Susan's RMS Max C250

[Florida Sunshine]

Glad to hear you lucked out on that one. Keep an eye on him and if you notice a loss of weight go buy some pods to replenish your supply.
Also keep in mind that water changes serve 2 purposes (well more than that but 2 biggies) in our reef tanks. They remove bad things (nitrates, phosphates and such) and they add good stuff that gets depleted (calcium, trace elements, lots of goodies your corals need). In a new tank adding the good stuff is less important but as you add corals and such, it is a good habit to get into. You also have to account for the possibility of inaccurate tests. I'm not saying yours are just something to think about.

 

[Susanedw]

very good points @Florida Sunshine I plan to keep to 10 % weekly or bi-weekly water changes as good husbandry. Right now, I'd love to see just a bit of nitrates as my xenia and torch are not doing so well. Will test all parameters today and see where I sit. Water change regardless sometime between today and Saturday as I'm planning a trip to lfs on Sunday if possible for more cuc.

Lights haven't come on yet but the rocks are looking cleaner

 

[Susanedw]

official 6 weeks tank set up and I haven't lost any livestock (aside from snails or hermits) and one chromis who either came to me with an injury (missing flesh on side) or got attacked a day after I put him in my tank)

Did a water change and scraped algae off back wall and turkey bastered other areas. Yuck. Took a while for the filtering to clear the tank. Took off air valve from skimmer and let it settle. Helped clear tank. Just have to keep checking it in case it over skims. Algae looking better.

Cal now at 400
Mag dropped back to 1200 from 1400
Alk between 6 and 7 depending on what RS test kit I used. Will retest tomorrow
Sal: 1.024-5

Will have to decide if I need to dose Kent 2 part tomorrow, or just the alk powder I got at the lfs (yeah, I can make my own and eventually I will). Or just let it sit for a day or two. Xenia still not doing good, torch better--extends a bit by late afternoon. GBTA has come out of hiding of back of rock facing rock, but at least I can see it and feed it. Looks a bit starved but maybe not. Tried to feed it but then noticed it's pooping so it's getting something. I do try to turkey baste brine toward it when I feed the fish.

Watchman goby has a tiny little cave which it defends against the scooter blenny if it comes too close. The goby is tiny so that amusing. Blenny could care a less. Bicolor all over tank but has claimed one pukani with a nice hole for it to peer out from. All three eating.

Am, nitrite/ates all 0, tank nice and clear except after I dose. so except for alk, and maybe mag, all good. Just need to get the 2 corals back healthy.

Have to find out if the goby is too small for a pistol shrimp.He's prob. 1 1/4 inches or so

At 6 weeks I have:
2 clowns
2 chromis
1 scooter blenny
1 bicolor blenny
1 tiny yellow watchman goby

1 gtba
1 clove coral
1 green star polyp
1 xenia (mighty unhappy at the moment)
1 torch (looking better-had been doing beautifully)
1 frag of polyps and zoas

8 hermits
4 trouchas
1 bee
1-3 nasarius (haven't seen more than one at a time in a while)
2-3 cerith (if still with me)
1 emerald
2 peppermint shrimp

going to add more snails, emerald, hermits, maybe a pistol shrimp, and another fish which I'm not saying here as I know what ya'all will say....

 

[Susanedw]

So, my normal lfs had a huge fire last week--electrical. Fire thru the roof per the news. So we went a bit further to another fish store. Wow. Just wow. huge. And the best selection I've seen yet. Lots of fish, and lots of nice looking corals and wide varieties. And prices among best I've seen. I think it was the owner who helped us--knowledgeable and efficient. I only saw him get 2 of my items and take them to the bagging table. He's talking to us and then suddenly says my box is ready... My jaw dropped. He had conveyed to the other what I needed and they'd gotten the rest all ready without me even aware, never even heard him tell anyone else what to get. I was impressed as it seems to always take forever to get your fish bagged.

So I explained my tank, my concerns. I went with the idea of only getting livestock that would help my tank, not decorate it. So here is what I got.

