Clabern's Red Sea Reefer 250

[clabern]

Current FTS (5-13-19):

Hey Guys! Welcome to the build thread for my new Red Sea Reefer 250 (v3). I currently have an IM Nuvo 20 I started a bit over 2 months ago after a few years away from saltwater/tanks in general. After setting up the Nuvo 20 I quickly realized I wanted bigger, so here I am!

Ordered my tank from Saltwateraquarium.com on April 2nd, 2019. It was shipped that day via R&L Carriers, and after some initial issues I was able to pick it up from my local terminal on April 5th (they couldn't deliver to my house due to living in a cul-de-sac/subdivision). In the end it all worked out really well for me, so I was happy. Pallet was in excellent shape, and seemed well taken care of.

Here's a current equipment list so far:
Tank: Red Sea Reefer 250 with V3 Sump
Lights: 2x AquaIllumination Prime HD w/ Tank Mounts (plans to add a 3rd, or upgrade in the future)
Heater: 1x 200W Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm and 1x 75W Neo-therm
Return Pump: Maxspect Turbine Duo 9K Water Pump
Flow: 2x Maxspect Gyre XF 330
Skimmer: Reef Octopus eSsence S-130 Protein Skimmer
Filtration: 2x Red Sea Filter Cups
Bio-Filtration: Maxspect Nano-Tech Bio-Spheres + Seachem Matrix
Cover: Red Sea Net Cover (plans to do a custom lid from Clearview Lids)
Rock: CaribSea Life Rock (have 40lbs of normal and 20lbs of shapes to play with)
Sand: 40lbs CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand
Salt: Instant Ocean Reef Crystals
Controller: Maxspect Connect ICV6 (for Return Pump and Gyre's)
Controller: Seneye Reef Aquarium Monitor
Controller: AquaMutant Temp Controller/Smart Power Strip
ATO: AutoAqua AWC
ATO Resevoir: Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget HydroFill Ti Auto Top Off ATO Reservoir - 5 Gallon
Refractometer: Milwaukee MA887 Digital Refractometer
Refugium Light: Innovative Marine ChaetoMax 9W


I finally got the stand build and tank placed this week. Will be working on leveling/placement perfecting through to this weekend and then starting on the 'scape.

Here's a quick picture I snapped after getting the tank placed. I will probably center the tank on that wall assuming I can still access the outlet behind the tank.

The chair there will be moved for better access/viewing around the tank. The Nuvo 20 is on the other side of the room, here:

Once the 250 has been cycled and everything seems set, I'll move the Nuvo's inhabitants (Frostbite Clown, Black & White Clown, Court Jester Goby (Rainfordi), Yellow Coris Wrasse, and some corals) over to the 250. I have a bag of Matrix in the filter section of the Nuvo that I'll put in the sump of the 250 with the Bio-Spheres to seed. I'll be dosing some Dr Tims Ammonia Chloride to get the cycle started, and I also have some Bio-Spira and MicroBacter7 for aiding the seed.

I'm wanting to start fresh with dry goods in the 250 (as opposed to just transferring rock/etc from the Nuvo) because I want to ensure I'm pest-free. I had a small red planaria flatworm issue in my Nuvo (came in on the GSP rock) that scared me. Luckily a flatwormexit treatment and then the addition of the Yellow Coris Wrasse took care of them (at least I haven't seen any in weeks). I still want to do things "right" with the 250 to avoid pests/etc.

I have an old Innovative Marine Nuvo 8 I had planned to use as a QT tank, but I may also hold on to the Nuvo 20 in case I need a larger QT.

I'll try updating the build thread as I progress. Any tips/tricks/opinions/recommendations are always greatly appreciated, thanks for stopping by!

 

[Westside Guy]

Looking forward to following your build thread!

By the way, are you putting any floss in the 2 media cups?

 

[clabern]

Looking forward to following your build thread!

By the way, are you putting any floss in the 2 media cups?

My current plan is to put some bio-spheres in the bottom of one and some carbon in the other and top them with floss (well, pads, I have a ton I need to use).

 

[Westside Guy]

My current plan is to put some bio-spheres in the bottom of one and some carbon in the other and top them with floss (well, pads, I have a ton I need to use).

