RS Reefer 425 G2 Build Thread Adelaide Australia

[Dee Tee 75]

G'day everybody. Here is the start of my build thread.

I'm currently living in Saudi Arabia and will be moving back to Oz in June. Posted below is my introduction to R2R. I am still very much in the planning stage and since writing this post, I have done much research into tank automation and what the APEX can provide. More on that later.

Intro post:

I'm currently planning my second reef tank when I move back to Adelaide (Australia) in June. Previously I had a RS Max E-260 which I loved and got up and running with SPS/LPS and softies within a year (pictured)

Unfortunately I had to sell this tank and move countries shortly after this photo was taken and I've been out of the hobby for the last 5 years.

I'm a huge fan of Red Sea as I was simply able to follow their directions and get excellent results without really knowing what I was doing. As such, I'm pre-disposed to stay within the RS world for my next project, although I am open to suggestions. Budget is much less of a concern than it was last time and my number one priority is getting a setup working automatically such that I can spend some weeks away from home without having to worry about routine maintenance tasks (family will still be home but aren't experts).

So, here is the plan. Please tell me if I'm not being realistic or if you have a better option to achieve my goal. I'm in the fortunate position to have both time and money to set this up properly the first time.

Tank: RS Reefer XL 425 or possibly Waterbox 130.4 or similar
Lights: AI Hydra 32 x 2 or RS RL90 x 2
Circulation: Sicce return pump and RS Reefwave 25 x 2 or Vortech MP-10 x 2
Skimmer: RSK-600 with filter socks but considering Reefmat roller
Plumbing: Standard sump with the tank, but planning to install a gate valve on anything I get.
Refugium: Planning to grow green stuff in wet stuff. That's all I know about this topic!
Doser: 8 heads of Red Sea products - I used to do this manually, so not sure if this can be done for everything.

Now, here's where it gets less certain....

Controller: Full Apex system with the 4 probes
Feeding: Apex feeder for when the whole family is away. Manual at other times. (Coral feeding always via the dosing pumps if possible).
Water: 4 or 5 stage RODI system with automatic (Tunze?) controller to fill a good size reservoir.
ATO: I'd like to have a large reservoir in the basement one floor directly below the tank and use a Tunze system to control it and some sort of pump to get the water up to the sump (assuming the standard Tunze supplied pump will be too small). Not sure if I need to keep the RS supplied ATO tank in the sump or not with this setup.
Auto water change: I've seen setups with the Apex controller and a Dos pump which I'd like to use, but not sure if this can be done with the salt water reservoir located in the basement.

My biggest question is with the Apex controller and non Apex Wi-Fi connected equipment (ie: all the RS stuff on Reef Beat etc).
Do I even need the controller?
Will Apex interfere with Vortech/RS/AI equipment if they are plugged into it?
If not - what benifits will the Apex give me?

I'm not looking to start buying stuff until July, so I'm going to nut this out until then and would love to hear your feedback and ideas.
I'll be living close to the Seaview Aquarium Centre, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on these guys or anybody else in the Adelaide area or even Australia wide.

Thanks for having me on the forum!

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Since writing that a couple of weeks ago, I've really been researching the APEX system which is difficult to buy and use in Australia. I've just been made aware of the new 240V energy bar 632 which I can use with some simple Aus plug adapters. I've also found SEWATEC in Germany that will deliver for a very good price, although I might be able to pick up from Germany soon but that would involve making some decisions now and placing the order some months before I even purchase a tank!

I've sketched out a wiring diagram to figure out what I will need to buy so that I can have a fully automated system (pic below - I'm not an engineer or artist so go easy!) apart from automatic RODI control which I might add after I know what the tank requirements are.

The ATO and AWC bins will be in the basement which is standard floor height below the ground floor. An FMM and DOS pump will sit down there with them. Those units will be powered from 240V mains and connected to the APEX via Aqua Bus which I will pass through the floor near the tank.

This will be my first experience with a controller of any type so any advice on my plan would be much appreciated while I can still make mistakes for free!

General comments on other equipment choices would be very welcome also.

Thanks!

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Right.

So during my many hours of research, I've discovered the Triton Method.

This seems to be exactly what I'm looking for as once the tank is stable, the need for water changes and testing is minimised.

I would feel much more comfortable going away knowing that my water was good in an ICP test and the doses are maintained, then I'm much less likely to see big swings and the need for someone to conduct a water change for me.