3 emeralds-one is a huge sucker and is plucking entire tuffs of algae already. He said with my 1 and my rockwork, 4 was okay
3 trochus--the 4 I have do an awesome job
3 nasarius--have only seen 1 of the 4 I had recently
2 turbos--wow, there they go, mowing it down....
1 tiger sea cucumber (for my hubby who has been to china and eaten them....)
1 tiny pistol shrimp to go with my yw goby
1 sleeper, gold head goby yellow head, blue line). started sifting immediately
1 Kole Tang to help with algae. He said my tank should be good for a couple of years before I need to find him a new home with lots of open swimming space (I know I'll catch flak...).

So that should do me for a while. Next big trip is corals, once the tank is doing a bit better with the ones I have. I was worried my goby was too tiny for a pistol so made sure I got a small one. Goby was in his tiny cave, shrimp floated into the big caverns. Saw the goby watching, start across the clearing, back off several times. Then before bed, right front and center I see a big pit. Hole at bottom too small for anything. Look again a few minutes later and it's larger. A few minutes later, I see my goby. I think they've paired. Kole very wary of me. Sees me and hides. Everyone ate after I got them all in.

My livestock now:
2 clowns
2 chromis
1 bicolor blenny
1 scooter blenny
1 yellow watchman goby and 1 pistol shrimp
1 sleeper, gold head sand shifting goby
1 Kole Tang

2 peppermint shrimps
4 emeralds, 7 trochus, 8 hermits, 2 turbos, 4-6 nasarius, 2-3 cerith (maybe) 2 bumble bees
1 tiger sea cucumber

zoa/polyps frag, green star polyp frag, xenia (not sure for how long) frag, torch
Have some pods arriving via amazon and other food and vitamins and coral foods I've seen recommended on Sunday. Will keep pods in tank until I get refugium set up. A bit nervous thinking about setting it up and doing the plumbing and getting pumps and such. Have a 10 gal and baffles I ordered from ebay and sock holders.

Going to bed one happy camper. Even hubby taking an interest.View attachment 468553 View attachment 468554
sea cucumber
View attachment 468555 View attachment 468556 View attachment 468557 View attachment 468558

 

[spiraling]

Sounds like its really coming along. The plumbing is also daunting for me. Luckily the hubby is better at that part.

 

[Susanedw]

hmm, I think the burrow I found last night and the yellow head I saw inside, belongs to the sleeper gold headed goby, as the watchman was still in his tiny cave this morning. I'm hoping the tiny pistol shrimp found the yw. I notice the yw goby disappears into the little cave instead of just hiding and watching from it as before. We shall see. crabs out chowing down.

Tank today is the clearest its ever been, almost crystal clear. The additional cuc has really done a number on the algae. Even the sand now has lots of white. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. So far I've only lost one fish and that was due to an injury--not sure if it came to me with it or a fight here but it had a good size patch of missing scales on its side, bigger than a 'nip'.

oops update. forgot to post. Tank not so clear a few hours later. Must have something to do with lights coming on and the algae. Just scrapped algae on back wall to see if that helps.

 

[Susanedw]

