Helen's RSM130

[miro]

Hey! I´ve been considering to get a saltwater tank for years, after multiple tries trying to read about saltwater and equipment i always ended up setting it aside, thinking its waay too complicated. Now i finally did it and bought myself a used RSM130! After taking it completely apart and cleaning it (it was very filthy - and no, not with soap!) i understand alot more about the whole thing and stuff is starting to make some sense!

It came with a Tunze 9001 (brand new), a mediathingy, heater and the original circulation pumps (1 of them is broken). So i was looking around and saw that RSM has a pump that can replace both of them - since i am considering to get new circulation pump(s) then i was wondering what would be the best choice?

What are the thoughts on Indonesian/Jakarta lr? Seems like thats pretty much the only choice for me here.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Hi Helen,

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Cheers for starting a tank thread & sharing your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics

Here one link with some pics that may give you some ideas on the pumps
http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Red-Sea-Max-130-D-Pump-Upgrade-KIT-RS1001.htm

Sure that LR will be fine

 

[Joeys Tank]

Welcome to RS and here's to a long life of enjoying saltwater!!

 

[melvis]

Welcome to the gang! Looking forward to following you on your journey and watching your 130 develop.

 

[miro]

Thanks for the replies! So i went and just ordered the pumps mentioned above without even reading the 120V part after i had already ordered i got a refund and letting me know its 120V, some awesome service i´d say!

Ordered 2xEheim 600 and the intank tubes/parts set for it, crossing my fingers and hoping that i got this right and everythings gonna fit together!

Oh and heres a pic of the tank how it looked when i got it
Gonna update with an after pic once i get it semi-set up

 

[whip]

Probably too late, but for what it's worth...

I got a used RSM 130 and the first thing I did was purchase and install the new Red Sea single pump upgrade. It was a higher volume pump that replaced the original two.

From what I had read, Red Sea created the upgrade because the two original pumps sat too high and any fluctuation in water level would cause the pumps to overheat and fail.

It looks like the pumps you got have that problem solved as they are dropped deeper in the pump well.



http://www.redseafish.com/max-concept/max-130d/max-130d-circulation-pump-upgrade-kit/

 

[whip]

PS - Awesome tank!!! I got one used just like it. I have had it just over a month now. Have fun!

 

[miro]

Thanks whip! Ye i was considering that pump when i was looking around, but i couldnt find any in the shops here so i was checking ebay. Ended up going for the eheim 600 + tubes from intank

Im happy with the tank also + i like to fix things. Meanwhile when im waiting for everything else to arrive im painting the cabinet, since it had multiple layers of spray paint and had been scratched. Also gonna fix the silicone, did a leak test and it went ok but some edges looked a bit dodgy, so i figured i´ll better make sure!

Very eager to get my stuff in the mail and put everything together, feels like christmas
From online stores here in norway:
• Instant ocean reef crystal salt
• Natures ocean live Argonite, reef substrate + samoa pink
• 4kg Fresh Indonesian LR (supposedly super quality)
• Eheim 600 pumps

Intank:
• Pump parts
• API testkit
• Chemi-Pure elite bag
• Seachem Purigen bag
• Poly filter floss

ebay:
• http://www.ebay.com/itm/191545917029 hope its good quality

Hope i didnt completely fail and ordered the wrong kinda stuff

 

[melvis]

All sounds good to me. How much sand are you putting in btw? Are you keeping it fairly shallow or going for a deep sand bed?

 

[miro]

I must admit im not quite sure nor do i exactly know how much ground the amount i ordered will cover, I ordered about 12,7kg.
• Nature's Ocean Live Aragonite, Samoa Pink (0,5-1,7mm) 9.07 kg
• Nature's Ocean Live Aragonite, Reef Substrate (2,0-4,0mm) 3.63 kg

I was thinking of having the smaller grain on the bottom and bigger on top. Open to any tips/suggestions!

 

[melvis]

Just watch the smaller stuff, mine tends to get sucked up if I vac and often gets blown about if my 20 month old son breaks into the cabinet and whacks the Vortech MP10 up to full power lol!

 

[miro]

haha! i have 2,5y old and im considering of installing a tiny lock so that he cant get into the cabinet.

Recieved my package with salt, pumps, sand n rocks today and inTanks package came yesterday, gonna start setting it up after work, super excited!

