Upgrading to Red Sea Reefer 425 XL

[Crabby48]

Looks great! I have a Red Sea 425 that has been great the past few years. I see your not to far from me. Have a friend in your area. Small world

 

[PeterC99]

Dec 2020

Dec 2021

 

[Nburg]

I like those light shades. I went from page 1 to page 5 and thought for a second you switched to metal halides. Then I thought not many MH fixtures are that thin.

you're getting great growth over the past year so you must be doing something right!

 

[Skross]

Hello again. I'm glad to see everything seems to be going well with your tank. I remember reading one of your older posts that said you recirculated fresh air through your skimmer cup to increase your ph. Can you give me more details? I am trying to find ways to increase and sustain my ph level without chemical supplements. At least as high as i can without them first. Currently I also rely on a CO2 scrubber, and I built a sealed box with an air pump in it. The box is plumed to an RO line that leads outside, and the other end is an air line to a stone in the sump. I have another 1/4" RO line that leads outside that use to plumb to the CO2 scrubber, but it's only 1/4" and I think it restricted airflow to the skimmer that way. I'm guessing that your ability to keep the ph @ 8.3, 8.4 has helped lead to your growth success? Any info on how you did this would be a huge help and much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[PeterC99]

Hello again. I'm glad to see everything seems to be going well with your tank. I remember reading one of your older posts that said you recirculated fresh air through your skimmer cup to increase your ph. Can you give me more details? I am trying to find ways to increase and sustain my ph level without chemical supplements. At least as high as i can without them first. Currently I also rely on a CO2 scrubber, and I built a sealed box with an air pump in it. The box is plumed to an RO line that leads outside, and the other end is an air line to a stone in the sump. I have another 1/4" RO line that leads outside that use to plumb to the CO2 scrubber, but it's only 1/4" and I think it restricted airflow to the skimmer that way. I'm guessing that your ability to keep the ph @ 8.3, 8.4 has helped lead to your growth success? Any info on how you did this would be a huge help and much appreciated. Thanks.

Yes the higher pH definitely increases coral growth. I do not use out side air in my CO2 scrubber. I recirculate the air in my CO2 Scrubber through the top of my skimmer. This way my CO2 Scrubber media last about one month. I buy the soda lime for CO2 Scrubber in bulk.

 

[Skross]

Ok. I see now. So it's basically a closed system in itself. Air in to the skimmer that came from the scrubber, then back in to the co2 scrubber from the cup. Same air is used over and over again. This made a difference and increased your ph?

 

[PeterC99]

Ok. I see now. So it's basically a closed system in itself. Air in to the skimmer that came from the scrubber, then back in to the co2 scrubber from the cup. Same air is used over and over again. This made a difference and increased your ph?

Correct. Closed loop (recirculating) CO2 scrubber took my pH from 7.8 to 8.3. Here’s my pH at 5 pm tonight.

 

[Skross]

That's awesome that it made that much of a difference!! I will be trying that out tonight. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Skross]

Sorry. Thought of one more thing. Did you seal off any other holes on the top of the skimmer cap, if there were any? I have a total of 8 holes on the top of mine. I'm assuming that they will need to be plugged up in some fashion.

 

[PeterC99]

Sorry. Thought of one more thing. Did you seal off any other holes on the top of the skimmer cap, if there were any? I have a total of 8 holes on the top of mine. I'm assuming that they will need to be plugged up in some fashion.

Yes - I put tape over the other holes!

 

[Skross]

Yes - I put tape over the other holes!

Got it. Thanks again.

 

[GHOSTLY]

The tanks looking amazing!

 

[PeterC99]

Love my copperband!

 

[PeterC99]

How come I’m not seeing my build thread badge anymore?

 

[PeterC99]

Recent shot Raja Rampage Chalice that grew from a very small frag

 

[PeterC99]

 

[Miami Reef]

What a beautiful chalice! Great job!!

 

[PeterC99]

Love it when these acros start growing out

 

[Lavey29]

This is an incredible progression from your initial build and you really give me inspiration that my tank may look as beautiful one day also. I have the XL300 and have tried to copy some of your basic set up steps. I think I am right at a turning point in my tanks evolution to maturity and hopefully if I can keep things stabil then I will start to see some coral growth like you experience. I know I will need to get a doser set up. Just dont know if I should go small 2 head inside the cabinet or 4 head external to the cabinet in its seperate cabinet. I am leaning towards 4 heads even though I dont need all 4 now.

 

[PeterC99]

Any ideas of your dosing plan? Right now I’m running a calcium reactor which doesn’t totally meet the demands of my aquarium. Also dosing Kalk to help keep pH up and TM A4R to top off Alk & Calc needs.