Thoughts for today...
-first, got up and tank temp was down to 72... Heater looks like it failed. Put my back up water change heater in. Trying to aim for 77 for algae. Was told to keep at 76 for control but want a degree margin. But with lights on, tank goes to 79 over course of day, even with fans on. Def. need a chiller in summer. That was a scare for this newbie...
-Longing for a "pretty" tank.... (yeah, I know....)
-Happy to see emeralds doing a good job.
-Love seeing the tang out and about and nipping at rock work and swimming through the various openings. Seeks happy enough. Watches me. Doesn't swim and hide so much anymore. Right now, found its reflection on side of glass. Trying to battle itself? Taped a piece of paper there...
-No sign of the pistol shrimp. Don't think it's come out of the huge cavern to find the yw
-Hadn't see the Sleeper Goby since the first night but had found its burrow (front and cener beneath leg of rockwork). Came out today and has just said "Here I am". Sifting enough to make my cloudy tank more so... Now pecking and nipping at rock work, leaving big bare spots. One rock nearly clear. Go Goby Go. Staying out and not zipping into burrow if I come too close. Even when I get on the ladder to ck the skimmer in the back.
-Tang appears to like the Sleeper. Hangs with it, esp. when sifting sand. Siddles up to it, swims above or below. Likes a sand bath? Seems even more active now that sleeper is out. They share the same big cavern. Sleeper dug a burrow under to outside of tank.Swimming together like best buds
-Need to epoxy the frags down. One keeps getting knocked. Waiting until the algae is mostly gone. rags have macro algae on them. Cloves are so fragile, afraid to try to tweez it off. Also has a new baby head. Frag doesn't have plug so hard to secure. Thinking of putting it on the sand bed for the emeralds.
-Emeralds staying on the main rock work. Moved frag of zoas in front in hopes one will have a mighty feast on the mostly macro algae
-prob. will lose the anemone. I think it wasn't in the best shape when I got it. New lfs anemones looked much better--in baskets at least with rock rubble. Just hope it doesn't die on the rock as that piece is cemented to 2 others....
-tiny yw missed feeding as emerald was blocking its exit. Will feed a bit extra later. I like to see it at least get 1 pc
-bicolor watches everything and everyone, esp. the tang and goby. Goby ignores him.
-green star polyps not out again. Same spot, same light. Not sure why
-heater light came on--set to 77 Sump is 79... Tweaked it down a bit... Hope I don't have to go get a new heater. Irritated the RS flaked. Only in use since december

 

[Susanedw]

Wow, been a while since an update. Just over 2 months now. I'm still having issues with low ammonia requiring water changes--going every other day, using prime and ammonia removers and even added more bio spira to help deal with it. The cause I'm pretty sure is the demise of my tiger tail sea cucumber which I haven't seen since I put it in at the end of Jan. No idea where it is but it has to be the reason for the sudden ammonia issues--even while cycling I didn't have these problems.

Excepting the ammonia, tank is doing good. Tank is clear most of the time--not crystal--but best it's ever been. Gets a bit cloudy by night. The sifter goby doesn't help with the sand clouding either. Algae is almost gone. Have the harder green on rocks, most hair either gone or fairly controlled. when I water change, I pick a spot and and brush or scrub or turkey baster the rocks. Doing the back wall, I use the magnet cleaner manually and scrape the entire back. Glass doesn't get horrible anymore. Notice the snails on the glass more, so leave some for them. I worked at getting the temp a bit lower to assist in that area. Keeping it between 76 and 78 as much as I can now. So I feel like the tank is settling. A couple small patches of algae to deal with. Will keep doing the wc often until tank settles back out.

So far, the fish are doing okay. The Kole Tang had a tiny spot of white on it's top fin, and a few days ago I notice a spot on it's mouth and was worried about ick. I don't have a qt tank yet. Had been using garlic in the food (soak it into the frozen foods as they thaw and freeze dried mysis so started adding to tank water when I do a wc. Today I noticed both spots gone. I use that pinky vitamin stuff too. Hoping the bacteria will deal with the dead tiger tail. I'm afraid to dredge the tank in case I find it and release a whole bunch of nastiness in my tank all at once. But suspect it's under rocks which I can't move without tearing the entire tank apart.

No sigh of my yellow watchman goby or the pistol shrimp--both very tiny. I did the other day see a molted shell of the pistol so am sure its still in the "cavern" and am hoping the ywg is there as well, though I'd think it would come out to eat. I squirt some food into the cavern in case, plus the kole hides there when I feed.