It also means that I can save on some of the Neptune gear that I detailed above. I'm guessing that I can ditch the AWC reservoir, optical sensor, DOS unit and an FMM module. I would need to ditch one of the leak detection units and plug the ATO reservoir optical sensor into the remaining FMM port.

If anybody has experience using the Triton Method, particularly with a Reefer XL 425, I would love to hear from you.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Since my last post, I've done much more research on Triton and AWC.
Red Sea has launched the Gen 2 Reefers as well!

The G2 looks like a no brainer and I am now willing to give the iimproved downflow valve a go without autimatically swapping it for a gate valve out of the box.

I've ordered all of my Neptune gear and other stuff, which I am looking forward to picking up in Germany and bringing back next week.

My initial Triton research convinced me that the AWC system wasn't required so my new tank plan looks like this:

I am now thinking that I will install an AWC setup pretty quickly anyway, which will mean that I need to order a DOS and another FMM later, but this shouldn't be too difficult.

I've just messaged the LFS in Australia to find out available.

No doubt, we will have to waait 12 months longer than the rest of the world and pay an extra thousand bucks for the privilege!!

 

[swallace]

Good luck on the build. I agree that the Red Sea Gen2 is a no brainer , its a pretty nice upgrade from the old version.

 

[blaxsun]

Get a Cade mate!

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Get a Cade mate!

It's on the list, along with a waterbox.

I've never seen any of them in the flesh though, so I'll be looking for all of them when I touch down!

Out of interest, why do you think the Cade is better than the Reefer?

 

[Dee Tee 75]

So Operation:

"Buy heaps of gear from a foreign country, for a tank that you haven't got and then hand carry it to another foreign country so you can finally bring it home in a month."

went well. I've got all of these new toys still in the box that I cant wait to attach to a tank.

My soon to be LFS now stocks Waterbox 130.4 and Reefer 425 G2 so I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Although I am still keen to use the Triton method with this build, I've seen that water changes aren't zero with Triton, so I'll probably set up an auto water change system and potentially auto RODI fill with Neptune gear.

$$$$!

 

[blaxsun]

It's on the list, along with a waterbox.

I've never seen any of them in the flesh though, so I'll be looking for all of them when I touch down!

Out of interest, why do you think the Cade is better than the Reefer?

Superior cabinet design, ATO and top/bottom intakes on the overflow.

 

[Fish D-Roo]

Hiya mate,, Im in Adelaide aswell and am looking into the same setup you're doing, will be following this thread closely to get some guidance and ideas.

Ive had quite a few freshwater tanks in the past but this will be my first jump into saltwater and would like to do it right the first time with the right gear.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Well I'm finally in Adelaide and although I've been in the house for nearly a month, I'm still tankless!

As soon as I stepped into the place (for the first time in 3 years), I realised that my prime tank position wasn't on a concrete slab, but on floorboards. I've been waiting for the engineers to come out and do an inspection and they are currently doing the calculations for how much strengthening the floor will need.

Long story short: I'll probably have to wait until I go back overseas and return in October before I even buy the tank.

In other news, I've discovered Marine Plus down in Lonsdale which had an excellent selection of fish and corals and seemed to be really serious about health and quarantine procedures. I think they just became my LFS!

In the meantime, I'm going to get water plumbed into the basement so that I can setup an RODI/ATO/AWC setup.
I've selected a 6 stage RODI system from ReefpureRO. I'm going to buy some more Neptune gear so that this will fill the ATO reservoir in one big hit as it gets empty. This should minimise the impact of not flushing the membrane. I'm planning on 200l fresh and 200l salt down in the basement with a DOS pump for the AWC.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Finally, I've got some time and some progress to report!

Erm, no tank yet though. It's been ordered and should be here in the next week or two.

Downstairs we've had the new floor beam installed to support the tank:

I've also setup a saltwater mixing station with a 6 stage boosted RO/DI system. The barrels are second hand pickle barrels (200 l) that only cost $30 each and after cleaning them out with citric acid a couple of times, I placed them on some cheap Ikea wooden stools. Each stool is rated to 110kg so each barrel sits on 2 stools and there have been no problems so far.

My water pressure is about 60 psi and the booster pump takes it to 95. The TDS of the tap water is about 230 which goes down to 4-5 at the 5th stage and zero at the end. I also tested the water after a week in the barrel and it's still zero. Very happy. I'm going to paint down there soon so I will be shifting things around before a final tidy up after the paint job.

