Vlad's Reefer 425 XL

revhtree · Apr 20, 2017

Looking good!

Aleks · Apr 25, 2017

Great work. Looking forward to continuing ......

Diggler · Apr 25, 2017

Nice tank and nice scape. keep up the good work

fabutahoun · Apr 25, 2017

Very Nice, love The Rock work !!!

Reefer1978 · Jun 4, 2017

Haven't updated the thread in a bit over a month as the tank was cycling, but have been out of cycle for a few weeks and being lazy. Time to catch up.

Update one - biopellet reactor is up and running. I wanted to get some extra room, so I modified the Geo Reactor to move the screen filter closer into the top lid. Also had to redo the plumbing on the pellet reactor to hang it top the top of the cabinet.

Update two - while on the topic of the cabinet, I added lighting so now I can see what I am actually doing there. Went with $20 amazon led strip that turned out to be junk, can't always trust a cheap product to do the right job. $50 strip from Lowe's is superb, much brighter and much improved adhesion.

Update three - Livestock:
Cleanup crew of a dozen ninja star snails and 2 cleaner shrimp (for now, more cleanup joining in a few weeks)
2x Flavo Anthias (#3 committed suicide)
1x Magna Wrasse
1x Royal Flasher Wrasse
1x Gem Tang

fragit · Jun 5, 2017

Pics please!

Aleks · Jun 5, 2017

nvladik said:
Haven't updated the thread in a bit over a month as the tank was cycling, but have been out of cycle for a few weeks and being lazy. Time to catch up.

Update three - Livestock:
Cleanup crew of a dozen ninja star snails and 2 cleaner shrimp (for now, more cleanup joining in a few weeks)
2x Flavo Anthias (#3 committed suicide)
1x Magna Wrasse
1x Royal Flasher Wrasse
1x Gem Tang

Great work. For jumpers it is necessary to establish a grid, otherwise losses will be still.

Reefer1978 · Jun 5, 2017

Update four (Thanks for the reminder Aleks), custom lid from Artfully Acrylic since nicely on top of the tank

I will take some pics this upcoming weekend if not sooner guys, unfortunately lights are on night mode when I get home from work.

I am also hopefully starting to work the right side of the cabinet this weekend, cable organization + case for all the components. Picked up a Tambour Door Kit that hopefully arrives this week.

Reefer1978 · Jul 28, 2017

Since @revhtree is shaming me into updating the thread (Yes Rev, I am looking at you), here goes and I will try to slack less next time:

Tank itself is doing great. Went through a massive diatom bloom, when I realized my RODI needs some improvement. So, I added a 5 micron pre-filter, and changed DI from single canister to dual. Additional improvements are a booster pump with auto-shut-off and a waste water auto-shut-off valve. I also used this opportunity to finally build the water change system.

Livestock update:
Have a juv trigger & a female pin-tail wrasse in QT, with a duo of purple queen anthias. I don't think anthias are going to make it to the DT as they are impossible to get to eat, but I am trying. 1 week of copper is done, will be ready to transfer them next week.

Brent Behringer · Aug 18, 2017

any updates?

Reefer1978 · Aug 22, 2017

Update for 8/22.

I am done setting up and dialing in my calcium reactor. Had some issues initially with a bad pinpoint marine Ph probe, got a replacement better quality probe and it's all set. Alk finally is going up. My next big project is the cabinet work to hide all the electronics, but that's a September project.

Livestock wise here's what's in the tank in addition to CUC:
Fish:

Gem Tang
Flasher Wrasse
Magma Wrasse
Unknown Trigger (time will tell, hopefully a linespot, but most likely a goldenback)
Neon Dottyback

in QT I have:

Trio of Bimac Antheas
Powderblue Tang

Inverts:

Two cleaner shrimp
An army of Zoas
Meat Coral
Warpaint Scoly
Superman Scoly
9 small SPS colonies
WWC OG Bounce
Unknown Bounce
Acans and chalices

Reefer1978 · Aug 22, 2017

fishstix · Sep 8, 2017

Your setup looks great, where did you get all the red PVC and fittings?

Reefer1978 · Sep 8, 2017

fishstix said:
Your setup looks great, where did you get all the red PVC and fittings?

Amazon. Formufit pvc.

Aleks · Sep 9, 2017

Hey. All is well. What are the current water parameters in the system?
How is the flow through the CR reactor made, how much CO2 is fed?
Why did not put Balling?

Reefer1978 · Sep 12, 2017

Aleks said:
Hey. All is well. What are the current water parameters in the system?
How is the flow through the CR reactor made, how much CO2 is fed?
Why did not put Balling?

Hey Aleks. The system is slowly stabilizing, Alk is 7.9, Calcium at 440. The reactor is fed by a standalone Sycce 0.5 pump, Co2 is at 10 bubbles per minute, runs for an hour every 4 hours.

revhtree · Sep 12, 2017

Looks great!

Reefer1978 · Oct 10, 2017

Quick October update: All fish are in the basement, undergoing treatment. Latest fish purchase didn't work out well, after 3 weeks in QT still infected DT with Ich & internal parasites. So everyone is caught, in hospital system, undergoing 4 weeks of Cupramine + fed twice a day with PE Mysis + metro + focus combo (thanks @Humblefish for the recipe). December 10th they all go back in (76 days from transfer day to make sure DT is clean of Ich).

Tank-wise, I switched to all Hydra 26HD lights. Had some issues with wifi interference in the house, but on a separate controller they work beautifully, and I have an abundance of old iPhones in the house. I also had Ph issues in the tank as ambient house Co2 keeps swinging drastically. This was my first "outside" home improvement - drilled a little air supply to the skimmer and it seems to work beautifully. Ph is much more stable. I did screw it up this weekend though, my brag tank for some cleaning finally, and I let the old egg-crate air dry on the porch right where the intake to the skimmer is. Ohh boy what a Ph swing!!!