The inhabitants
Kole Tang is a bit stressed with the tank--a bit pale, but eating and acting its crazy self. Wouldn't touch algae hanging from a clip so I rubber banded some to a rock and placed in the "cove" in front of the cavern. Have seen it pecking at it so will add some every day. Emerald crab likes as well. One of my favs (Kole, Scooter, sand sifter)
Scooter Blenny loves to wait for me to feed it on a rock. Eagerly meets the turkey baster. Will still get copepods going for him but he's eating brine and mysis.
Bicolor a kick to watch. It has it's throne on the highest rock and watches everything.
Sleeper Gold Head sand sifting goby is one of my favs. He has his burrow, darts in and out. When out, constant sifting sand. Saw it .spit something out yesterday that was black. Went to look. It was a hermit. Must have gotten too close to burrow entrance and was forcibly removed! I laughed.
2 Chromis. They add some sparkle and flash of color.
2 Clowns both have grown. Not all that interesting--like the chromis--but a tank has to have a couple of nemos

Cuc
I've only seen 3 of 4 emeralds but they are hard to find.
2 turbos
narsarius -- not sure how many are still there. At least 3-5 but don't always see them
Trochus--see lots of them--not all
Cerith--not sure if any still alive
Hermits--not sure how many. Not as many as there should be.
2 peppermint shrimps. Supposed to be a pair but they stay away from each other. They are eager for food when I feed now.
Tiger Tail--who knows. Suspect dead and cause of my tank issues

All in all, tons of work, lots of reward. Love to write and watch my fish tank (sometimes I watch too much lol's)

 

[Susanedw]

I should have updated my corals which seem to be doing better and I finally glued them all down to rocks, except the xenia--wanted to be sure all survived first.

Cloves: Lost the cloves. They weren't all that great--very thin stalks getting thinner, though there were one or two new heads. Somehow detached from frag. I tried to put them in a couple places until I could get some super glue but they've been swept away. Might be in the cavern and if so, they are lost. I've learned to buy a bigger and nicer frag for next time. As they were 5 bucks a head, I got a cut frag with 3. I think in the handling and cutting, they were damaged as they always seemed fragile.
Xenia: seems to be doing better from the issues I had with corals (see other thread in beg. forum). The colony is smaller but not limp and pulsing now, just not as tall
Zoa frag: looks nice. glued down so I can pluck at the algae on it. got a lot off already
Green Stars: seem okay. Not all opening but most now
Torch: extending once again. Not as tall as it once extended. Has tons of new tentacles so it's recovering (partly from run in with my hose for water changes... Got sucked in).

When tank is stable again, I'll be concentrating on adding more corals

 

[geo89]

Hi, I have enjoyed reading about your journey. I am thinking of taking the plunge into saltwater. I have a question about your C MAX 250. Do you like the tank? size? features? I am not wanting to build my own per se, and the Red Sea brand seems to have a nice product.

 

[Susanedw]

@geo89 first, welcome to the forum. You'll get tons of great advice and no one makes you feel stupid when you ask the typical newbie questions that EVERYONE asks!! And yes, I am still a newbie!

In answer to your question, I LOVE the tank. Building my own was too daunting and scary, and frankly, would have prob. cost more, and taken a lot more time in researching what too buy. I'd also would have had to settle for less in quality to keep it affordable for a beginner.

What I love:
--The all in one design. And I love the changes between the max 250 and the max c250
--The build in electrical. This is what sold me on the RS products. The Max c250 has 7 plugs, uses only 5, so I have 2 free to add too (chiller and pump for refugium). When I feed or do water changes, so easy to just flip the appropriate switches
--The size I got (66 gal) is a good beginner size. Not too big (and expensive to start) and not too small (more stable than the small nanos). Also, good size for my small home office.
--Complete with lid and lights. No need to figure out what I need and build that. My brother in law who has a 300 gal reef did suggest I replace one white bulb iwth another blue so when I have to change out bulbs, I'll do that.
--Love the design.
--The cord management cables along back (tuck in the cables to tame them)
--Came with a fan for the cabinet for cooler and accessories to hook up cooler
--easy to add an optical ATO

