Jason's Reefer 250: Fish added! Sump Mod, Clarisea, custom plumbing, aquascape w/E-Marco, IKEA cabinet mod. (Pic heavy!)

[Eight]

Earlier I mentioned how I was having trouble getting the door catches to 'click in' and hold the doors shut. I submitted a ticket with Redsea over email and they helpfully pointed out that you can adjust the length of the catch by rotating the last segment of the mechanism. (In their defense, this is actually illustrated in the manual, but is not explained and easily overlooked.) Tweaking the doors to get everything lined up nice and straight can be a challenge, especially if they were not aligned at the factory, so here is a quick write up of how to do it.

First, you can adjust the catch like I had to. Given the stock screw holes, the only thing you can adjust with the catch is the length of the mechanism to ensure the catch engages when the door is closed:

Second (and I don't think this is written up in the manual), you can adjust the four cabinet hinges that connect the doors to the stand. You can do three things with the hinges. 1) Easily separate the door from the cabinet by using the release button on the back of the hinge. 2) Adjust the gap between the doors when the doors are closed. 3) Adjust the gap between the doors and the stand itself. Pictures make this easier:

My advice is to start by getting the doors mounted and close them. If the door catches engage, then don't mess with that, otherwise twist the end part of the catch. Second, while the doors are closed, check to make sure that the doors don't rub against each other and that the gap is even top to bottom. If not, adjust Screw 1. Then, if the doors aren't properly flush with the cabinet, adjust them with Screw 2.

Apologies if this stuff is elementary, but I've struggled with door hinges in the past and there are few things more irritating than doors that don't line up or close properly. Being a bit OCD, I do see that on my stand, the right door is ever so slightly lower than the left, but I don't believe I can adjust that without messing with the screws directly into the door/stand, so I'll leave that for now.

 

[MuffinMonster]

Awesome build dude, i'm currently doing most of the same things you are! Got a build thread on my page, my pictures arent as good as yours though lol. I think i commented on your facebook post the other day too, i'm the guy that the glass baffle shattered when taking it out of my 250 sump the day before you did yours. Definitely following along!

 

[canadianeh]

Why you choose Kessil instead of Radion? I want to go with Radion XR15 pro G4 for my build? Also on your last pic, did you notice that the stand doors are not on equal height? I am OCD and that will drive me crazy

 

[kamla]

VERY NICE !!!
i like the amount of details you are putting into the thread.

keep it up, also don't be afraid to document any mistake you make.
it will help others avoid it ...

Nice house BTW

 

[Eight]

Awesome build dude, i'm currently doing most of the same things you are! Got a build thread on my page, my pictures arent as good as yours though lol. I think i commented on your facebook post the other day too, i'm the guy that the glass baffle shattered when taking it out of my 250 sump the day before you did yours. Definitely following along!

Cool! Sounds like we will both be building along together lol. Yeah I almost broke the glass as well. Especially when you get close to freeing that baffle, there's a strong temptation to just pull a little too hard. I'm glad you're enjoying the pictures, I've read nearly every post about the Reefer 250 on this forum, so I am trying to focus on photos that really help clarify precisely what one needs to do to set up and mod this tank.

 

[Eight]

Why you choose Kessil instead of Radion? I want to go with Radion XR15 pro G4 for my build? Also on your last pic, did you notice that the stand doors are not on equal height? I am OCD and that will drive me crazy

In my prior posts I noted that I already had the Kessils from my previous tank, so I'm just carrying them over. I've been running the Kessils since they came out, they're controllable by my Apex and I really don't feel the need to upgrade them.

Also as called out above, I realize the right tank door is slightly lower than the left. There's not an easy way to adjust that, so for now it'll have to do until I want to mess with the hinges again.

 

[Eight]

VERY NICE !!!
i like the amount of details you are putting into the thread.

keep it up, also don't be afraid to document any mistake you make.
it will help others avoid it ...

Nice house BTW

Yes I will be documenting mistakes as well. So far I haven't accomplished much so I haven't had a chance to royally screw up too much yet!

... and thanks for the kind words on the house. We are really in love with it. I think that typically you buy a house and want to modify this or that, but in this case we didn't want to change a thing. This is why I wanted to find a tank that would feel like a part of the existing space as opposed to trying to build a room around the tank. In fact, the only thing we did was change out the chandelier to something much more fun and personal:

The house is open layout, so the entrance, kitchen, dining room and living room are all one big area. The aquarium is in the back corner of the combined space, to the left of the yoyos in the black shadow boxes above. Here are a few photos of the surrounding area to give readers a sense of what the space feels like and why the Reefer series went so well with our decor.

