SuncrestReef's Red Sea Reefer XL 425 build

[SuncrestReef]

For the past month I've been trying to increase nitrates in my tank because they've been near zero and some corals were losing color. I tried over feeding but that didn't seem to have any effect (perhaps because I have so few fish). Just over a week ago I started dosing potassium nitrate (from Spectracide stump remover) and I'm already seeing the color return. I'm keeping the nitrate around 2 - 3 ppm and also closely monitoring phosphates since it can drop quickly when dosing Spectracide. I had to turn off my GFO reactor to keep phosphates at acceptable levels.

Here's a current shot of my Garf Bonsai which had turned mostly white, but the color is now returning:

 

[mta_morrow]

I'm participating with some fellow local area reefers in a frag grow out contest. Our LFS split up a colony into 20 frags and we're going to see who gets the most growth after 6 months. Wish me luck!

Ok! Nice frag and good luck!

 

[Stpatrick]

The rest of my PVC fittings finally arrived so I was able to mock up a design for my manifold. The primary challenge was to place the UV sterilizer in a position where I can easily remove the bulb and quartz sleeve for maintenance, and to fit my Apex flow sensors. I ended up locating it at the ceiling of the cabinet directly above the ATO reservoir. This will allow me to pull the bulb straight out the front of the cabinet, and it's high enough above the reservoir that I'm planning to use as a refugium to still have room for a slim LED grow light. The 3-way PVC fitting made all the difference in fitting things nicely. This design also allows me to securely support all the PVC from the ceiling of the cabinet.

The final version will have all orange PVC pipe. I just used scrap white PVC since I didn't want to start cutting up the expensive stuff until I'm ready to glue things up. Everything is 1" except for the reactors which use 1/2".

Just waiting patiently for the Reefer to show up...

I am using the same aquamaxx reactors on my build. They come with the barb fittings. Could I ask where you purchase the slip fittings? Thanks in advance.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I am using the same aquamaxx reactors on my build. They come with the barb fittings. Could I ask where you purchase the slip fittings? Thanks in advance.

I got them from PVCFittingsOnline.com, along with most of my plumbing:

https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/836-005-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-male-adaptor.html

You can probably find the same size adapters in white at your local hardware store if you’re not picky about colors.

I had to grind down the hex part of the fittings on one side to get them to sit side by side due to the narrow spacing of the holes on the reactor lids, but otherwise it was a simple retrofit.

 

[Stpatrick]

I got them from PVCFittingsOnline.com, along with most of my plumbing:

https://www.pvcfittingsonline.com/836-005-1-2-schedule-80-pvc-male-adaptor.html

You can probably find the same size adapters in white at your local hardware store if you’re not picky about colors.

I had to grind down the hex part of the fittings on one side to get them to sit side by side due to the narrow spacing of the holes on the reactor lids, but otherwise it was a simple retrofit.

Thanks for the tip. Your build is inspiring mine Question. How do you get to the reactor screws to release the canisters for service and maintenance? It looks pretty tight for fingers to get up in there.

 

[jp_75]

what fish do you have?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Thanks for the tip. Your build is inspiring mine Question. How do you get to the reactor screws to release the canisters for service and maintenance? It looks pretty tight for fingers to get up in there.

The top of the reactors are 5" below the cabinet ceiling, so there's enough room for me to get to the screws. It's a little cramped on the right-hand side due to the pipes, but I can still get in there. I never ended up using the 3rd reactor at the back (the biopellet reactor), so if I were to do it again I'd probably only use 2 reactors and space them out a bit more.

Glad you like the build!

 

[SuncrestReef]

what fish do you have?

At the moment I have 2 clowns, 2 blue chromis, a yellow watchman goby, and a kole tang in the display tank. I also have 2 anthias and a tailspot blenny in quarantine for a couple more weeks before moving them into the display.







Unfortunately the kole tang suffered HLLE and has scarring:

 

[SuncrestReef]

My LFS was having a sale this weekend, and I couldn't resist picking this up:

 

[SuncrestReef]

Watch as the colors of this colony change from mostly blue to mostly red as it opens up after dipping and first placement in my tank. This took place over about 2 hours.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Watch as the colors of this colony change from mostly blue to mostly red as it opens up after dipping and first placement in my tank. This took place over about 2 hours.

