RED SEA REEFER 250 G2 BUILD

[LVMIERE]

Good day all!

So finally completed a 4 straight day stint of setting up the tank above and its about 95% complete and believe some learning points should be shared to make life easier for others looking at getting the above unit.

Introduction:-
Had a Red Sea Max Nano tank first and ran it in the bathroom(I like the therapeutic time on the throne and watching the corals) - Pic attached for viewing pleasure.

Well unfortunately, one of the wires caught fire and basically sounded like a transformer catching fire and thankfully was at home to catch it and ran to the bathroom to see a super amazing blue light with the sound of arcing electricity like Nicola Tesla lit a coil up and the lovely smell of acrid plastic smoke. Was basically super burnt out and told the lady boss I have had enough of it as work has been super demanding and I did not have time to figure it out anymore. Chiller also ceased working, have basically lost all my acros and a few torches by the end of the week since the mini fire.

Few days passes and Im reaching out to some mates to take the whole setup with everything FOC just get it the hell outta my life and sight. Lady boss suddenly starts saying that I should continue it and restart in another area as a standalone(have always told her I was going to build one but never got the time around it), I still was adament on getting it removed completely and I was done. That until she sends me a photo of our kid standing infront of the tank staring in at the corals and fishes and says, if not for me then for her you should be restarting. Sure enough now I am here with a Red Sea Reefer 250 G2.

The beginning:-
Work started to get amazing and closed a few large deals and decided I was going to take time away from the office to rebuild it all.

Started purchasing all the parts(apologies no photos as my mind was more occupied with getting it up as fast as possible thus tunnel vision to just start working), equipment used:-

Tank:- Red Sea Reefer 250 G2
Return Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP4.0 DC water pump 4000L/H
Rock:- CaribSea Life Rock Set 40lbs + Aquaforest Stone fix
Substrate:- CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand
Chiller:- HAILEA HK-300A Chiller (I live in a tropical country thus it is basically baking)
Chiller Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP1.2 DC water pump 1200L/H
Return Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP4.0 DC water pump 4000L/H
Filter system:- Red Sea ReefMat 500
Skimmer:- Deltec Skimmer 600ix
UV:- Deltec UV 20 watt
ATO:- Tunze 3351 ATO optical sensor
Refugium light:- Kessil H80 with the gooseneck
Reactors:- Two Little Fishes mini reactor(yet to be installed, ran out of joints and pipe through wastage)

Additional parts/equipment:-

25mm Diameter red PVC piping ~ 3m
25mm union joints - 3
25mm 90 elbows - 10
25mm T-joints - 2
25mm gate valves - 2
25mm threaded male - 2(UV)

20mm Diameter red PVC piping ~ 2
20mm union joints - 3
20mm 90 elbows - 10

PVC PIPE CUTTER
PVC PIPE GLUE
EPOXY - where needed
TEFLON TAPE

Start of the process, ordered the G2 and got the V3 unit delivered instead. Was completely livid as I had already planned to be away from the desk for the days and told them to immediately replace it but was told to wait a week or I could have the unit unassembled instead. So unfortunately obviously had no other option but to also have to assemble the cabinet. didnt have a choice as I wanted to place the reefmat in without further modification and the sumps were different.

Gone with the V3 and in with the completely unassembled G2 in black instead.

Got started prepping the rockwork and substrate;

-Learned from the first tank that the size of the grain was a large factor with having snowstorms in the tank and going everywhere, thus decided to use Caribsea special grade sand.
-Also rinsed the sand with a strainer to just capture the bigger grains and the finer snow storm grains are gone for good. Run the sand through normal piped water and run the strainer in a bucket of RO water thereafter deposit into the holding bucket for processed sand ready to be used in the tank once completed, repeat until 2 bags of 20lb bags are cleaned.

Rockwork;

- Draw out the outline of the tank on a piece of cardboard and start your rough idea on rockscape desired.
- Get plastic cups, gloves and plastic spoons to prepare cement mixes as it dries within 10 minutes.
- I used mainly a mix of 50ml of cement with 20ml of water to get the consistency that was not to runny while not un malleable.
- Once the blocks are mainly dry, mix a batch of cement that has the consistency of a smoothie and tilt the rock and let it flow through all the cracks and crevices to improve the bond.
- Leave the rockscape the dry for the day to allow it to completely bond.


Start of the tank preparation;

Above is the base photo of the G2 with the chiller within and the tentative placement of the inline UV I am running.

Apologies but I barely have photos of the process through this period until today where its nearly completed.