 

[jk1151]

Wow, what a great beginning. Thanks for the detailed pics especially of the doors! I just got a 425XL and am struggling to get those lined up as well. Love the kitchen as well! Phenomenal!

 

[Alexreefer]

Awesome build! Following along for sure

 

[canadianeh]

Which salt you will be using?

 

[canadianeh]

I found this sump baffle kit to be used with the stock sump so that there is a separate room for refugium. It has @pelphrey sump picture on the listing too. Are you planning to set up refugium in the sump as well?

Sump Baffle kit For Red Sea 250 Sump | eBay

Create your Refugium w two piece baffle kit, slides right in. Only need to attach w thumb screws provided.

www.ebay.com

 

[infinite0180]

Looking good!

 

[Eight]

Which salt you will be using?

I'll be using a combination of Fritz and Instant Ocean because I happen to have a bunch of it left over from before. In my experience, I haven't seen much of a difference in salts once you get Ca and Alk dialed in appropriately. I might try a different salt once I get through my existing supply.

I found this sump baffle kit to be used with the stock sump so that there is a separate room for refugium. It has @pelphrey sump picture on the listing too. Are you planning to set up refugium in the sump as well?

Sump Baffle kit For Red Sea 250 Sump | eBay

Create your Refugium w two piece baffle kit, slides right in. Only need to attach w thumb screws provided.

www.ebay.com

I'm using the v3 sump, so there's already an integrated refugium area. However, I might just drill the ATO container and convert that to a refugium. Haven't decided yet and will burn that bridge when I get to it. Top priority is getting the main plumbing, manifold and clarisea installed so that I can start my nitrate cycle. I'm shooting for two weeks from now.

 

[Eight]

That frustrating feeling the first day of a long weekend and you have almost everything you need to start, but pvc fittings online hasn't shipped your order for 3 days. Sigh.

Can't work on my aquascape until Monday (waiting for cement)... So this weekend's project could be dry side cabinet build out.

 

[canadianeh]

That frustrating feeling the first day of a long weekend and you have almost everything you need to start, but pvc fittings online hasn't shipped your order for 3 days. Sigh.

Can't work on my aquascape until Monday (waiting for cement)... So this weekend's project could be dry side cabinet build out.

I know that feeling. You plan the whole thing out and perfect day comes to do the work and then it turns out the other way around.

Can you list PVC parts that you are using? Also, does the white stand comes with black base like yours?

 

[Eight]

Can you list PVC parts that you are using? Also, does the white stand comes with black base like yours?

Yes, I will write up a complete parts list (maybe with measurements) once I have the plumbing done. I have ordered probably twice as many parts as I need because I don't want to get stuck in the middle of the job. I originally thought I might sketch the plumbing out on paper, but it was hard for me to envision everything in 3 dimensions. Instead, I just bought a bit extra of everything in case I needed it and then will do a dry fit test run when it all arrives.

Generally, it's going to be BRS gate valves, red furniture grade PVC elbows, tees and 45s from pvcfittingsonline.com and then assorted odds and ends in Schedule 80 that I can't get in red. I am debating whether I fully hard plumb the Vario S4 return pump or convert the hard plumbing to soft tubing just before the pump to minimize noise.

And yes, the white stand comes with a soft foam lining that covers the full stand bottom as well as comes up along the sides of the tank. It's a really really nice touch from Redsea. Here's a close up of the foam so you can see how thick it is and how it meets at the corners:

 

[Eight]

Getting ready for sand...

I used to run a shallow sand bed when I started reefing, then probably ten years ago I switched to all bare bottom. While I liked being able to crank the flow, not have sand blowing around and the concept of a beautiful minimalist glass bottom, the reality is that the bottoms of my tanks were never really 'clean'. Coraline algae encrusted the bottom and frags grew out and got stuck on the floor. Detritus dunes built up in the inevitable nooks and corners of my aquascape. I also missed the look of clean white sand and the ability to keep jawfish and other silly burying fish.

