Eric's Red Sea Reefer 525XL Build

Reefer525XL · Mar 28, 2017

CJs Aquariums said:
tagging long on this build... working on my 120 gallon now.. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sca-120-gallon-pnp-build.288842/

Not sure if you have gotten to aquscaping yet but you could do something like I did since we have similar footprints...

Yes Im all done with aquascaping. If you go back to the first page you can see what I came up with. Yours looks great btw.

CJs Aquariums · Mar 28, 2017

Reefer525XL said:
Yes Im all done with aquascaping. If you go back to the first page you can see what I came up with. Yours looks great btw.

Still new to this forum stuff ahah! just looked yea you def nailed it! Some reaosn I thought that was a diff tank?

ether was ill be following along.. keep doing what you do! and thanks!

Reefer525XL · Mar 28, 2017

CJs Aquariums said:
Still new to this forum stuff ahah! just looked yea you def nailed it! Some reaosn I thought that was a diff tank?

ether was ill be following along.. keep doing what you do! and thanks!

Haha no problem! Thank you

Cherub · Mar 28, 2017

Reefer525XL said:
Im not quite sure which plastic was use to print. @TSA is an aquarium store in Orlando so Im sure they used something that was Reef Safe. I will ask them and report back when I get an answer.

oh woops I totally misread that. I thought that was the brand of plastic you used haha. No worries. I just never considered printing parts for the tank so I had all these projects come to mind

Reefer525XL · Mar 28, 2017

Denvercherub said:
oh woops I totally misread that. I thought that was the brand of plastic you used haha. No worries. I just never considered printing parts for the tank so I had all these projects come to mind

Ok just heard back from TSA... Its made out of ABS Plastic. It was tested for 6 months before releasing it to the public and the oldest in use right now it close to two years without any issues.

GrizFyrFyter · Mar 28, 2017

Denvercherub said:
which plastic did you use to print this? Is it reef safe and doesn't leach into the water? I am intrigued as I have a 3D printer too. Sexy tank by the way, it's the one I'm looking at right now too. I have your fridge too lol

I am designing, developing and testing materials for 3d printing. ABS and PETG are both reef safe materials. It's the pigments that often prove to be toxic.

I have made a handful of parts and items that live in the water and my testing has showed that 2 of the 6 colors I tested were toxic to the snails and shrimp in my test tank.

I've recently switched to a higher quality, US based supplier for material so I have to start my testing over again.

imustbenuts · Mar 28, 2017

bpapo said:
I ordered the tank and equipment . The LFS talked me into the RO 200SSS elite. He actually had a 150SSS he was using on one of his tanks and demonstrated how to use and maintain it. Tank is going to arrive April 1. I want to order the plumbing a. Would you mind looking over it and seeing if I'm missing anything. I'm ordering the pipe from BRS. thanks

I used spears gray schedule 40 fittings. The biggest difference in bulkiness are the unions. Sch 40 is much better IMO. I ordered from Harrington industrial plastics. You may even have a local office. http://www.hipco.com/

Reefer525XL · Mar 31, 2017

Today I borrowed an Apogee PAR meter from a friend to see what the Powermodule is putting out! Well now I know how this fixture gets the nickname of "PAR Monster"

Fixture is approximately 12-14" off the surface. T5's are set at 100% and Led's at 75%.

Measurements taken on the sandbed are touching the sand and approximately 3-4" off the front glass. The rest are on different spots on the rock work so not all are the same distance from the front. MP40's were turned off to help with the number fluctuating due to the surface agitation.

Reefer 525XL PAR by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

Reefer525XL · Mar 31, 2017

This frag rack is getting hit with 500par!!

IMG_2796 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

and so is Mr. Floyd

IMG_2795 by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

imustbenuts · Mar 31, 2017

Reefer525XL said:
Today I borrowed an Apogee PAR meter from a friend to see what the Powermodule is putting out! Well now I know how this fixture gets the nickname of "PAR Monster"

Fixture is approximately 12-14" off the surface. T5's are set at 100% and Led's at 75%.

Measurements taken on the sandbed are touching the sand and approximately 3-4" off the front glass. The rest are on different spots on the rock work so not all are the same distance from the front. MP40's were turned off to help with the number fluctuating due to the surface agitation.

Reefer 525XL PAR by Reefer525XL, on Flickr

Serious hot spots under the LED's

Reefer525XL · Mar 31, 2017

imustbenuts said:
Serious hot spots under the LED's

I think its evenly spread out.

imustbenuts · Mar 31, 2017

Reefer525XL said:
I think its evenly spread out.

It is even for sure. 500+ levels under the LEDs though. Is that what you were shooting for?

Reefer525XL · Mar 31, 2017

imustbenuts said:
It is even for sure. 500+ levels under the LEDs though. Is that what you were shooting for?

Yes thats exactly what I wanted. If I need more I can always bump up the intensity on those LED's lol

T-Bucket · Apr 1, 2017

I've been following your progress on facebook pages, didn't know you were on here too, that's awesome! Your setup gets more impressive every time I see it, great work!

Reefer525XL · Apr 1, 2017

T-Bucket said:
I've been following your progress on facebook pages, didn't know you were on here too, that's awesome! Your setup gets more impressive every time I see it, great work!

Thank you!! and yes Im on most of the main forums

bpapo · Apr 3, 2017

I just had my tank delivered it's awesome . I'm still waiting on some components but I'm measuring out the manifold . I finally understand the Red Sea connection to the manifold , but when I went to push the fitting into the pipe it was very tight . Is there something special u need to get it in . Also any tips on measuring things out.

Reefer525XL · Apr 3, 2017

bpapo said:
I just had my tank delivered it's awesome . I'm still waiting on some components but I'm measuring out the manifold . I finally understand the Red Sea connection to the manifold , but when I went to push the fitting into the pipe it was very tight . Is there something special u need to get it in . Also any tips on measuring things out.

When you pushed the fitting in? What fitting?

bpapo · Apr 3, 2017

The return fitting with the union. There is an o ring on the connection

Reefer525XL · Apr 4, 2017

bpapo said:
The return fitting with the union. There is an o ring on the connection

Oh that one. It's supposed to be tight. That's how it creates a seal. The nut is just to hold it in place.

As for measuring just dry fit everything before gluing and make sure the pipe is fit all the way inside the fittings and mark it with a pencil so when you glue it you know if you went on too much or not enough.