I put an 11 oz bag of Chemi-Pure Blue in one cup and floss in the other one. I had't thought of using bio-spheres.

 

[Flameback Pair]

Looks like you're off to a great start. Never seen an AquaMutant before, kinda like a ReefKeeper Lite Basic was except with RK you didn't have decent access to internet.

 

[clabern]

I put an 11 oz bag of Chemi-Pure Blue in one cup and floss in the other one. I had't thought of using bio-spheres.

You can really use anything I think, just want to keep the floss towards the top. I think it helps with flow/etc. We'll see though how well it works out.

Looks like you're off to a great start. Never seen an AquaMutant before, kinda like a ReefKeeper Lite Basic was except with RK you didn't have decent access to internet.

I had saw it on Amazon when looking for a cheaper controller. Then I saw they were actually somewhat active here on R2R so I figured I'd give it a try. Eventually I may end up with a full-fledged controller, but for now I at least wanted something for temp control/redundancy.

 

[clabern]

I didn't get a chance to move around the tank or anything yesterday. Hopefully I'll be able to tackle that this evening/weekend.

I am also considering putting it "catty-corner" in between the two walls there though. I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing, but that darned HVAC vent to the left of it could cause that to not work out (regardless that vent will be closed). Also not sure what issues could arise from placing it like that.

I did manage to finally open the box of CaribSea Life Rock shapes. I didn't snap a picture, but it had 4 very nice pieces. Hopefully I'll get the 40lbs of normal life rock open tonight and can start working on a 'scape this weekend.

 

[Westside Guy]

I didn't get a chance to move around the tank or anything yesterday. Hopefully I'll be able to tackle that this evening/weekend.

I am also considering putting it "catty-corner" in between the two walls there though. I think it would be more aesthetically pleasing, but that darned HVAC vent to the left of it could cause that to not work out (regardless that vent will be closed). Also not sure what issues could arise from placing it like that.

I did manage to finally open the box of CaribSea Life Rock shapes. I didn't snap a picture, but it had 4 very nice pieces. Hopefully I'll get the 40lbs of normal life rock open tonight and can start working on a 'scape this weekend.

You may wish to put some insulation material in that HVAC vent opening and then the cover plate on top of the insulation to make sure that no air escapes through it.

 

[Patrick Fox]

Looking good! I'll be following along.

 

[clabern]

Got some things done this weekend!

Unpacked my Life Rock. Pretty happy with it, especially the 20lbs shapes package. This box was packaged really well with bubble-wrap around each rock, and lots of packing peanuts throughout to cushion, so there was very minimal breakage (one small piece). Here's some shots of those pieces:

The base of regular ("base" I guess?) Life rock wasn't package nearly as well. Each piece was simply wrapped in paper and not much else. Had a bit of breakage, but nothing some superglue/reef cement can't fix.

Started trying to get some sort of 'scape going. Will be a work in progress...

Now, on to the tank placement/leveling/etc. Continued to second guess the location, and I'm glad I did. It just wasn't going to look good in that corner...

Ultimately decided it needed to be somewhere else so the SO and I redid our desk area in order to put the tank front and center between our desks...

Forgot to take a before shot, but we had basically one long desk along that wall with IKEA drawer units spaced between them. Luckily I had some IKEA leg in the basement.

Also - the wide angle lens on my S10+ is great for taking full room shots!

Placement on this wall lets us both enjoy the tank while on our computers (we both play vidja games, can ya tell?). Leveling the tank in this location was also quite a bit easier. I ended up using the composite shims from Lowe's which worked out pretty well. Luckily in this location I didn't have to level any on the front, so the shims are hidden from view. This wall also puts the receptacle closer to the cutout in the stand (still behind the left wall, but I can easily reach behind it to plug/unplug if necessary.

I got the tank plumbed and sump installed.

Also replaced the stock return nozzle with Vivid Creative Aquatics Red Sea 25mm to 1/2" loc-line adapter (3D printed) and a 1/2" loc-line y-fitting. For now just put two 1/2" round nozzles, but I have some 1/2" loc-line segments if I decide to push the flow out further in the future. The 25mm to 1/2" adapter fit decently snug, but I may put some plumbers tape inside to make it a bit more snug.

