WarEagle88's RSM 250

[WarEaglesReef]

Steppin' it up from my little Evo 13.5! Picked up a gently used RedSea Max C250 from a guy in one of my local reefing groups on Facebook a couple weeks ago for an absolute steal. So after learning a lot in the last 8 months of reefing going through the process with Biota, I'm excited to start a tank from scratch!

It was just a smidge bigger than I thought it would be, so my first issue was getting it home. I ended up being able to put the tank and lid in my car and the stand up on the roof rack. Thankfully my younger brother was able to follow behind me to make sure it didn't move too much on the trip home.

Got it all inside and in a temporary location while I finish grouting the section of new floor that I want to put it in. I'm wrapping up a several month long home renovation project after a flood from the condo above me, and this certainly gives me the motivation to finish the last bit I've been procrastinating on. Haha. Here's one of my fur children inspecting the new addition:

It was missing a couple of the lid hinge pins and the media basket, so I found replacement pins on Marine and Reef's website, and I ordered a new media basket from inTank. I also put in an order for about 40 pounds of rock from BRS. A mix of pukani, and tonga shelf and branch.

Gave the tank a thorough cleaning and tested it for leaks. Worked perfectly, and I was able to siphon out all the remaining gunk from the back chambers that the previous owner left behind.

I've been playing with aquascaping a bit while waiting for my epoxy to arrive. First I had this setup going with a bunch of rock:

But I felt like that was just taking up too much space and decided to go with something a bit more minimal. Here's what I think will end up being my final 'scape (complete with sloppy phone photoshop to remove the rock holding up the floating piece that I want to put on the back wall. Lol):

I'm not sure if I want to build up the right side a bit more so it's closer to the surface (the cardboard is cut to the exact dimensions of my tank) or leave that negative space so that the coral has more room to grow and fill it in. What do y'all think?

 

[brett_schn]

Sweet. Are u keeping the nano tank?

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Sweet. Are u keeping the nano tank?

I think so. Definitely for now at least. I might move a few of the corals from the nano to this bigger one so they can have some more space, but I like the look of the nano as it continues to fill in.

 

[reef-rc]

Awesome. Tagging along.

In my second nano my thought going in was to start with a solid minimal aquascape and if needed add a few additions based on coral growth and coral placement assuming foundation is stable. Whatever you plan to stock should also take into considerations imo.

For me, I am going with LPS/SPS and so the going assumption is that SPS and branching/plating LPS will need upward and outward space and therefore negative space will be required long term. This does not seem to need much outward space as they will not likely sway around as much as soft corals.

U going lps and/or SPS? Mixed?

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Awesome. Tagging along.

In my second nano my thought going in was to start with a solid minimal aquascape and if needed add a few additions based on coral growth and coral placement assuming foundation is stable. Whatever you plan to stock should also take into considerations imo.

For me, I am going with LPS/SPS and so the going assumption is that SPS and branching/plating LPS will need upward and outward space and therefore negative space will be required long term. This does not seem to need much outward space as they will not likely sway around as much as soft corals.

U going lps and/or SPS? Mixed?

Think I'm leaning towards mixed reef with the higher demanding SPS to the upper right and left, and LPS and maybe a softie or two down lower. And currently the T5's that come with the tank are putting off some serious heat, so I may consider removing the top and going open top with a couple of AI Hydra 26's or Kessil A360's. I know you run Kessil. What do you think of them? Love the controllability that AI provides, but I've always heard such good things about Kessils in terms of coral growth. Gah, this hobby offers almost TOO much customization. So many choices! Haha.

Pretty sure I want to find a way to put in a LifeReef overflow so I can have a refugium under the tank as well to grow pods and add a bit of water volume. Still trying to work out the logistics of that since it would have to be a DIY job. Found a sump that would fit perfect underneath. Now just need to sort out how I'd plumb it all.

