One Man's Trash.. My Reefer 425XL

[ReefLab]

Good job noticing the problem and even better job coming up with that solution but I don’t think those shims will work long term

So I only used the air shims to temporarily jack up the tank. I placed wood under the feet of the tank and then removed the air shims.

 

[Peach02]

So I only used the air shims to temporarily jack up the tank. I placed wood under the feet of the tank and then removed the air shims.

Ok cool, just clarifying I wasn't too sure with the wording

 

[andyg1960]

Following along. Great job reviving that tank. I have a 525XL and love it. 2 years now. The biggest problem is that dang ATO. It’s a huge PITA to fill and the float valve is problematic. I got rid of that early on and use an external ato now. So much better, and a lot more room in the stand. The valve in the return line is a bit touchy too. I would advise opening it up and cleaning it now. That tank was a mess when you got it and it may be very gunky in there. I can help you with the adjustment when you are up and running if you need help.

 

[MnFish1]

So about two weeks ago, I bought a Reefer 425xl pre-owned. The previous owner didn't have the time to take care of it so things got pretty ugly. Tons of salt creep and ALGAE. Here's a not-so-great picture of the tank below.

I took the rock and a few fish with the tank. The fish are going into a 10gal quarantine in the meantime (2 clowns, a yellow eye tang, and a few snails).
I did get a really good deal on the set up but the biggest issue with the tank was a cracked panel in the sump. The piece that was broken is what the 3 gallon ATO reservoir rests on.. not the greatest design..

It was dead simple to fix. I cut out the broken panel with a Stanley blade and razor. I called a local glazier who normally cuts large panels for windows/doors etc. and asked if they could cut this small panel for me. Not only did they do it but they did it for free! They gave me 1/4" glass which is thicker than the original red sea panel.. hopefully this one will hold better. I soaked the sump in 50:50 water/vinegar for about an hour then scraped off all the scale built up. Silicone the new panel in using Momentive silicone which is recommended on R2R. Let it cure for a day and everything is good!

During all of this, I had the rock soaking. First a bleach bath for a day (1:10 ratio) to kill the algae and other organics, then a vinegar bath for a few hours (1:10 ratio) to try and remove some of the scale build up on the rock, then three rinses with tap water and the last fill I added some Seachem prime to get rid of any residual chlorine. I put a cheap pump at the bottom of a brute trash can to pump the water into the toilet after it filled from the bath faucet. Made everything really easy. Then I let the rock dry outside for a day. If I were to do this again, I think I would have done Muriatic acid or a stronger concentration of vinegar and skipped the bleach altogether.

For the aquascape, me and my girlfriend just played with the position of the rock for a few days until we came up with this. A few spots of superglue to lock in the less stable pieces.

Equipment List (for now)

• Reef Octopus Vario-6
• 2x Ecotech MP40
• Reef Octopus Classic 150 INT skimmer
• Finnex 500W heater with Ink Bird controller
• 2x Aqua Illumination Hydra 26

Working on plumbing and electrical the next few days so ill be posting that. Cant wait to fill 'er up!

Thanks for reading and I'm excited to share what comes of this build.

Nice Job

 

[fishface NJ]

Welcome to R2R. Looks like it will be a nice setup.

 

[ReefLab]

Following along. Great job reviving that tank. I have a 525XL and love it. 2 years now. The biggest problem is that dang ATO. It’s a huge PITA to fill and the float valve is problematic. I got rid of that early on and use an external ato now. So much better, and a lot more room in the stand. The valve in the return line is a bit touchy too. I would advise opening it up and cleaning it now. That tank was a mess when you got it and it may be very gunky in there. I can help you with the adjustment when you are up and running if you need help.

Thanks! Yeah, I can see it being too small for an ATO already. Problem is it seems too small for a refugium also (1.5% of tank volume) so it's kind of useless.. I filled it up yesterday. I'll post some pics in a little while. Took some finagling to get the downflow tuned right. Do you have to tune it at every water change? That seems like a pain. ? Whats your workflow with that valve?

Nice Job

Thanks!

Welcome to R2R. Looks like it will be a nice setup.

I sure hope so. Thank you!

 

[ReefLab]

Electrical "organized" (I tried..) & filled up the tank yesterday. The water cleared up pretty quickly. Took a little while to get the return flow tuned right but seems ok for now. The skimmer is going crazy, though.. the valve wide open right now and is spitting water all over the sump. Is this normal or what should i do to get it under control?

Cycle started today with Red Sea's reef mature kit (bought two to dose 400L) 8 more days to add CUC!

I'm placing an order today for some gate valves and reactors to set up a manifold in the sump. Hoping to have it ready to go after the cycle is complete.

Thanks if you're following along and let me know what you think!

 

[andyg1960]

Thanks! Yeah, I can see it being too small for an ATO already. Problem is it seems too small for a refugium also (1.5% of tank volume) so it's kind of useless.. I filled it up yesterday. I'll post some pics in a little while. Took some finagling to get the downflow tuned right. Do you have to tune it at every water change? That seems like a pain. ? Whats your workflow with that valve?



Thanks!


I sure hope so. Thank you!

