I had a much smaller tank a number of years ago but my family and I made the decision a few months back to get back into the hobby. I loved the look of the Red Sea and read a ton of reviews. There are many great options but the RS was my choice. We are somewhat new to the area and I found a local store that I clicked with that has been in a business for a long time which could facilitate the purchase
Had a few misfires with the delivery of the tank. First attempt to my local store did not include a second box which has primary stand parts. Second attempt included the parts needed for the 750 and wrong color. Third attempt and finally we were good to go!
Here is the equipment I went with. I think over time I'll probably sort a few things out but for now I think we're off to a good start. I want to clean up some of the cabling and plumbing and will work on that over time. I also want to get an Apex in the near future.
Notes: we have a 3 story new construction townhome. We put the tank on the second level. I spent a lot of time stressing over the tank weight. This beast weights 2000 pounds with water, rock, and sand. I did not hire a structural engineer but I spent a lot of time looking at other models similar to mine in the building process. We built ours a year ago but at the time this was not on my radar so I did not pay a ton of attention. Fortunately, the spot I wanted to put the tank had a good bit of support directly underneath and all around. I'm not sure this will help anyone but it was an important part of our journey. I took a lot of pictures of what is (at least should be lol) under my tank.
We had some issues actually filling the tank because the LFS burned through two pumps trying to get the water upstairs. The LFS installer and I carried all the water upstairs in 5 gallon buckets (UGH!). We used fresh water and mixed salt in the tank. Over 24 hours later and the salt is still a bit of a mess. I wish we would have used pre-mixed saltwater. That's what the LFS was supposed to show up with but did not. In the grand scheme of things this is minor but things would've settled faster if we had used mixed saltwater.
Had a few misfires with the delivery of the tank. First attempt to my local store did not include a second box which has primary stand parts. Second attempt included the parts needed for the 750 and wrong color. Third attempt and finally we were good to go!
Here is the equipment I went with. I think over time I'll probably sort a few things out but for now I think we're off to a good start. I want to clean up some of the cabling and plumbing and will work on that over time. I also want to get an Apex in the near future.
- Red Sea 625XXL Deluxe (133 gallon)
- AI Hydra 26 LED lights (3 included with deluxe version)
- Quiet One 6000 pump - this model was on the display tank at the LFS. I might think about changing this down the road and hanging onto this one for a backup.
- AqauCave 25W UV Sterilizer
- Red Sea Protein Skimmer (RSK-600)
- Gyre 3K - not installed yet
Notes: we have a 3 story new construction townhome. We put the tank on the second level. I spent a lot of time stressing over the tank weight. This beast weights 2000 pounds with water, rock, and sand. I did not hire a structural engineer but I spent a lot of time looking at other models similar to mine in the building process. We built ours a year ago but at the time this was not on my radar so I did not pay a ton of attention. Fortunately, the spot I wanted to put the tank had a good bit of support directly underneath and all around. I'm not sure this will help anyone but it was an important part of our journey. I took a lot of pictures of what is (at least should be lol) under my tank.
We had some issues actually filling the tank because the LFS burned through two pumps trying to get the water upstairs. The LFS installer and I carried all the water upstairs in 5 gallon buckets (UGH!). We used fresh water and mixed salt in the tank. Over 24 hours later and the salt is still a bit of a mess. I wish we would have used pre-mixed saltwater. That's what the LFS was supposed to show up with but did not. In the grand scheme of things this is minor but things would've settled faster if we had used mixed saltwater.
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