Just ordered a Red Sea S 550 G2

[DustinDec]

Welp, after over a month of going back and forth, I narrowed down my list to the following:

• IM 100 EXT or INT complete
• Waterbox Infinia Reef 150.4
• Red Sea 425 G2
• Red Sea S 550 G2
• Cade S2 1200

All of these are great tanks, but we kept running into little things. No cabinet space, sump wouldn't work with an automated reefmat, cabinet quality, pain to piece together, list goes on. We really liked the Red Sea tanks, and it helped that several LFS have them, so we could actually see them in person. But, we really didn't trust a plywood stand for long term ownership. Then we realized the S series, while more expensive, had aluminum stands. Still some things we're concerned about, but overall it fits what we wanted most. It also helped that my LFS has a good relationship with Red Sea, and was able to score me the tank with ~15% off.

Given we're upgrading after only about 4 months into the hobby from our Fluval Flex 32.5g, we're hoping to reuse as much equipment as possible. We have two new Ai Prime HD 16 lights for example. We plan to do one on each side, and buy a Hydra 32 to go into the center for now. Given we only have a duncan and some zoas, I think it'll be fine, and we can extend to 2 or 3 hydra 32 lights later.

We also have 2 nero 3 wave makers. I'm planning to use on on the back within the tank display, on the far right. The other will be kept for the Fluval which we will leave setup until this new tank is fully cycled and as a QT going forward. Otherwise, we figured we could use it in the sump eventually. Lastly, we're thinking we will pick up an Orbit 4 to go on the far left.

Thinking we will grab red sea pump to handle the return pump. Still debating this. Might go with Apex, since I already have their controller.

No idea what we're going to do for the heater yet.

Any feedback/suggestions is appreciated, but to be honest, I'm just really excited. Thinking about doing a tank thread.

 

[tzabor10]

Titanium heaters are quite reliable and I use a helio on one tank and inkbird on the other. Both work great. Look forward to seeing your results

 

[1112-425XL]

Looking forward to your build!

 

[Doctorgori]

I got no direct answers but I’m managing Apex and Red Sea gear using two apps…not a show stopper, but annoying from a integration point of view and also monitoring two different apps is not ideal
If I had a do over I’d pic one app universe and stay there

 

[DustinDec]

I got no direct answers but I’m managing Apex and Red Sea gear using two apps…not a show stopper, but annoying from a integration point of view and also monitoring two different apps is not ideal
If I had a do over I’d pic one app universe and stay there

I completely understand and I'm doing the same right now with AI, Apex, and Red Sea. None of them are perfect integration unfortunately. At least with the AI, I only go in now to edit flow rates, with macro's setup in Apex to shutoff the flow during feeding, and it's timed. I probably should try to keep the flow controls all with Apex though.

 

[Doctorgori]

I completely understand and I'm doing the same right now with AI, Apex, and Red Sea. None of them are perfect integration unfortunately. At least with the AI, I only go in now to edit flow rates, with macro's setup in Apex to shutoff the flow during feeding, and it's timed. I probably should try to keep the flow controls all with Apex though.

yes, and my attempt to at least chuck the AI mobius app and integrate the AI universe into Apex failed with that clunky MXM, which seems to always be missing in Fusion

 

[smallfox]

Welp, after over a month of going back and forth, I narrowed down my list to the following:

• IM 100 EXT or INT complete
• Waterbox Infinia Reef 150.4
• Red Sea 425 G2
• Red Sea S 550 G2
• Cade S2 1200

All of these are great tanks, but we kept running into little things. No cabinet space, sump wouldn't work with an automated reefmat, cabinet quality, pain to piece together, list goes on. We really liked the Red Sea tanks, and it helped that several LFS have them, so we could actually see them in person. But, we really didn't trust a plywood stand for long term ownership. Then we realized the S series, while more expensive, had aluminum stands. Still some things we're concerned about, but overall it fits what we wanted most. It also helped that my LFS has a good relationship with Red Sea, and was able to score me the tank with ~15% off.

Given we're upgrading after only about 4 months into the hobby from our Fluval Flex 32.5g, we're hoping to reuse as much equipment as possible. We have two new Ai Prime HD 16 lights for example. We plan to do one on each side, and buy a Hydra 32 to go into the center for now. Given we only have a duncan and some zoas, I think it'll be fine, and we can extend to 2 or 3 hydra 32 lights later.

We also have 2 nero 3 wave makers. I'm planning to use on on the back within the tank display, on the far right. The other will be kept for the Fluval which we will leave setup until this new tank is fully cycled and as a QT going forward. Otherwise, we figured we could use it in the sump eventually. Lastly, we're thinking we will pick up an Orbit 4 to go on the far left.

Thinking we will grab red sea pump to handle the return pump. Still debating this. Might go with Apex, since I already have their controller.

No idea what we're going to do for the heater yet.

Any feedback/suggestions is appreciated, but to be honest, I'm just really excited. Thinking about doing a tank thread.

Looking forward to reading about your build! I just ordered the same tank/stand combination this morning!

