Red Sea Reefer XL - what do you all think?

[Butch01]

I'm fairly capable when it comes to DIY stuff, but at some point in your life, you realize that "why bother"? If someone else has done the hard work, why not pay a little extra and go first class?

With that in mind, what are opinions on the Red Sea Reefer XL systems? Being a a VERY early stage of thinking about getting back into the hobby after two decades out of it, I like the idea of an all-in-one design. I really like the aesthetic look of their rimless glass tanks and the integrated monotone epoxy painted cabinet.

One thing that jumped out at me was that even on the bigger tanks, there is no room for a refugium (especially if you have a chiller, which if I'm in southern Arizona, I'll almost surely need). The skimmer compartment in the sump is pretty big, but it doesn't look like it would work for both purposes.

Just soliciting thoughts... I'm totally open to other brands/ideas/inputs!

Thanks!

Butch

[GimpyFin]

The Red Seas are definitely nice setups for an all-in-one. An LFS by me has a slightly older one as their display tank with the white cabinet. Nice and clean looking. Although, if it were me and I had the money to go first class and wanted to get pre-fab setup, it would probably be an ELOS Diamond series, not a Red Sea.

[Butch01]

Hmm... interesting. Nowhere I look do I see prices for the ELOS Diamond range. If you have to ask...

[rona74]

hey
i cant give you an educational answer since im new to saltwater and i just bought the reefer xl 525 two weeks ago.
but i do can tell you that although aesthetic is subjective thing i found it amazingly pretty.
as for build quality this thing get 5 stars in every aspect I really think its awsome
the only issue i got is that my overflow water level dont stay constant and i adjusted them from time to time could be my return pump
the sump is relatively big and i saw on the net some kind of divider for the reefer series that adds a refugium in the sump
very nice very quiet looks like redsea know what thay doing
only first impression from a noob
good luck

[GimpyFin]

Originally Posted by Butch01

Hmm... interesting. Nowhere I look do I see prices for the ELOS Diamond range. If you have to ask...

If you go onto the elosamerica site there is a "shop" link on the page. Here you can browse the aquariums and approximate prices. The larger ones especially, $$$$.

[Butch01]

Originally Posted by GimpyFin

If you go onto the elosamerica site there is a "shop" link on the page. Here you can browse the aquariums and approximate prices. The larger ones especially, $$$$.

YOWZA!!!! For that kind of money they better send an Italian supermodel to my house to deliver and set it up (wearing nearly nothing).

Okay, we'll be scaling back our wish list just a *weeee* little bit

[Butch01]

Originally Posted by rona74

hey
i cant give you an educational answer since im new to saltwater and i just bought the reefer xl 525 two weeks ago.

Thanks! I'll be interested in your experience going forward. Do you plan on using a refugium, and if so, where are you going to put it?

B

[asrpdoc]

I am also pondering if I should buy the Redsea Reefer 525XL. Any suggestions/advice would be very helpful

[neiltus]

There are a couple active red sea reefer xl build threads in the forum titled as such.

Also, there are 60+ pages on the reefer in the sponsor forum.

Plenty of notes on setting up fuges.

[Oldcabin]

+1, lots of information out there.
I picked up a 525xl recently and love it. Let me know if you have any specific questions, happy to help.


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[moondoggy4]

Funny I could not find any 525 XL, only the smaller ones. The Elos are really nice and the price of a used car for the kid.

[sde1500]

Both Red Sea and Elos put out very nice looking tanks. I've seen a Red Sea one in person and it looked solid.

Good comparison is two build threads here.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2570484 Elos

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2575735 525XL

Though really, from what I see, its not much of a comparison, that Elos is a Ferrari. Sure you pay for it, but dang its nice looking.

[Ron Reefman]

Take a look at CadLight Artisan tanks. I just got the 125g and it comes with a good DC 3000gph pump, a nice skimmer and glass tops that don't come with the Red Sea Reef 525. They also offer free shipping and price reductions if you don't need or want the pump or skimmer. I took the extras and it cost me $2400 delivered. The Red Sea Reefer 525 was $3000 delivered and has no pump or skimmer.

