My new Red Sea Reefer build/mistake thread

[oldbenkenobi]

First off hello all. This is going to be my thread/mistake record for this build. This is what I have so far, for the record please chime in and give me feedback especially the bad. I bought a Red Sea Max 250 and bought the sump kit for it from my LFS. I had a tank 7 years ago, and I want to be totally honest with you - mistakes were made. It originally a 40 gal FW tank that i drained bought some rocks of Craigslist waited 4 weeks tested the water and dumped fish in. Now I know that sounds like a half cocked thing to do and you would be correct. I managed to keep fish in it for 18 months or so with just water changes. This was considered a miracle since i didn't test water parameters with frequency or ability. During this 18 months I grew to hate my LFS because all i did was go get water from them weekly, take that water home and add it to my tank. I never just shopped for fish and god forbid corals. There are some objectives for my new tank. 1. WATER QUALITY IS KEY 2. I am not super lazy, but life does happen - so automation where I can. The APEX controller will be a key component for my setup. 3. I want a quiet tank and all that that entails. I want to look at it, not hear it(for the most part). This is where I will solicit information please and thank you. 4. I want a mixed reef tank with LPS some SPS and reef friendly fish. In order to do this I intend to look at this tank from a water perspective at all times. Like most reefers money is always a concern, but I have no wife to stop me from doing stupid things - ever. Which sometimes is bad, but in this case great. I am going to go for now, I am going to figure out how to take pics and post them followed up by my equipment list. Thanks in advance for any help along the way. This seems like a great community.

 

[smellytunic]

Welcome!!! Lots of very friendly knowledgeable folks on the site. I have a reefer 250 as well. I am very happy with the tank.

 

[RobW]

Well, hopefully you will have better luck with this tank. By the way... welcome to reef2reef. I'm sure if you ask any questions you will get lots of help. People are great here! If you are looking for quiet pumps. Take a look at the Neptune cor15 and cor20 pumps. Since you are looking at doing the Neptune apex anyway. I suggest looking into an RO/DI system for your water making at home. They are easy to setup and you're guaranteed good clean water free from chlorine, chloramines, contaminants, etc. Look into a good protein skimmer to pull all the excess waste from the water column. I'm partial to Bashsea products but there many other brands out there that do a great job as well. I use brightwell Neo-Marine salt. It mixes up very clear. The salinity level is pretty much spot on at 1.025 and ph comes in at about 8.2-8.3 every time. I would also invest in a quality refractometer to test your salinity as they are very accurate when calibrated. Also hanna checkers are great to measure other water parameters. Depending on which type of corals you wish to keep... lighting is an important decision. There are a lot of great led lighting products on the market that will provide the right spectrum and intensity such as kessil, radions, and AI hydras. Have you thought about substrate and rock for the aqaurium? I use a combination of crushed coral and sand. For rock I like to use dry rock and cure it myself to avoid the unwanted hitchhikers from the stores. Anyway, there are so many options to choose from. If you have questions along the way, someone will point you in the right direction. Get some pics up when you get a chance. We'd love to see the build.

 

[oldbenkenobi]

 

[oldbenkenobi]

Ok picture might take a couple of tries to get right. Well this is the basic setup that I am going to work with. The cabinet on the right is going to house my electronics as I don't want them in the sump area. It will also hold some small amounts of standard fish supplies, more than likely my test kit and any foods I can't dose. I have a electrician coming over in a week to replace 3 outlets with GFI outlets. I don't want to die. I am also debating a grounding plug as well. I want to make the build a clean as possible, since my last tank was medusa with a 5 gallon trash can as its sump. I have leveled the tank. I have not started to plumb anything since I wanted to give the good people of the internet the opportunity to evaluate my equipment selection. Plus I have a few questions.

 

[oldbenkenobi]

Here is the list of equipment I am starting with. Also this will be a bare bottom tank. Almost all things on my list I have researched, we will get to that later. That being said I lean heavily on BRS cause I like their videos the best. If you have any other sites or videos please let me know.
7 stage RO/DI from BRS
APEX Controller
2 APEX DOS pumps
Pentair Aquatics SMART UV 18 WATT
BRS Dual GFO and Carbon Reactor
Vectra S2 DC return pump
D-D The Aquarium Solution Ltd CLARISEA SK-5000 Automatic filter system
CO2 scrubber
3 heaters
various tank related items(nets, drip kits, etc)

Now I know I do not have a skimmer listed. That is the sticking point. I like Red Sea products and Skimz. I would like a Skimz SM162 external. I think. Still doing research. Does anyone have any info on a quiet recirculating skimmer?

 

[RobW]

I have the 7 stage RO/DI from brs as well. I have the 150 GPD unit. Vectra S2 is a nice pump. As for sites for equipment. Aquacave and marine depot. I tend to see who has the better price on what I'm looking for at the time. I order from all three. Never had any issues with any of them.

 

[wcodriscoll]

Here is the list of equipment I am starting with. Also this will be a bare bottom tank. Almost all things on my list I have researched, we will get to that later. That being said I lean heavily on BRS cause I like their videos the best. If you have any other sites or videos please let me know.
7 stage RO/DI from BRS
APEX Controller
2 APEX DOS pumps
Pentair Aquatics SMART UV 18 WATT
BRS Dual GFO and Carbon Reactor
Vectra S2 DC return pump
D-D The Aquarium Solution Ltd CLARISEA SK-5000 Automatic filter system
CO2 scrubber
3 heaters
various tank related items(nets, drip kits, etc)

Now I know I do not have a skimmer listed. That is the sticking point. I like Red Sea products and Skimz. I would like a Skimz SM162 external. I think. Still doing research. Does anyone have any info on a quiet recirculating skimmer?

I just replaced my eshopps x220 with the new red sea 600 and what an amazing difference so much quitter. and seems to run a lot smoother.

 

[Dub_G]

I have Red Sea Max E-260 as well. My only complaint is the diaphragm valve on the main drain pipe. It is so finicky trying to get it to maintain the proper water level. Some of the other Red Sea builds show how to replace this with a part from Red Sea and then plumb with a standard gate valve for more precise control. Look for build threads by either @pelphrey or @Broadfield and I think they both talk about this. They both have impressive build threads. Unfortunately Broadfield has taken his tank down but his setup was one of the best I've seen.

Otherwise I love this tank and I think you will to. I look forward to your build as it progresses.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Welcome aboard, and congrats on the new tank! I have a Reefer XL 425 with an extensive Apex setup (including the Trident) that I detailed in great detail in my build thread: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/

Feel free to check it out and shoot me any questions you might have.

Good luck!