I also managed to sink a hole in the corner of my lounge room which pops out in the top left corner of the above photo - perfect for my AWC and ATO pipes to run through! (Phew).

Upstairs, progress has been made as well:

It was a pretty simple job to cut the carpet and underlay. and remove the wood and nails holding the carpet at the skirting board. I bought some lino, edging and a masonite backing board from Bunnings, glued the lino to the board and attached the edging to aluminimum under carpet fixing rails.

It wont be waterproof but it will contain minor spills to the lino.

There will be an equipment cupboard on the RHS of the tank and the AWC/ATO pipes will run down under that cardboard box to the garage.

Next comes the fun stuff......

 

[Dee Tee 75]

We have fish!!

I set up a 35l quarantine tank in the kitchen. It's got a HOB filter with a sponge, some ceramic balls and I also added some carbon which cleared the water up nicely. No medication.

The kids all have different names for the fish but I call one Robbie Coltrane because we got them on the day he passed away and the other is Special Patrol Group (any Young Ones fans still out there?)

For the DT I elected to go with a pair of Reef Factory Reef Flare Pro S lights. The guy at the LFS told me to research them before he would sell me the AI Hydra 32HDs and I was convinced that they have better coverage and software plus they are trying to build out an entire ecosystem that may (one day) eventually challenge the likes of Neptune. We'll see, but I'm happy with the lights and can't wait to see them on the tank.

We also planned the aquascape at the shop and this is what we came up with (minus the wood used as markers):

What do ya think?

 

[swampcruiser]

That’s some big time support. i might have missed it but did you go Cade, Red Sea or WB?

 

[Dee Tee 75]

That’s some big time support. i might have missed it but did you go Cade, Red Sea or WB?

I ended up with the Reefer in the end. The Cade ATO reservoir didn't fit with my plan and was just wasted space in the DT for me. From memory, the WB wasn't liked by the LFS guys I talked to here, although I could be getting mixed up about that as those conversations were a few months ago now.

I figured that there was no reason to steer away from the Reefer G2 apart from the diagphram valve. I have heard good reports about the new design but it's so new that I don't think we can trust those reports just yet. I'll replace it with a gate valve later if required.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

It's finally here but we're not up and running yet. The build was pretty straight forward. I connected the two drain pipes incorrectly and so had to unscrew them to swap over (just like the manual says not to do). The return nozzles were a little tight to fit as well but it appears to be all ok.

The doors, although square, don't sit flush when closed even though the cabinet is level. I'm going to fix some small magnets to hold them against the stoppers when closed rather than mess around with the hinges.

Now, today was meant to be about aquascaping but last night I tore my calf muscle on the footy field and spent the evening at the emergency department. I'm on crutches and will have scans today but either way, I'm not able to lift and move big rocks around.

Bugger.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

It's cycling!

I've got problems tuning the water level. It looks like my Sicce 5.0 return pump is too powerful as with it set to minimum flow and the downflow valve fully open, I get significant flow down the emergency drain pipe which is noisy.

Any higher setting on the return results in the return chamber emptying and air pumping through the return line.

I'm investigating things like a faulty downflow valve or partial blockage in the main downpipe but I reckon the pump is simply pumping too fast.

I'm really happy with the Reef Flare Pro S lights but the brackets are crap. You get a couple of small steel screws with tiny allen key heads to tighten the bracket to the arm but the screw thread is so tight that it's really easy to slip and round off the heads. I got 3/4 tightened but need to readjust them as they are a couple of degrees off vertical.

My leg is still pretty sore so I can't get down to the workshop and build the pipework to the basement or furniture that will house the electronics. At the moment, I'm manually topping up from buckets and trying to rest the leg.

 

[Ryebreadiest]

Bummer about the 5.0 being too much. Fortunately they are fairly cheap and dropping down to a 3.0 or 4.0 should be pretty easy. As long as you can keep your temp stable it’s pretty hard to have too little flow through your sump.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

Happy new year everybody.

The tank is progressing nicely. I got the pipework in through the floor:

I currently have 3 pipes and 2 electrical cables going through there. The only wet pipe at the moment is the RODI tube for the ATO system. The Neptune ATK has been great so far. Easy to set up and works as advertised. The PMUP is powerful enough to handle the elevation from the basement. Eventually the fresh saltwater and waste water will go through there for the auto water changes.

