"MY" Dream Tank BUILD Reefer 525XL.

[Salty-Sailor]

I have finally made up my mind to start the process of upgrading my reef tank from cheap $55 petco non drilled tank because of the money pit that it has been with minimal success because of limitations of this tank. ive added all kinds of extra equipment to make up the differnce but this setup has been fighting me night and day! lol

As a added push to build new tank and setup was how unprofessional looking the tank was with hangon overflow and tons of cables running into my tank and being that it is a office tank there needed to be a change!

The biggest part was my smart idea of putting the 55G tank on an office desk! 500Pounds and 5Months later just before closing my office i hear the legs on the desk buckling underneath itself!
i run to the tank as if i was going to catch it :| Which i kinda did and luckly had my phone on me, called my LFS & they sent someone over ASAP and helped me brace the tank until i was able to find a basic 55G stand. Thanks Carlos!

Since this ive set up the tank in the next room in my office to keep everyone alive in the 55G and now that the office desk is gone im building this Red sea Reefer 525XL in that spot!

Soooo long winded into over! on to the good stuff!

So far i have my LFS putting together a huge assortment of equipment to make this tank somewhat easier on me to maintain and enjoy to its fullest potential as a reef.

Would love some feedback from the community of R2R of any of the equipment/ setup that im planning on running to have the most successful reef i can manage.

Heres what i have down so far!

Red Sea Reefer 525XL.
Ecotech L1 Return pump.
Center light for SPS Ecotech Radion gen 4 XR30 PRO.
Each side left and right Ecotech Radion Gen 4 XR15 PRO for LPS.
Apex Gold Wifi controller.
Apex dosing pump and reservoirs.
Bubble magnus D8 protein skimmer.
300Watt heater.
2 Apex WAV pumps (rated up 4000GPH each)
120Pounds of FIJI pink Live sand.
Thinking Minimalist on rock for lots of swimming room for fish and sand dwellers but enough to place a good amount of coral on. thinkning 75-80Pounds of rock in DT.
Marine pure Block 8"x8"x4" in sump.

Needing help on deciding on how to do refugium in skimmer section of sump and also deciding what light to run over it. (also run miracle mud? sand? BB fuge?)
what type of reactors to plump into return pump via gate valve? carbon/biopellets/GFO etc...
Should i run a chiller or should i spend that money on getting AC dialed in at work...? lol AC at work just has huge fluctuation in temperature throughout the day and night. (bad insulation and old AC units)

Appreciate any comments, suggestions or just your 2cents on things to do or better not to do! I really want to do everything right the first time and have a thriving reef for many many years to come!

Thanks!!!!

 

[Jisko]

I'd love a red sea but every time I look at them I go yup I buy this and my car will break down and I'll be peddling my way to school haha

I've never heard of someone putting a refugium in the skimmer section I'd think this would cause a lot of problems of cheato and such getting into the skimmer once it begins to grow out

 

[Salty-Sailor]

I'd love a red sea but every time I look at them I go yup I buy this and my car will break down and I'll be peddling my way to school haha

I've never heard of someone putting a refugium in the skimmer section I'd think this would cause a lot of problems of cheato and such getting into the skimmer once it begins to grow out

I was thinking about doing something like this http://www.reefdreams.co.uk/acatalog/Reefer-Baffle-Kits.html

but they're out of the UK unfortunately. figured someone had to have done this in the US by now!

Also i hear you on that! i factored in the price on the tank but to properly maintain this tank and hopfully thrive the equipment is 3 times the price of the tank!!! lol

 

[Jisko]

I was thinking about doing something like this http://www.reefdreams.co.uk/acatalog/Reefer-Baffle-Kits.html

but they're out of the UK unfortunately. figured someone had to have done this in the US by now!

Also i hear you on that! i factored in the price on the tank but to properly maintain this tank and hopfully thrive the equipment is 3 times the price of the tank!!! lol

yeah people don't believe me when I tell them setting up a basic 30g with 20g sump can cost over a $1000 easy with no fish or anything special haha

 

[ksfulk]

Red Sea Reefer 525XL.
Ecotech L1 Return pump.
Center light for SPS Ecotech Radion gen 4 XR30 PRO.
Each side left and right Ecotech Radion Gen 4 XR15 PRO for LPS.
Apex Gold Wifi controller.
Apex dosing pump and reservoirs.
Bubble magnus D8 protein skimmer.
300Watt heater.
2 Apex WAV pumps (rated up 4000GPH each)
120Pounds of FIJI pink Live sand.
Thinking Minimalist on rock for lots of swimming room for fish and sand dwellers but enough to place a good amount of coral on. thinkning 75-80Pounds of rock in DT.
Marine pure Block 8"x8"x4" in sump.

