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)
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.
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 Varios-6- Reef Octopus Varios-8
- 2x Ecotech MP40
- Reef Octopus Classic 150 INT skimmer
- Finnex 500W heater with Ink Bird controller
- 2x Aqua Illumination Hydra 26
- Aquatic Life 36" T5 Hybrid
- Tunze osmolator
UFO Grow light 150W- Tunze Eco-Chic refugium light
- 25 Watt Aqua Ultraviolet
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.
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