 

[Delareef123]

Hey Miro, I am 4 days into cycling my 130. I'll be posting results on my tank thread and watching yours. If you haven't had a chance, check out Melvis's tank thread. he does a wonderful job of explaining his journey and lots of good feedback from members. Hoping my journey will be as exciting and surprising as his.

 

[miro]

Thanks for the tip Delareef! Will be keeping an eye on yours also


This is how it looks right now

 

[miro]

I keep reading/finding different info about the cycling and its a bit confusing figuring out whats "right"!

• The skimmer and the pumps shouldnt be on/should be on
• Some also say that you shouldnt really keep the lights on else you'll get algae growing mad?
• Should i add mediabasket contents now or later on?

At the moment i have everything running and lights off

 

[Pat24601]

I keep reading/finding different info about the cycling and its a bit confusing figuring out whats "right"!

• The skimmer and the pumps shouldnt be on/should be on
• Some also say that you shouldnt really keep the lights on else you'll get algae growing mad?
• Should i add mediabasket contents now or later on?

At the moment i have everything running and lights off

You are reading different info because people have different opinions. You are going to find that a lot in this hobby, so get used to it. Even well respected members of this forum have different views. In this case, that's because really you'll be OK whatever you do. Regardless of what decision you make on these issues, your tank will end up cycled OK.

However, here is *my* current opinion and why. Who knows, 6 months from now I may have a different opinion.

(1) Run the skimmer and the pumps. While you don't have a bioload to skim, it helps break the skimmer in and helps oxygenate the water. It also helps you get a sense of what your "real" temp is going to be with the skimmer on and if you are in an OK temp range or not.

(2) Run lights, but at a reduced time. Don't run them full on or you will just feed algae, but some lights on help you enjoy your live rock and admire your aquascape while you are cycling. People also have other very good reasons for running either lights on or off. There are actually many arguments on both sides of this having to do with algae vs bacteria vs etc. So, reduced time is also a compromise position making sure you make everyone on both sides of the argument mad at you! Lights off is totally fine if that's what you want to do and are doing.

(3) I'd run carbon now, but save your real media (Chemi Pure Elite, purigen, etc) for later.

 

[miro]

Thanks for the input Pat! I'm super excited about it and could just sit and watch my cloudy tank!
This hobby has some "grey-areas" then and it seems that it comes down to testing/learning and figuring out what works best for your tank(?) and not so much about who's right or wrong.

And a new question - i thouht i had bought everything i needed for the mediabasket?
• Chemi-pure
• Purigen
• Filter floss
Did i miss something there with the carbon?

 

[Pat24601]

In all seriousness, the diversity of opinion is good. This hobby has a lot of defacto experimentation going on to this day. Things that people "know" now were not the common knowledge 10 years ago necessarily and may not be 10 years from now.

So, people sharing different views of what worked for them is a great thing! It's through that shared knowledge we all learn without making every little mistake ourselves.

It's forums like these that allow you to get insights into some of the very best/most experienced opinions out there...as well as newbie opinions like mine.

It makes the steep learning curve SOOOO much easier and better.

 

[Pat24601]

And a new question - i thouht i had bought everything i needed for the mediabasket?
• Chemi-pure
• Purigen
• Filter floss
Did i miss something there with the carbon?

Chemi Pure Elite is a combination of carbon plus GFO (phosphate control). So, if you run CPE, you will use it instead of carbon.

There is a carbon or two that typically comes with a new red sea tank. I used it up while cycling. Since you bought yours from someone else (in great condition btw nice one!), you may not have an extra carbon laying around. But, I wouldn't waste a relatively expensive CPE while cycling. Carbon just helps clear up the water a bit. I wouldn't say it's critical to the process, though.

 

[miro]

The forum and the amount of info it has is awesome! And also that the people here have the patience to help beginners like me

Aha - gonna look a bit more into it then and maybe buy a bag of carbon.

The tank was quite worn out (it has had multiple owners) - doesnt show as well on the pics. Wiring and electrical was all messed up, things didnt work and the plugs had been lying in the old water in the tank for a while, so i swapped the plugs and fixed the wires in the hood (got lamps and fans working), they had used quite a bit of silicone in it and it wasnt done that well, but after i'll get everything in the tank you'll probably not notice it and i also painted the cabinet.
But after all that im proud of myself and quite happy with the end result!