Red Sea Reefer XXL 625

[matthias_bln]

Oh no! You’ve dropped the apex brain!!!

Haha.. .. It's currently sitting on top of the DI canisters (see photo). It will move to the DT area later on and I'll run an Aquabus cable through the walls.

 

[matthias_bln]

Here's a part of the Apex Fusion dashboard showing power and flow for RO Source, Waste and Production. Thanks to the booster pump I'm getting about 90 PSI and am quite happy with the outcome.

 

[matthias_bln]

UPS just came and dropped a whopping 11 boxes into my garage.. Have to finish some work, but looking forward to doing some late-night inventory!

 

[matthias_bln]

Also today:

• Scheduled an electrician for 2 additional 20amp circuits next to the tank
• Talked to a structural engineer about a site survey to check what I might need to do for additional support
• Got a text from R+L Delivery to contact them for delivery of the tank

Things start to get rolling

 

[Jeto2004]

Looks like someone has a lot of fun....

 

[matthias_bln]

Mixed my first ever batch of saltwater today.. It's going into the coral quarantine tank. No idea why, but I need to get started with something!

Tomorrow the tank is going to get delivered, but - assuming it's not broken - it will need to sit in the garage for a while until the structural engineer is happy and the additional circuits are installed..

 

[Megability]

Following along... to see your build and for ideas on my own 625, good luck sir!

 

[matthias_bln]

Big day here .. The tank came!!

The driver was patient enough to let me open the crate and look for the condition. Hope no damage is hidden somewhere - quite tough to get to the parts given the crazy weight. The whole thing came with a weight of 799lb.. at least that's what the freight company said..

It will sit in the garage for a few weeks while I take care of:

1. Structural support (so far it looks as if I am fine with the placement and no additional support)
2. Electrical - Want one more circuit for the QT tanks & Mixing station & two for the DT
3. Getting the 1/4 in. tubing and Aquabus through the walls for AWC etc.
4. Setting up the QT tanks

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Congrats! I went through 3 broken tanks to get a tank in one piece. One ups driver rolled it out the back of his truck and started laughing when he saw me stand there and noticed the shattered glass all over my driveway. LOL

 

[Megability]

Nice, congrats!

looks so familiar, my 625 just arrived today too!

 

[AZMSGT]

Be very careful not to let the tank sit flat on any surface. There are stand pipes on the back that protrude beyond the bottom. At the over flow area. If you put weight on them you could break the tank. Also inspect this same area for damage prior to doing anything.

 

[matthias_bln]

Be very careful not to let the tank sit flat on any surface. There are stand pipes on the back that protrude beyond the bottom. At the over flow area. If you put weight on them you could break the tank. Also inspect this same area for damage prior to doing anything.

Thanks! Absolutely will check for damage there and keep it in mind!

 

[matthias_bln]

Quarantine tank is taking shape (well, at least the coral one):

What I've done:
I have added Dr. Tim's Aquatics Ammonium Chloride Solution and later Dr. Tim's One & Only to get the tank started cycling. There's a ton of confusing info out there in terms of whether to really cycle a coral quarantine tank, however I do believe it has to be a good idea.

Some questions:

1. Now I'm just confused as to how to keep it cycled. Even if I put coral in there - would there be enough waste to keep it cycled and bacteria alive? What's the best approach to keep this tank going?
2. Do I have to worry about additives? I am still figuring out what I want to do for water-changes - however do I have to add 2-part to the tank?

Here's what's in there equipment-wise:

• Innovative Marine Nuvo 20
• Sicce Synchra Silent 1.5 as return pump
• 2x Cobalt Neo-Therm 100W heaters
• EcoTech Vortech MP10 (expensive, but wanted to stick to the same line of powerheads throughout QT and DT)
• EcoTech Radion XR15 G4 Pro + Diffuser (to stay aligned with my DT)
• Auqa Gadget Reefrack 32 Frag Rack
• A piece of Marco rock
• A Flipper magnetic viewer
• Seachem Ammonia Alert badge (works great in our freshwater tank, so seems to make sense here, too)

On the Apex side, I have:

• EB832 Powerbar
• Neptune WXM (to connect Radion and MP10)
• Neptune PM2 (for temperature probe, not sure yet about the conductivity probe as one I tested seems to be very difficult to calibrate right)
• Neptune Display

Still to be installed:

• EcoTech Battery Backup
• Tunze 3155 ATO
• A second wider frag rack. I played with egg crate, but haven't found a great way to keep it from floating

Thanks for reading and maybe helping with my questions!
Matthias

 

[45ZoaGarden]

If you plan on adding acro’s into the qt for a couple weeks you might need to dose 2 part. The bacteria will stay alive on its own. Feeding the corals will also feed the bacteria

 

[matthias_bln]

If you plan on adding acro’s into the qt for a couple weeks you might need to dose 2 part. The bacteria will stay alive on its own. Feeding the corals will also feed the bacteria

Thanks! Very helpful.
What do I do between corals being in there? Or should I just put a few ones in there to have something to feed and keep the tank cycled?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Congrats! Nice setup, and your plan looks very similar to what I set up with my Reefer XL 425, mixing station, and Apex. Feel free to check out my build thread for ideas and tips.

Like you, I'm tech-obsessed and have automated my tank like crazy. I like my Apex so much that I wrote this 8-part Apex tutorial series: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials-part-1.685/

A couple comments on your mixing station:

1. I highly recommend adding spigot valves at the bottom of each storage tank to allow you to quickly and easily dispense saltwater or RO/DI water. I can't count how frequently I do this, whether for dipping corals, rinsing equipment, or topping off extra saltwater in my sump every time I empty my skimmate locker.
2. I'd also recommend adding unions on your pipes where they attach to the storage tanks. I disassemble my mixing tank once or twice per year to clean out the salt sediment that tends to build up.

You can see these details in my write-up on my mixing station: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/post-6173194

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Thanks! Very helpful.
What do I do between corals being in there? Or should I just put a few ones in there to have something to feed and keep the tank cycled?

As long as you have some rock in the qt, you will be fine.

 

[matthias_bln]

Both QT tanks are cycling now .. Time to move on to the next part of the project. Getting the tubing through walls.

 

[matthias_bln]

A couple comments on your mixing station:

1. I highly recommend adding spigot valves at the bottom of each storage tank to allow you to quickly and easily dispense saltwater or RO/DI water. I can't count how frequently I do this, whether for dipping corals, rinsing equipment, or topping off extra saltwater in my sump every time I empty my skimmate locker.
2. I'd also recommend adding unions on your pipes where they attach to the storage tanks. I disassemble my mixing tank once or twice per year to clean out the salt sediment that tends to build up.

Thanks! I thought I might be fine with pumping water through a quick-connect fitting I have tee'd off after the pump. However, I agree with you - I should have added spigot valves in addition and might still do so. I have a bunch of unions already which work for me to clean the tanks.

Btw, I loved your APEX articles. Read through them a bunch of times before I even had an Apex

Thanks!
Matthias

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Thanks! I thought I might be fine with pumping water through a quick-connect fitting I have tee'd off after the pump. However, I agree with you - I should have added spigot valves in addition and might still do so. I have a bunch of unions already which work for me to clean the tanks.

Btw, I loved your APEX articles. Read through them a bunch of times before I even had an Apex

Thanks!
Matthias

For the DT, you might want to make an apex display in the cabinet. I built one out of plywood with hinges and deadbolts so the top folds down allowing me to work on moving stuff around.