 

[butta]

i've just ordered the same tank

 

[VintageReefer]

Get a plain titanium finnex heating element. No electronics built in. And an external controller. If you don’t need to integrate with anything finnex makes a bundle with both

 

[SimbaAnto]

Go with Cade 1200 or waterbox. No red Sea please. Their G2 seems to have armor edges, but with their G1 having seam issue after 2 years I wouldn't go.

My Reefer 350 G1 after 3.8 years. Now going with Cade 1500 S2.

 

[parclife]

I’m looking at the reefer s550, how’s yours going? What I like is it have top and bottom euro bracing to support as well as the armoured corners.

 

[DustinDec]

I’m looking at the reefer s550, how’s yours going? What I like is it have top and bottom euro bracing to support as well as the armoured corners.

Thus far, we absolutely love it. The only problem we have had after setting it up has been figuring out the adjustable valve. It is very sensitive and isn’t always consistent. But not a big deal. That said, if I could change anything it would be to go bigger if possible. Otherwise, great tank and we enjoy it very much.

Easy to clean, solid quality, feels durable with the thicker glass especially. Large enough to house a fair amount of fish including a few tangs without issue. Red Sea support has been great at responding to any questions and even gave me a free part when I accidentally broke a bracket meant to support a pipe. If you have any specific questions, free to reach out!

 

[parclife]

It does look amazing and I think the quality is def there. So would you rather go for the 700 of you had the chance? Cause what I like about the 550 is it holds a good volume of water for the length of the tank.
Last question how is the sump? Hard to find much online build thread wise for the tank so far. Is it a good size?

 

[DustinDec]

It does look amazing and I think the quality is def there. So would you rather go for the 700 of you had the chance? Cause what I like about the 550 is it holds a good volume of water for the length of the tank.
Last question how is the sump? Hard to find much online build thread wise for the tank so far. Is it a good size?

For its size, it holds a solid amount of water. But if possible, I would go with a 6’ so I could get some of the even larger tangs. That said, you really need to be able to have it stick out at least far enough to reach behind and on each side. In my case it sits around 5” from the wall.

Then sump is a bit on the compact side, which is something I personally like as we still have some cabinet space. I’m able to reach all the way to the back to adjust any tubes, and sensors as necessary. But, to clean, definitely will need to completely remove skimmer and reefmat since there isn’t enough room to just move them out of the way. I like that it has a spot for a reefugium. But that is also the best spot for the heaters. Piping in a return pump can be a little bit of a pain given limited space, but once it’s setup, it’s done.

If you do get this tank, make sure to buy a door activated led light setup. Makes a huge difference!! When we open the cabinet, 6 led light bars turn on and everything is will lit.

 

[parclife]

Thank you, last question I can’t see anything about an ATO? Guessing you need to buy an external container? Thanks again for the help

 

[DustinDec]

Thank you, last question I can’t see anything about an ATO? Guessing you need to buy an external container? Thanks again for the help

Yup, unlike the Cade 1200, the RS S 550 G2 doesn’t come with an ATo reservoir, though it does comes with the Red Sea ATO+. You can buy the 10g container they have for around $80 I think, works well. Don’t both trying the 5g container. I refill my 10g about once a week. When you put your order in, try going through your LFS and ask if they will hook you up with a discount like 10%. Also, I’ve heard RS is releasing a new sensor for the ATO. You may wanna inquire which version will come with the tank.


Oh and as an official tank update, we added the Red Sea doser!

 

[Peanut]

How long was it from the time you placed the order till the tank showed up at your house?

 

[DustinDec]

How long was it from the time you placed the order till the tank showed up at your house?

I ordered through a local fish store and got a nice discount. They had it shipped to them, so they could inspect it as it arrived and send it back immediately if there were any problems. That said, it took around two weeks to arrive.

 

[parclife]

Hey how’s the tank doing?

 

[DustinDec]

Hey how’s the tank doing?

It was going great until I went on vacation in July. Unfortunately the autofeeder fed too much, and my phos went up, resulting in long hair algae that we're still trying to get under control. I'm getting close to saying screw it, and taking out all the rocks, and coral to clean them manually along with the tank.

I've introduced three sea urchins (2 x pin cushion, 1 x short spine) and they've helped a little. I also setup a reactor with GFO, which did bring down the Phos, but I left for a short trip this last weekend and didn't replace the GFO, so it went up to .30 phos again. We're down to feeding once a day. I've been told the sea weed (nori sheets) could also be contributing to the problem, so I'm going to drop down to two a week I think. Might even reduce the lights from 10 hours to 8 hours a day.

Fish wise, things have been good and they seem happy. We did lose a few snails, no idea why, though we have a wrasse, so maybe it was messing with them.

If not for the long hair algae, I think we would be solid. This has caused us to put any other improvements on hold which is very unfortunate. But, we're leaning or at least trying. Many folks have told us that they just restarted when this happened, thus I'm debating it. I could put my fish and coral into my smaller Fluval Flex 32.5 temporarily and just wipe out the Red Sea tank.