I've also got an Aquabus cable and a 24V Acc cable going to the downstairs FMM. The PMUP is connected the the downstairs FMM and the ATO sensors are connected to the upstairs one. Once I'd named the outputs correctly, setup and programming was simple.

The control cabinet looks like this:

You can see the wet pipe on the floor and also some conduit to cover the one million cables passing to and from the tank.

I've also got the COR15 return pump controller installed next to the APEX brain. I'm very happy with the COR 15 and noticed an immediate improvement in control and noise once it was installed. I think that it's running at 30% of max capacity which is fine for now. I'll adjust that if I need more flow later.

Also installed is the GRO light and some Chaeto for the refugium. It's only been a couple of days but I havent seen any drop in nitrates yet. The rocks are covered in some nice brown slime which my snails and Blue Spot Blenny are loving.

I had to mess around with the probe rack quite a bit. The cables are at maximum stretch and there really isnt much room in the sump when you really look at it. The chaeto was getting stuck under the probes but I've raised them up and it looks like the ball will keep spinning at its current size.

You can see the dosing lines there. I installed a Reef Dose 4 head yesterday and have started dosing Triton Core7 elements at 8ml per day.

It was all pretty simple until I found dosing head #2 cavitating. I narrowed it down to a problem with the feed tube to the dosing container but as they are all full and connected, I'll need to wait until they drain a little before I can find a fix.

I've currently got 5 Flame Basslets in my quarantine tank. One was looking pretty sick for a bit but I started feeding frozen mysis shrimp which has perked him up. He still doesn't like the pellets that the others eat, but hopefully he'll pull through.

I've also got a hammer coral and a green star polyp to add a bit of colour and movement. Parameters aren't up to spec yet but they both bloomed on day one so hopefully they still thrive.

 

[Dee Tee 75]

It's been a while and significant additions have been made to the tank.

The automatic water change system is complete. The only addition will be to put in a float valve for the RO outlet into the bin so I don't flood the basement (again) when I set the Neptune shutoff valve incorrectly. Water changes at the push of a button (from anywhere in the world) are the best thing in reefing!

I did an ACP test and it took a couple of weeks to get the results. In that time, I went away and my poor house sitter watched the Basslett population go from 4 to one (one didn't make it out of Q). The results of the test showed elevated copper readings which was a worry but also super high Barium levels. Luckily the report tells you exactly what to do (start by buying more Triton products!) and I've used DETOX and AL99 plus weekly 15% water changes to resolve the problem. It's been about 6 weeks since that test and I've just sent another one yesterday so hopefully it shows an improvement.

I'm also dosing a small amount of Iodine twice a week and have started feeding the corals with Aqua Forest Power Elixir which seems to help. I'm not seeing an Alkalinity drop yet so the Triton dose is still 8ml per day of each although I have manually added Calcium and Magnesium to get those levels up.

The good news is that my corals are thriving. I've got mainly LPS with some softies too. Upon introducing an expensive Scoly (above) however, I watched my Blennie tear a big chunk out of it and spit it out before moving to every other coral in the tank (which he had previously ignored) and eating or knocking them over....or both!

It took me 3 days of trying to catch the little prick but I eventually got him with a trap made from a plastic bottle and returned him to the store. After that, all of my zombie snails re-appeared and my other fish started exploring the tank a lot more. That probably explains the missing Basslets as well.

No more Blennies.

I've added 8 Chromis and a Mandarin. I put a bag of rotifers in last week and the Mandarin seems happy. Copepods are difficult to get at the moment but I've got some on order so hopefully he can hold out until they arrive.

I also went and met Dan at Dan's Zoas (on Facebook) and spent about an hour trying to decide what to take from his enormous selection. I have never kept them before and I love them. I'll be paying him another visit soon!

I've also added a Reef Factory Small Reef Bar. As usual, their mounting hardware is **** and not compatible with their Reef Flare mounting arms. I rigged up a couple of nuts and bolts to hold them in but the backup of some cable ties is probably enough on their own. It's a great light though and it covers the back and centre areas that are shaded by the rockwork. Eventually there will be a clam in there.

The next step is going to be just adding some more LPS meat before another ACP test or two to confirm that I'm ready for SPS at the top and the clam. I've also got a request for my LFS to find me a small Purple Tang and I'd like to put some more Basslets in to keep my remaining one company.

I might learn how to take better photos soon too.