Newo11's RSM 250

[newo11]

Hello all! Brand new to this site, but I was referred here by Blackbeltmom who said there was a very active RSM250 board on here.

Some quick background on me: I am one year into this hobby and enjoying myself. I just bought an RSM250 this past Friday; used tank but new to me! This is my first "large" tank - I have two 28 gallon nanocubes, one 6 gallon nanocube, and one 4 gallon innovative marine pico. I am consolidating the two 28 gallon nanocubes into this RSM250. I've kept mostly a mixed reef - predominately LPS and softies with some SPS. My wife agreed to this new tank only because I was consolidating!

Tank is up and cycling currently and I have a retrofit to LED's coming. The tank needed all of the bulbs replaced and all of the fans so given the costs and the fact that I've had LED's on all of my other tanks, I thought it worth the investment. I have a 1/15 hp JBJ Arctica chiller that I was running on a cube that I may need to hook up in the meantime to combat some of the heat until I get the replacement fans and the LED retrofit done.

 

[goma]

Welcome to RS!! You've come to the right place for RSM information!! What LED mod did you go with?

 

[nivek]

Welcome to RS

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary and the Worlds largest RSM Club, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

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

 

[newo11]

Thanks all! Trying to upload pics but tapatalk is being grumpy.

I am in Cary, NC and there is a local LED custom fixture manufacturer in the area called Nanobox Reefs. He does a retro kit for the RSM250 that I am going with - 52 LEDs, with whites in the 4k to 6k range, blues, royal blues, a few cyans and a few UV's, using Luxeon Rebels. Also bought a coralux controller. Very reasonable and I am hoping that this lives up to my expectations! Both are local and have worked together in producing their products so we'll see....

 

[newo11]

And a question - does anyone know what the length and diameter of the tubing is for both pumps? The previous owner modified (read cut) the tubing to shorten the length between the pump and the nozzles because I believe he was putting carbon directly under both pumps. Also are there auction cups or something I can buy to reduce any vibration against the glass if I restore them to their original length?

 

[goma]

Awesome! Post some pics of your tank!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...ay-post-pics-photobucket-nanoreefing4fun.html

on pics ^ give this a go...

also RS members need 5 post ... to post pics - keeps spammers at bay - this could have been related if you tries earlier

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

on the pumps... they do just hang & not the way down... by Red Sea design... are you sure they are not "stock" length?

 

[newo11]

Well that's good to know. I don't know if they are not "stock" length then. What I did notice is the large sponge shows on the window on pump one and when I tried to squish it down, I ended up with the pump coming loose and shooting water straight up instead of out into the display tank which was not a fun thing to wake up to.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Most RSM 250 owners of the club, don't run any of the sponge filters... if you don't pull & rinse them weekly they just trap nitrates

 

[DianaKay]

Cheers for Debbie (blackbeltmom) sending you to RS, I think you'll love it here! :yehoo:
Excited to see your consolidation of tanks....the RSM 250 is a good looking tank
Thanks for joining us & sharing your journey here, ready to follow along

 

[newo11]

Another new owner question (plus this will help get my post count up so I can actually post a pic....)- how do you get the skimmer out to clean the pump? Do I have to take the whole hood off? I can get the cup out no problem through the access panel but can't figure out how to get the rest of the skimmer out even with the hood all the way up.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

You can post pics now

The skimmer just lifts out... unplug it & the whole thing comes out from the hood flap access area

 

[DianaKay]

Another new owner question (plus this will help get my post count up so I can actually post a pic....)- how do you get the skimmer out to clean the pump? Do I have to take the whole hood off? I can get the cup out no problem through the access panel but can't figure out how to get the rest of the skimmer out even with the hood all the way up.

It will slide straight out UPwards with the hood down & the skimmer flap lid up. Take the cup off 1st, pull the skimmer up & the pump will come up with it. That's how I do it anyway, yours should work the same.

Edit: Glenn said it better....hope you get it figured out! It was totally nerve wracking for me the 1st time I took it out so don't feel alone if it's awkward for you.

 

[blackbeltmom]

I cut my large sponge into thirds. I wanted something catching detritus and not sending it all through the pump. I left the small sponge.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 2

 

[newo11]

As promised. Preliminary rock work done by mrs. Newo11. She's good at that stuff!

 

[newo11]

Getting ready

 

[newo11]

I realized just before I reached the returns that I had forgotten to clean out pumps etc. Added about 4 hours to my timeline but it was worth it!

 

[newo11]

An inherited inhabitant. This guy was still hiding in the live rock from the previous owner (I got rid of that rock and started fresh with new rock from a LFS I trusted). Beautiful serpent starfish. However he scares the crap out of the wife because she thinks he looks too much like a spider.