SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[SuncrestReef]

After 2 years and 9 months, I had my first failure of an optical sensor on my ATK. For those who don't know, I wrote a series of Apex tutorials here on R2R, including my ATK Tutorial which has helped hundreds of reefers to troubleshoot their ATK issues. Following my own troubleshooting instructions from that article, I identified the lower optical sensor had failed. Luckily I keep spare parts on hand and swapped out the sensor. I also took this opportunity to thoroughly clean off the ATK assembly and inspect all the components for any damage. 15 minutes later the ATK is back in business!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Over the summer and autumn of 2020, my tank suffered a big setback with the loss of many of my corals. I don't know for sure what caused the damage, but I suspect high nutrients were a big contributing factor. I have decided to replace my sump with a new Trigger Systems Platinum34 sump with an integrated roller mat for improved filtration. I just started a new build thread where I will document this tank restart:

Build Thread - SuncrestReef's Reefer XL 425 Rebuild

In February 2018 I started the original build of my Red Sea Reefer XL 425, and it was a very successful tank up until mid-summer 2020 when I started losing some SPS corals. Over a period of several months, I lost many more corals, including whole colonies. My nutrient levels were higher than I...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Themako1]

how do you keep the Alk so low using Red Sea pro salt?

 

[SuncrestReef]

how do you keep the Alk so low using Red Sea pro salt?

Since I do auto water changes with only 1.5 - 2.5 gallons per day, the higher parameters in the new salt water doesn't have a big impact on the overall parameters. It's basically just like an adjunct doser.

 

[howaboutme]

N. (qty 1) 3/4" braided hose

Excellent post above and thread. Can you let us know where you got the braided hose (N. (qty 1) 3/4" braided hose)? I've been trying to search all over but it is very hard online to really know if the tube is flexible enough for this purpose and I prefer not to gamble and buy w/o really knowing if the tube is correct. All of the one's on our typical online reef stores sell the ones that are so stiff it is hard to use if you're doing a long run. Thanks!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Excellent post above and thread. Can you let us know where you got the braided hose (N. (qty 1) 3/4" braided hose)? I've been trying to search all over but it is very hard online to really know if the tube is flexible enough for this purpose and I prefer not to gamble and buy w/o really knowing if the tube is correct. All of the one's on our typical online reef stores sell the ones that are so stiff it is hard to use if you're doing a long run. Thanks!

I got the braided hose from BRS:

Braided Vinyl Tubing (Sold by the Foot)

Reinforced braided vinyl tube is far superior to normal vinyl tubing because it seals better on barbed fittings and is extremely kink resistant. Very popular for the saltwater aquarium hobbyists. Extremely Kink resistant Made from non-toxic PVC Reinforced with spiraled polyester yarn to reduce...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[howaboutme]

I got the braided hose from BRS:

Braided Vinyl Tubing (Sold by the Foot)

Reinforced braided vinyl tube is far superior to normal vinyl tubing because it seals better on barbed fittings and is extremely kink resistant. Very popular for the saltwater aquarium hobbyists. Extremely Kink resistant Made from non-toxic PVC Reinforced with spiraled polyester yarn to reduce...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Thanks! So this one is much more flexible, closer to a garden hose than those rather difficult to use non-braided tubes? Great to get confirmation before dropping dough.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Thanks! So this one is much more flexible, closer to a garden hose than those rather difficult to use non-braided tubes? Great to get confirmation before dropping dough.

It’s stiffer than a typical garden hose, but easy enough to coil and uncoil.

 

[SuncrestReef]

FYI: I will be joining Derrick Picker for his Reef Automation live feed on YouTube this Saturday at 9:00am Pacific time to discuss Apex programming. Tune in if you have a chance:


And if you're not aware, I have a whole series of Apex Programming Tutorials here on R2R:

Articles by SuncrestReef

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Devaji]

Hey my friend, I was reading through your experience with the GRO on the neptune forum and it stopped a while back. now that its out can you give us your thoughts.

I have a RS 650P just finished cycling and have been waiting on a ATS for 8 months but kinda thinking the gro light IDK I love ATS but its tempting that's for sure.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Hey my friend, I was reading through your experience with the GRO on the neptune forum and it stopped a while back. now that its out can you give us your thoughts.

I have a RS 650P just finished cycling and have been waiting on a ATS for 8 months but kinda thinking the gro light IDK I love ATS but its tempting that's for sure.

The GRO worked really well for me. The only problem I had was that I mounted it about 1" above the refugium but that ended up "cooking" the top layer of chaeto. I'd probably mount it about 2" above the water next time. I currently have the GRO offline right now as I'm rebuilding my whole aquarium and sump, but I'll definitely put it back to work when I restart the tank.

I really like that it uses the 24v DC Accessory port so it doesn't need an external power brick, and the flexible mounting arm is well-designed and useful since it can be quickly moved out of the way to harvest chaeto, and positioned back in place easily.

Hope that helps.

 

[Devaji]

The GRO worked really well for me. The only problem I had was that I mounted it about 1" above the refugium but that ended up "cooking" the top layer of chaeto. I'd probably mount it about 2" above the water next time. I currently have the GRO offline right now as I'm rebuilding my whole aquarium and sump, but I'll definitely put it back to work when I restart the tank.

I really like that it uses the 24v DC Accessory port so it doesn't need an external power brick, and the flexible mounting arm is well-designed and useful since it can be quickly moved out of the way to harvest chaeto, and positioned back in place easily.