Needing help on deciding on how to do refugium in skimmer section of sump and also deciding what light to run over it. (also run miracle mud? sand? BB fuge?)
what type of reactors to plump into return pump via gate valve? carbon/biopellets/GFO etc...
Should i run a chiller or should i spend that money on getting AC dialed in at work...? lol AC at work just has huge fluctuation in temperature throughout the day and night. (bad insulation and old AC units)

Appreciate any comments, suggestions or just your 2cents on things to do or better not to do! I really want to do everything right the first time and have a thriving reef for many many years to come!

Great call on the 525xL - I love mine. Its easily the nicest tank Ive ever owned. The equipment looks good. I cant speak much to the Radions, as I havent ever run them, but you might need more than 3 for full coverage. I really needed 4 hydra 26s on my last tank of similar dimension to prevent shading - just something to think about. I run the WAVs and they are great pumps - no problem with them at all.

I would reach out to some of the acrylic vendors that support the site, you may be able to get one of them to fabricate a refugium baffle for your sump for quite a bit less than it costs to get that on sent from the UK. I know that OctoAquatics ( @cromag08 ) was looking at some specialty project type work.

I run the MarinePure block in my sump as well - I would just note that depending on the heater and skimmer footprints, you can quickly run out of usable real estate in the sump - particularily if you use the Eheim Jager heaters, particularily if you are adding reactors that also have to sit in the sump. And if you plan on adding a baffle, well, you'll lose out on even more space. Might me a good idea to look into the suspended AquaMaxx reactors that several people run, so you dont eat up sump space.

Ive heard the Kessil horticulture fixture (looks alot like the A360 but red LED) is a great fuge bulb, with a small footprint. Ive never run fuge mud in my refugiums, so again, no real help there. There's also a MarsAqua unit on Amazon that is pretty popular. Not sure of the model, but it has a white case.

My suggestion if you are running a manifold off the Vectra, is to upsize your return piping. The included collar allows for 1" pipe, but the Ecotech adapters (sold seperately) give you a wider diameter (1.5" I believe on the L1) and allows for more regular flow from the pump into the manifolds. I just redid my plumbing for my M1 and upsized from 3/4" to 1" pipe and the increase in gph is significant.

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Great call on the 525xL - I love mine. Its easily the nicest tank Ive ever owned. The equipment looks good. I cant speak much to the Radions, as I havent ever run them, but you might need more than 3 for full coverage. I really needed 4 hydra 26s on my last tank of similar dimension to prevent shading - just something to think about. I run the WAVs and they are great pumps - no problem with them at all.

I would reach out to some of the acrylic vendors that support the site, you may be able to get one of them to fabricate a refugium baffle for your sump for quite a bit less than it costs to get that on sent from the UK. I know that OctoAquatics ( @cromag08 ) was looking at some specialty project type work.

I run the MarinePure block in my sump as well - I would just note that depending on the heater and skimmer footprints, you can quickly run out of usable real estate in the sump - particularily if you use the Eheim Jager heaters, particularily if you are adding reactors that also have to sit in the sump. And if you plan on adding a baffle, well, you'll lose out on even more space. Might me a good idea to look into the suspended AquaMaxx reactors that several people run, so you dont eat up sump space.

Ive heard the Kessil horticulture fixture (looks alot like the A360 but red LED) is a great fuge bulb, with a small footprint. Ive never run fuge mud in my refugiums, so again, no real help there. There's also a MarsAqua unit on Amazon that is pretty popular. Not sure of the model, but it has a white case.

My suggestion if you are running a manifold off the Vectra, is to upsize your return piping. The included collar allows for 1" pipe, but the Ecotech adapters (sold seperately) give you a wider diameter (1.5" I believe on the L1) and allows for more regular flow from the pump into the manifolds. I just redid my plumbing for my M1 and upsized from 3/4" to 1" pipe and the increase in gph is significant.