Still have a few final improvements:-
-Hard piping chiller outflow into return section of the sump
-Attaching 2 reactors to the gate valves

I do have to emphasize, please be super careful with the PVC pipe cutter. My fingers are completely sliced up and I never notice the cuts until my hands were sticky from the blood - USE RUBBER 3M GLOVES when working with the PVC piping.

I just posted this to possibly share what I am working with and hopefully it will assist someone in their journey planning. I would be completely open to any input its all a learning curve here so shoot away.

 

[blaxsun]

That is one optimized cabinet! You should definitely recreate this as a build thread and link to your profile.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Love you aquascape design and how organized everything thing is!!!

 

[LVMIERE]

That is one optimized cabinet! You should definitely recreate this as a build thread and link to your profile.

Haha, it was a fair bit of on the spot brainstorming, unfortunately the ATO and Doser+Dosing container will have to be moved to a small cabinet beside the tank. Bought a small one from IKEA and modified it to reduce the length. Will post the completed photo . Also is this not a build thread? A little confused as it says build thread.

Love you aquascape design and how organized everything thing is!!!

Many thanks! Pretty sure I have OCD, my wife has constantly highlighted it haha

First few movers have done the shift for 2 days as a trial as they were looking the roughest in the previous fire tank:-

 

[peterhos]

Hi There. Great workmanship being shown here! I bought exactly the same tank 6 months ago. Looks good so fingers crossed it lasts for many years. When I started I meant to keep the media socks … but soon fell for a skimmer … and then the roller mat, so had to take out the sock tray. I find myself adjusting the skimmer level whenever the sump level falls, but only takes a minute. Good luck with the tank.

 

[blaxsun]

Haha, it was a fair bit of on the spot brainstorming, unfortunately the ATO and Doser+Dosing container will have to be moved to a small cabinet beside the tank. Bought a small one from IKEA and modified it to reduce the length. Will post the completed photo . Also is this not a build thread? A little confused as it says build thread.

Yes, here's a thread to show you how to link this to your profile.

FEATURED - 2023 R2R Build Threads/Journals! Share a LINK to yours!

It's been since "last year" that we've had a thread like this so let's get one going for 2023! Share a link to your R2R Build/Journal Thread here in this thread! Here is/was my most recent build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/revs-400-gallon-basement-inwall.243934/...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[LVMIERE]

Hi There. Great workmanship being shown here! I bought exactly the same tank 6 months ago. Looks good so fingers crossed it lasts for many years. When I started I meant to keep the media socks … but soon fell for a skimmer … and then the roller mat, so had to take out the sock tray. I find myself adjusting the skimmer level whenever the sump level falls, but only takes a minute. Good luck with the tank.

Appreciate the compliment! If yould need more detailed photos on any planning just drop me a message if needed.

Ah yes that was the reason I was adament on getting the Reef Mat because I was constantly changing filter pads in the previous and it was only a max nano. Thats why I was fuming when the shop dropped me the V3 when I paid for the G2 which that this option to immediately drop it in. I did make a mod for it though - modified the input hose and made a 90 degree elbow that connects it and increases the space ever so slightly. Will drop a photo later tonight when I get back(Odd Redsea never made/provided a 90 degree elbow for the unit)

Ive never had to readjust the diaphram valve(Will probably change it to a gate valve when I see the need) after that and it all seems to automate itself level wise, mind I do have the Tunze ATO sensor at the back with the high level water alarm that is a pain in the add to hear but has not gone off in 3 days since fine tuning tank to sump and different reefmat clogged filter levels.

Yes, here's a thread to show you how to link this to your profile.

FEATURED - 2023 R2R Build Threads/Journals! Share a LINK to yours!

It's been since "last year" that we've had a thread like this so let's get one going for 2023! Share a link to your R2R Build/Journal Thread here in this thread! Here is/was my most recent build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/revs-400-gallon-basement-inwall.243934/...

www.reef2reef.com

Much appreciated! Man your initial black table in your photos look super good. Dream room right there huge table running 4 computer screens and a proper reef tank right there. Again appreciate the assistance.

 

[LVMIERE]

Just thought Id give a rolling update since the last so that the information is kept open for anyone that may come across this for additional ideas.

Since the last update of repurposing an Ikea cabinet, was not too satisfied with the overall size and color as well as the optimization of space. I had thus decided to fabricate my own which of course was a much more tiresome process but well worth the suffering at the end.

