Erik's Red Sea Reefer 625 G2

[ErikVR]

After 20+ years of keeping every type of fresh water tank imaginable I finally took the plunge and purchased a sea water system. It's a Red Sea Reefer 625 G2. Including 3x ReefLED 90, 2x ReefWave 45, Aqua Medic DC Runner 5.3 and Deltec 600i.

Unfortunately I was off to a bad start because the cabinets arrived damaged and I had to wait two months for replacement parts. Now I'm finally up and running and I'll use this thread to keep records and share my experience.

 

[blaxsun]

Lovely looking tank. Welcome to the club!

 

[InvictusReef]

After 20+ years of keeping every type of fresh water tank imaginable I finally took the plunge and purchased a sea water system. It's a Red Sea Reefer 625 G2. Including 3x ReefLED 90, 2x ReefWave 45, Aqua Medic DC Runner 5.3 and Deltec 600i.

Unfortunately I was off to a bad start because the cabinets arrived damaged and I had to wait two months for replacement parts. Now I'm finally up and running and I'll use this thread to keep records and share my experience.

Beautiful tank and great choice. I went with the Red Sea max 260 and now I regret not going with the XL.

 

[parclife]

Looking great! Sorry to hear about the cabinet slowing you down to start with

 

[ErikVR]

Beautiful tank and great choice. I went with the Red Sea max 260 and now I regret not going with the XL.

So far I'm loving it. There is so much space front to back. Plenty of rocks in there and they don't come close to the front while still having a large gap to the back of the tank. Lots of room for cleaning and flow.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking tank!!! Welcome to the saltwater side!

 

[ErikVR]

The system has a few new inhabitants and most of them are loving it.

2 Banggai Cardinals
1 Blueband Goby
1 Royal Gramma
2 Clowns
1 Bicolor Angel
1 Powderbrown Tang
1 Starry Blenny

 

[ErikVR]

I think sharing the bad is just as important as sharing the good, so here it goes...

Unfortunately, the bicolor is no longer with us. Even though he looked really healthy at first, he refused to eat anything for weeks on end. It took him 3 weeks to get so weakened that he died. The store gave me credit because I tried everything they told me to do but I don't know if I can get myself to buy another one. Even though I think they are gorgeous.

After a while in the DT, the powderbrown got a bad case of ich. The store told me they are very susceptible to it and it didn't take long to get to him. I'm currently in week 2 of hyposalinity treatment for the DT and he is doing much better.

I got a bluestreak goby that did really well for a while, even though he threw sand all over the place
One day he disappeared and I found him on the floor (meters away) under a cabinet. The poor guy must have jumped and flopped away.

So.... my next projects:
- Plumb in an oversized UV tube
- Get a mesh cover for the tank
- Familiarize myself with PROPER quarantine methods before getting any new fish

 

[desert fish]

After 20+ years of keeping every type of fresh water tank imaginable I finally took the plunge and purchased a sea water system. It's a Red Sea Reefer 625 G2. Including 3x ReefLED 90, 2x ReefWave 45, Aqua Medic DC Runner 5.3 and Deltec 600i.

Unfortunately I was off to a bad start because the cabinets arrived damaged and I had to wait two months for replacement parts. Now I'm finally up and running and I'll use this thread to keep records and share my experience.

Hello Erik how far in from the edge do you set your lights I just sent up the same tank and was told my light are to close

 

[ErikVR]

Hello Erik how far in from the edge do you set your lights I just sent up the same tank and was told my light are to close

They are at the default height.

 

[ErikVR]

This hobby seems to be a little addictive. So I’ve recently set up another tank in my office. It’s a Reefer 200.

Rocks are in. Tank is cycled and housing a clown that was bullied out of my main tank and a royal gramma that has been in recovery for a while.

 

[ErikVR]

Also converted an unused small bathroom into a quarantine room. Two 120 liter tanks with canister filters. The best part is that the whole room is made for water and even has a drain the the floor! I’ve also moved my water mixing station and rodi setup to the new quarantine room. No more carrying buckets from the shed to the house!

