Red Sea Reefer 625XXL - "The Big One"

[Lost in the Sauce]

Quiet over here

 

[fishguy242]

;Happy

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

;Happy

Oh no he didn't

Yes that's a parrot on my shoulder.

 

[Smirkish]

Quiet over here

Don’t worry. It won’t be for very much longer.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Don’t worry. It won’t be for very much longer.

What is this??????

 

[Smirkish]

;Happy

Boo-Babyyyyyyy! He looks so grown hanging with the big dogs! ;Shamefullyembarrased And FRANK I SEE YOU.

 

[Smirkish]

What is this??????

Boxes.






;Hilarious Okay, okay! Friday delivery from POTO and @footgal- pics coming later. (My weekend was allllll puppies!) Also got a Marine Depot order in and put a few things together downstairs on the Reefer. Just busy!

 

[fishguy242]

Boo-Babyyyyyyy! He looks so grown hanging with the big dogs! ;Shamefullyembarrased And FRANK I SEE YOU.

;Happydid you see Buddy under chair..??? BOXES...;Woot...they require mandatory pics ya' know...

 

[Smirkish]

;Happydid you see Buddy under chair..??? BOXES...;Woot...they require mandatory pics ya' know...

I do now! Lol. He’s a good boy.

I have pics! I’m holding them hostage until I have time! ;Hilarious Soon!

 

[PicassoClown04]

;Happydid you see Buddy under chair..??? BOXES...;Woot...they require mandatory pics ya' know...

Theyre really good pics

 

[F i s h y]

Spamdya

 

[Smirkish]

In BOX NUMBER ONE….

(That’s for you, Frank.)

My newest fish friend, @footgal, sent me a very special and beautiful care package!


It got a little wet in transport but I dried it out and it’s on my fridge now along with the painting she made! This is everything else in the box (almost)!


There was even a little origami heart and Hi-Chews to eat while I waited for things to acclimate… oh, did I forget to mention she sent me a baby Sunset Strip BTA!?


And these…


And a little cup for the nem to go in!

Queen Strats! (Thank you, @Reefing_addiction ;Shamefullyembarrased) In love with the yellow! Need better pics, still, but this was the cutest, sweetest care package ever, and it was the coolest way to make a new friend. Thank you, K. ;Cat

AND. Today, when I got home and checked the tank, I noticed the little nem was MIA. Checked the cup, under the clip- panicked for a moment. Lol. Scanned the tank, and found it- tucked in behind the Duncan. Just couldn’t wait to get out on the Reef.

 

[Arthacker87]

How do I get one of these care packages haha nice set up. Can't wait to see that nem grown out.

 

[Smirkish]

How do I get one of these care packages haha nice set up. Can't wait to see that nem grown out.

Ha! She is the best! Thank you.

And neither can I- the nem is both adorable (so tiny right now!) and beautiful. It’s quickly become a favorite. Now I’m just hoping it doesn’t tickle the Duncan too much, because I like the spot it picked.

 

[PicassoClown04]

Ha! She is the best! Thank you.

And neither can I- the nem is both adorable (so tiny right now!) and beautiful. It’s quickly become a favorite. Now I’m just hoping it doesn’t tickle the Duncan too much, because I like the spot it picked.

Youre welcome!!! Looks like shes in a great home!!

 

[Reefing_addiction]

And you need spam

 

[ajtomase]

Red Sea Reefer 625XXL
System Volume: 169g
(on 6/11/21)


Welcome to my build thread for my RSR, affectionately known around our household as, “the Big One”.
(You know, when someone asks, “Which tank?”)

I will continue to update this post with a current photo of the tank and what my setup includes. Feel free to comment, any input is welcome.

