The Mountain | RedSea Reefer 525 XL

[LoCoReefer]

Excited to share this new build with everyone. I recently closed on my first house back in February which is amazing in its own sense, but especially now since I don't have to obtain permission from anyone as to where I can and cannot put a tank . I am dubbing this build "The Mountain" as I live in a cabin up on-top of a mountain so the name seems only fitting. This build will be slow and steady because if I have learned anything in this hobby it is that patience is everything.


Of course there is no better place for a tank then front and center of your living room

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Welcome to R2R. Great looking place, love log cabins.

 

[PanchoG]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[LoCoReefer]

I am not entirely comfortable with the outlet placement being on the floor for obvious reasons. However, I am not going to start ripping up my hardwood to move the outlet box so I went ahead and picked up an outlet cover on Amazon for $20 bucks made by LectraLock. Initially designed to keep curious children from touching outlets, but being it is fully enclosed it will give a small level of protection against minor splashes/spills.

Also, the tank should be arriving today! Very excited/nervous as I will be meeting the shipping company at the base of my mountain then having them load the crate on the back of a pickup truck so I can get it up the mountain. It would not have been possible for the shipping truck to make it up. This should be quite the day . Pictures soon to follow.

 

[LoCoReefer]

Wow, I am exhausted. One of the most nerve racking things I've ever done. So the tank arrived about 5pm today via R+L Carriers. Out of 13 stops the driver had to make for the day of course the mountain stop is last ;Dead. So this is the part that will probably scare everybody and that is that I needed the crate intact for the pickup truck so I could get it up the mountain which means I signed for the crate having not inspected the inside. The best I could do in terms of inspection was inspect the exterior of the crate and ensure no ends were dented or broken off. Also, as pro tip when inspecting the exterior of a crate is to always check the bottom of the crate to ensure the fork lift has not punctured the crate when they were moving it around the warehouse. The interior inspection would have just taken to long to have unbolted the crate to inspect everything and as the pickup truck was on loan to me so I could not afford to wait. Not seeing any exterior damage to the crate I had the freight truck lower the lift-gate as close as he could to my pickup and we then ever so gently slid it onto the truck bed. I left the tailgate down and attached a 5,000 lb ratchet strap on the back to keep the tank from slipping off when I made the ascent. This was needed as the incline is about a 25% grade to get up.

Backed the truck up as close to the front door as I could get it. Luckily for me I have multiple driveway paths to get access to my home.

To my relief no visual damage was done to the tank or sump after breaking down the crate .... BEYOND LUCKY ;Happy

Sump is a beast in itself. I thought my trigger sump was a amazing, but this thing is no joke.

Was surprised to see Red Sea included their new filter cups as opposed to filter socks which I believe is what Red Sea used to ship with the tanks. I noticed on all my packaging this is version 3 of the Red Sea Reefer not sure if that makes a difference or not.

I will start the stand build this weekend.

 

[BoSalman]

Tagging along,

Looks like an awesome start to a nice build

 

[Ruben's Reef]

So the journey begins...Following along.

 

[GoPitt88]

Awesome!! Good luck! The 525XL is my dream tank.......maybe in a year or two

 

[LoCoReefer]

I went ahead and knocked out the stand build this evening. I was invited to a Chris Stapleton concert this weekend so I had to prioritize lol.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Can’t wait to see this build!!

 

[TheHarold]

Gotta be careful with WCs with all that wood! Following along

 

[LoCoReefer]

Tank is now in place with some help from my younger brother. Connected all the plumbing. I got a little bit worried after reading the total tank weight when filled which I believe is something close to 2,000 lbs not including rock. I went ahead and added two support beams today underneath the tank so I don't come home to find the tank in the basement.

I'm sure you can all notice the small RODI tube hanging from the ceiling. Those two little shelves under the stairs is where I plan to put my RODI and Saltwater tanks which I will then run lines straight up to the tank.

The tank lighting has been ordered. Should be arriving Thursday. Going to shift my focus on putting in the RODI and Saltwater tanks and running the lines into the tank from the basement. Next will be the aquascape

 

[NY_Caveman]

This is really coming along nicely. I love the wood room. The tank is going to look beautiful there.

 

[PanchoG]

Good progress for the Mountain Reef, keep updating us, it is looking very good.

 

[LoCoReefer]

Lighting arrived today. I decided on 3 AI Hydra 52 HDs. Excited to try them out once the tank is filled.

My dog hates when I work on the tank. My punishment was that I could only mess with the lights while she laid on top of me on the couch.

I also picked up some water storage containers from tractor supply today. Original location I intended may be to small so I may end up putting together a stand for the tanks in the basement. More to come on that though.

 

[LoCoReefer]

Added a DJ switch for quick manual control of my equipment. Put together the stand for the mixing station. Going to work on getting it the mixing station plumbed tomorrow. Rock and Sand has been ordered. We are slowly getting there!

 

[Crabby48]

What a nice house and location! Your tank and water station look good also. I’ll be following along

 

[sam.veilleux30]

Wow nice setup!
Looks like it will be easy to take care of it.

 

[LoCoReefer]

alright, i'm slowly getting there! Sand and reef rock arrived today. I decided to go with 120 lbs caribsea special grade and 40lbs of caribsea life rock. I am shooting for about 1.5inch sandbend and I would like to keep the flow in the tank pretty high which is my reasoning behind the special grade sand which is a bit on the larger granule size. I also picked up some Nyos reef cement which should allow me to create a stable and interesting aquascape. I also quickly put together a small stand for the RODI unit and other various supplies I keep for the tank. Currently waiting on a external iwaki pump to arrive so I can finish plumbing the salt mixing station.

in case anyone wants to read the description. It does say its not harmful to corals or fish.

In no way is this the final aquascape design. It's just you know... If you get a box of rocks in you have to stack them the same night right? ;Bookworm

a small little table I put together for the RODI unit. Also, not sure if you can notice but that is the pallet the tank arrived on up against the wall. Figured there was no sense building a backwall to mount it on when I can just stand the pallet upright and mount it. ;Woot

 

[LoCoReefer]

Here is the final aquascape I am currently leaning towards. Only thing I may change is a rock here or there in the open areas of the tank on the sand bed. Thoughts?