Melissa's Red Sea Max S650

[UConnMel]

Hello! Here is my first post on any forum so I hope I'm doing it correctly.

The thread will be documenting the progress of my RSM 650. I've had a 29g Coralife Biocube for the last 2.5 years, but recently moved from an apartment to a house so now have room to upgrade. The tank is still in it's assembly phase, but here is a picture of it's location. Hoping to finish the assembly and cycle in the next month and then let the fun start!

 

[Scubafrog]

Beautiful tank and location. Love the hardwood and column. Almost like a museum setting to show off your living artwork.

Can't wait to see it come together. Good luck with the build.

 

[jack89]

Nice choice of location ....

 

[UConnMel]

Thanks!! @Scubafrog and @jack89

I'm going to try to make the thread picture heavy, cause those are the ones I always like looking at the most . For now, here's a FTS of my biocube.

 

[steelheader.262]

Looks great, good luck with the build!!!

 

[revhtree]

Very nice love the tank and location!

 

[UConnMel]

Did some more work on the assembly tonight. Got a lot of the trim on, some of the plumbing and the sump in. As with the rest of the assembly, everything seems top notch and haven't found anything to give me buyer's remorse yet

Also did a first run at an aquascape. My rock is a mix of Aqua-Tecture and BRS dry rock. I'll also be adding live rock from my cube when the switch happens. Any thoughts on the scape?

 

[Ahruk]

Wow I love your biocube... So much in there I want xD Anyway excited to see your new tank come to life

 

[Reef_Obsession]

wow this is going to look amazing, i also agree with everyone else, love the location!

 

[sparky45]

Great aqua scape. It gives good depth

 

[UConnMel]

Thank you! @Ahruk @Reef_Obsession @sparky45

I'm sure the scape will change slightly once it goes in and some rock from my cube comes into play. I've got water mixing and sand waiting so really I just need to keep my butt moving on the assembly. I decided to go with Caribsea Arag-Alive Special Grade sand. One complaint that I've heard with the RSMs is that the sand tends to blow around a bit, so I wanted to get a large enough grain that would still be ok for sand sifters and wrasses.

Extra equipment on standby is:
AquaEuro 1/2 HP Max Chill Aquarium Chiller
50 Watt High Output UV Sterilizers By Emperor Aquatics
Upgraded skimmer (can't remember the model off the top of my head)

 

[soggytees]

Looking great!! Can't wait to see what you put in there!

 

[UConnMel]

Didn't hit a set-back, but just some confusion as far as the plumbing is concerned. All diagrams, videos, etc of the Red Sea Max S series do not have the 2 filter socks shown in the below pictures. I wasn't sure if I had the down piping in correctly since it seemed like they should line up with the filter socks. However, after a few calls and images sent to Crystal at Red Sea Max, she assured me that I have this set up correctly. This is simply the newest version of the S series sump, which is more similar to the brand new Red Sea Reefer series. So if any of you are putting together new Red Sea S Series, it should look like this!

Everything else has been assembled and is ready to go. Lights, of course, were the most exciting part. The T5's are COMPLETELY silent, which is great. I'm used to the noise of my dad's metal halides ramping up. Now time to bring some water up and test this baby out.

 

[abecker]

I don't have that sump, but from the pictures that looks like it is correct. Is there a piece of glass or acrylic that is between the pipes and filter socks? A lot of sumps are going to a design where the water comes from the pipes to an area, and then flows up and down through the socks as opposed to directly into the socks. This way it is easier to remove and replace the filter socks.

 

[UConnMel]

Hi @abecker, thanks for weighing in. Yup, that's exactly how the water flows - over the acrylic and down through the socks. And you're right, changing the socks would have been a complete pain if the pipes drained directly into them. "Future-me" is very happy that this is the correct set up

 

[abecker]

You're welcome! And yes you should be very happy with how it is set up.

 

[Scubafrog]

Looking Good!

 

[Dextereef]

Very nice setup. Love how clean the red sea max is. Following along!

 

[Txdragonslayer]

I like the Red Sea Brand, I got a REEFER 450. I want to see how your tank does. i will follow.
if you want you can check out my build here.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/red-sea-reefer-450-white-tiger.211634/

 

[G_Sanab922]

Following along. Everything looks great. love the scape!!