Inhabitants
* indicates ID or morph still uncertain​

Fish
*Phantom Clownfish (x2 original)
*Snow Storm Clownfish (x2 original)
Naso Tang (original)
Purple Tang (original)
Blue Tang (original)
Yellow Tang (original)
Twospot Surgeonfish (original)
Lyretail Anthias (original)
Bangaii Cardinalfish (x2 one original one added)
Elegant Firefish (x2 original)
Blue Mandarin (original)
Spotted Mandarin (original)
Diamond Watchman Goby (original)
Lawnmower Blenny (original)
Pygmy Angelfish (added)
Sharknose Goby (added)
Niger Trigger (added)

CUC/Inverts
Nassarius Snails (x5 original)
Mexican Turbo Snails (x3 one original two added)
Blue Leg Hermit Crab (added)
Emerald Crab (added)
Peppermint Shrimp (x2 added)
Bubble Tip Anemone (x3 two original one added) - *color morphs unknown
*ticked off bubble-tip Anemone A.K.A. Condy (added)
Flame Scallop (added)

Coral
Brown Star Polyp (original)
Green Star Polyp (original)
Firework Cloves (original)
Kenya Tree (x2 original)
Frogspawn (x2 one original one added)
Hammer (added)
Duncan (x2 added)
Acan Lord (x2 one original one added)
Miami Vice Chalice (original)
Hollywood Stunner Chalice (x2 original)
Tequila Sunrise Chalice (added)
Alveopora (x2 one original one added)
Candycane (x3 added)
Green Toadstool Leather (added)
Carnation Tree (added)
Atomic Sympodium (added)
Mayan Sun Favia (added)
Fungia Plate (added)
Cyphastrea (original)
*Reverse Superman Montipora (original)
*Sps (x2 original)
Digitata (x2 one original one added)
Ricordea Florida (several three original, others added)
Ricordea Yuma (several added)
Utter Chaos Palythoa (added)
Rasta Zoanthid (added)
Red Hot Setosa (added)
Sunkist Bounce Mushroom (added)
Aussie 24k Gold Torch (added)

Equipment​

AI Hydra 26 HD (x3)
IM ChaetoMax Refugium LED 18W
AI HMS Mounting Kit (x3)
EcoTech Vortech MP40w ES
Jebao CP-90 25W Crossflow
Jebao DCP-6500 Sine Wave Return
Fiji-36 Advanced Reef Sump
Bubble Magus Curve 7 Skimmer
Aqua Ultraviolet 15W Classic UV
BRS Dual GFO & Carbon Reactor
Aquatop 400W Titanium Heater
(?lb) CaribSea Life Rock
CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink Live Sand (60lb added to existing bed which looked like Oolite)

Feeding​

I feed twice a day. Frozen is w/ juice. Corals and anemone get spot fed as needed. Return gets shut off for three minutes. Fish eat in less than two. Skimmer is off for 30 to allow it to circulate. Anemone get raw shrimp at least once a week.

12:00 pm
1 cubes of Spirulina Mysis
1 cube of Spirulina Brine
1 cube of Coral Gumbo
Mix in Reef Blizzard-A every three days.
Nori - 1/2 sheet cut into thin strips on multiple clips

6:00 pm
1 cube of Spirulina Mysis
1 cube of Spirulina Brine
30 ml phyto

Parameters
(on 5/7/21)​

Alkalinity: 8.7
Ammonia: 0
Calcium: 477
Magnesium: 1470
Nitrate: 20
Nitrite: 0
pH: 8.2
Phosphate: .17
Salinity: 1.024
Temperature: 78

Backstory:
In January this year we got into looking at saltwater systems, and wound up purchasing a Fluval Evo 13.5 new for about half price. I’d had the tank for about two months, and we were quickly realizing that it was going to be too small for what I wanted. So we started shopping!

Needless to say piecing together a tank is very expensive! :0 Go figure. We started looking through FB to see if we could find any deals, and we eventually came across “the big one”.

The tank was far bigger than I had planned on, the equipment looked good, and the livestock came “for free”, coral, fish, everything, due to FB having a policy against selling live animals. He had the tank since July of 2020, and was preparing to be restationed (Army), so he was getting rid of it all.

I literally talked myself out of buying it fifty different times, but then I saw it and all of that flew right out the window (along with the rest of my sanity).

This is a shot of the tank the night we broke it down and moved it;
(That’s the guy in pic- he was soooo helpful it was insane.)

