Joes RSM 130D

[JoeCanada]

Well. Today I went down to the LfS owned by a good friend of mine and picked up my Red Sea Max 130D and stand and a refractometer and about 40 pounds of base rock. I already have a bucket of salt marine test kit and a 425 GPH circulation pump for added flow. I also picked of 35 gallons of RO water from a local water shop. Then I went to work. While at work my amazing wife put the stand together for me! This is my Christmas and birthday present. Tomorrow I will be filling it with water and the rock and a friend of mine who has been running a reef tank for years said he would hook me up with a bit of rock from his tank for seeding the bacteria colony. I will be posting pics tomorrow once it's set up.

I'm not adding any skimmers yet until the cycle has finished and I actually start putting life in then I will probably go with a tunze and modded cup frommediabaskets. Eventually I would also like to add a couple Ecoxotic strips for coral "popping" and added light for any SPS I may add down the road. Wish me luck.

 

[ritter6788]

Good luck! Make sure to post lots of pics.

 

[JoeCanada]

So for livestock I'm thinking

1 ocellaris
1 cardinal
1 goby or blenny
1 royal gramma

Does that seem ok for a tank this size and comparability.

Also are there any negative aspects of including a feather duster? They are quite neat looking and I would love to have one as well.

 

[JoeCanada]

Hmmm I'm having trouble uploading pics. Anyways I got the tank set up Saturday using 30 pounds dry rock and a friend of mine have me a couple pounds of rock from his fuge. It's covered in coraline and also has little white sponges which I believe are pineapple sponges and also a few little red ones. My SG is 1.025 is that good? Also the heater that came with the tank is busted and the thermostat would not kick in and turn it off and when I checked the tanks temp on Sunday it was a whopping 90 degrees. I pulled it out and am replacing it tomorrow.

 

[revsgirl]

Lookin' forward to seeing how it comes along!

 

[ReefPops]

Sounds like you'll have a cool tank. Can't wait to see the setup pics.

 

[JoeCanada]

Thanks reefpops. I've read both your tank threads and they are wonderful. I'm still debating on braking some of my rock down to smaller pieces so I can have more scaping options. Got a new heater in today. It's been running 4 days now. I can't wait to be able to add life but I know that slow and steady is the way to go. Any reason why I may have issues uploading a pic. I just uploaded to a local forum and had no issue

 

[JoeCanada]

Also does anyone have any ideas on my stocking suggestions?

 

[JoeCanada]

Hey guys finally got a couple shots uploaded. Easy peasy with the new app! Not sure I like my scape. I may change it before adding livestock




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[JoeCanada]

Got some palys.


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[revsgirl]

Lookin good!


Tonya

 

[Poriferan]

Great start. My recommendations as a fellow RSM owner... Go slow, nothing good ever happens quickly in a reef tank. Corals with the stock lights if they are still using the Compact Flor. bulbs should be softies or lps, my sps lived at the top but did not really grow. Also check the temps with the top closed, I had more fluctuation than I like until I added the fan to cool the return area. Seriously consider an auto topoff. Keeps the skimmer working all the time and the salinity from too much fluctuation. Careful with the stock heater... unless they have improved it.. Mine stuck on right away, I put it in a brute can for a water change heater and it exploded maybe two weeks blowing a hole through the can. Imagine that mess on a bedroom carpet:mad2: I was sent a replacement... I still use it as a water change heater (in the garage) but no known issues since. Finally use extreme caution cleaning the rounded glass corners, my magfloat has created more scratches that I can count cleaning the rounded corners. I recommend using a flexible scrub pad and some elbow grease.



Keep up the good work

 

[JoeCanada]

Thanks for the tips. I plant to keep mainly softies and Lps. Possibly some montipora down the road but probably not until I switch to the 65 watt bulbs.

Joe


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