Daniel's tank upgrade to RSM 250

Danreef

Well-Known Member
Hi all

Finally I have finished some remodeling in the 2 car garage, now converted to a second family room, and started to unpack the new RSM 250. Stand and tank have different colors because it was the last one in the ware house and the LFS sold it to me at $1300. My other option was the new RSM C250, but at $2000 I decided that the bi-color was a good option.

Now I will explain an issue I found when testing the tank for leaking, and I hope it is not important.

After filling the full tank with freshwater, I left it for 2 hours. When I return all was OK, no leaking. BUT !!! when I was taking the water from the left chamber (pump #1) I saw a leaking from the main tank body into the left chamber.

This leaking isn't big. How do I noticed it ? Well, you can not empty 100% the main tank by siphoning. Something like a half inch of fresh water was left at the bottom. Then I started to empty the chambers. When the left chamber was empty i noticed that the water level was increasing again. In other words, water was entering again in the chamber. Siphoned out this water and with the flash light I was able to see 2 water streams (water entry) from the main tank to this chamber and I noticed that the half inch of water in the main thank was now significantly lower.

Bottom line, I would like to know if this leaking can be dangerous for the internal structure of the tank and the dynamics of the flow.


Here some pictures:




My Father helping me to fill the tank with freshwater to test it.


Tank that I want to upgrade.....SPS corals have grown a lot and they need more space. This picture is from around November 2013. I will take a new one tomorrow. Now lights are off.

It is a Mr Aqua 12G rimless tank with a HOB refugium. I dose the tank for Ca and Alkalinity
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
:yehoo: CHEERS for starting a tank thread! :yehoo:
Are you going to keep your 12g running? It looks AWESOME, hard to imagine it's only 12g. You've got some fantastic colors going on there. Can't wait to follow your progress with your new RSM 250...Thanks for sharing!
 

Danreef

Well-Known Member
Hi all.... 2 weeks have gone and I will do an update.

First and answer:

:yehoo: CHEERS for starting a tank thread! :yehoo:
Are you going to keep your 12g running? It looks AWESOME, hard to imagine it's only 12g. You've got some fantastic colors going on there. Can't wait to follow your progress with your new RSM 250...Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Diana. No.I am not going to keep the 12G running, but probably will keep all the stuff to make it a freshwater tank for my wife or a frag tank in the future.

The posted picture of the SPS 12G tank picture was from November 2013. Here are some of May 2014, sorry for the low quality, but you will be able to see how some SPS have grown on the last months:





 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
Very BEAUTIFUL & healthy looking corals....Going to make awesome additions to your RSM 250 :thumbup:
How's the cycle process coming along with it? :fishy:
 

Danreef

Well-Known Member
OK....now the update on the RSM 250

Tank was filled with 5 bags of live sand and dry rocks. After 24 hours dust was settle and I added a frozen shrimp, the ones you buy for salads. Let it there for 1 week. After week one, I added 1 damsel and 1 live rock.

Tank was filled with 50 G PETCO Natural Ocean Water. That is the water I have been using for the last year in all my nanos (14 G, 12G and 10G).

After 2 weeks the brown algae started to cover rocks and sand. Tank is cycling, good.

In the 10 G nano I only had some live rocks with pulsing Xenia, some Palies (that I hate), 1 mushroom, a clown and a six line wrasse. On Saturday (week 2) I passed the 3 live rocks to the RSM 250 with the mentioned soft corals, the clown and the wrasse. Pulsing Xenia are always a kind-off marker of water quality. Since I introduced them in the new tank they never stopped pulsing. Excellent sign. The mushroom is doing OK and the fish are very happy in this new big tank.

OK, now I will wait one more week to allow the tank to adapt to the new life and to continue cycling.

I have added the CHILLER following members suggestions. I decided that the JBJ 1/10 was more than enough. It is rated for 120 G (if I remember correctly) and the tank took only 50G of water after being loaded with sand and rocks. I took out pump #2 and replaced it with the Eheim 3000 compact at max speed. The pump circulate the water in the chiller and returns it to the tank.

I have also set-up the skimmer. It is working like a charm. NO ISSUES SO FAR !!!!... I have read so many about the issues that people have that I was scare of this guy. I followed Red Sea suggestions on this thread (see pictures on thread) :

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2140082

Also added and air valve to fine tune the income air to the skimmer. The skimmer valve was difficult to use. I took the idea from another member, see my pictures. The income air is out of the tank too.

I am waiting my Media Basket and underwater lights from In Tank. I will not use any chemistry (media) in the tank, beside some carbon, if it is needed in the future. The media basket will be a refugium. I will see if I can fill with Chaeto the upper 2 levels. There will be a light per level. I will let you know if I was able to do it.

The RSM 250 black sponges will stay. They avoid particles to go to the pumps and tank and I do not consider them a nitrate factory as many suggest. Of course, you have to clean them from time to time. My 14G biocube has one and in one year I cleaned it twice and the biocube is doing great (added a link to a short movie)

Biocube:
http://s1106.photobucket.com/user/dematosdg/media/20130820_211554_zps406f7ce1.mp4.html

RSM 250 Pictures









 

Danreef

Well-Known Member
Thank you Naj117

OK....some more work done:

Skimmer working very well....see foam in picture:


Did a hole for future wires (LEDs for sunrise/sunset effect and lunar phase effect with the Reef Keeper) and wires for refugium light. See ATO sensor wire on LEFT side.


ATO sensor (Tunze Osmolator Nano for up to 50 G). I had this one in one of my nanos, I am sure it will do a great job. I will let you know guys.


