LIDO tho! yay

[Ron Reefman]

Nice start. Given your past tanks, I'm sure this will be a great looking tank soon enough. Sorry about your tank crash.

How do you feel about the way the sump fits so snugly into the cabinet on the Red Sea? I was concerned with accidental spills or splashes getting water down between the sump glass and the back or sides of the cabinet. When I was considering the RS I was also considering lining the inside of the sump section with FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) and silicone at the seams. I got the CADlight for just that reason, room to work around inside the cabinet and the sump. But then as you know, I also added the extra stand and a 50g cube display refugium.

[GQuinn]

The rockwork looks fantastic.

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by vithimiris

Looks freaking nice! I just sold my 250 reefer yesterday, no time to set it up.

Starting a 120 juwel LIDO tho! yay

Bummer but at least you are setting something up

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

Nice start. Given your past tanks, I'm sure this will be a great looking tank soon enough. Sorry about your tank crash.

How do you feel about the way the sump fits so snugly into the cabinet on the Red Sea? I was concerned with accidental spills or splashes getting water down between the sump glass and the back or sides of the cabinet. When I was considering the RS I was also considering lining the inside of the sump section with FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) and silicone at the seams. I got the CADlight for just that reason, room to work around inside the cabinet and the sump. But then as you know, I also added the extra stand and a 50g cube display refugium.

Thanks Ron, I sure hope so.

About the sump, I actually don't mind it. Sure more room around the perimeter would have been nice but that would mean they had to make the sump smaller and not many people install liners compare to the ones that do. If you have the room for it is a great thing to have and you know that first hand. I do wish they had made the sump maybe 2" shorter front to back to allow access to the bottom hinges incase those ever need to be adjusted. Other than that Im happy with it.

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by GQuinn

The rockwork looks fantastic.

Thank you!!!

[Reefer525XL]

Hung the ATI Powermodule last night. That sucker is heavy. Of course I missed the stud (bottom chord) on both sides by a couple of inches so I had to crawl into the attic and reinforce the ceiling/drywall to hold the light. Took about an hour but got the light perfectly centered over the tank.


Reefer 525XL -2-19-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


Reefer 525XL -2-19-2017-2 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

[moondoggy4]

Looking real good ,I love the equipment list, I am a equipment junkie.

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by moondoggy4

Looking real good ,I love the equipment list, I am a equipment junkie.

Thank you and I am too as you can tell 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

[Goubli]

This is looking sweet! I'm setting up a 650, but I wish mine was rimless. I'm gonna keep following this thread. Good luck!

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by Goubli

This is looking sweet! I'm setting up a 650, but I wish mine was rimless. I'm gonna keep following this thread. Good luck!

Thank you. This is my first rimless tank and I love it, specially with the low iron glass.

[Ron Reefman]

I like the low iron glass as well. But to be perfectly honest, after 6 months with the low iron glass DT and a regular glass display refugium right next to it, you get to the point where you don't really even notice anymore. Although the pop of fluorescence is a bit more dramatic toward the later part of sunset under mostly blue leds.

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I like the low iron glass as well. But to be perfectly honest, after 6 months with the low iron glass DT and a regular glass display refugium right next to it, you get to the point where you don't really even notice anymore. Although the pop of fluorescence is a bit more dramatic toward the later part of sunset under mostly blue leds.

I guess it all depends. If it were a tank with thicker glass you could probably notice it more. However by looking at old pictures of my tank empty and this new tank the difference huge. Keep in mind my old tank had 1/2" regular glass and this new one has 5/8".

[nishal]

Originally Posted by Reefer525XL

Thank you and I am too as you can tell 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

That sump area is looking awesome! Is that white vinyl on the sump? Really like the contrast of the black and white. Looking forward to parallel builds with you.

[solitude127]

Originally Posted by Reefer525XL

Do you think the heat from the light fixture will affect the thermostat?
Nice build BTW.

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by solitude127

Do you think the heat from the light fixture will affect the thermostat?
Nice build BTW.

Thank you! and yes I think the heat will affect the thermostat which is why it will be moved once I add corals and the light needs to be turned on.

[Reefer525XL]

Playing with this tonight, hopefully I can get it all done so that I can fill the tank tomorrow


Reefer 525XL -2-23-2017 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

[slgcmg]

Love these red seas setups. Rock work looks awesome

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by slgcmg

Love these red seas setups. Rock work looks awesome

Thank you!!

[Reefer525XL]

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 we now its official, we got a Saltwater tank again!!


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

[adddo]

Looks great! But arent you worried that the outflow from the reactors are gonna make a lot of noise?

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by adddo

Looks great! But arent you worried that the outflow from the reactors are gonna make a lot of noise?

Thank you. I will be using a couple to make the out go below the surface. I did it this way so that I can see how much water/flow is coming out then I can just put on the coupling and there will be zero noise.

[solitude127]

Plumbing looks great. For the reactors, how do you plan to rinse the media? Also, if the power goes off, can the sump handle the amount of water being drawn to the sump?

[Reefer525XL]

Originally Posted by solitude127

Plumbing looks great. For the reactors, how do you plan to rinse the media? Also, if the power goes off, can the sump handle the amount of water being drawn to the sump?

Media will be washed in the sink before putting the reactor back on the manifold. As for the sump yes it can handle it. The return nozzle is half an inch under the surface so not much water gets siphoned down into the sump. As for the overflow box, barely any water from there goes doing since the pipes are close to the surface as well.