Red Sea Reefer 250 G2 SPS dominant build

[spectral_ranger]

I just set up (this week) a red sea reefer 250v3. I have been researching and going through much of the same processes that you have lately. Its an adventure for sure with many options but 1 thing I wouldnt skimp on is a solid controller and doser. It just makes life a whole lot easier. I said that if I ever set up a bigger tank again I wouldnt skimp on a controller to automate my ATO, dosing, monitoring, etc...

Yeah, I was just reading up on controllers last night. Had an Apex back in the day. Just a lot of dough to drop. Think I'd rather put it off at least a few months as the tank matures before I really start stocking it to at least lessen the up front blow! The Apex w/ Triton sounds really cool, having the automated Calcium and Alk measurements sounds super helpful. Which are you looking at?

 

[spectral_ranger]

Also, i believe top lids has a reef lid with an insert for the 250. its more expensive than kraken but it has the acrylic insert to cover the netting for the cats. Theres always a BBgun for the cats to train them to stay way ;-)

Great tip on top lids! Found the Evap Cover add-on where they have an option specifically for catproofing (thicker polycarbonate to hold the weight vs. the thinner covers). Yeah, not cheap. But would be super helpful. I just wonder about light transmission with that material, don't see it talked about on there. Will drop them a question sometime soon.

 

[SteveDola]

Yeah, I was just reading up on controllers last night. Had an Apex back in the day. Just a lot of dough to drop. Think I'd rather put it off at least a few months as the tank matures before I really start stocking it to at least lessen the up front blow! The Apex w/ Triton sounds really cool, having the automated Calcium and Alk measurements sounds super helpful. Which are you looking at?

I bought an Apex with dos, ddr, and ato. Want to get that Triton but going to wait for now until the wallet gets off life support. I went with Apex bc of the discount now and the ability to automate water changes later on down the line and the compatibility...its basically like the Apple of reef controllers.

I've been taking my time doing my nsa rock and then curing it and now im hanging lights on monday. After that Ill move my 15g nano over into the new tank. The tank is full of rock atm and running...it is so silent and the reef mat is super nice. No need to rush as they say its not a race.

 

[SteveDola]

Great tip on top lids! Found the Evap Cover add-on where they have an option specifically for catproofing (thicker polycarbonate to hold the weight vs. the thinner covers). Yeah, not cheap. But would be super helpful. I just wonder about light transmission with that material, don't see it talked about on there. Will drop them a question sometime soon.

Ive had kraken reef lids on my other nanos and they work great for the price. They look sleek and are well made (for a netted tank lid). There are a few manufacturers out there do these custom lids now.

 

[Cheddah93]

Here’s my reefer 250 with everything squeezed in there including a full apex currently. I will say though, trident is kind of a game changer for me as it takes a lot of the stuff people don’t want to manually do, test. All I have to focus on is nutrients. Although I’ll be getting rid of the Refugium part and the klir fleece roller for a new reef mat fleece roller, its amazing how much you can fit in the cabinet of these tanks.

 

[spectral_ranger]

Here’s my reefer 250 with everything squeezed in there including a full apex currently. I will say though, trident is kind of a game changer for me as it takes a lot of the stuff people don’t want to manually do, test. All I have to focus on is nutrients. Although I’ll be getting rid of the Refugium part and the klir fleece roller for a new reef mat fleece roller, its amazing how much you can fit in the cabinet of these tanks.View attachment 176882

Thanks for sharing! Very impressive. I wasn't happy at first that the sump was so small, but am coming around to the fact that it provides much more space in the cabinet for other things. And you're pretty happy with the Trident? I'm trying to space out my purchases and do deeper research on stuff before purchasing, but that sounds really cool and it's on sale now. Might just have to pull the trigger... gah. My poor credit card!

 

[spectral_ranger]

I bought an Apex with dos, ddr, and ato. Want to get that Triton but going to wait for now until the wallet gets off life support. I went with Apex bc of the discount now and the ability to automate water changes later on down the line and the compatibility...its basically like the Apple of reef controllers.

I've been taking my time doing my nsa rock and then curing it and now im hanging lights on monday. After that Ill move my 15g nano over into the new tank. The tank is full of rock atm and running...it is so silent and the reef mat is super nice. No need to rush as they say its not a race.