Rough sketching the idea then gave it a shot on AUTOCAD to 3D model it.
Idea was to have 3 sections and have the top height of the cabinet align with the REEFER 250 Cabinet:-
TOP SECTION - MASTERTRONIC AUTO TESTER
MIDDLE SECTION - RED SEA REEFDOSE 4 HEAD+DOSING CONTAINER, MASTERTRONIC WASTE WATER VESSEL, OTHER BOTTLES OF AQUARIUM RELATED THINGS*AS WE ALL HAVE A MILLION RANDOM REEF THINGS*
BOTTOM SECTION - ATO WATER CONTAINER

Ordered the required plywood and started working:-
Process was tedious but always measure twice cut once, brain fogged a few moments so ended up redoing a little.

Things used:-
-PLYWOOD
-TYPICAL WOOD SELF TAPPING SCREWS
-JIGSAW
-CABINET HINGES
-ROLLING HINGES for top section
-A WOOD FILLER*You will have to sand the plywood down once then add the wood filler and sand it to as smooth of a finish as you can get as imperfections at this stage will show at the end*
-1x Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 Primer Spray
-3 x Rust-Oleum Professional Fast Dry Enamel Spray paint

Once the Woodfiller is sanded down to the best you can do, use a vacuum to remove as much debris and thereafter a tac cloth if not a lightly damp cloth to wipe of residue*if damp cloth is used wait for surface to dry completely as most wood fillers are water soluble*. Thereafter coat with primer to your satisfaction and do a light sand before doing initial light coats with the enamel paint to finally spraying thick coats towards the end in one pass to reduce varying gradients on viewing surfaces.

Also decided to modify a dosing container to fit inside the middle section, as well as make it airtight with check valves as I intended to mass mix dosing chemicals and keep everything sterilised.

And viola, fits and matches the color decently

Completed cabinet, I added some LED strips internally as well to just help with visibility when being accessed.

Currently I am dosing the following with very satisfied results
Tropic Marin - All For Reef @ 8ML Daily
Coral Essentials - Power Amino @ 4ML Daily*dosed throughout the photoperiod spread*
Coral Essentials - Power Gro @ 4ML Daily*dosed throughout the night spread*

Types of foods used, all varies to my mood for the day:-
- EHIEM AUTOFEEDER, filled with PE Mysis pellets + TDO Pallets fed once a day at 9PM
- MANUAL FED -
Coral Essentials CVE+ or Red Sea Energy AB+, about 5ML
Fauna Marin Min S, 2 drops
Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast Live, 10 drops
TLF Goniopower, just a sprinkle
TLF Marinesnow, just a few drops

Currently at the 2 month mark I roughly presume, have a full hammer garden on the left, an Oz Torch section in the bottom middle, and Indo Torches on the bottom right*have not had success mixing the 2 torches type, thus went with this segregation*

Have added a few acro colonies for 3 weeks or so and PE is good with no visible STN*for now :S*

But other than that it has been going decent.

I have made also 3D Printed Visors and a flow valve for the Reefmat 500 that I will post in due time.

 

[TinyReef522]

Good day all!

So finally completed a 4 straight day stint of setting up the tank above and its about 95% complete and believe some learning points should be shared to make life easier for others looking at getting the above unit.

Introduction:-
Had a Red Sea Max Nano tank first and ran it in the bathroom(I like the therapeutic time on the throne and watching the corals) - Pic attached for viewing pleasure.

Well unfortunately, one of the wires caught fire and basically sounded like a transformer catching fire and thankfully was at home to catch it and ran to the bathroom to see a super amazing blue light with the sound of arcing electricity like Nicola Tesla lit a coil up and the lovely smell of acrid plastic smoke. Was basically super burnt out and told the lady boss I have had enough of it as work has been super demanding and I did not have time to figure it out anymore. Chiller also ceased working, have basically lost all my acros and a few torches by the end of the week since the mini fire.

Few days passes and Im reaching out to some mates to take the whole setup with everything FOC just get it the hell outta my life and sight. Lady boss suddenly starts saying that I should continue it and restart in another area as a standalone(have always told her I was going to build one but never got the time around it), I still was adament on getting it removed completely and I was done. That until she sends me a photo of our kid standing infront of the tank staring in at the corals and fishes and says, if not for me then for her you should be restarting. Sure enough now I am here with a Red Sea Reefer 250 G2.

The beginning:-
Work started to get amazing and closed a few large deals and decided I was going to take time away from the office to rebuild it all.

