Eric's Red Sea Reefer 525XL Build

R

Reefer525XL

Member
Well here we go again. I feellike I've been down this road a couple of times now . It's time for anotherupgrade. If we are looking at number of gallons this is a downgrade/downsize,however in a few minutes you will find out why I'm calling this anupgrade.

Some of you know the story behind this new buildand some don't but to keep things short my 300g reef tank crashed a little overa month ago and I didn't have the desire to start back up from scratch withsuch a big system (500g system split between 3 tanks) so I made the decision tosell off everything and start fresh with a smaller and simpler system thatwould be easier to maintain and with a modern look.

I'm a DIY person and love building things. Whilethis saves me a lot of money it also takes a lot of time from me and my familyand time is money, therefore; the decision was made to stop the DIY projects(to an extend lol) and get a tank that was ready for water as soon as itarrived. No more building stands, light racks or drilling holes. Based on whatI wanted the options I had were ELOS, Red Sea or CadLight. That quickly wentdown to two options since ELOS was way over what I wanted to spend on thetank itself. I didn't want to have a custom tank made because that would mean Ihad to find a tank builder, someone to build a stand (remember no more big DIYprojects) and a sump.

Ok, back to my two options... I first began toconsider CadLight. They had an appealing price and I had the option to opt outfrom some of the equipment included with the tank which would bring the priceeven lower. However, I wanted a rimless tank. I know the euro bracing comes inhandy when working in the tank but this wasn't a major concern for me. Whatsteered me away from (spoiler alert) CadLight was the reviews I found online. Alot of complains about customer service and a handful of tank failures. Anotherissue I had with the CadLight systems is the size of their sump. I think we canall agree that when choosing a sump, the bigger the better. The CadLight sumpstake up the entire length of the stand or at least the model I wanted did. Thiswould leave no room to place equipment/electronics away from the water,everything would need to be mounted above the sump. I wanted a dry space awayfrom the sump to keep all the electronics far from the water and to keepeverything neat and organized.

By now I'm sure some of you have guessed I wentwith Red Sea.... The Reefer series is the obvious choice. I get a tank, stand,sump and plumbing, everything I wanted, rimless with 5/8" Low Iron Glassand a dry space in the stand for electronics.

Equipment List:

Red Sea Reefer 525XL - 139-gallon Total System Volume - White cabinet.
48" ATI 3x75w 8x54w T5 Powermodule.
Royal Exclusiv RD3 Speedy 80w Return pump.
Bubble King Double Cone 180 w/ RD3 Speedy 50w Skimmer.
AquaDriver SkimClean Helix 180 Self Cleaning Head.
Ecotech MP40wQD x2.
GHL Profilux 4 Ultimate Set w/ Vortech and Royal Exclusiv Controller Module + Flow meter.
GHL 2.1 4-Head Stand Alone Doser.
Aquamaxx Media Reactor x3 (GFO/Carbon/BioPellets)
Artfully Acrylic Clearview Tank Lid.
80lbs of BRS Pukani Dry Rock
90lbs of Tropic Eden Reeflake

I'll leave you guys with a few pictures. More are coming soon!


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-12 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-13 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


Reefer 525XL -2-18-2017-14 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr


By the way the Low Iron Glass on this tank is AMAZING!!!
 
Nice start. Given your past tanks, I'm sure this will be a great looking tank soon enough. Sorry about your tank crash.

How do you feel about the way the sump fits so snugly into the cabinet on the Red Sea? I was concerned with accidental spills or splashes getting water down between the sump glass and the back or sides of the cabinet. When I was considering the RS I was also considering lining the inside of the sump section with FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) and silicone at the seams. I got the CADlight for just that reason, room to work around inside the cabinet and the sump. But then as you know, I also added the extra stand and a 50g cube display refugium.
 
Ron Reefman said:
Nice start. Given your past tanks, I'm sure this will be a great looking tank soon enough. Sorry about your tank crash.

How do you feel about the way the sump fits so snugly into the cabinet on the Red Sea? I was concerned with accidental spills or splashes getting water down between the sump glass and the back or sides of the cabinet. When I was considering the RS I was also considering lining the inside of the sump section with FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic) and silicone at the seams. I got the CADlight for just that reason, room to work around inside the cabinet and the sump. But then as you know, I also added the extra stand and a 50g cube display refugium.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ron, I sure hope so.

About the sump, I actually don't mind it. Sure more room around the perimeter would have been nice but that would mean they had to make the sump smaller and not many people install liners compare to the ones that do. If you have the room for it is a great thing to have and you know that first hand. I do wish they had made the sump maybe 2" shorter front to back to allow access to the bottom hinges incase those ever need to be adjusted. Other than that Im happy with it.
 
This is looking sweet! I'm setting up a 650, but I wish mine was rimless. I'm gonna keep following this thread. Good luck!
 
I like the low iron glass as well. But to be perfectly honest, after 6 months with the low iron glass DT and a regular glass display refugium right next to it, you get to the point where you don't really even notice anymore. Although the pop of fluorescence is a bit more dramatic toward the later part of sunset under mostly blue leds.
 
Ron Reefman said:
I like the low iron glass as well. But to be perfectly honest, after 6 months with the low iron glass DT and a regular glass display refugium right next to it, you get to the point where you don't really even notice anymore. Although the pop of fluorescence is a bit more dramatic toward the later part of sunset under mostly blue leds.
Click to expand...

I guess it all depends. If it were a tank with thicker glass you could probably notice it more. However by looking at old pictures of my tank empty and this new tank the difference huge. Keep in mind my old tank had 1/2" regular glass and this new one has 5/8".
 
Reefer525XL said:
32961246426_5a35334aee_z.jpg
Click to expand...

Do you think the heat from the light fixture will affect the thermostat?
Nice build BTW.
 
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