Cat's RSM 250

catran

Well-Known Member
I bought the tank only in February from a local reefer. Here's a pic, you can see that nothing was included:

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catran

Well-Known Member
During the months following my initial purchase I was able to buy the hood and skimmer from Steved13! Thanks sooo much Steve! You made this build possible!

In the spring, I bought a stand from my LFS. Here it is with the hood in it's box on top as a reference for measurement.
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The tank was obviously going to be smaller than the stand, so I added a 3/4" piece of plywood as a top.


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catran

Well-Known Member
Here's the tank, all clean, new hood, and on it's stand. I had a tough time getting a friend over to help me lift it...it's a heavy booger.
Did I say booger again? Oh, boy!

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soco

Well-Known Member
Looks awesome cat can't wait to watch it come alive :)

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tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Hey Cat it looks great! You may want to move it out from the wall 6 to 12" incase you ever want to run a sump or any plumbing up the back side. Have fun with it!
 

catran

Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone!

Tom, it is out around 6" now, but I decided against a sump because of the noise.

Anywho, to continue the story...

I finally had the tank on the stand and I was almost ready to go. I needed light bulbs and pumps! I decided to order bulbs from Reefgeek and I went with the following bulb configuration:

New Gen 14k Coral Light
Super Blue
Fiji Purple
Super Blue
New Gen 14k Coral Light
Super Blue

When these arrived, I realized that the lights didn't work! I took the entire hood apart and found that when it was shipped, either to the original owner or myself, it must have been tossed around a bit. There was a loose wire. I connected it, put the hood back together, and it was all good...

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catran

Well-Known Member
I ordered Hydor pumps and then lost my interest in the tank for a couple of months. I was concentrating more on zoas and their growth in the 29g Frag Tank. I wasn't happy with the vertical racks there, so I ordered a Frag Tank and started collecting parts for it.

Last week, I made a stand for one of the pumps, and realized that the small pump didn't fit in the chamber. I'm not sure what kind of pump I'll put in there, but for now, one pump and a powerhead will do.

I started filling the tank this week and yesterday, I bought 30lbs of rock from a local guy. He also gave me a big bunch of chaeto to help seed the tank too. I will eventually transfer it to the sump for the Frag Tank though. My story's up to date now, so here's the tank today!
Sorry for the bad pic, I didn't have time to plug in the lights, I was scrambling to get to work.

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catran

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys! Okay, I forgot to put the plastic plugs back in the hood. I'll have pics with light tomorrow.
 

catran

Well-Known Member
Thanks Tok!

Well, I put my 36" power strip inside the cabinet, hooked up the hood, lights, etc.
Now my skimmer is giving me problems. When I plugged it in, it started foaming like crazy, and overflowing. I finally got that to stop, but the skimmer is making tins of micro bubbles. Now my circulation pump is blowing micro bubbles!
On a good note though, I found a new Ehiem 1000(I forgot I bought) that I'll try and hook up in the small chamber.


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catran

Well-Known Member
Might just be breaking in... raise the skimmer neck way up & turn the air way down. Takes a bit of tweaking... the key for me was getting my gate level set correctly - thus the water level.

study the gate height in these pics... http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/66778-rsm-250-stock-skimmer-tips.html

I have no gate. You are right, it must take time to break in because the microbubbles were gone when I got up this morning. Yes, I have the neck way up and turned the air off and it was still foaming like crazy. I think I may be able to adjust it now since it's calmed down now, lol!
 
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