Started purchasing all the parts(apologies no photos as my mind was more occupied with getting it up as fast as possible thus tunnel vision to just start working), equipment used:-

Tank:- Red Sea Reefer 250 G2
Return Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP4.0 DC water pump 4000L/H
Rock:- CaribSea Life Rock Set 40lbs + Aquaforest Stone fix
Substrate:- CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand
Chiller:- HAILEA HK-300A Chiller (I live in a tropical country thus it is basically baking)
Chiller Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP1.2 DC water pump 1200L/H
Return Pump:- Skimz QuietPro QP4.0 DC water pump 4000L/H
Filter system:- Red Sea ReefMat 500
Skimmer:- Deltec Skimmer 600ix
UV:- Deltec UV 20 watt
ATO:- Tunze 3351 ATO optical sensor
Refugium light:- Kessil H80 with the gooseneck
Reactors:- Two Little Fishes mini reactor(yet to be installed, ran out of joints and pipe through wastage)

Additional parts/equipment:-

25mm Diameter red PVC piping ~ 3m
25mm union joints - 3
25mm 90 elbows - 10
25mm T-joints - 2
25mm gate valves - 2
25mm threaded male - 2(UV)

20mm Diameter red PVC piping ~ 2
20mm union joints - 3
20mm 90 elbows - 10

PVC PIPE CUTTER
PVC PIPE GLUE
EPOXY - where needed
TEFLON TAPE

Start of the process, ordered the G2 and got the V3 unit delivered instead. Was completely livid as I had already planned to be away from the desk for the days and told them to immediately replace it but was told to wait a week or I could have the unit unassembled instead. So unfortunately obviously had no other option but to also have to assemble the cabinet. didnt have a choice as I wanted to place the reefmat in without further modification and the sumps were different.

Gone with the V3 and in with the completely unassembled G2 in black instead.

Got started prepping the rockwork and substrate;

-Learned from the first tank that the size of the grain was a large factor with having snowstorms in the tank and going everywhere, thus decided to use Caribsea special grade sand.
-Also rinsed the sand with a strainer to just capture the bigger grains and the finer snow storm grains are gone for good. Run the sand through normal piped water and run the strainer in a bucket of RO water thereafter deposit into the holding bucket for processed sand ready to be used in the tank once completed, repeat until 2 bags of 20lb bags are cleaned.

Rockwork;

- Draw out the outline of the tank on a piece of cardboard and start your rough idea on rockscape desired.
- Get plastic cups, gloves and plastic spoons to prepare cement mixes as it dries within 10 minutes.
- I used mainly a mix of 50ml of cement with 20ml of water to get the consistency that was not to runny while not un malleable.
- Once the blocks are mainly dry, mix a batch of cement that has the consistency of a smoothie and tilt the rock and let it flow through all the cracks and crevices to improve the bond.
- Leave the rockscape the dry for the day to allow it to completely bond.


Start of the tank preparation;

Above is the base photo of the G2 with the chiller within and the tentative placement of the inline UV I am running.

Apologies but I barely have photos of the process through this period until today where its nearly completed.

Still have a few final improvements:-
-Hard piping chiller outflow into return section of the sump
-Attaching 2 reactors to the gate valves

I do have to emphasize, please be super careful with the PVC pipe cutter. My fingers are completely sliced up and I never notice the cuts until my hands were sticky from the blood - USE RUBBER 3M GLOVES when working with the PVC piping.

I just posted this to possibly share what I am working with and hopefully it will assist someone in their journey planning. I would be completely open to any input its all a learning curve here so shoot away.

How are you liking having a refugium? What is your maintenance schedule like? I am considering starting one in my new 250 just not sure if it would be worth it or the logistics of it because I have a skimmer and use the gravity fed ATO that came with the 250.

 

[LVMIERE]

How are you liking having a refugium? What is your maintenance schedule like? I am considering starting one in my new 250 just not sure if it would be worth it or the logistics of it because I have a skimmer and use the gravity fed ATO that came with the 250.

Hi mate, sorry for the late reply. Regarding your questions:-

How are you liking having the refugium
-Honestly am liking it, Ive moved the skimmer to the back section of the sump and the refugium now is beside the Reef Mat and used a plastic crate to segregate the Reef Mat and refugium with Chaeto, currently I have no fishing in yet but have been trying to grow copepods/amphipods for them which are currently doing very well. Would say start now rather then later to allow it to build a decent population that would sustain the display tank.

Maintenance schedule
- Ive just left my tank untouched for 2 weeks doing nothing to see if everything maintains stable which it has as a trial as I travel a fair bit.
Can say regarding maintenance I basically can go 2 weeks without a water change and a 25L external water container as an ATO which I would strongly suggest you do as well including an automatic ATO. Only real thing I have had to do is scrape the glass with the magnet scrapper once a week as I dose a fair amount of AMINOS and AB+ type supplements daily via my Red Sea Auto doser.

Ive built the system to at best be automated in all aspects with connectivity through my phone since Im mainly busy with work and travel as well thus reducing the need for me to constantly check through everything.