This week I'll continue working on getting all of the equipment installed (return pump, gyre's, skimmer, etc), and continue working on the aquascape.

 

[Patrick Fox]

Got some things done this weekend!

Unpacked my Life Rock. Pretty happy with it, especially the 20lbs shapes package. This box was packaged really well with bubble-wrap around each rock, and lots of packing peanuts throughout to cushion, so there was very minimal breakage (one small piece). Here's some shots of those pieces:

The base of regular ("base" I guess?) Life rock wasn't package nearly as well. Each piece was simply wrapped in paper and not much else. Had a bit of breakage, but nothing some superglue/reef cement can't fix.

Started trying to get some sort of 'scape going. Will be a work in progress...

Now, on to the tank placement/leveling/etc. Continued to second guess the location, and I'm glad I did. It just wasn't going to look good in that corner...

Ultimately decided it needed to be somewhere else so the SO and I redid our desk area in order to put the tank front and center between our desks...

Forgot to take a before shot, but we had basically one long desk along that wall with IKEA drawer units spaced between them. Luckily I had some IKEA leg in the basement.

Also - the wide angle lens on my S10+ is great for taking full room shots!

Placement on this wall lets us both enjoy the tank while on our computers (we both play vidja games, can ya tell?). Leveling the tank in this location was also quite a bit easier. I ended up using the composite shims from Lowe's which worked out pretty well. Luckily in this location I didn't have to level any on the front, so the shims are hidden from view. This wall also puts the receptacle closer to the cutout in the stand (still behind the left wall, but I can easily reach behind it to plug/unplug if necessary.

I got the tank plumbed and sump installed.

Also replaced the stock return nozzle with Vivid Creative Aquatics Red Sea 25mm to 1/2" loc-line adapter (3D printed) and a 1/2" loc-line y-fitting. For now just put two 1/2" round nozzles, but I have some 1/2" loc-line segments if I decide to push the flow out further in the future. The 25mm to 1/2" adapter fit decently snug, but I may put some plumbers tape inside to make it a bit more snug.

This week I'll continue working on getting all of the equipment installed (return pump, gyre's, skimmer, etc), and continue working on the aquascape.

Wow! Great progress! I like the new placement. That's super cool. Just out of curiousity, what kind of material is the 3d printed adapter made of?

I'm honestly jealous if your progress, I'm on vacation for 2 weeks starting today and will be traveling with my wife. Progress on our nuvo 40 build is on hold. Lol

 

[clabern]

Wow! Great progress! I like the new placement. That's super cool. Just out of curiousity, what kind of material is the 3d printed adapter made of?

I'm honestly jealous if your progress, I'm on vacation for 2 weeks starting today and will be traveling with my wife. Progress on our nuvo 40 build is on hold. Lol

Vivid Creative uses PETG plastic to print their aftermarket reef parts (so they are reef-safe). Lots of folks use their Random Flow Generators and enjoy them.

I honestly feel like I've been going super slow with the 250 so far, but I'm usually pretty impatient. I'm trying to take this slower to get things right (the first time). I would certainly put it all on hold for a vacation right about now though!

 

[Patrick Fox]

Vivid Creative uses PETG plastic to print their aftermarket reef parts (so they are reef-safe). Lots of folks use their Random Flow Generators and enjoy them.

I honestly feel like I've been going super slow with the 250 so far, but I'm usually pretty impatient. I'm trying to take this slower to get things right (the first time). I would certainly put it all on hold for a vacation right about now though!

Ah, gotcha. I've printed parts in ABS in the past and never had any trouble with it, but wasn't sure what other materials do the job safely. I thought about trying nylon as well (food safe, so I figure most likely reef safe) but a spool of nylon filament is a bit pricey compared to ABS.

And yeah, vacation is needed. I've got a friend watching my tanks, and I'm letting go of it for now. Haha it'll be fine.

 

[clabern]

Few more small updates:

Started setting up the sump area. Put together the Reef Octopus eSsence 130 (very simple), and the Maxspect Turbine Duo 9K return pump.