If this interests you, I have a build thread started here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2593017

[asrpdoc]

Originally Posted by Oldcabin

+1, lots of information out there.
I picked up a 525xl recently and love it. Let me know if you have any specific questions, happy to help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

trying to reach 10 posts here, so that I can pm u lol about the 525XL

[ktownhero]

I know this is an old post but since someone already brought it back I just wanted to say this:

I am a super DIY person. I like to do everything from scratch and micro manage my entire system. I was planning a 120 gallon set up for months and then one day a sale brought my attention to the 425XL which, despite only being 88 gallons, has a similar footprint to a standard 120. When I saw that its dimensions actually fit my space perfectly, a lightbulb went off and I decided to "offload" all of the planning to what Red Sea has already done for me. It was actually quite a relief once I made that decision.

So, I totally relate to the OP. DIY is nice, but sometimes it's also good to know when using your money to work for you makes sense. And honestly, the system was far cheaper than any custom tank/stand I could find for a tank of that quality anyway. I think some of these modern systems such as Red Sea Reefers and Cadlight Artisans have not only matched but surpassed what a lot of DIY users can do. It's a great option and I can't wait to put it all together!

[asrpdoc]

Originally Posted by ktownhero

I know this is an old post but since someone already brought it back I just wanted to say this:

I am a super DIY person. I like to do everything from scratch and micro manage my entire system. I was planning a 120 gallon set up for months and then one day a sale brought my attention to the 425XL which, despite only being 88 gallons, has a similar footprint to a standard 120. When I saw that its dimensions actually fit my space perfectly, a lightbulb went off and I decided to "offload" all of the planning to what Red Sea has already done for me. It was actually quite a relief once I made that decision.

So, I totally relate to the OP. DIY is nice, but sometimes it's also good to know when using your money to work for you makes sense. And honestly, the system was far cheaper than any custom tank/stand I could find for a tank of that quality anyway. I think some of these modern systems such as Red Sea Reefers and Cadlight Artisans have not only matched but surpassed what a lot of DIY users can do. It's a great option and I can't wait to put it all together!

thank you

[oseymour]

I love my Reefer 350.

Here is a flikr album of my tank. https://www.flickr.com/gp/oseymour/36Mj57

I've also seen users get very creative with these tanks. I put my chiller and ATO containers outside the tank.

[Ron Reefman]

It's still a work in progress, but here is the current condition of my CadLight Artisan 125 build. The DT has been running for a month and the display refugium for less than a week. There is a lot more work to do.

[ktownhero]

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

It's still a work in progress, but here is the current condition of my CadLight Artisan 125 build. The DT has been running for a month and the display refugium for less than a week. There is a lot more work to do.

Looks great. I'm tempted to plumb a display refugium through my wall and in my office. I really love display fuges almost as much as the main display!

[Ron Reefman]

Originally Posted by ktownhero

Looks great. I'm tempted to plumb a display refugium through my wall and in my office. I really love display fuges almost as much as the main display!

Thanks. I'm enjoying the fuge as well. This weekend our local club is having our annual Reef Conference and Gulf Coast Ecosystems will be bringing some decorative macro algae for me. Also this weekend hurricane Matthew is passing by to the east (sorry east coast of Florida) and we will get some strong west winds as it passes. That means cool stuff washes up on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. I expect a beach walk on Sunday will find me collecting some cool stuff. I'll have a lot of new pics in my build thread (link in my signature below).

[brett559]

I looked hard at a Red Sea Max last year. I saw a few in some LFS around and they looked really nice. I talked with two people that had them and overall they liked them okay. The didn't like skimmers at all. Online reviews had similar problems with skimmers and filtration. I ultimately went with a CAD Lights Versa 42g. Think it was $700 for everything. Came with tank, stand, sump, plumbing and return pump. I've been very happy with it. The Artisan tanks look even nicer. Here's a build video with a CAD Lights Artisan

https://youtu.be/kut8xZdkORI

[scar79]

I hated the Red Sea Max, but the Reefer is a completely different animal. I put together a few of them and I think the build quality is very good.

The plumbing, especially the threaded sections, are very thin and don't inspire confidence that they can handle abuse. That said, once it's together it shouldn't be abused! The topoff system is also substandard, but most people seem to be replacing it with an osmolator or something else running off a controller.

The tanks themselves are very well built and the stands are good looking as well. The 3/4 turn lock nuts don't always sit flush. If I owned one, I'd probably skim the recesses with something rather than using the included rubber plugs that always seem to stick out one way or another.

Overall, I'd be happy to own one and would rather spend the extra coin on a good skimmer, lighting, and internal flow over springing for an elos.

[urbanknight]

Love my Reefer XL 525. I purchased it after my 300 Deep Dimensions took a belly flop. The only adjustment I made to mine was to replace the included top off system with a Tunze Osmolator.