Currently automated wise:-
Red sea Doser via reefbeat app - *allows me to tweak KH, Cal, Mag + Coral supplements*
Red sea Reefmat 300 via reefbeat app - *filter sock auto changes*
Kessil H80 via TAPO app - Using a wifi plug, enables me to give it a scheduled timing to turn on during night time
Mastertronic via Focustronic app - Does all the relevant KH, Mag, Cal, Phosphate and Nitrate tests automatic to my schedule
Tunze ATO - Automatic water top up

Forward improvements:-
Red sea DC Skimmer 300 - Currently on order *has the capability to check if the skimmer cup is overflowing and auto cuts off skimming to 30% incase I am not around - connected via reefbeat app as well*
Red sea ATO - Currently on order *allows me to check the actual sump water levels and also connects to reefbeat app* The tunze at times randomly alarms at times since the flow of water returning thrugh the filter changes which is a pain because even last night it was making an alarm loudly below and I didnt know about it until the morning - Something which could have been avoided if I had it inform me via an app which is why I am changing to the Red Sea ATO.
Red sea Return Pump - thinking to change my current return pump to enable me to have overview of it also via reef beat app

As much as there is a divided opinion on red seas equipment on marketing gimmics and nice color scheme, I have to admit being able to have an actual connectivity to your personal device to help you check in at any time and inform you of changes needed or issues that have occured I feel are a winner for me regarding having the tank being *self sustaining* as best as possible with minimal time spent on maintenance.

 

[TinyReef522]

Hi mate, sorry for the late reply. Regarding your questions:-

How are you liking having the refugium
-Honestly am liking it, Ive moved the skimmer to the back section of the sump and the refugium now is beside the Reef Mat and used a plastic crate to segregate the Reef Mat and refugium with Chaeto, currently I have no fishing in yet but have been trying to grow copepods/amphipods for them which are currently doing very well. Would say start now rather then later to allow it to build a decent population that would sustain the display tank.

Maintenance schedule
- Ive just left my tank untouched for 2 weeks doing nothing to see if everything maintains stable which it has as a trial as I travel a fair bit.
Can say regarding maintenance I basically can go 2 weeks without a water change and a 25L external water container as an ATO which I would strongly suggest you do as well including an automatic ATO. Only real thing I have had to do is scrape the glass with the magnet scrapper once a week as I dose a fair amount of AMINOS and AB+ type supplements daily via my Red Sea Auto doser.

Ive built the system to at best be automated in all aspects with connectivity through my phone since Im mainly busy with work and travel as well thus reducing the need for me to constantly check through everything.

Currently automated wise:-
Red sea Doser via reefbeat app - *allows me to tweak KH, Cal, Mag + Coral supplements*
Red sea Reefmat 300 via reefbeat app - *filter sock auto changes*
Kessil H80 via TAPO app - Using a wifi plug, enables me to give it a scheduled timing to turn on during night time
Mastertronic via Focustronic app - Does all the relevant KH, Mag, Cal, Phosphate and Nitrate tests automatic to my schedule
Tunze ATO - Automatic water top up

Forward improvements:-
Red sea DC Skimmer 300 - Currently on order *has the capability to check if the skimmer cup is overflowing and auto cuts off skimming to 30% incase I am not around - connected via reefbeat app as well*
Red sea ATO - Currently on order *allows me to check the actual sump water levels and also connects to reefbeat app* The tunze at times randomly alarms at times since the flow of water returning thrugh the filter changes which is a pain because even last night it was making an alarm loudly below and I didnt know about it until the morning - Something which could have been avoided if I had it inform me via an app which is why I am changing to the Red Sea ATO.
Red sea Return Pump - thinking to change my current return pump to enable me to have overview of it also via reef beat app

As much as there is a divided opinion on red seas equipment on marketing gimmics and nice color scheme, I have to admit being able to have an actual connectivity to your personal device to help you check in at any time and inform you of changes needed or issues that have occured I feel are a winner for me regarding having the tank being *self sustaining* as best as possible with minimal time spent on maintenance.

Thanks for the info! I agree with the Red Sea stuff. So far I just have a Red Sea wave 25 but the app works so well I’m considering switching some stuff over eventually as well. I also agree the tunze ato can be problematic especially if you turn your return pump off to feed your tank which I do. I put my tuzne into the gravity fed ato that came with so that it tops that off from a 15 gallon drum I have nearby.

 

[OctaviusBrine]

Any pictures of the new sump set up. I have a reef mat and a skimmer in my back compartment been wanting to add a fuge. All my probes are in the front section. These sumps are just a little small. Your organization looks great. I thought mine was good but wow you blew me out of the water.