 

[WarEaglesReef]

While exploring a few of my local fish stores yesterday and seeking advice about adding a sump/refugium to the tank I came across this little starry blenny that had a ton of personality at Neptune's Reef. Thought about it, and decided to set up a little 10 gallon QT tank this morning and then I went back and picked him up this afternoon. I figure he can hang out in there and go through quarantine while I get the RSM up and running and fully cycled. Got a great little tank with a filter, heater, and lights from Petsmart on sale for $40. Perfect little QT setup. Got some PVC caves at Home Depot and then got her up and running. I moved a bag of Seachem Denitrate out of the return chamber of my little Evo 13.5 so that I have some biological filtration going, and added an extra pump in there for some added circulation.

Here's the new addition after acclimated and introduced to the tank! Can't wait for him to get a little more comfortable and start showing that personality he had at the store.

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Got in contact with Red Sea and they informed me that they don't use tempered glass on their tanks, so I'm ok to drill the back to add a traditional overflow to have a sump underneath. I ordered an Eshopps Eclipse S overflow, and an RS-75 sump which fits perfectly into either of the bottom compartments in the stand with room to add any reactors I want in the future to the side. I ordered the old version off of Amazon, and it looks like they sent me the upgraded newer version which is really awesome. Now I just have to figure out exactly where would be the best spot to drill for the water line in the back compartment of the tank to be as close to where it's usually supposed to sit as possible. I think I will put it above the return pump on the side that doesn't house the media basket so that water that flows through that side will come down to get filtered through the sock in the sump while the other side will get to pass through the filter floss at the top of the media basket. So close to being able to fill up the tank to start cycling!

Here's my shiny new sump!

 

[reef-rc]

Exciting. What skimmer are you thinking? Other equipment for sump?

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Exciting. What skimmer are you thinking? Other equipment for sump?

The tank comes with a skimmer for the back compartment, so I'm thinking I will stick with that stock skimmer up top and use the sump mainly as a refugium to have some chaeto and a little pod nursery. Get a little nutrient reduction going, and allow for the possibility of adding a dragonet which has always been a desire of mine. I'd love to have one of Biota's captive bred ones that are trained to eat prepared foods, but I'd still like to have an appropriate pod population to support one regardless.

 

[reef-rc]

I do missed having a sump with an AIO design tank. Would be watching to see how you plan to drill and plum everything in while taking into considerations the water levels in the tank and the skimmer at the same time.

 

[Velcro]

cool tank. Great job with the scape.

 

[WarEaglesReef]

The tank is wet! We're officially full of water and waiting for the dust to settle after adding sand.

Decided to scrap the overflow/sump plans. Realized that I wouldn't be able to remove one of the return pumps with the overflow box in the back, and it really wasn't worth my trouble to figure all of that out logistically.

Added a few more rocks to my scape on the left hand side. The floating shelf I wanted just wasn't gonna hold with the really strong magnets I had, and I didn't want to bother with siliconing it to the back wall in case I ever wanted to change things up in the future. So I just built up some extra rock to get to around the same level and called it good.

Starting Red Sea's Reef Mature cycling tomorrow!

The starry blenny is doing great in QT and is finally losing some of his shyness and showing me a bit of the awesome personality he had at the store. Comes out to see me when I show up to feed him a few PE pellets with a pipette and has started perching on top of various pipe elbows most of the time rather than hiding under them all day. Can't wait to be done cycling so he can have a whole large tank to explore!

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Well, the positive is that the dust is settling well (this pic is from yesterday...we're even clearer today), and after the second day where the rocks were definitely putting off quite a strong smell, that's all but disappeared since starting the Red Sea Reef Mature program and adding a bunch of bacteria to help break down all that crap that's dying on the rocks.

The negative? With the stock T5 lighting running and the lid closed my tank hovers between 83 and 85 degrees even with my A/C on and the fans on the back running. So now I'm more inclined to upgrade the lighting to a pair of AI Hydra 26s and go open top so that it will hopefully run a lot cooler. Testing to see how much the temperature falls if I leave the lid all the way open to see if it will get down to the temp I want as an open top tank. If so I think I'll be making a lighting switch soon, if not I guess I will be investing in a chiller and waiting on the lights until later.

Ended up needing to buy a new 600gph pump for the left side of the rear chamber since I learned the one the guy sold me had rusted out on the inside and was no longer working. Ticked about that, but it's my own fault for not testing that out beforehand. Got a nice Aqueon pump that fits perfectly and moves water really well. Thought maybe I was going to need a powerhead to add flow to the tank, but so far it looks like there's plenty of flow between the two return pumps which I'm happy about.