Im thinking the suspended reactors is definitely the way to go to keep as much space in the skimmer chamber for skimmer and fuge.

i was looking at the cobalt neo therm double heater that is 300watts and very slim and low profile so this should save a little room as well i think.

the tank is definitely a gorgeous tank and was planning on doing the 450 but figured the 525 would be a lot better for what i want with the sump being two inches wider.

i need to do more research and really would love to give the work to a R2R member on the acrylic fuge insert. ive seen the kessil horticulture fixture and that is a definite competitor in my decision.

 

[Reefer1978]

Is budget a concern?

120Pounds of FIJI pink Live sand. - you might need more

75-80Pounds of rock in DT. - which rock?

Since you will have an Apex, I highly recommend finnex titanium heaters. Their controllers are crap, but the heating element is awesome and the only thing I've been using on all my tanks for a few years.

 

[ksfulk]

Im using a Finnex titanium 500w and an Eheim Jager 250w - and the Finnex is a really nice heater with a small footprint. I used 2- 800w Finnex heaters on my 300+ gallon system a few years ago without any issue as well.

 

[Reefer525XL]

Excellent choice. I also have the 525XL in white and love it. Nicest tank I've own in the last 9 years or so that I've been in the hobby. Your equipment list seems ok. I would just get 3 XR30w Pro's instead of 2x 15's and 1x 30.

If need any ideas feel free to check out my build thread here on R2R. Link in my signature!!! Good luck.

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Is budget a concern?

120Pounds of FIJI pink Live sand. - you might need more

75-80Pounds of rock in DT. - which rock?

Since you will have an Apex, I highly recommend finnex titanium heaters. Their controllers are crap, but the heating element is awesome and the only thing I've been using on all my tanks for a few years.

Haitian live rock was the plan. You really think more sand? im not wanting a super deep sand bed, just enough for the quality of the tank as well as aesthetically pleasing to me.

defiantly will look into more options on heaters like the finnex. i appreciate your input!

 

[Reefer1978]

Haitian live rock was the plan. You really think more sand? im not wanting a super deep sand bed, just enough for the quality of the tank as well as aesthetically pleasing to me.

defiantly will look into more options on heaters like the finnex. i appreciate your input!

I think you will get about a 1" sandbed, if you want a little higher get one more bag. Since you are planning to use live sand, it's heavier due to liquid, so less volume compared to dry sand.

 

[Salty-Sailor]

I think you will get about a 1" sandbed, if you want a little higher get one more bag. Since you are planning to use live sand, it's heavier due to liquid, so less volume compared to dry sand.

hmmm... whats the depth of your sandbed? 2-3inches?

 

[Reefer1978]

hmmm... whats the depth of your sandbed? 2-3inches?

I went for two, yes. I wanted unique rock work, so I built a PVC pipe structure to hold rocks vertically, needed and wanted deeper sandbed to hide it. You can check out some pics in my build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/vlads-reefer-425-xl.298463/

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Excellent choice. I also have the 525XL in white and love it. Nicest tank I've own in the last 9 years or so that I've been in the hobby. Your equipment list seems ok. I would just get 3 XR30w Pro's instead of 2x 15's and 1x 30.

If need any ideas feel free to check out my build thread here on R2R. Link in my signature!!! Good luck.

budget wise and what i planned on keeping in my mixed reef the two xr15 pros ive been told they should have no shadowing at all. seeing them in action is impressive & seems to hold true even on wider & deeper tanks then the 525.

 

[nanchil]

Any update ? My 525XL got delivered last week ... Tagging along this thread ...

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Today's the day!!! installing tank today dry and plumbing everything!!! Plumb reactors over return section or on backside like most all have done? I'm thinking over return section would be better to get to as well as not take away from room in skimmer area that will be part fuge. would love to get some feedback!

Thanks!

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Any update ? My 525XL got delivered last week ... Tagging along this thread ...

sorry, still new to R2R didnt see your post until now! ill upload some photos today of the install process as well as pictures of some of the equipment that i got in last week.

 

[Salty-Sailor]

The Tank is here! painted sump, hard Plumbed! sadly gonna be dry for a little to save a little more cash to do the rest of the equipment all at once and have everything in place from the start!

 

[sebastiaan1985]

Nice build! Really good looking tank and great choice for equipment, so I'm following!

 

[Salty-Sailor]

Nice build! Really good looking tank and great choice for equipment, so I'm following!

Thanks! The painted sump is pretty subtle but easily my favorite thing to look at so far!