Redsea Reefer Build Advice Required

[ShaggyRS6]

Hello to you all! I have been lurking on your excellent forum for a while now, I spent a good amount of time to choose two forums to share my reef tank journey with as a believe finding the right home is an essential part of the journey. I this forum and one that is local to where I live as both communities seemed very grounded and full of passionate reef keepers. Some 15 or so years ago, I was very much into Reef Keeping and had a 400UK Gallon custom tank and an Aqua Medic Percular 120, I loved the hobby but was not financially geared to carry on so I had to sell everything. I now live in the US and I really want to put a tank in my finished basement, it’s my man cave, its where I spend most of my time, it’s the place where I go to relax! It also has the bonus of having a concreate floor!


I am not yet ready to start a tank build thread although I am getting close, my goal this time around is to take things slowly and get them right the first time, plus a whole lot has changed since I had a marine tank all those years ago.


My mind is made up on the brand of tank. It will be a Redsea Reefer. What I am unsure of at this point in time is the size, the good thing is I have narrowed it down to the two below with a bit of a swing toward the 425XL:

• Redsea Reefer 350
• Redsea Reefer 425XL

What I need help with now is the recommended components to get the tank up and running and by this I mean I will have sand, rock, water and a couple of fish. What I don’t need right now are any reactors, dosing equipment, algae scrubber etc etc, that can all wait. So, what comes immediately to mind are the following items:

• Lights
• Heater(s)
• Skimmer
• Skimmer Pump
• Return Pump
• Tank pumps for flow (Powerheads/Wave Machine)
• Controller unit (something that does it all is preferable)
• R/O Machine

Your help and advice is very much appreciated.

 

[glb]

I like my SCA skimmer. It’s a generic of Reef Octopus and works great. Do you plan to grow coral? That will help us know what lights to recommend. Apex is the best controller out there. I have the Apex Jr. for a simple 40g setup, but if you can make it work financially, the full setup is great. Those are the things I know about. I hope someone else chimes in on the other stuff.

 

[jp_75]

Following! Actually i want to buy 425 this winter. My plan i to have Gyre (35%) and MP40(20%)on the other side for flow.
Lighting- i know i want Radions but can’t decide if i pit 2 30’s or 3 15”s.....

 

[jp_75]

No idea on skimmer for 425... Really like Reef Octopus.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

I will definitely want to be growing corals, I’d love a nice anemone in the long term too.

 

[jefra]

I've owned a Red Sea Reefer Nano and was very much impressed by its quality. I'd also like to point out that the price difference in models for the larger sizes is very minimal ($1649/1749 for the 350 and $1949 for the 425 XL). While they have relatively similar footprints, that few extra hundred dollars gives you 20 more gallons of system volume which I think is definitely worth it.

 

[dkhasho]

I just setup a 350 because I had a 4' footprint to put the tank. After setting it up I wish I had gone with the 425 instead just for the extra room. I went with the Vectra M1 and 2 vortech MP40s but wish I had done a Gyre instead for the powerheads. I had to place them high and in the center of the sides otherwise even with the flow turned down I would get sand movement so keep that in mind if you need high flow. I am running a BM Curve 7 for a skimmer and 2 150watt colbalt neo therm heaters. I converted the stock ato into a fuge and bought a trigger systems ATO tank with aqua lifter and have it run with float switches through a reef keeper light. The stock ATO tank lasted 3 days if I was lucky.

 

[tony'stank]

I have a Red Sea reefer 450. When you assemble the stand make sure you adjust the doors properly before you put the sump in the stand. After the sump is in place it is impossible to adjust the door hinges, there is not enough room. Because of the rimless design and the larger sump a qhality ATO is necessary. I am using the Icecap (I had numerous problems with the Tunze 3150). I am currently using the Eheim 1260 return pump, but I and replacing it with the Ecotech Vectra S1 for greater output and control. I currently have a BM Curve 5 skimmer but I am replacing it with a Reef octopus because of performance and cleaning issues. I use a Maxspect gyre for flow. I used to use a MP40as well but I stopped using it because it wasn’t need and I got tired of replacing the wet side every 2-3 years.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Thanks Tony, I’m actually gonna pay to have someone install it for me. I have a bad back, bad neck, and my skills on stuff like that are zero. I’d rather pay someone because I can almost garuantee i’ll F it up.

 

[ShaggyRS6]

Next step is to find a store to work with!

 

[ShaggyRS6]

So let me know what you think on this. help and advice completely appreciated everything is subject to change. I just want to make sure I am getting what I need.

Aquarium
RedSea Reefer 425XL (Black)

Lighting
I'm stuck on this a little, here is my current thoughts, I could do with some help here on the best way to go.
3 Hydra 26's and mounts

Skimmer
Reef Octopus Classic 150

Heaters
2 x Eheim JAGER 150 Watt

Return Pump
Reef Octopus VarioS 6

Wavemaker
Gyre XF250 & controller + One more XF250
Icecap to Neptune Module

Controller
Apex "WIFI" Controller System w/Silver Display - Neptune Systems or just the Classic Lab - Not 100% decided yet

R/O
BRS 4 Stage RO/DI System with built in TDS or similar

 

[Denisk]

I have a Red Sea 350 reefer with currently a 8 bulb ati dimmable fixture. I love it but I’m also a fan of t5. I also have two hydra 52 hd units that could easily light that tank.

I say go with whatever your gut/ wallet tells you. I went with the smaller one because I also have a custom tank on its way.