Yeah, I've got a few boxes of CaribSea LifeRock coming tomorrow (shapes and arches) which I plan to do NSA scape with, cement, then throw in container and cure/cycle while waiting for the tank. Between you and Cheddah, think I'll pull the trigger on an Apex with Trident now while it's on sale.

Oh! And I just ordered from Top Lids with the catproof evap cover. Super nice and helpful guys over there. Lid holds 150 pounds! And said light transmission loss through screen top is 3%, and another 7% through the evap cover. Not too bad overall. Worst case, add another Kessil on well down the road. And who knows, might not need the evap cover if the cats just leave it the f alone.

 

[SteveDola]

Here’s my reefer 250 with everything squeezed in there including a full apex currently. I will say though, trident is kind of a game changer for me as it takes a lot of the stuff people don’t want to manually do, test. All I have to focus on is nutrients. Although I’ll be getting rid of the Refugium part and the klir fleece roller for a new reef mat fleece roller, its amazing how much you can fit in the cabinet of these tanks.

I like the way you have your apex mounted. Im going to put on side wall also but I built a roll out management board to help with access and management of the devices. Its going to be a tight fit but the templates help me plan it out until the unit comes in the mail.

I linked a quick video I took when I was dialing in the overflow during initial set up of return and overflow. At the end you can see my roll out board that I will mount all of my (or most) controller equipment. I also plan on putting a mounting strip 3"x14" of cabinet board to the back wall for other devices. The side roll out pulls out about 12" and is enough to not have to kill myself in the cabinet when adjusting.
video of RSR250 initial sump set up (phase1)

 

[Cheddah93]

Thanks for sharing! Very impressive. I wasn't happy at first that the sump was so small, but am coming around to the fact that it provides much more space in the cabinet for other things. And you're pretty happy with the Trident? I'm trying to space out my purchases and do deeper research on stuff before purchasing, but that sounds really cool and it's on sale now. Might just have to pull the trigger... gah. My poor credit card!

Buy once and cry once man, best thing I did when I started this tank. Do that and just let the credit card cool down after and you’ll be glad you don’t have to keep making purchases lol.

It’s been rock solid for me and good piece of mind when I’m traveling as I have the LDK along with a couple of optical sensors for flood protection, know what all the levels are and automatically adjusts the dosing, along with many other things that the apex allows me to do with it.

I’ve automated pretty much all the tasking stuff to prevent me not wanting to do it and provide a stable environment for the tank. Allows me to just feed the tank daily and mix up some water every two weeks for the AWC ect…

 

[Cheddah93]

I like the way you have your apex mounted. Im going to put on side wall also but I built a roll out management board to help with access and management of the devices. Its going to be a tight fit but the templates help me plan it out until the unit comes in the mail.

I linked a quick video I took when I was dialing in the overflow during initial set up of return and overflow. At the end you can see my roll out board that I will mount all of my (or most) controller equipment. I also plan on putting a mounting strip 3"x14" of cabinet board to the back wall for other devices. The side roll out pulls out about 12" and is enough to not have to kill myself in the cabinet when adjusting.
video of RSR250 initial sump set up (phase1)

I dig it man, looks good. Like the idea you have with the reef mat and not having to cut out anything running the line like that. That’s what made me look at the fleece roller from KLIR and 3d printing an adapter to fit it in stock location. I ended up not liking the klir and have now planned on the reef mat once the next shipment arrives. I have plenty of room with the nyos 120 and might have to just do it the way you have it.
If I had more time I was gonna do the slide out cabinet but I was impatient and just mounted it that way. I have a side cabinet I’ve been debating moving it all to as it only houses a ten gallon tank and a dos for AWC.

 

[SteveDola]

Yeh thats what Im talking about with the apex. set the tasks and have peice of mind. Ive been watching the BRS videos and getting great ideas which dont seem hard at all. Definitely going to set up AUTO WCs. Are you kidding me? push button and the pumps shut down and turn on for the water change while you relax? sounds great.

 

[spectral_ranger]

Time for an update! System arrived last week, and I got cabinet built, sump plumbed, floating hanging suspension kit for Aquatic Life Coral Cover mounted, etc. Everything went together relatively fine, need to fine-tune cabinet doors because they don't close and pop open like they're supposed to... thought there'd be a magnetic catch on the doors, but no, they just kind of float there... meaning a cat could easily paw it open and swim in the sump! Oh, I did order a cover from Top Lids, with their cat cover insert. Should have that in a month or so. Also, ended up buying a Neptune COR-15 pump (instead of planned Vortech S2) just so I could make fuller use of the Apex I bought.

