Rookie Reefer XL 425

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Great job on the scape! Hopefully no more equipment issues... Following!

 

[kswan]

Fish!!!

 

[kswan]

So the day has finally arrived. I picked up a pair of clown fish. The plan is to use the tank transfer method. Here is a pick of the setup. The glass tank is a 20 long that will be used after the tank transfers are complete.

 

[kswan]

I haven't made any posts for a while. Here it goes...

Clowns are doing great! Definitely growing and look happy. I've also added 2 Firefish and a Royal Gramma. As for coral I have a handful of different mushrooms, toadstool leather, torch and a few zoas. Next I would like to add a small group of Anthias. The only other fish that is for sure on the list is a Kole Tang.

 

[kswan]

I'm working on setting up a refugium in the sump. So far I've partitioned off an area with egg crate and added a Kessil H80. Chaeto will be added in the next day or so.

 

[kswan]

One other small item is an addition for the auto feeder. Some of the pellets were hitting the rim of my top and bouncing around. I made a little ramp that directs the pellets into the feeder ring. I'll reprint it in black when I have time...

I've been using the auto feeder in the mornings to feed a small amount. My thought is to keep the fish acclimated to the pellets for when I'm out of town. In the evenings they get a combination of frozen foods. Not sure if this is a good approach but it seems to work so far. They definitely prefer the frozen but are eating the pellets.

 

[kswan]

This is the container I selected and a BRS kalkwasser dripper kit. I built an acrylic shelf to sit where the original ato was located.

 

[kswan]

The next fish I add will go into this cycled QT tank. I used the tank transfer method for the first fish but found it to be a lot of work for me and seemed hard on the fish. They spent the entire time it QT hiding and never really seemed comfortable. I’m new to this so my opinion may change as I get more experience.

 

[kswan]

6 months later...

Things are going really well! I've been adding more corals and fish. Everything is doing great!

Stocking list so far is:
2 Clowns
2 Fire fish
1 Royal Gramma
3 Chromis
1 Kole Tang
1 Flame Hawkfish
1 Diamond Goby

I would still like to add a few more fish. A Foxface Lo and maybe some anthias or wrasses.

 

[kswan]

Here are a few things that I learned over the last 6 months:

1) Kalk dripper - didn't work. It required constant adjustment to keep a consistent drip. After a few weeks I purchased a BRS dosing pump which works great.
2) Algae - I had some algae issues (mostly in the sand bed) that were difficult to get rid of. I shut off my skimmer and removed my filter socks in an attempt to raise the nitrate and phosphate levels in the tank as they were currently reading zero. This made a tremendous impact! The algae mostly went away and coral growth increased substantially. If I had to do it again I would not introduce any nutrient export methods until water tests told me it is necessary. Levels are currently stable at 2 and 0.8 respectively.
3) Stand - Originally all of my equipment was located in the right side of the stand. This turned out to be a crowded mess that was a pain to work on even when organized. I have now moved much of the equipment to the basement where it is easier to maintain.
4) Battery backup - A recent outage drove me to find a better solution. I took an old UPS and connected it to 2 deep cycle marine batteries. The Apex is connected to the UPS and can detect an outage. If this occurs, all equipment is shut off with the exception of the return pump which ramps down to 30%. The router is also connected to the UPS so I can make changes or turn on additional equipment if necessary.

 

[kswan]

 

[Hulley]

Tank looks great, I'm planning a 425xl or maybe a 525xl and I plan to go skimmerless from the start.

 

[kswan]

Tank looks great, I'm planning a 425xl or maybe a 525xl and I plan to go skimmerless from the start.

Thanks! No complaints about the tank. Can’t go wrong in my opinion.

 

[kswan]

Here is the equipment board in the basement.

 

[jp_75]

looks fantastic!

 

[Asbury030]

Awesome looking tank, def. helped reading this thread for my next build which will hopefully be a nice red sea.

 

[kswan]

Awesome looking tank, def. helped reading this thread for my next build which will hopefully be a nice red sea.

Thanks! Documenting the build is intended to help. I have learned a lot in the process so everyone else should benefit too.

 

[XLOR8T]

Thanks! Documenting the build is intended to help. I have learned a lot in the process so everyone else should benefit too.

I had a 425xl on order. Changed to 525xl your thread has given me a lot of ideas. Thanks for posting. Will keep reading!

 

[Ash321]

Looking really good
Iv a red sea 350 so just a baby compared to yours but they are great tanks so you made the right choice

Can't wait to see you fill it ...Are you going reef ?
Mines a year old this month and Iv just got to the point of be able to stop worrying about things and being able to sit back and enjoy it

You'll have alot of ups and downs but stick at it and you'll have a beautiful tank
And never hold back on asking questions no matter if you think you sound silly, loads and loads of helpful people on this site

Good luck with it all and enjoy
Here's a pic of mine a year in ;Greedy lol

Your tank is really amazing I would love a break down of all the equipment and dosing etc. If you have spare 10 minutes

 

[Mystikal]

Tank and build was executed well! Hats off to you sir. With my reefer 250 I had the same "no space" or "excess equipment" issues in the cabinet. I ended up building a false wall to conceal the equipment and just placed the important this on the other side of the wall. Having the luxury of the basement is a great idea.