SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[SuncrestReef]

Thanks, i might get them at some point.
By the way the yellowish lps in the middle of your tank really stand out.

Ha! A couple people on Facebook also asked me about that yellow coral. It's actually a pink & purple lobo, but the orange filter I use on my iPhone to compensate for the blue lighting makes anything pink look yellow. Here's an unfiltered photo of that lobo:

 

[Raptor72]

Thanks! Glad you like it.

For the Swabbie skimmer wiper, Avast Marine has three options:
1. Buy the Swabbie and mount it yourself for $125.
2. Buy the Swabbie pre-mounted to a generic skimmer lid. You tell them the dimensions and you'll receive a lid that will hopefully fit. $170.
-- or --
3. Send them your skimmer lid, and they will drill & attach the Swabbie for you and send it back within 2 business days for $160. I chose this option because I don't have the needed tools to accurately center, drill, and tap screw threads needed to mount it properly, and I didn't want a non-Nyos lid on my skimmer.

Here's my Apex code that runs the Swabbie for 2 minutes every 6 hours, unless the skimmer is turned off:

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
OSC 000:00/002:00/359:00 Then ON
If Output EB_3_Skimmer = OFF Then OFF

Awesome! Thanks for the input.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Here's a detailed shot of the automatic transfer switch for the generator. It's a little scary.

The utility power lines are the red, black, and white at the top. The red, black, and white at the bottom feed into my house circuit panel. The generator-fed power lines are the thinner black wires at the bottom.

I'm glad the electricians did this installation. I wouldn't want to touch it!

 

[SuncrestReef]

I'm liking this Twilight Dragon I picked up from a local reefer:

 

[SuncrestReef]

Here's a quick video showing the generator automatic transfer switch cutting over from generator power to utility power for my house. This was filmed while manually testing the generator, and you'll see at 0:15 the transfer switch solenoid snaps closed automatically to connect the house back to utility power.

The generator remains running for about 2 minutes after the cutover just in case the utility power fails again, so the transfer switch could automatically return to generator power without the delay of starting up the generator again. Once the utility power has been solid for 2 minutes, the generator shuts itself down.

I'm pretty happy with this setup!

 

[Stpatrick]

Tagging alone. Great build.

 

[Henry1953]

I love all the details you shared. I have a Red Sea reefer 250. I just put the new Klir Filter that replaces the filter socks and I couldn’t be happier. I also just installed a Pax Bellum n18 chaeto scrubber. It is a very well made piece of equipment and it grows an amazing amount of chaeto per week.
I also have the Generac 22KW generator. I installed it myself and it was a job. I have not had to use it yet. I also use a ups for the delay time for the generator to start. My house has 8 tons of air conditioning and loads are staged to let me get by with the 22 kw instead of having to go larger. Two of my relatives went with 48 kw Generacs and avoid the staging of loads. I’m so glad you didn’t let a bunch of jealous people run you into the dirt over your generator.
I can’t wait to see what your tank looks like after a year. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I love all the details you shared. I have a Red Sea reefer 250. I just put the new Klir Filter that replaces the filter socks and I couldn’t be happier. I also just installed a Pax Bellum n18 chaeto scrubber. It is a very well made piece of equipment and it grows an amazing amount of chaeto per week.
I also have the Generac 22KW generator. I installed it myself and it was a job. I have not had to use it yet. I also use a ups for the delay time for the generator to start. My house has 8 tons of air conditioning and loads are staged to let me get by with the 22 kw instead of having to go larger. Two of my relatives went with 48 kw Generacs and avoid the staging of loads. I’m so glad you didn’t let a bunch of jealous people run you into the dirt over your generator.
I can’t wait to see what your tank looks like after a year. Keep the pictures coming.

I would love to try the Klir filter, but I crammed too many other things in my sump so I don't have any room. Replacing my filter socks with filter cups filled with fiber has made life a bit easier, but the Klir would be awesome.

Impressive that you installed your own generator. I almost feel bad that I'm looking forward to our first power outage.

Thanks for following along! I'll be sure to post more photos.