And the “guts” that night;

(Notice the return is located before the refugium?)

I think my biggest concern, though, was the condition of the livestock. The flow was down lowwww (there was only the one vortech power head and you can see what it is set at above), rocks were coated in thick mats of algae on sand, and he said he was running the lights on “a basic setting”.

Now, here is how we moved it:

​

U-Haul truck, which we picked up in the city that the tank was in. Joe drove this, and the tank was “strapped” inside using a large ratchet strap minus the ratchet. We put the largest containers with water/sand/rock around it for bracing as well. I wish I took pictures of this, but it was dark, and we were in a hurry!​

​

Our CRV​

Loaded with lights wrapped up in the front passenger seat, cooler in the back seat, and the fish buckets in the wayyyyy back. Also loaded the more delicate equipment and plumbing in this car.​

​

Multiple battery operated bubblers​

* I don’t use bubble stones, I just tape the line down inside the bucket/container.​

​

1-gallon Ziploc Bags (with zippers)​

*Double bagged in case of leaks.​

​

Various hard plastic Tupperware containers w/ lids​

- For hard corals or anything attached to rock.​

​

(2x) New 44 gallon Rubbermaid Brute garbage cans​

- For water and large live rock.​

​

(7x) New Food Grade 5 gallon buckets with lids​

- For fish.​

* I have a few smaller salt buckets with lids that I used as well. Knowing that tangs are notoriously sensitive fish, susceptible to ich and other marine diseases, I was hoping to keep their stress levels as low as possible, and hope for the best. They were removed from the tank after the corals and some of the rock work and kept inside the guy’s house with bubblers and lids (still open) until we were ready to leave. I ran the heat in my vehicle to maintain the temperature in these buckets and the cooler.​

​

(5x) 18 gallon heavy duty storage tubs​

- For sand and live rock with some water.​

​

(1x) 27 gallon heavy duty storage tote with lid​

- For sand and the largest arch rock.​

​

(1x) Igloo Marine 120-quart insulated ice chest​

- For corals in bags and tupperware containers.​

* I cut several styrofoam pieces to make dividers to fit my cooler perfectly, so that I could separate the corals somewhat to keep them stationary.​

We started to break down the tank around 10:00 that night and didn’t leave his place till after 1:00AM. It was after 3:00 by the time we got home, and it was definitely one of the most anxious drives I’ve ever taken. We stayed on the phone the entire time nearly, and left the dang doors to the stand at the guy’s house, so he was following us for a little while too!

The tank actually ended up having to ride ON the stand because we couldn’t separate it off of the self leveling mat. I think it weighed around 600 lbs when we moved it, since the sump was also still in the stand. Fortunately our house is about level with the back of the truck, or we would have had a nightmare getting it down the ramp.

(Ignore the chaos.)

Part of the water was added into the holding tank (55g Acrylic), then the fish, and then the coral.

(I will not tell a lie: I had no time for identifying corals and rocks and trying to separate things here. I wish I had known he had so many different corals and fish, or I would have probably set up two holding tanks (one for sps and one for lps, and so I could have separated the more aggressive fish).

The fish and coral could finally rest! I, however, could not- I started working on setting the Reefer back up, and Joe headed off to work. (We are idiots, yes.)

Let’s call this chapter, “Day 1”.

What made you choose the 625 over the 750? I'm on the fence between the two for my first tank.

 

[Smirkish]

What made you choose the 625 over the 750? I'm on the fence between the two for my first tank.

Bigger is always better, right?

I didn’t plan to specifically purchase a 625 when I bought my tank, or even a Reefer, necessarily. The tank was used, and came with a good bit of the equipment and some stock, and the price was right. I would say I wouldn’t want to go smaller now that I have this. So if you’re floating between the two (why are you on the fence is the real question here), I may be the wrong person to ask…

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

First one is-

Put others at same level. Floridia still where I had them. I’ll keep an eye on it. May be a video when the lights shift here in a while.

Update on bouncy yumas?

 

[Smirkish]

Update on bouncy yumas?

Bouncing it up on the back of Mushroom Mountain. The baby got big, and even has a little brother now.