So this time I am running a sand bed again. While I wait for 60 pounds of Tropic Eden Miniflakes to arrive from Premium Aquatics, I made a Home Depot run and picked up one sheet of 4' x 2' "suspended egg crate light ceiling panel". It's usually in the lighting section near the long florescent bulbs and fixtures. I cut the eggcrate to perfectly fit inside the Reefer 250 and around the overflow. While the eggcrate does provide some level of protection for the glass bottom of the tank, the primary reason I am doing this is to provide a more stable foundation upon which to build up my aquascape. The grid will enable the liverock to "lock" into place as opposed to sliding around on a slick glass bottom. If you wanted, you could even zip tie some of the rock to the eggcrate, but I don't think I will be going that far. After the liverock is placed, I'll pour sand all around which will further secure the aquascape.

Due to eggcrate's grid, it's super easy to cut perfectly to fit. You don't even need a ruler... just line up the corner, figure out which grid edge you need to cut and go to town. In the past, I've used heavy duty scissors or box cutters, but using heavy wire cutters is BY FAR the easiest and cleanest way to cut this stuff. If you have angled wire cutters, even better because then you can get close to flush for each grid square. If you use scissors, you'll have little bits of plastic launching away as you cut which you'll need to clean up afterwards. With wire cutters, you get a clean cut with out any plastic bitsies.

 

[jstephens24]

following along. I have seen some others use eggcrate and I might do the same once I get to that stage on my build

 

[canadianeh]

Getting ready for sand...

I used to run a shallow sand bed when I started reefing, then probably ten years ago I switched to all bare bottom. While I liked being able to crank the flow, not have sand blowing around and the concept of a beautiful minimalist glass bottom, the reality is that the bottoms of my tanks were never really 'clean'. Coraline algae encrusted the bottom and frags grew out and got stuck on the floor. Detritus dunes built up in the inevitable nooks and corners of my aquascape. I also missed the look of clean white sand and the ability to keep jawfish and other silly burying fish.

So this time I am running a sand bed again. While I wait for 60 pounds of Tropic Eden Miniflakes to arrive from Premium Aquatics, I made a Home Depot run and picked up one sheet of 4' x 2' "suspended egg crate light ceiling panel". It's usually in the lighting section near the long florescent bulbs and fixtures. I cut the eggcrate to perfectly fit inside the Reefer 250 and around the overflow. While the eggcrate does provide some level of protection for the glass bottom of the tank, the primary reason I am doing this is to provide a more stable foundation upon which to build up my aquascape. The grid will enable the liverock to "lock" into place as opposed to sliding around on a slick glass bottom. If you wanted, you could even zip tie some of the rock to the eggcrate, but I don't think I will be going that far. After the liverock is placed, I'll pour sand all around which will further secure the aquascape.

Due to eggcrate's grid, it's super easy to cut perfectly to fit. You don't even need a ruler... just line up the corner, figure out which grid edge you need to cut and go to town. In the past, I've used heavy duty scissors or box cutters, but using heavy wire cutters is BY FAR the easiest and cleanest way to cut this stuff. If you have angled wire cutters, even better because then you can get close to flush for each grid square. If you use scissors, you'll have little bits of plastic launching away as you cut which you'll need to clean up afterwards. With wire cutters, you get a clean cut with out any plastic bitsies.

Looking good. I used to have jawfish before and I got frustrated as he kept shifting sands around and he kept making mountain of sands and left one side of the tank with very thin layer of sands and I had to restore the original look many times.

this time I am thinking of going bare bottom or maybe just 1”or less of sands just enough for CUC. Are there any cons of having very thin layer of sands? If I go with bare bottom, do I need egg crate? I would cut the egg crate just enough to follow the shapes of the rock but would not cover the whole tank.

 

[Eight]

Looking good. I used to have jawfish before and I got frustrated as he kept shifting sands around and he kept making mountain of sands and left one side of the tank with very thin layer of sands and I had to restore the original look many times.

this time I am thinking of going bare bottom or maybe just 1”or less of sands just enough for CUC. Are there any cons of having very thin layer of sands? If I go with bare bottom, do I need egg crate? I would cut the egg crate just enough to follow the shapes of the rock but would not cover the whole tank.

I've done 1 to 1.5" sand beds in the past and they're fine. I think if you go too thin, you're going to end up with bare spots depending on how high and how distributed your waterflow is. If you go bare bottom, I definitely would advise against egg crate because it defeats the whole purpose of ensuring that the detritus never settles and is always suspended in the water column. The eggcrate will just trap all the detritus and on top of that it'll look ugly.

If you use eggcrate, I would not cut around the rock and instead cover the full bottom like I showed above. There's no reason to use eggcrate unless the liverock sits on top of it.

My recommendation is to either go 100% bare glass bottom or go eggcrate over the full footprint of your tank with a shallow sand bed.