Very nice! I had some Rainbow Acans with a green center and purple rim. When they opened up big and fluffy they were almost all red.

Then

Now

Glad I am not the only one. These were my first Acans, so maybe it is a common thing.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Here's my new acan colony after one full day in the tank. It fully opened up and looks happy.

 

[Brinypivot]

Following. I am ordering my 425xl deluxe on Black Friday from LFS, perks...

 

[mta_morrow]

Here's my new acan colony after one full day in the tank. It fully opened up and looks happy.

Beautiful colony!

May I ask where you got it from?

 

[SuncrestReef]

Beautiful colony!

May I ask where you got it from?

I got this and the majority of my other corals at my LFS, Cuttlefish & Corals, in Portland OR.

The only pieces I’ve ever ordered online were 5 frags I got during the Jason Fox live sale a couple months ago.

 

[mta_morrow]

I got this and the majority of my other corals at my LFS, Cuttlefish & Corals, in Portland OR.

The only pieces I’ve ever ordered online were 5 frags I got during the Jason Fox live sale a couple months ago.

I so wish I had a good place to buy where I live now.

Where I came from was frag tank heaven!

Thanks!

 

[SuncrestReef]

Now that my tank has been fully operational for 6 months, it's time to do some scheduled maintenance. Today I cleaned my Aqua UV sterilizer quartz tube for the first time and inspected the unit. Here's what this involved:

1. Turn off the UV outlet in Apex Fusion.
2. Open the bypass valve on my return line.
3. Close the input and output valves on the UV sterilizer.
4. Unscrew the bulb assembly and remove the UV bulb.
   
   
5. Place a drip pan below the sterilizer to catch the remaining water as it drains out.
6. Unscrew the quartz tube assembly and let the water drain out. You can see the tube is covered in deposits.
   
   
   
7. Wrapped the quartz tube with a paper towel soaked in vinegar to dissolve the built up deposits.
   
   
8. After 30 minutes in vinegar, the deposits wiped off easily with a dry paper towel.
9. Inspect the quartz tube for any cracks or damage.
   
   
10. Reassemble the whole unit.
11. Open the input and output valves.
12. Close the bypass valve.
13. Turn on the UV outlet in Apex Fusion.

I'll check the tube again in three months since it obviously was pretty dirty after six. I'll also replace the UV bulb every 12 months. It costs $50.

Sometime soon I will do my first maintenance cleaning of the COR-20 pump and my Nyos skimmer. Stay tuned.

 

[nycfishy]

I'm now 17 days into cycling my tank using Dr. Tim's bacteria. His instructions state that if nitrites exceed 5 ppm, make water changes to prevent the cycling process from stalling. Since day 3 I've found the dosed ammonia dissipated quickly while nitrites are very high (my Red Sea nitrite test kit only measures up to 1 ppm, so picked up an API test kit that measures up to 5 ppm) so I've done frequent small water changes (5% per day) and larger weekly water changes (50% the 1st week and 60% the 2nd week). Today, only 2 days after the 60% change, my nitrites were still over 5 ppm, so I did a 100% water change. I'm hoping to get the cycling back on track so nitrites are consumed as quickly as the ammonia. I'll keep testing each day to see if this helped.

On a side note, I purchase the Avast Marine Swabbie retrofit for my Nyos Quantum 160 skimmer. It's controlled by my Apex to wipe the skimmer neck clean every 6 hours. Pretty simple to install and I think it will make life a lot easier once I stock my tank and have more skimmate to collect.

What wiper size did you get for your NYOS 160?

 

[SuncrestReef]

What wiper size did you get for your NYOS 160?

I got the small size wiper. It's larger than you'd think. I had to trim a little off the wiper to get it to fit properly inside the skimmer neck.

 

[SuncrestReef]

I posted a separate thread showing photos of every coral in my tank: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/full-coral-inventory-40-photos.509418/