Have a first cut at aquascape laid out on cardboard. Highest points are at 12" on left and 14" on right. Think I'm leaving enough space around the sides for easy glass cleaning and all while still having plenty of coral mounting space and allowing for good flow. Let me know if there are any thoughts or suggestions on the scape before I mortar stuff in place. I'm thinking about having two MP10s mounted to the back wall. Back wall because they'd be less visible... though I'd think side wall install would get better flow. Not sure. May add one or two down the road.

 

[Sharreef]

Time for an update! System arrived last week, and I got cabinet built, sump plumbed, floating hanging suspension kit for Aquatic Life Coral Cover mounted, etc. Everything went together relatively fine, need to fine-tune cabinet doors because they don't close and pop open like they're supposed to... thought there'd be a magnetic catch on the doors, but no, they just kind of float there... meaning a cat could easily paw it open and swim in the sump! Oh, I did order a cover from Top Lids, with their cat cover insert. Should have that in a month or so. Also, ended up buying a Neptune COR-15 pump (instead of planned Vortech S2) just so I could make fuller use of the Apex I bought.

Have a first cut at aquascape laid out on cardboard. Highest points are at 12" on left and 14" on right. Think I'm leaving enough space around the sides for easy glass cleaning and all while still having plenty of coral mounting space and allowing for good flow. Let me know if there are any thoughts or suggestions on the scape before I mortar stuff in place. I'm thinking about having two MP10s mounted to the back wall. Back wall because they'd be less visible... though I'd think side wall install would get better flow. Not sure. May add one or two down the road.View attachment 177440View attachment 177441View attachment 177442

Rockwork looks great. Can't tell if it's the camera angle, but watch that back left space, if you get it behind the center overflow it can turn into a real dead zone.

Have you looked into the glass thickness on the MP10? I looked quick and saw the G2s increased glass thickness, and people have had problems with them not keeping a strong enough connection on the previous Reefer 250s, so you might want to read some reviews from people who have tried it. At a minimum, don't think you'd have any luck with the back glass unless you went mp40s.

 

[spectral_ranger]

Rockwork looks great. Can't tell if it's the camera angle, but watch that back left space, if you get it behind the center overflow it can turn into a real dead zone.

Have you looked into the glass thickness on the MP10? I looked quick and saw the G2s increased glass thickness, and people have had problems with them not keeping a strong enough connection on the previous Reefer 250s, so you might want to read some reviews from people who have tried it. At a minimum, don't think you'd have any luck with the back glass unless you went mp40s.

Great tip on the MP10s, thanks! Will research that some more for sure. Probably worth spending the extra money just to avoid any potential problems...

The rocks do tuck around the overflow a bit close, but I can pull it out a bit to ensure better flow. Thanks for the observation!

 

[spectral_ranger]

Got it filled up last weekend with sump plumbed and all. Used Marco cement to get my scape together, first time doing that. Super easy, and glad I did it (no more rocks tumbling and scratching glass for me!). Doing fishless cycle using Dr. Tim's stuff plus MicroBacter7, a bag of SeaChem Matrix I had put in my biocube for a few weeks, and whatever bacteria come on the AragAlive and LifeRock (?). Any added ammonia dropping pretty quickly now, still some traces of nitrites though. Nitrates about 10ppm.

The AquaticLife Coral Cover was a bit of a pain to get together, but looks like it'll be very nice once running. It was missing some hardware needed to attach it to the floating suspension kit on the wall, those were mailed out and should be here Weds. Went ahead and ordered the AI Prime 16s (opting to go that route instead of Kessils after all) that will also be here Weds, so I'll get the canopy all connected up and hung at once.

Still have the Nyos skimmer waiting to get installed, but no rush on that. Also have a ReefMat 500 pre-ordered, waiting on delivery. Oh, and got the Apex controller all setup. Just controlling the two heaters for now, have them programmed to run during different parts of the day so they get equal wear and all and have some redundancy. Oh, and the one MP40 I was able to get from Love the Reef. By the way, big shout out to LTR for helping getting the crazy 16mm flex hose Red Sea provides onto a good 3/4" barbed fitting for the return pump! That was ticking me off last weekend trying to do it myself with the crappy fitting I had.