 

[Simon_M]

I also have the Red Sea Reefer 625 G2 - here in the UK.

The original question about the (horizontal) spacing of the lights wasn't answered. The RL 90 Mounts at the lowest height (vertical) sets the height at the preferred height. To get an idea of how to space the lights out horizontally, look at the build instructions (can download from RS Site, no purchase required!) for the Red Sea DIY Aquarium Net Cover 150 cm (R42083). It has the exact cutting instructions for both a 2 light or 3 light solution and shows the preferred horizontal spacing.

FWIW, the Net Cover has enough netting to "string" the Cover several times over. If I was building (or "stringing") it again, I would reduce the overall width/depth very slightly. It wouldn't fall into the Tank, but would make putting it back a little easier. Annoyingly it doesn't include the ZigZags required for the lights - it wouldn't cost much to just have included them IMHO. FWIW, there are some options like "snipping" the rear corners for wires e.g. to ReefWaves, but I found it better to bring a wire up using the same slot as the LED Mounts. You could also make the Cover go around the Weir Box - I didn't.

There are other options - like not having a Net Cover - if no fish (Wrasse, Goby, etc.) was spooked and didn't jump (Carpet Surf), that would be OK.

Or, some options of Custom Build Covers - but the Red Sea offering has a low profile and (with a careful build) is pretty neat and inexpensive IMHO - with the bonus of the spacing for the lights shown in the build instructions.

The (home) Office looks to be just down the Hallway!

The image of the Quarantine Tanks gives the immediate impression that the Stand is a bit "crooked" - but (since the tiles don't look straight) it is just an illusion because you weren't standing in the middle of the room for the photo!

The Bucket of Coral Pro Salt - was what I also started out with, but after a trip to several LFS (and much debate), I switched to the Red Sea "Blue" Bucket Salt because it doesn't have an elevated dKH (Alkalinity). Mixing the Salt and watching the dKH fall back to a lower level isn't something that I wanted and LFS recommends dKH of 7.5 to 8.5 anyway.

At the moment I have switched away from using Red Sea Salt and use the TMC Reef Salt - also with a low dKH. The elevated levels in the RS "Pro" Salt make it difficult to control (downwards) some of the levels, so RS "Blue" Bucket is IMHO a better choice and too high a dKH risks Precipitation - meaning more cleaning of the Sump and Equipment.

Would it be better (safer) to supply power into the room from above (if possible) e.g., from the (ceiling) Corner of the Room, to avoid a trailing Cable in a Wet Room?

Simon

 

[chemchris]

Love this thread, thank you @ErikVR and @Simon_M !
Im getting ready to follow in your footsteps and purchase a Red Sea 625 G2. Are you happy with your purchase? What made you choose the 625 and not the S-700? Any advice to someone about to start down your path?

 

[ErikVR]

Love this thread, thank you @ErikVR and @Simon_M !
Im getting ready to follow in your footsteps and purchase a Red Sea 625 G2. Are you happy with your purchase? What made you choose the 625 and not the S-700? Any advice to someone about to start down your path?

I’m still happy with my purchase. The only thing I’m not really sure about is if I would be happier if I didn’t go rimless. Yes, it looks awesome but evaporation is very high. The tank is in our living room and this time of year I have a dehumidifier running all day to keep humidity at an acceptable level.

The s700 looks great but a peninsula style tank would make no sense in our living room.

One thing I would avoid is Red Sea equipment with dc pumps like the dc skimmer and return pump. The use sicce and are very loud.

 

[ErikVR]

I also have the Red Sea Reefer 625 G2 - here in the UK.

The original question about the (horizontal) spacing of the lights wasn't answered. The RL 90 Mounts at the lowest height (vertical) sets the height at the preferred height. To get an idea of how to space the lights out horizontally, look at the build instructions (can download from RS Site, no purchase required!) for the Red Sea DIY Aquarium Net Cover 150 cm (R42083). It has the exact cutting instructions for both a 2 light or 3 light solution and shows the preferred horizontal spacing.

