New Redsea Reefer XL 525 108 Gallon Setup and Updates

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 17, 2017

Hi guys,
I'm starting a new reef tank and also wanted to start a thread at the same time in order to document the whole process. So here goes.
I currently have a Red Sea Max C250 (current picture attached) it is 3 1/2 years old and it was also my first tank. It has served me well as a first tank and was great as an intro tank into the hobby. I have decided to upgrade to a larger tank for multiple reasons.

I hate the hood on the RSM
I hate the rear sump
I want a bigger tank so that I have room to grow
I used live rock on the tank which in my opinion is a huge mistake because of the large amount of hitchhikers.

The new tank I chose was the Red Sea Reefer XL 525 deluxe in white. It will be a mixed reef tank, and would like to be very picky about what goes in the tank after I move the coral and fish already have in my RSM. I think the tank looks great and love the Red Sea tank build quality. I ordered the tank last week and am expecting delivery this Tuesday. I will post pictures when it has been delivered and put together in it's new home. Here is a list of equipment I have ordered so far:

Return Pump: Ecotech Marine Vectra M1
Skimmer: Deltec 1456 DC
Powerheads: Two Ecotech Marine MP40's (One new & one moving from old tank)
Substrate: 90lbs of Tropic Eden MesoFlakes (this is how much I ordered, will post how much I actually use)
Rock: "Real Reef", Eco Friendly Shelf Rock - 20 lb
Rock: "Real Reef" Eco Friendly Natural Rock - 60 lb
Heater: Two HMO-300 Finnex Heaters
Lights: Three Hydra 26 HD LED's
Controller: Neptune Apex Controller (Moving from old tank)

That's it so far, let me know what you think...

Cherub · Sep 17, 2017

Welcome! Looking good. I set up a red sea recently. You won't be disappointed!

PlanB · Sep 17, 2017

Congratulations on your upgrade! Can't wait to see it come together.

nautical_nathaniel · Sep 17, 2017

I've been looking at upgrading to one of those tanks as well, but the price has been keeping me away haha Good luck with your new build!

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 19, 2017

New tank just arrived everything looks good, but there is a lot of work to do!!

Dsnakes · Sep 19, 2017

The previous tank looked great. Can't wait to see it on a larger scale! Great work!

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 19, 2017

Ok so had to get all of the boxes opened up and out of the house. I installed the 3 Hydra's and they look great they also fit perfectly on the tank.
One mistake I did make was put the sump in the stand before leveling the doors off. So I had to take it out in order to level the doors (should have read the directions, it's in there). Here are some pics

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

After a long week of work. I finally got around to dry fitting the manifold using 3/4" PVC. I purchased everything from Home Depot after spending about 1 hr in there making sure I got everything I needed. Let me know what you think

ksfulk · Sep 23, 2017

Elias Kalogiros said:
Hi guys,
I'm starting a new reef tank and also wanted to start a thread at the same time in order to document the whole process. So here goes.
I currently have a Red Sea Max C250 (current picture attached) it is 3 1/2 years old and it was also my first tank. It has served me well as a first tank and was great as an intro tank into the hobby. I have decided to upgrade to a larger tank for multiple reasons.

I hate the hood on the RSM

I hate the rear sump

I want a bigger tank so that I have room to grow

I used live rock on the tank which in my opinion is a huge mistake because of the large amount of hitchhikers.

The new tank I chose was the Red Sea Reefer XL 525 deluxe in white. It will be a mixed reef tank, and would like to be very picky about what goes in the tank after I move the coral and fish already have in my RSM. I think the tank looks great and love the Red Sea tank build quality. I ordered the tank last week and am expecting delivery this Tuesday. I will post pictures when it has been delivered and put together in it's new home. Here is a list of equipment I have ordered so far:

Return Pump: Ecotech Marine Vectra M1

Skimmer: Deltec 1456 DC

Powerheads: Two Ecotech Marine MP40's (One new & one moving from old tank)

Substrate: 90lbs of Tropic Eden MesoFlakes (this is how much I ordered, will post how much I actually use)

Rock: "Real Reef", Eco Friendly Shelf Rock - 20 lb

Rock: "Real Reef" Eco Friendly Natural Rock - 60 lb

Heater: Two HMO-300 Finnex Heaters

Lights: Three Hydra 26 HD LED's

Controller: Neptune Apex Controller (Moving from old tank)

That's it so far, let me know what you think...