Ordered a Tunze Osmolator and a 10 gallon ATO reservoir to go under the tank today from BRS to take care of that from the beginning. Will especially need that if I go open top since there's a lot of surface area and Colorado is suuuuper dry.

Can't wait for everything to be finished and the tank to be done cycling so I can see some life in this tank! Man do reef tanks teach you patience. Hahaha.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking good! Congrats on having the tank wet! Now fill 'er up with corals!

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Cycle in full swing! About 10 days in and Ammonia is slowly falling as Nitrite climbs off the charts. Working my way through the Red Sea Reef Mature program, but as I suspected their timeline is a bit rushed in terms of where they think my test results should be at by this point. My ammonia is at .8 when they say it should be in the ballpark range of less than .25 ppm. Most certainly not ready for cleanup crew in the next few days. But I'm happy to take my time and add things when the tank is actually ready for them. Ahh, reefkeeping...the greatest test and practice of patience there is. Haha

My little starry blenny is doing great in his little QT tank. Finally out and about almost all the time now and showing off his quirky personality. He comes out to greet me when I show up to feed him every evening and will now actively hunt down the PE pellets all over the tank instead of me needing to put them in a pipette and drop them next to where he hides. Definitely looks like I got a quality specimen from Neptune's Tropical Fish. Went through a month of quarantine with them and as of now an additional month with me. Very healthy little dude who loves to eat. Can't wait to introduce him to the big tank so he can find some cool new places to perch that aren't pieces of pvc piping. [emoji23]

 

[WarEaglesReef]

We have the diatom chicken pox today!! [emoji2]

Got the Red Sea skimmer up and running in the back chamber now. Took a lot of fiddling with it last night to not get it to constantly overflow with water after 20 seconds. Now it seems to be running great and is pulling quite a bit of the gunk that's coming off the rocks out of the water which is nice.

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Ok! After a trip to the hardware store for some plumbing pieces, a few trials and tribulations with the new pump I got, and some interesting plumbing, my new chiller is up and running!! Cooling our way down from the mid 80's.

Ended up having to put the pump for the chiller in the far left compartment rather than the right side under where the chiller accessory port is in the back since it would not fit in that smaller compartment. Got some tubing coming up out of that over and across the skimmer and then down into the chiller kit which is a bit ridiculous but hey, what can you do eh?

Had BRS send me the wrong ATO reservoir last week. Got the replacement yesterday and I installed the Tunze Osmolator that I got this evening as well. Not 100% sure yet, but I think the optical sensor is broken on the one I received. It just continues to run until the backup shutoff activates and then screams non stop. That doesn't happen with the one I have installed on my nano tank, so something is definitely off. Leaving it unplugged to try again after I have a bit of evaporation and hoping it will work correctly then. Reeeeeally hoping I don't have to take the whole thing apart and send it back. [emoji58]

 

[Sickpainter]

I had the same issue with my tunze top off I had my top off water return too close the the optical eye and it was causing it to false read, try moving your return line and cleaning the eye with hot soapy water

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Moved the sensor eye into the compartment on the opposite side that gets much less flow, and it worked flawlessly. I think all the flow in the other chamber was causing air bubbles to stick to the sensor and cause false low water level readings. Glad we're up and running smoothly and I don't have to worry about boxing it up and sending it back!

 

[WarEaglesReef]

Ahh!! So close to finishing my cycle! Diatoms EVERYWHERE and it's gross. Itching to have some hermits and snails in there to get cleaning, but I'm not quite there yet. Learning to have zen master level patience and self control here. Hahaha. Maybe in a bit more than a week we'll be good to go!

I've heard a lot of good things about Reef Cleaners for purchasing a good start up CUC and they're significantly cheaper than my LFS. Anyone else have any recommendations of places they've gotten awesome cleaner inverts from?

Cleaned out my skimmer for the first time (good LORD it smelled like death...the die off on that BRS Pukani rock is no joke) and put in some new carbon and some of the extra marine pure spheres I've been seeding in my established tank in the media basket tonight.