Minder’s Red Sea Reefer 625 From the Ground Up Build

minder_mano

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**current**
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Equipment:
3x Radions
4x retrofit t5 (2x blue+ 2x coral+)
3x mp40s
Varios8 return pump
Regal 200int skimmer
2x 200w eheim heaters
Avast Marine Youbuilt reactor
Tunze 3155 ato
Neptune Apex controller
Neptune DOS and DDR
WXM
FMM
2x leak detectors
2x flow meters
Avast Marine Barrel Tender


Livestock:
2 clownfish (Nemo and Bemo)
Benny the lawnmower blenny
Bangaii Cardinal (Shhteve)
Purple Tang (Barney)
Royal Gramma (Tiger)
Midas Blenny
lyretail anthias
Achilles Tang (Vader)
White Tail Tang (DSL)




I want to get a jump start on this thread. It will be a few months before I order the tank. My new home is currently being built. It is a very exciting and kind of stressful time for me and my fiancé. We have an unexpected guest that will be joining us in our new home. We are due to be blessed with a baby boy in March next year. So getting the house built in time, to be able to bring him home there, is our top priority right now. But!! Along the way I am not abandoning my new found favorite hobby! Luckily, there is a great spot on the floor plan for a reef tank. The tank I have chosen to use that is large enough for everything I want to do and won’t break the budget maintaining every month, is... drum roll please, a Red Sea Reefer XXL 625.
Please feel free to leave your comments, opinions or just follow along and help me do this right. I’m planning on having a mixture of sps, lps, and zoas. I currently have a 29gallon mixed reef that is almost a year old but has a lot of livestock that will need to be moved to their new home when the time comes.

My equipment list:
(Some of these are purchased already some are not)
*Apex
*Apex DOS
*4- 48” retrofit T-5 bulbs
*3 radion xr30 g4 pros
*WXM
*Tunze ato
*Cor-20
*2- avast marine reactors
*Kessil H-160 Tuna Flora
*2 - Neptune WAV Powerheads
*avast marine barrel tender
*2 heaters undecided

*skimmer is undecided. please give opinions for 133 gallon with 30 gallon sump. The Deltec 1000ix is catching my eye

Canopy I have been working on
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Plumbing is in ( I know my drawing skills are at the same level as a first grader, I’m thinking the apple pen is a good investment)
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Adding a concrete pier pad underneath the aquarium for extra support
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Plans for tank placement, slop sink, mixing station and holding tank until display tank is ready. It will then be used as a quarantine tank. The plan shows a furnace and water heater in the doorway but those will be moved to the other side of house.
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Scubafrog

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Congrats on the little one. Enjoy! I just went on a college tour with my first born. Days may seem long at times with children but the years go by fast.

Glad to hear the house is about finished. With all the winter weather this season here in the KC area I bet you will be glad to have the house completed.
 

Scubafrog

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This is where the Fish Shop is going. Directly behind the tank on the other side of the wall
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Looks good. I wish I had that space and accessibility in my house. You can even run dedicated electrical lines with ease.

What is the spare drain for? Will you be using it for the aquarium setup or is it for something unrelated to fish?
 
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minder_mano

minder_mano

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Looks good. I wish I had that space and accessibility in my house. You can even run dedicated electrical lines with ease.

What is the spare drain for? Will you be using it for the aquarium setup or is it for something unrelated to fish?

I had the electrician put in separate 20 amp breakers for the tank and mixing station. The drain will be for a laundry tub sink that I can dump all the water down
 

Scubafrog

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Looks good! Did you order the water containers online or buy locally? How many gallons each?

You might want to make sure to leave enough room on the left side of the water containers to get to the drain clean-out if that is your main drain line. Although, I have been in my house 20 years and have never had to access the clean-out.
 
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minder_mano

minder_mano

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Looks good! Did you order the water containers online or buy locally? How many gallons each?

You might want to make sure to leave enough room on the left side of the water containers to get to the drain clean-out if that is your main drain line. Although, I have been in my house 20 years and have never had to access the clean-out.

I bought them at Feldmans farm & home which is a local place. They are 65 gallons each I think, maybe 60. They were super over priced but cheaper then shipping them online. If I ever move and decide to get a larger tank I’ll be able to reuse them since they are a little oversized for my setup now. 12” is code for the cleanout issue but I’ve never had an inspector turn me down when I put a water heater in front of one but I’ll be able to unhook everything and slide the tanks out of the way if I am just super unlucky and the clog is in that exact line haha
 

Scubafrog

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I bought them at Feldmans farm & home which is a local place. They are 65 gallons each I think, maybe 60.

Thanks! I'll have to check Feldmans out if I ever get around to purchasing a RODI unit and build a larger aquarium. I've never had luck finding anything at Tractor Supply Company.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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