My only suggestion here would be to go with the Deltec 1455 instead of the 1456, as the DC pumps are far from great. The same skimmer with an AC pump would be fantastic and much more reliable. Ive gone through three DC pumps with this skimmer, and am currently working on getting an AC retrofit for my skimmer.

Looks great though - I'll be watching this one

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

ksfulk said:
My only suggestion here would be to go with the Deltec 1455 instead of the 1456, as the DC pumps are far from great. The same skimmer with an AC pump would be fantastic and much more reliable. Ive gone through three DC pumps with this skimmer, and am currently working on getting an AC retrofit for my skimmer.

Looks great though - I'll be watching this one

Thanks! I have actually decided to go with a Bash Sea Twisted skimmer. The manager at my LFS convinced me to give it a shot and gave me a great price on it. Will put some pictures up once I get it in the house.

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

Need some advice!!
So getting ready to setup the new tank and plan on running the Zeovit program which is recommended to run from day one. I was also planning on running the
Red Sea Reef Mature Pro Kit to get things going, is it a problem/recommended to run both or should I just do Zeovit?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated, this is my second tank and trying to do everything the right way.

ksfulk · Sep 23, 2017

The Zeo Startup and Red Sea Mature Pro do the same thing, so while you could run both, they do the same (or similar) things, so you wouldnt be doing anything but wasting money.

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

ksfulk said:
The Zeo Startup and Red Sea Mature Pro do the same thing, so while you could run both, they do the same (or similar) things, so you wouldnt be doing anything but wasting money.

Thank you. So I guess I will stick with the Zeo Startup. Thank you!!!

ksfulk · Sep 23, 2017

This (here) is what I followed when starting up my tank, and since I was using dry rock, its was more like 17-21 days, but that seems pretty normal if you read the ZeoVit forums. You can see on my build thread where I recorded all of my Zeo dosing for the first 3 months or so. Its seemed to work out pretty well.

As for the skimmer, Ive read a lot of good things about the Bashsea skimmers, but I havent had a chance to run them. I do have one of their sumps though... and the build quality is really good

Cant wait to see it all put together.

Dumb question - your hard plumbing is 1/4" pvc? That seems really restrictive for your return and manifold. What are you planning to run off the manifold?

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

ksfulk said:
This (here) is what I followed when starting up my tank, and since I was using dry rock, its was more like 17-21 days, but that seems pretty normal if you read the ZeoVit forums. You can see on my build thread where I recorded all of my Zeo dosing for the first 3 months or so. Its seemed to work out pretty well.

As for the skimmer, Ive read a lot of good things about the Bashsea skimmers, but I havent had a chance to run them. I do have one of their sumps though... and the build quality is really good Cant wait to see it all put together.

Dumb question - your hard plumbing is 1/4" pvc? That seems really restrictive for your return and manifold. What are you planning to run off the manifold?

Great, I plan on following the ZeoVit to the T. I have heard great things. Your link is very detailed and will be very helpful.

Good question on the plumbing, that's because I was typing too fast and didn't proof read. LOL. The plumbing is 3/4", I corrected it above. Thank you!

PlanB · Sep 23, 2017

I like your light mounts. I have AI Hydras too, and I was wondering what kind of mounts your using? And they look as though the mount is magnetic in some fashion?

Elias Kalogiros · Sep 23, 2017

PlanB said:
I like your light mounts. I have AI Hydras too, and I was wondering what kind of mounts your using? And they look as though the mount is magnetic in some fashion?

I purchased the Reefer "Deluxe" which comes with the 3 Hydras and as per Red Sea "custom" mounting system. There are actually 2 screws that hold each mount to the tank and the tank has pre-drilled holes for the brackets.

jsker · Sep 23, 2017

PlanB said:
I like your light mounts. I have AI Hydras too, and I was wondering what kind of mounts your using? And they look as though the mount is magnetic in some fashion?

Have you looked at the HMS mounts?

jsker · Sep 23, 2017

Elias Kalogiros said:
I purchased the Reefer "Deluxe" which comes with the 3 Hydras and as per Red Sea "custom" mounting system. There are actually 2 screws that hold each mount to the tank and the tank has pre-drilled holes for the brackets.

Great build