What I don't love or wish was different
--I didn't realize when I bought it that it was as tall as I am. I'm 5' and it's 2 inches shorter. That means I have to use a step ladder to do EVERYTHING except feed. i don't think that would have changed my mind. in fact looking at the tank (bought it new but used--not ever set up) I didn't change my mind when I saw how tall it was.
--I wish there was an option to turn the cooling fans on with the lights instead of a separate switch. Sometimes hard to remember at night, but as I started reducing heat to 76, and tank with lights is around 78-79, I often leave them on at night now just to get it back to the lower temps. If I leave my heat set to around 65, the tank doesn't go below 76 very often.
--brand new price tag.... Found mine on Craig's list for an unbelievably low price, esp. as it was new out of the box and set up but never had a drop of water added.

The tank is very heavy! No way could I have helped my husband lift it. And if the day comes that I want to upgrade and go bigger, I'll again look to purchasing another Red Sea. I hope you take the plunge and start a build thread. It's a journey filled with ups and downs and lots of rewards and I don't think you can go wrong with this tank. And I believe you can upgrade things like the skimmer.

 

[geo89]

Thanks so much. I am browsing Craigslist, but, don't think I will get as lucky as you. Hopefully I take the plunge soon

 

[Susanedw]

@geo89 just keep watching. Also, found one online site that had it for around 1200 or so. I got mine for 800, so they are out there. I found it (1200 new ) using google.

 

[Susanedw]

i got quite a shock and surprise this week when my scooter blenny started doing his display. I had no idea he was so colorful! The red in his tail was a bit faded when I got him and I noticed this week that it has really popped out in color. Then he started flashing his fins and wow, he's very colorful! He's full of personality--one of my favorite fishes. When I stand next to tank, he comes over and watches me. If I move, he moves. Quite a character. I've trained him to take frozen brine and mysis from a turkey baster. He goes up to a rock and waits and when I start squirting (after shutting off all pumps) a small pile for him, he bites the baster until he gets his food. Now he comes to the glass and lifts all his back fins and does his little dance.

Still dealing with a small amt of ammonia. Read on the internet that using prime etc. will take out the ammonia but the test will still show. I also ordered a new test kit just to double ck things. I've been doing wc's every 2-3 days now, using prime or the like in between. Water is pretty crystal clear now, only cloudy with sand when the goby is sifting. Tank is losing its ugly stage. Still some algae but not much. I haven't even been brushing off the rocks--leaving some of it there for the cuc and what is there is barely noticable, except one tuff in my pukani and it might be a red macro algae. Even the sides and back aren't growing back so fast now.

oh my! My fan worm just lost his crown. I think the snail are irritating it being so close to it. In fact, there is a Nasarious snail crawling all over it, trying to get into it..... Hopefully it grows a new one... Life is never dull with a saltwater tank.

Here is a video of him doing his thing

 

[Susanedw]

Okay, it's been a couple weeks since I visited. Here's an update. It is interesting to see how "ugly" my tank was in some of these pictures! I seem to have the ammonia back under control, and no nitrites and nitrates around 5. I'm still testing everyday and if there is any ammonia, I use prime or a ammonia remover. Today, none! Yay! The bacteria cloud is gone, and my tank is nice and clear now and has been for well over a week. Most of the algae is gone. Just have to clean the glass each day. And there are a couple pockets of hair algae but the rocks are not all covered anymore! I do have another outbreak of cyano, prob. because I finally have nitrates? I had none for a long time and the death (I think) of the sea cucumber sent my tank into another cycle. After several weeks of wc's every day, then every two days, the tank seems to be settling once again. I'm still keeping a close eye though and will keep using prime for a while. water changes now to keep nitrates down.

I read on another forum that using the nori adds to the cyano, so I'll stop for a few days to see if that helps. I rubber band a folded up section to a rock for my tang. And the sand sifter and emeralds also appreciate it. I also cut the lights down to 9-10 hrs and will feed once a day for a while. Also adjusted the return nozzles to see if changing the flow will help and the wavemaker is on steady instead of bursts.