Also started mounting controllers and starting on cable/device management in the cabinet. Does anyone else rely solely on 3M command strips to mount things? I really don't want to drill/screw into the cabinet, and I'd like to keep as much space as possible (so avoiding adding extra boards/shelves/etc). Just not sure if there's anything I should be weary of when mounting with command strips.

Also can see I stuck an extra IKEA led strip I had in the cabinet to give it some light. This strip has an inline switch that I mounted just inside the door.

For the green return line I used some plastic compression clamps to secure it, seems to have worked out, but I suppose we'll see.

So here's the sump/cabinet so far. Waiting on some 1 foot power cables I ordered to replace the longer ones that come with most power supplies, then I can mount those as well.



Right now my plan is to put my Innovative Marine ATO resevoir inside the stand. I'd like to keep it as clean as possible outside the stand, but we'll see. Once you actually start installing things you realize just how little space you actually have!

 

[Westside Guy]

I really love the new location of the tank! Did I say love?
Where did you buy the plastic compression clamps?

 

[clabern]

I really love the new location of the tank! Did I say love?
Where did you buy the plastic compression clamps?

Thanks, we are very happy with the new location as well. I guess I had always looked at our long desk along the wall as being more permanent and never considered it for aquarium placement.

I picked up the clamps from Amazon, here. Says they're made of nylon, so should be aquarium safe.

 

[Westside Guy]

Can I assume that you checked if the floor in the new location can handle the weight of the tank?

 

[kamla]

Can I assume that you checked if the floor in the new location can handle the weight of the tank?

ya.. make sure you look into that for sure..

 

[infinite0180]

Few more small updates:

Started setting up the sump area. Put together the Reef Octopus eSsence 130 (very simple), and the Maxspect Turbine Duo 9K return pump.

Also started mounting controllers and starting on cable/device management in the cabinet. Does anyone else rely solely on 3M command strips to mount things? I really don't want to drill/screw into the cabinet, and I'd like to keep as much space as possible (so avoiding adding extra boards/shelves/etc). Just not sure if there's anything I should be weary of when mounting with command strips.

Also can see I stuck an extra IKEA led strip I had in the cabinet to give it some light. This strip has an inline switch that I mounted just inside the door.

For the green return line I used some plastic compression clamps to secure it, seems to have worked out, but I suppose we'll see.

So here's the sump/cabinet so far. Waiting on some 1 foot power cables I ordered to replace the longer ones that come with most power supplies, then I can mount those as well.



Right now my plan is to put my Innovative Marine ATO resevoir inside the stand. I'd like to keep it as clean as possible outside the stand, but we'll see. Once you actually start installing things you realize just how little space you actually have!

Hey nice work! Got a link to the 1 foot cables your going to ise for the power supplys? Thats a great idea. Right now i have all mine bundled with zip ties but that seems cleaner!

 

[clabern]

Can I assume that you checked if the floor in the new location can handle the weight of the tank?

ya.. make sure you look into that for sure..

I sure did! The tank is almost right over a supporting post in the basement, seen here:

This post would look like this:

It seems, though measurements are difficult to exact, that the tank spans 3 joists. I'm no structural engineer, but it seems sound to me. Feel free to let me know if you think it'd be an issue here though.

Hey nice work! Got a link to the 1 foot cables your going to ise for the power supplys? Thats a great idea. Right now i have all mine bundled with zip ties but that seems cleaner!

Here's the AmazonBasics version, though you can probably find cheaper multi-packs.

I got the Gyre XF330's mounted. I really don't want anything on the sides of the tank, especially since we'll be viewing it from the side a lot (when sitting at our desks), so I placed them on the rear. I've seen a few others do this, so hopefully it works out well enough.

Also placed the 200W Cobalt Neo-therm heater in the skimmer chamber, and an extra Eheim 75W in the drain chamber (75W mostly for backup). They will both be controlled by the AquaMutant controller (it's sensor is in the return chamber at the moment, but I should probably put it in the drain chamber and move the eheim to the return chamber or somewhere else).

Things are moving steady, but there never seems enough time after work to get much done. Luckily I'm off for the Easter holiday this Friday so I should be able to finalize an aquascape and maybe, just hopefully, get this thing wet!