 

[SuncrestReef]

For the past couple months I've been struggling with green wire algae, and recently I've also started to notice some patches of green bubble algae popping up. Today I decided to get a couple emerald crabs to hopefully prevent the bubble algae from spreading, but to my surprise they both started going to town eating the wire algae! They haven't noticed the bubble algae yet, but I'm sure they'll eventually find it. But I'm extremely happy to see them tacking the wire algae which I didn't expect them to do.

My blue chromis is a little upset that an emerald crab is in his favorite hole in a rock, and is trying to evict him, but the crab doesn't seem the least bit intimidated.



This is so gratifying to watch:

 

[Z3speed4me]

Awesome thread, can't wait to start my first build thread in a few days; this has inspired me! REALLY have to go find my macro lens hiding in a box somewhere still after we moved. That generator is awesome too, totally on my to-do list hopefully next year...have to price it out.

Who cares if you bought a unit big enough to sustain your entire street, it's your money and decision not theirs. Why did they buy 775 XXL's if they didn't NEED a tank that big. Why do some people drive Ferrari's and other's Kia's....if you can afford the bigger unit that will easily cover your needs, why not?! Rather have something running at 50% capacity maxed out on my house than 90% and pushing itself.

 

[Stpatrick]

For the past couple months I've been struggling with green wire algae, and recently I've also started to notice some patches of green bubble algae popping up. Today I decided to get a couple emerald crabs to hopefully prevent the bubble algae from spreading, but to my surprise they both started going to town eating the wire algae! They haven't noticed the bubble algae yet, but I'm sure they'll eventually find it. But I'm extremely happy to see them tacking the wire algae which I didn't expect them to do.

My blue chromis is a little upset that an emerald crab is in his favorite hole in a rock, and is trying to evict him, but the crab doesn't seem the least bit intimidated.



This is so gratifying to watch:

So cool.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I just binge read/ a lot of this thread. It’s a good one! I’m going to follow along

 

[Stpatrick]

Great build. I am learning a lot. I ordered the 425xl today. Where did you get all the colored pvc fittings?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Great build. I am learning a lot. I ordered the 425xl today. Where did you get all the colored pvc fittings?

Congrats on your Reefer!

I ordered the colored PVC pipe and fittings here: https://www.aquariumspecialty.com/parts-plumbing/pvc-parts.html
The 3-way fittings I could only find here: https://formufit.com/collections/3-way-pvc-corner-elbow
And the valves here: https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com

If you start a build thread, let me know! Good luck, and let me know if you have more questions.

 

[SuncrestReef]

My Tailspot Blennie (which was my favorite fish) mysteriously died last week. It had no previous signs of any problems. My wife & I are both pretty sad about the loss, but we agreed we should get a new Blennie because they have so much personality.

I put our new Blennie in the quarantine tank, but hours later I couldn’t find it. It took a while, but I figured out his secret hiding place:

I love these little guys!

 

[Cristy17]

My Tailspot Blennie (which was my favorite fish) mysteriously died last week. It had no previous signs of any problems. My wife & I are both pretty sad about the loss, but we agreed we should get a new Blennie because they have so much personality.

I put our new Blennie in the quarantine tank, but hours later I couldn’t find it. It took a while, but I figured out his secret hiding place:

I love these little guys!

I love them too! I had a sea urchin that died and I found my blenny hiding in the shell so I glued the shell of the sea urchin to a frag and it is now his home! He sleeps in it every night! I am thinking of gettin a couple more since they do have great personalities!

 

[mta_morrow]

Love my tailspot blenny. One of my favorites.

Bought him his own 4 bedroom condo a couple weeks ago!

 

[hockeyhead019]

Just got through the thread... absolutely amazing job documenting everything! You've filled your tank with a really diverse group of coral and it's fantastic.

 

[SuncrestReef]

My two emerald crabs have been doing an amazing job cleaning up the algae on my rocks. Love these guys!

 

[SuncrestReef]

I'm participating with some fellow local area reefers in a frag grow out contest. Our LFS split up a colony into 20 frags and we're going to see who gets the most growth after 6 months. Wish me luck!