Visited Acro Garden earlier this week and Dong helped me select some sweet easier SPS pieces to add once I get the lights going. Getting there!

 

[spectral_ranger]

Got the hood all together with the right hardware and mounted the two AI Prime 16 HDs. Ran over to AcroGarden yesterday and picked up the pieces Dong was holding for me and got them in there. Just randomly placed now til I figure out where I want them and all... polyps were out within half hour of getting in there, so I'll take that as a good sign! Lighting for the Primes is straight Saxby schedule for now, and have the AL LED bars on at 50% for about 8 hours, with an hour ramp up and down at the ends.

Some observations so far:

• More disco ball effect than I'd like, both with the Primes and LED bars. Think I'll definitely get the 3DReefer diffusers soon for the Primes. Should I have gone T5 instead of LED bars? I dunno...
• Man, those MP40s move a lot of water, even at lower settings. Created some bare spots and dunes in the sand. I like having them in the back as they blend in more, but considering moving them to the sides...
• Those AI Primes sure ain't quiet when they get warm with those fans going!
• Going to need some sort of "curtain" or shade between top front of canopy and top of tank. I sit at my desk right in front of the tank, and turning to look at tank, I get blinded by the lights.
• Lots of cord cleanup and controller mounting yet to do, but want to let the dust settle a bit before I make anything too permanent.
• Any suggestions on good iPhone photo apps or camera settings for good pics? The app I grabbed five minutes ago to take these pics didn't work too great... or just get those clip on filters?

To do list:

• Try to find a nice pair of clowns at LTR to add this weekend (cycle's done).
• Install Nyos skimmer.
• Mount controllers and cleanup cabling.
• Install ReefMat if it ever gets here...
• Start in on dosing stuff (as in get equipment, two-part, etc.).
  • Strongly considering getting a Trident as manual testing will inevitably fall off.

 

[Cheddah93]

You might like the mp40’s better on the sides, I’ve got a 250 with reef sand grade sand and two Mp40s facing each other on the sides running %45 and two mp10 on the back wall running %75 both on reef crest.

That and getting the clip on orphek lense is gonna be best option.

 

[spectral_ranger]

You might like the mp40’s better on the sides, I’ve got a 250 with reef sand grade sand and two Mp40s facing each other on the sides running %45 and two mp10 on the back wall running %75 both on reef crest.

That and getting the clip on orphek lense is gonna be best option.

Thanks for input on MP40s. I think I will move them to the sides. Think that's better to get random flow across everything anyway. And good to know you have MP10s on the back, based on a previous comment I wasn't sure if MP10s would work with this glass thickness. Might be something to add later on once other major expenses settle down a bit! Will grab me an orphek lens.

 

[ifarmer]

nice looking tank.

 

[spectral_ranger]

Moved the MP40s to the sides. Overall I like the flow better, but still blowing out the sand in the front middle. And they're set pretty low! Like 30%, on reef crest mode. Getting diatoms in the back corners... will probably need to add those MP10s sooner rather than later to get some flow back there.

I guess the cycle wasn't done. Ammonia down to nearly zero, but nitrites had plateaued at 1ppm. Did a 40% water change to bring them down, figured somehow I managed to add too much ammonia and the high nitrites were stunting the bacteria, per Dr. Tim's site. Hoping they'll come down on their own now. No rush to add fish, especially with my lid not here yet.

Got the ReeftMat finally and got it installed this morning. Not much for it to pull out of the water yet, but want to get my sump all squared away soonest. Got the skimmer assembled, but managed to break a base plate mounting bracket in the process. EcoTech is sending another. Will hold off putting that in skimmer til bracket's on, no real need for it yet anyway. With the ReefMat and skimmer, definitely no room for the stock gravity ATO tank in there. Ordered a Tunze Osmolator.

Picked up a Red Digi from AcroGarden yesterday. It, along with the others, appear to be doing great. Also got a CoralBox doser, will set that up down the road a bit.

Switched lighting to AB+, and bumped up the cool whites a fair amount. I just found it way too blue for my liking otherwise. Those AI Primes are loud... Considering buying a third so I can run them at lower intensity, and hopefully less fan. Anyone know whether indeed the fans run slower if lights aren't set as high intensity? Guess I should just test that myself...

Oh, and pics look MUCH better with the Orphek lenses! Still playing around with combos and whatnot, but big improvement already.