FWIW, the Net Cover has enough netting to "string" the Cover several times over. If I was building (or "stringing") it again, I would reduce the overall width/depth very slightly. It wouldn't fall into the Tank, but would make putting it back a little easier. Annoyingly it doesn't include the ZigZags required for the lights - it wouldn't cost much to just have included them IMHO. FWIW, there are some options like "snipping" the rear corners for wires e.g. to ReefWaves, but I found it better to bring a wire up using the same slot as the LED Mounts. You could also make the Cover go around the Weir Box - I didn't.

There are other options - like not having a Net Cover - if no fish (Wrasse, Goby, etc.) was spooked and didn't jump (Carpet Surf), that would be OK.

Or, some options of Custom Build Covers - but the Red Sea offering has a low profile and (with a careful build) is pretty neat and inexpensive IMHO - with the bonus of the spacing for the lights shown in the build instructions.

The (home) Office looks to be just down the Hallway!

The image of the Quarantine Tanks gives the immediate impression that the Stand is a bit "crooked" - but (since the tiles don't look straight) it is just an illusion because you weren't standing in the middle of the room for the photo!

The Bucket of Coral Pro Salt - was what I also started out with, but after a trip to several LFS (and much debate), I switched to the Red Sea "Blue" Bucket Salt because it doesn't have an elevated dKH (Alkalinity). Mixing the Salt and watching the dKH fall back to a lower level isn't something that I wanted and LFS recommends dKH of 7.5 to 8.5 anyway.

At the moment I have switched away from using Red Sea Salt and use the TMC Reef Salt - also with a low dKH. The elevated levels in the RS "Pro" Salt make it difficult to control (downwards) some of the levels, so RS "Blue" Bucket is IMHO a better choice and too high a dKH risks Precipitation - meaning more cleaning of the Sump and Equipment.

Would it be better (safer) to supply power into the room from above (if possible) e.g., from the (ceiling) Corner of the Room, to avoid a trailing Cable in a Wet Room?

Simon

Hmm the quarantine rack is dead straight. I guess it’s just the angle of the picture. The power cable is now plugged in different. I didn’t have an outlet in that room so I made one. But don’t worry, there was no for water to make it into the old outlet because it was way off the ground.

I switched to aquaforest salt. Mainly for price reasons. The Red Sea buckets are now over €100 which is insane to me.

 

[chemchris]

I’m still happy with my purchase. The only thing I’m not really sure about is if I would be happier if I didn’t go rimless. Yes, it looks awesome but evaporation is very high. The tank is in our living room and this time of year I have a dehumidifier running all day to keep humidity at an acceptable level.

The s700 looks great but a peninsula style tank would make no sense in our living room.

One thing I would avoid is Red Sea equipment with dc pumps like the dc skimmer and return pump. The use sicce and are very loud.

Thank you for the advice! So are you still running the Red Sea skimmer and return pump or did you swap them out?

I love the look of the rimless personally and the new S-700 black Eurobrace looks very jarring to me. I do like the extra stability though, even though I think the stories of Red Sea tanks leaking are from previous versions. I'm not so concerned about the small amount of extra volume I would get.

 

[ErikVR]

Thank you for the advice! So are you still running the Red Sea skimmer and return pump or did you swap them out?

I love the look of the rimless personally and the new S-700 black Eurobrace looks very jarring to me. I do like the extra stability though, even though I think the stories of Red Sea tanks leaking are from previous versions. I'm not so concerned about the small amount of extra volume I would get.

If I see and feel how these g2 tanks are constructed, I’m not worried at all. The cabinets also feel like they would hold an elephant.

I’m still running the skimmer because the added sensor functionality is great and I like the way I can drain the cup without removing it. But the return pump is in the spare parts bin. Buying only the skimmer makes less sense because you have to buy the controller for just the skimmer.