Layton's Full Red Sea Reefer 250 G2 Build

[Layton (OR)]

I ended up buying a few short 1', 2' and 3' end cables to pair to various equipment so I could just remove it at the extension rather than the source (EB832 power bar).

@SuncrestReef helped me with a few tweaks to my configuration also to prevent it from prematurely shutting off (the When On > line will turn the ATK from AUTO to OFF it it runs longer than that).

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If FeedD 000 Then OFF
If LEAK CLOSED Then OFF
If ATK_RO OPEN Then OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 006:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 030:00 Then OFF

Awesome thank you! I also totally missed the tip on the UV, thank you for that. It did push a few more air bubble out when i adjusted the flow up and down. I haven't turned on the actual UV yet, just pumping water through it to ensure the water level in the sump is what it should be. Really appreciate the tips!

 

[blaxsun]

Awesome thank you! I also totally missed the tip on the UV, thank you for that. It did push a few more air bubble out when i adjusted the flow up and down. I haven't turned on the actual UV yet, just pumping water through it to ensure the water level in the sump is what it should be. Really appreciate the tips!

No problem at all. It's a good idea to have the UV pump and return pump running and test a scenario where both get turned off (this was you can gauge how much water from the UV and tank drain back into the sump and adjust any probes, etc. accordingly).

 

[Pod_01]

Just a small suggestion, the Red Sea Salt blue bucket is bit more forgiving vs the pro bucket. I struggled with the Red Sea pro salt, but if you used the Red Sea Pro salt just ignore the comment. Nice set up by the way.

 

[Layton (OR)]

Just a small suggestion, the Red Sea Salt blue bucket is bit more forgiving vs the pro bucket. I struggled with the Red Sea pro salt, but if you used the Red Sea Pro salt just ignore the comment. Nice set up by the way.

I got a couple free buckets of red sea pro salt one small and one large, so using those up first, then I will be using tropic marin pro reef salt going forward.

 

[Layton (OR)]

Lights mounted, AWC up and running, and cabinet doors mounted. In hindsight I should have done the doors before filling the tank and sump. Taking them on and off 20 times to make quarter turn adjustments on the screws was super fun. I really didn’t care for manual water changes when I had my last tank, AWC with the DOS is a dream come true. Followed Suncrest Reefs guide and boom! 10% change spread out over 7 days. Big win for me.

I read a lot of reviews of the ReefLED 90’s. Most negative reviews centered around WiFi connectivity issues, one of the downsides of having a completely cloud based controller. I spent many years working on and designing WiFi Networks. I run all ubiquiti gear in my home. Probably overkill, but 100% coverage on both bands was a priority. Went to connect the lights, and I too ran into some issues. It appeared that after the lights were connecting to the WiFi Network, the ReefBeat app was unable to find them, it would error out, time out, and eventually send me back to the beginning. I confirmed the lights were connected in my UniFi app. Made a couple of changes and then everything was seamless. Assigned my phone and the lights static IPs on the LAN. I also turned off the “Private WiFi” setting on my iPhone itself. After both of those changes I have had no connectivity issues at all. Turned the lights on for a hot second, and they are beautiful! Now off they go for another 3 months and 3 weeks

 

[blaxsun]

Yes, most of us leave the doors off as they're in the way while getting everything setup - then after we realize just how much of a PITA it is to mount them after the fact...

 

[Tomik]

Hey man, That's exactly what I have in mind to get. I live in Oregon as well and love your set up. If you don't mind may I ask you where did you get your tank from ?

 

[powers2001]

@Layton (OR) great start. Let me know how the Sicce UltraZero pump works. I'm building/designing my water mix/change station and I need a pump to extract fresh RO water from the FW vessel for occasional random use. BTW, I have a Reefer 250 too!!

 

[Boaz]

Nice build thread. I'll be watching this one. Maybe I'll get motivated to start my build thread. I set up a Reefer 250 in March, so this looks interesting.

 

[Layton (OR)]

Cycle went as expected. I’d love to know the science behind protein skimmer break in. It didn’t stop overflowing a wall of white foam until the tank had a small bio load. Added a couple clowns and a clean up crew from Dr Reef plus a file fish from algae barn last week. Two days after adding them the protein skimmer started functioning properly. Thank god for the forum or I would’ve spent way too much time trying to dial it in, all in vein.

Fish are doing well and eating everything. The file fish is almost as goofy as the clowns.

 

[blaxsun]

Aiptasia-eating filefish?

 

[Layton (OR)]

Aiptasia-eating filefish?

“Allegedly” hopefully I never have to find out, wishful thinking I know .

 

[blaxsun]

“Allegedly” hopefully I never have to find out, wishful thinking I know .

If it is, they're known for occasionally going after corals after finishing off any aiptasia. Just a head's up...

 

[Layton (OR)]

If it is, they're known for occasionally going after corals after finishing off any aiptasia. Just a head's up...

Yes I’ve seen some of the nightmares. It’ll be a bit before I find out. Waiting until summer ends to add any coral because of vacations and to try to avoid some of the uglies. Hopefully that will get him accustomed to only eating fish food. Who knows ‍

 

[blaxsun]

Yes I’ve seen some of the nightmares. It’ll be a bit before I find out. Waiting until summer ends to add any coral because of vacations and to try to avoid some of the uglies. Hopefully that will get him accustomed to only eating fish food. Who knows ‍

Here's hoping!

 

[Layton (OR)]

ClearView Pisces EXO showed up tonight. I was close to just doing the DIY from Red Sea, but thought better of it. One of the things that drew the wife and I to the Reefer Series was the aesthetic of it, and I didn’t want to take from that. The ClearView was worth the money and the wait. This is well constructed, lightweight, and the fit is like a glove. Now we can sleep easy at night.

 

[saltienewb]

ClearView Pisces EXO showed up tonight. I was close to just doing the DIY from Red Sea, but thought better of it. One of the things that drew the wife and I to the Reefer Series was the aesthetic of it, and I didn’t want to take from that. The ClearView was worth the money and the wait. This is well constructed, lightweight, and the fit is like a glove. Now we can sleep easy at night.

Did you custom build or is this the preconfigured? Looks great.

 

[Layton (OR)]

It was the 250 V3/G2 template with custom cutouts for the lights and AFS.