Cantwell's RSM 650 Thread

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Cantwell

New Member
The adventure begins! My RSM 650 delivered on Friday (10/7/16), and it was a great weekend putting it together. This system is amazing. Time to start brewing some water, and then I'll be calling Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater to place my rock and sand order.

Special thanks to Vivid Aquariums for helping with the order and AZ Reef Monsters for moving this beast of a tank into place!
 

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nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
great start !

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C

Cantwell

New Member
First batch of rock and sand arrived Thursday night from Tampa Bay Saltwater. Richard is amazing! The rock is teeming with all sorts of growth, and the hitchhikers are absolutely ridiculous. There are a couple dozen random snails, a brittle star, 3 urchins, at least a dozen porcelain crabs, 6-8 pistol shrimp, and even a tiger goby - and this isn't even the critter portion of "the package". In 3 days, the ammonia hasn't even risen above .2 to .4, so fingers crossed to avoid the cycle all together. I can't say enough about this great product. Give Richard a call! If all goes well, part 2 of the package will deliver in the next week.
 
C

Cantwell

New Member
Nobbygas, yes. I received Part 2 of the Tampa Bay Saltwater package on Tuesday, and it is absolutely unbelievable. I aquascaped last night, but the water was still too cloudy for good pictures. I'll post some tonight. Yes, I am using stock equipment for now. Everything is working great, but I need to tune in the protein skimmer. Stay tuned...
 
SPR

SPR

Well-Known Member
Make sure you turn the feed valve (the red one) to the protein skimmer down to about 1/3rd open to start with or you will have trouble tunning it in. My 650's been running since June so if you need any help just ask. All fresh in my mind
 
C

Cantwell

New Member
Here are the pics of the tank following delivery of Part 2 of the package from Tampa Bay Saltwater. I ordered the 150 gallon package with 150 pounds of sand and 300 pounds of live rock. The standard package comes with blue legs (tiny little guys), snails, cucumbers, shrimp, and stars. Richard threw in a ton of extras, too. If you see other posts, he typically includes the sponges and fans you see in the pictures as his signature, but on top of that the package included 2 flame scallops, 3 anemones, and a royal gramma looking for a new home! Deliveries from TB Saltwater are just like Christmas morning. In addition to the intended crew, this truly live rock has tons of hitchhikers. The first batch of rock had a brittle star, a ton of porcelain crabs, a tiger goby, and some pistol shrimp. This second batch has a ton of other hitchhikers including countless different types of crabs living in the rocks. I have already captured 3 gorilla crabs (easier than expected), and I'm working on trapping the mantis shrimp I saw but was too slow to catch. My tank is a wonderful living environment, and I haven't even placed a fish or coral order yet!

I have the quarantine tank set up, and we're heading out on Sunday to the LFS to see what we can find. More updates to come next week. Have a great weekend everybody!
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C

Cantwell

New Member
Made the trip to the LFS yesterday and came home with 2 Picasso clowns and 2 chromis. They're hanging out in the quarantine tank for a bit before trying out their new home. I grabbed a couple coral frags too, and I'll give them a couple days to acclimate before posting pics.

Here are some of the guys in the tank:

Serpent Star and Porcelain Crab
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Picasso Clowns and Blue Chromis in QT
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Side view of one of the anemones - he didn't like where I put him and walked around to the back of the tank.
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Close-up of another one of the porcelain crabs. There are dozens of these in the tank.
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The Royal Gramma that came from TB Saltwater.
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One of the flame scallops and another one of the anemones.
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C

Cantwell

New Member
It's been a busy few weeks, and I haven't had a chance to post. Here's the latest tank shots:
[URL=http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/ccantwell2001/media/IMG_4887_zps2juhmirg.jpg.html] [/URL]
[URL=http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/ccantwell2001/media/IMG_4888_zpswyq6lwov.jpg.html] [/URL]
[URL=http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/ccantwell2001/media/IMG_4889_zpsdapyhe62.jpg.html] [/URL]
[URL=http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/ccantwell2001/media/IMG_4890_zpsm21dwkfg.jpg.html] [/URL]
I had to tear down and rework the left side of the tank after unsuccessfully trapping my mantis shrimp friend. Fortunately he has a new home with a fellow reefer here in Phoenix.
[URL=http://s1079.photobucket.com/user/ccantwell2001/media/IMG_48831_zps9mjqmv1z.jpg.html] [/URL]

Things are going pretty well. I finally have a handle on the RSM, and I've started to build the coral collection. Most of the zoa farm came from Vivid Aquariums, and the other pieces came from the LFS and My Reef to Yours. I have the royal gramma, 2 blue chromis, and the 2 Picasso clowns, and I'm on the hunt for a bristletooth squaretail tang. I'm also planning my first acro purchase.

Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
 
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