ATO water tubing, entering beside the chiller income tube -right side- and dripping beside the skimmer.


Fine filter replaced with this mesh. It is carbon coated for a filter that is used in nano tanks. I like it because it will stop any small particles coming from the refugium. Refugium will be located in the media basket. The fine mesh will be clogged very fast. This mesh will let water go through and a monthly cleaning will be OK.


That's all for today folks. I hope pictures help others like many threads have helped me with tips and ideas,

Daniel
 
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Danreef

Well-Known Member
UPDATE.....Starting week #4

Added 4 fish more, 20 snails, 10 nasarius snails and 10 hermit crabs.

Refugium.....Media Rack and submersible lights from In Tank (3 lights, 1 per level)




Light seen from the tank front. What you see is the left side of the skimmer


Skimmer working VERY WELL





General view at week 4. Heniouchus is gone. Was 24 hours in the tank and wasn't reef safe. Ate a Xenia colony and was picking the hammer.




Close due to Heniochus






He/she do not like cameras
 

Danreef

Well-Known Member
STARTING WEEK 5

OK, the tank is one month old so I decided to start to pass some of the hardy SPS from my 12G tank. I was astonish when I took them out and saw their size after 9 months.

I do not like the color of the corals with the Stock T5 of the RSM 250. After seen some tanks with the new T5 that come with the RSM C-250 I decided to order a set :
http://www.redseafish.com/hardware/t5-fluorescent-reef-lighting/

Well, here goes some pictures:

Full tank










This is green...but do not look like that in the picture




One is silver (left) and the other green (right). That is why I want to change the T5


Another full tank picture
 
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Roy Page

Active Member
Thanks !!!

I cleaned the skimmer after 2 weeks. It smelled like having a dinosaur dead for millions of years. Meaning that the skimmer is doing a great job !!!!

Looks great Daniel.
I am amazed at the amount of gunk that my skimmer is producing and the smell is something else.
Just read all your thread for the first time, you don't appear to have had a massive amount of hair algae that my efforts have produced.

Your RSM 250 is coming along really fast, very nice,

Roy
 

Mark9

Has been struck by the ban stick
Thanks !!!

I cleaned the skimmer after 2 weeks. It smelled like having a dinosaur dead for millions of years. Meaning that the skimmer is doing a great job !!!!

I clean mine every Friday, at least.
Made the mistake once on my old tank of leaving it too long, wife came in the room with a "WTH is that smell?"
My response of "It's the ocean, baby!" didn't cut it.
 

Danreef

Well-Known Member
Looks great Daniel.
I am amazed at the amount of gunk that my skimmer is producing and the smell is something else.
Just read all your thread for the first time, you don't appear to have had a massive amount of hair algae that my efforts have produced.


Your RSM 250 is coming along really fast, very nice,

Roy

Roy....I used live sand and just 1 live rock to start the tank. At week 2 as soon as I saw the green+brown algae grow over the rocks and sand plus some small hair algae in the live rock I added a big CUC. In 2 days the rocks look like new and the starting hair algae were gone. By week 4 I got from a Boston Reefer member the yellow tang. That guy is eating any new hair algae. This do not mean that I am done. I am watching carefully the system every day and praying nothing goes out if equilibrium. In the middle of the first 4 weeks I added some small live rocks too of one of my nano.

I also added the refugium and macro algae are using nutrients that the hair alage will be using.



MY FIRST LOST......I transfered the big hardy colonies from the nano to the RSM250 and FORGOT to reduce the dosing in the nano. Normally my pH in morning is 7.9-8 and evening 7.3-7.4. The pH today AM 7.36 telling me that the equilibrium of Ca-Biocarbonate was wrong (due to high Alk) and I lost a small Acro colony that was pink with purple tips. I stop the dosing in the nano and now I have to wait some days till the SPS in the tank use all the extra Alk and the system goes to normal values (7-8 dkh). And I have to reduce the dosing.

EDITING

pH numbers wrong.........please read next posting
 
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Danreef

Well-Known Member
MY FIRST LOST......I transfered the big hardy colonies from the nano to the RSM250 and FORGOT to reduce the dosing in the nano. Normally my pH in morning is 7.9-8 and evening 7.3-7.4. The pH today AM 7.36 telling me that the equilibrium of Ca-Biocarbonate was wrong (due to high Alk) and I lost a small Acro colony that was pink with purple tips. I stop the dosing in the nano and now I have to wait some days till the SPS in the tank use all the extra Alk and the system goes to normal values (7-8 dkh). And I have to reduce the dosing.

SORRY GUYS.............but the Morning coffee didn't work today. Instead of editing I am quoting a Typo Mistake with the pH numbers:

Morning (7 AM before goin to work) : 7.9-8

Evening (7 PM back from work) : 8.3-8.4 NOT what I wrote.

This Morning the pH was at 8.36 meaning something was wrong in my system. In that instant I did the link with the doser and I realized I was having an Alk peak. By taking those big colonies out of the nano, I reduced the Ca/Alk consuption of the tank. In other words I overdosed the tank on Saturday night and Sunday nigh (dosers work during night time and I relocated the SPS during Saturday). Now is too late for one Acro colony. I cross my fingers the other colonies will make it during the week. I just need to wait now. Nothing can be done. Stability for Acros is crucial.

Update: Evening pH 8.64..... high alk for my nano. No dosing for some days until all returns to normality. No more issues with the acros....as of now
 
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Danreef

Well-Known Member
Week 6

Started to move corals from 12G tank to RSM 250. Changed lights to REEF SPECT T5 from Red Sea







All those corals were here and still I haven't finish yet:
 
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