Picking up my RSM 34 today.

[02vetteboy]

Hey guys and gals i just wanted to let everyone know that this forum has been a gret read and has helped me make the decision to jump into this hobby with both feet. I am picking up my very first saltwater tank this after noon. Any help suggestions or stuff like that will be greatly appreciated. I will be posting a lot of photos and proggress pick of the set up and stuff thank in advance.

Duston

 

[Reefmack]

02vetteboy - :welcomera to Reef Sanctuary and the the Red Sea Max club! Good luck with the tank. Take your time setting it up, don't rush anything - try to do it right the first time, and somehow find the patience that this hobby requires! Ask a lot of questions, and do a lot of reading (don't forget the rest of Reef Sanctuary - you won't find answers to everthing in the RSM section. Forget most of what you may have learned with freshwater experience - saltwater is a whole new ballgame, but it can be very rewarding if you just take your time with things.

 

[02vetteboy]

Thank you for the kind and useful words. I set my tank up last night using 30lbs of live sand and 33 pounds of live rock. Now i just have to wait and be paicinet until the tank cycles. Pic will be following tonight or tomorrow. Camara battery died last night.

 

[blue_eyes53813]

Hello Welcome to RS.. I cant waite to see pictures...

 

[Reefmack]

02vetteboy - how's the tank setup doing?

 

[02vetteboy]

Hi everyone sorry no pictures yet i should have some posted later tonight. I finally found my camara charger last night. I know i am going to get some flack for this but here is the status of my tank set up. When i went in to purchase the Live Rock than lfs asked me if i would try a product they were thinking about carrying in the store. In exchange for me trying the product they would give me 10% off my live rock and fish. So I aggred to use it. It is a product by instant ocean called bio-spira. It is suppose to allow u to put fish in your newly set up saltwater tank imediately. I gave my tank two days to sit and run before i added my first fish. Prior to adding the damsel i checked the levels for nitrates nitrites and ammonia al read zero. So i will see what happens . I have had the damsel in there for a little over a day now and it seems to be doing fine. So if anyone has any questions good or bad feel free to ask away pics will be posted tonight.

Duston

 

[Reefmack]

02vetteboy - In my opinion your lfs done you good! A lot of folks may not agree with me but I love Bio-Spira! I've used it in both FW and SW with excellent results. When I set up my RSM I paid a premium price for fully cured rock, with a lot of life still on it, and I added some Bio-Spira with my rock, and again about 2 days later with a few fish. I never had a measurable cycle - never had any ammonia or nitrite, just some nitrates. And I was testing with 3 different test kits to be sure. Same thing happened when I set up a small 9g SW tank - no measurable cycle. Bio-Spira is actually from Marineland, and it does what it says for me - in both FW and SW. Not cheap as it's refrigerated live bacteria, scientifically developed to have the correct types of SW bacteria to handle the nitrogen cycle. If I sound like a Bio-Spira commercial, I'm sorry! Some of my friends have tried it also and had excellent results. Even with rock not fully cured it has definitely shortened cycles. Maybe Instant Ocean bought the rights to Bio-Spira? I've never had any decent results with the unrefrigerated or store shelf cycling products, and I think I tried them all back in my FW days, before I tried the Bio-Spira. You won't see it sold in a lot of lfs, because it requires refrigeration and has an expiration date. I think a lot of people that have tried it with poor success have gotten material that wasn't properly refrigerated, or had expired. BUT, track your cycle to be sure - better safe than sorry, and don't add any more fish till the bacteria population has had time to grow.

 

[02vetteboy]

here some pics for everyone.

 

[Reefmack]

Great start and looking good! I always like to see a new tank "born"and "grow up". I've got a yellowtail damsel too - a really beautiful fish for a very low price. It was a low cost way for me to get some blue in the tank!

 

[02vetteboy]

i just wanted to give an update to how the tank is going. All levals have reached zero. calcium 450 salinity,1.022, ph-8.0,. live rock is looking good damsel is doing great. I have the normal alge growth occuring on the lr and i think i have my first hitchhicker. as soon as i can get a good picture i will post it.

 

[Reefmack]

Hey - sounds good! You could probably get your salinity up a bit - maybe 1.023 - 1.024, but you can do that with water changes in the future. Are you using a hydrometer or refractometer? Looking forward to a hitchhiker picture!

 

[02vetteboy]

i am checking my salinity using a hydrometer no lfs carries a refractometer so i am waiting for the mail man to bring me one. I will deffinetly keep checking the salinity and i am planning a water change tommororw. I cant seem to get a good picture of the hitchhicker but i will try to get one soon.

 

[Reefmack]

Any updates?

 

[steveh]

Make sure you are testing the alkalinity as well as the Calcium. I think you will be surprised how quickly it can fall. I'm dosing Coral Buff every couple of days and the coralline algae has really taken hold on the rock. Use the Red Sea Alkalinity Pro test to get extra accurate results

 

[02vetteboy]

sorry its been a crazy week with work. Here a few more pics of the tank. I believe i got my first diatom bloom the other day. I have left the lights off for the past two days to see if i can keep it under control. It seems to be going away not growing on the and as much as it was preveiously. So here are some pics. Enjoy and all comments are appreciated.

 

[Dentoid]

Do you have a Lion fish in there already?

 

[JBmynes]

I see a Damsel Death in the future!!! I love lion fishes..... If I didnt have expensive little fish in my tank I would get a Lion to take care of the Damsels that I cant catch for the life of me.

 

[Reefmack]

02vetteboy - thank for posting an update. The diatom will run its course and go away. Light feeds it, but maybe a few hours of light per day may help it eat itself to death quicker. I've read that things like diatom are so common in new tanks because there is a higher level of things like silicates, etc. in new saltwater (coming in with the salt mix). I agree on the lionfish - you may already know that they have a huge mouth and eat any fish that will fit in it! Don't get stuck by those spines!

 

[02vetteboy]

Ya that is what i have read about the diatoms. Ya i have a lion fish in there. Suprisingly he and the damsel are like best friends they hang out together and jsut kinda swim together i also have puffer in there i think u can bearly see it in one of the pics. They all get along great. Thanks for all of the kind words about the tank.

 

[steveh]

Congrats on your RSM so far. I'm sure the lionfish and damsel will not be friends for very long, and I'm also assuming you decided not to go for any corals, as they wouldn't last long with the puffer. Looking forwards to your progress- good luck! You may find the new MAX website (www.redseamax.com) will be of some use as there's a section for faq's etc.