All the corals are doing well now. They seem to like having some nitrates, esp. the xenia and the torch.

Fish Updates:
2 clowns and 2 chromis doing well. Normal.
bicolor blenny has his spot and defends it.
golden head sand sifting goby busy always.
Tang was turning pale. Added the nori/algae strips (not nori brand) seemed to help. Hesitate to not use for a couple days but need the cyano to go away!
scooter blenny a crack up. He wants a female. I'm assuming the one I have is a male
The only fish I can't account for is the watchman goby. Nor can I account for the pistol shrimp. If they are in the deep cavern, I can't see them. Need to get a mirror on a stick and see if I can see them. I did see a molted shell that had to belong to that shrimp so I hope they are in that cavern. But the ywg doesn't come out to eat. I do put shrimp from the turkey baster into the cavern in case.
2 peppermint shimps and emeralds all doing well. Only see 3 of the 4 emeralds.
All the corals now seem okay. Starting to think of adding some more corals now. Torch is extending and has lots of new growth.
The gbta is still hanging in there. Moved again, under the shelf. Bleached out and not looking good but it isn't where I can try to feed it or care for it. I blow stuff from the turkey baster to it but it doesn't eat. Hoping the garlic and vitamins in the food help it a bit....

View attachment 492640
Some reflection in upper left hand corner. There isn't anything brown peeling away.... Cyano on sand in back right corner and on rock
View attachment 492641
Mesh bag covering the wavemaker is now clean too

 

[Pat24601]

Great tank updates!

 

[Florida Sunshine]

Nice update. I would just soak the nori in RO/DI prior to feeding and keep using it. You have seen positive results with the tang by adding it and I don't think it has anything to do with your cyano.

 

[Susanedw]

thanks @Florida Sunshine and @Pat24601 My pics didn't show, maybe because I did a cut and paste. Oh, files too large. So same photo comments above apply here. I'm so thrilled to have a clear tank now! and you can see my bicolor blenny, scooter blenny on the rock mid frame, and golden head sleeper goby down by his burrow, and the tang is prob. in that cavern behind the torch. It's deep, all the way down to the glass as I didn't get sand all the way in when I set it up. and yeah, some of the cyano on the big tall rock... Here is the tank now

 

[Pat24601]

thanks @Florida Sunshine and @Pat24601 My pics didn't show, maybe because I did a cut and paste. Oh, files too large. So same photo comments above apply here. I'm so thrilled to have a clear tank now! and you can see my bicolor blenny, scooter blenny on the rock mid frame, and golden head sleeper goby down by his burrow, and the tang is prob. in that cavern behind the torch. It's deep, all the way down to the glass as I didn't get sand all the way in when I set it up. and yeah, some of the cyano on the big tall rock...View attachment 46828 View attachment 46829 Here is the tank now

Cool! I wondered what happened. Nice pics!

 

[Susanedw]

Still a bit of an issue with low ammonia, no nitrites and nitrates 10-20.
Battling the cyano. Working to get nitrates down.
Everything seems ok. Kole tang has white spot on fin so upping the garlic. Got rid of it last time. No quarentine tank

Decided time to set up a refuge. That should help with the nitrates. Going to call a lfs that is a bit of a drive and see if t hey can ship me some macro algae. For now I'll put it in a soap dish with sucktion cups in display tank. Kole can pick at it and it'll help the nitrates until the refuge is going. Picked up a 29 gal tank yesterday and ordered a stand. will be able to set up the 10 on bottom for a quarentine or might pick up a 20 for that.

29 gal complete. Assuming I won't need the bio wheel filter so that can go for the quarentine. Came with led lighting. Now to figure out the plumbing...

It won't be quite as tall a set up as the tank so no gravity feeding back to display as I'd hoped. So prob. can gravity feed to refug and pump back. I have the accesory for the rms for the chiller. Plan to use return pump 1 (side where accessory hook up goes) to go to chiller then back to display to avoid adding a second pump to that chamber. I'll post a list of questions in a separate post on the forum