No, you don’t have to adjust it much once it is dialed in. What you want is water to be about 1/4” below the emergency overflow. That’s the sweet spot for the system to be the most silent. Make any adjustments slowly and I mean slowly like did it move I’m not sure if it moved . I’m talking 1/8 to a 1/4 of an inch turn and then wait! Wait like 20 minutes to see what happened. That’s how I was successful with that valve. Once you get it dialed in you shouldn’t have to adjust it for water changes or much of anything else unless it gets gunky inside and the water flow slows. for that reason I got rid of that valve and plumbed a gate valve in place instead. That valve and the ATO are the biggest downfalls of that tank. Other than that it’s fabulous

 

[ReefLab]

No, you don’t have to adjust it much once it is dialed in. What you want is water to be about 1/4” below the emergency overflow. That’s the sweet spot for the system to be the most silent. Make any adjustments slowly and I mean slowly like did it move I’m not sure if it moved . I’m talking 1/8 to a 1/4 of an inch turn and then wait! Wait like 20 minutes to see what happened. That’s how I was successful with that valve. Once you get it dialed in you shouldn’t have to adjust it for water changes or much of anything else unless it gets gunky inside and the water flow slows. for that reason I got rid of that valve and plumbed a gate valve in place instead. That valve and the ATO are the biggest downfalls of that tank. Other than that it’s fabulous

How did you replace the gate valve?

 

[andyg1960]

Electrical "organized" (I tried..) & filled up the tank yesterday. The water cleared up pretty quickly. Took a little while to get the return flow tuned right but seems ok for now. The skimmer is going crazy, though.. the valve wide open right now and is spitting water all over the sump. Is this normal or what should i do to get it under control?

Cycle started today with Red Sea's reef mature kit (bought two to dose 400L) 8 more days to add CUC!

I'm placing an order today for some gate valves and reactors to set up a manifold in the sump. Hoping to have it ready to go after the cycle is complete.

Thanks if you're following along and let me know what you think!

No need to run the skimmer during the cycle there’s no waste or proteins to skim. Having said that if it’s a brand new skimmer there is a break in. And it will bubble over and make you crazy for a period of time before you can get it dialed in

 

[andyg1960]

How did you replace the gate valve?

Excuse the wires; I’ve been doing some remodeling under there . Buy Red Sea part 4222 from aquariumpart.com (others have it too) :

Red Sea Reefer Sump Overflow Downpipe 42222

Red Sea Reefer Sump Overflow Downpipe 42222

www.aquariumpart.com

Unscrew and remove the hose barb and glue in PVC pipe and a gate valve similar to this photo.

 

[ReefLab]

Excuse the wires; I’ve been doing some remodeling under there . Buy Red Sea part 4222 from aquariumpart.com (others have it too) :

Red Sea Reefer Sump Overflow Downpipe 42222

Red Sea Reefer Sump Overflow Downpipe 42222

www.aquariumpart.com

Unscrew and remove the hose barb and glue in PVC pipe and a gate valve similar to this photo.

Awesome. Thanks a lot! Just put an order in for some of the things for a manifold. Looks like you have something set up in there too. What do you have going on in your sump?

 

[andyg1960]

I don’t have a manifold. I feel that redirecting flow to other stuff cut down on the return pump’s tank turnover too much. I use a Neptune Apex controller to control a chiller, heaters, UV, and a chaeto reactor running off individual flow pumps. Also using Neptune Trident and Neptune DOS to monitor and control my Alk and Cal dosing.

 

[Rollman]

Looks awesome.

 

[eternalsea]

Has much great potential! Good job on finding a deal

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Nice score on the tank. It’s looking good.

 

[bsr2430]

Nice score!!!
This fall I will also be buying the 425XL!
Wish I could get a deal though! Already stocking up supplies!
New Red Sea skimmer 600 coming!
Two MP40QD already here!
Will sell my old MP40’s in the fall.
I will follow this!

 

[ReefLab]

Looks awesome.

Thanks!

Has much great potential! Good job on finding a deal

Thanks. Perfect timing to find the tank. Hope I do it justice!

Nice score on the tank. It’s looking good.

I know, right. Thanks

Nice score!!!
This fall I will also be buying the 425XL!
Wish I could get a deal though! Already stocking up supplies!
New Red Sea skimmer 600 coming!
Two MP40QD already here!
Will sell my old MP40’s in the fall.
I will follow this!

Youre going to love it. Are you getting the new Red Sea lights with it? They look sweet. And that skimmer should be great too. Im jealous you'll have a built in refugium lol. I might rig something up in this sump to create one.
Ill be setting up a manifold later this week so definitely check back if that's something youve been thinking about.

 

[ReefLab]

Not a very exciting update but I raised the skimmer about 2 inches so it could be in the 6-8" threshold Reef Octopus recommends. The rubber rings are there to try and lower the noise that comes from my skimmer.. they're actually O rings from carbon filters I just replaced in my RO system. Just used a few dabs of superglue to get them to stick to the PVC.

 

[bsr2430]

I have Radions xr30 that I will move over to the 425, still looking for one more mount kit for the Radions. I thought about hanging it from the ceiling, but I couldn’t put myself to put holes in a brand new house...

The only issue I might run into with this rimless tank, cats! We have two of them... they’ve never tried to get on top of the tank, but I can only bet they would try now with this ultra clear glass!hahaha I’ll buy the netting that’s for this tank.

I will also set up a underwater camera this fall to live stream my tank while I’m working!