Hope that helps.

thanks for the replay I am between the GRO and a ATS more of a ATS fan. anyway thanks for the feedback!

 

[FLSharkvictim]

i AM GETTING READY TO INSTALL A DOS OVER MY 50 GALLON MIXING STATION FOR AWC's!
That's all going to be connected to my SCA150 w/ my Apex.

 

[SuncrestReef]

For those of you who haven't been following along, this build thread took a detour as I completely tore down my Reefer XL 425 after a tank crash and rebuilt it with a brand new sump and plumbing. Now that the rebuild is done, I will resume updating this thread as I re-stock the tank to hopefully get back to the beautiful reef I had before the crash.

Here's a recap of the teardown and rebuild in photos:

I wanted to make this Trigger Systems Platinum 34" sump fit into a cabinet section that was only 28" wide due to the Red Sea cabinet's center support panel.



I figured the safest way to do this would be to drain and remove the display tank from the cabinet, disassemble the cabinet, then replace the center panel with an aluminum frame, opening up the full 46" interior width of the cabinet.

I started by turning off my return pump, moving my heater and probes into the display tank, then draining the sump. At that point the display tank was self-sufficient so I could disassemble and remove the sump, plumbing, and wiring. This is the mess created when you unbundle all those carefully routed wires:



Here's what a Neptune 1" flow sensor looks like inside after 3 years of use without cleaning it:



I pulled the sump out for a thorough cleaning:



And then set up the sump and my 20 gallon QT tank to hold my corals and fish while I drain the display tank:





Next I removed the display tank for cleaning:



A simple razor blade worked really well:



Meanwhile, I acid washed and bleached the rocks. Thanks to @obrien.david.j for loaning me his blue barrel and suction cups that helped immensely in this project!





The next step was to disassemble the Red Sea cabinet to replace the center support panel with the aluminum frame. This was surprisingly easy and only took about 30 minutes:







And now the new Trigger Systems Platinum 34 sump fits perfectly!



Next it was time to work on the new plumbing. I stayed with my original use of orange PVC and gray fittings:





A few hours of sniffing PVC glue and drinking beer is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon! What could go wrong???



Luckily everything fit:





While the build was in progress, I stocked the tank with a couple of 22" bluegill...



The leak test was a success, so I was able to fill the tank:





I mounted my Neptune GRO refugium light to the Trigger sump's top crossbar to eliminate the bulky mounting arm:



And with that, I was ready to transfer my fish & corals back to the display tank:

 

[SuncrestReef]

With the rebuild completed, today I added the first new test frags so I can see how they do in my new tank setup. I'll keep an eye on these for about a month before adding anything new.

 

[SuncrestReef]

It's nice to see a hungry candy cane with its feeding tentacles out at night! It's been a long time since I've seen this in my tank.

 

[Ben Belton]

While the build was in progress, I stocked the tank with a couple of 22" bluegill...

Are those Bluegill compaible with your coral choices?

 

[powers2001]

Are those Bluegill compaible with your coral choices?

@Ben Belton @SuncrestReef I’ve read they are reef safe with caution. ;-)

 

[revhtree]

Very nice!

 

[Johnmy]

For those of you who haven't been following along, this build thread took a detour as I completely tore down my Reefer XL 425 after a tank crash and rebuilt it with a brand new sump and plumbing. Now that the rebuild is done, I will resume updating this thread as I re-stock the tank to hopefully get back to the beautiful reef I had before the crash.

Here's a recap of the teardown and rebuild in photos:

I wanted to make this Trigger Systems Platinum 34" sump fit into a cabinet section that was only 28" wide due to the Red Sea cabinet's center support panel.



I figured the safest way to do this would be to drain and remove the display tank from the cabinet, disassemble the cabinet, then replace the center panel with an aluminum frame, opening up the full 46" interior width of the cabinet.

I started by turning off my return pump, moving my heater and probes into the display tank, then draining the sump. At that point the display tank was self-sufficient so I could disassemble and remove the sump, plumbing, and wiring. This is the mess created when you unbundle all those carefully routed wires:



Here's what a Neptune 1" flow sensor looks like inside after 3 years of use without cleaning it:



I pulled the sump out for a thorough cleaning:



And then set up the sump and my 20 gallon QT tank to hold my corals and fish while I drain the display tank:





Next I removed the display tank for cleaning:



A simple razor blade worked really well:



Meanwhile, I acid washed and bleached the rocks. Thanks to @obrien.david.j for loaning me his blue barrel and suction cups that helped immensely in this project!





The next step was to disassemble the Red Sea cabinet to replace the center support panel with the aluminum frame. This was surprisingly easy and only took about 30 minutes:







And now the new Trigger Systems Platinum 34 sump fits perfectly!



Next it was time to work on the new plumbing. I stayed with my original use of orange PVC and gray fittings:





A few hours of sniffing PVC glue and drinking beer is a great way to spend a weekend afternoon! What could go wrong???



Luckily everything fit:





While the build was in progress, I stocked the tank with a couple of 22" bluegill...



The leak test was a success, so I was able to fill the tank:





I mounted my Neptune GRO refugium light to the Trigger sump's top crossbar to eliminate the bulky mounting arm:



And with that, I was ready to transfer my fish & corals back to the display tank:

Beautiful Bro. Really beautiful. Very Nice job