Trying to Rejuvenate my RSM 130

[jonathan marmer]

Hey all,

I am a newbie taking over a neglected tank. The tank is RSM 130 Original. It's been running for about 8 years and has in it:

1 clown
1 Damsiel
1 Yellow Eyed Tang
1 Diamond Goby
1 sand starfish
1 cleaner shrimp
1 Peppermint Shrimp
some snails and crabs
and lots of Rock and a Green Star polyp.(very concerned about the GSP because they have not really opened and look like they are slowly deteriorating.

As of now, the only thing updated it the power head, from the original 2 to the new one they released, which is one.

for this tank i am primarily looking to host these fish and add some simple coral to grow. For example: some polyps, Mushrooms, Leather and Anemones.




I'm looking for advise on where to begin and how i can begin to turn this into a thing of beauty.

Thanks everyone!

Please see the pics below:

 

[discol76]

Hi there. I am doing something similar to you although you are a good bit further ahead than me as you have water in your tank lol. If your budget is really small you probably won't be upgrading the skimmer and media basket. You should start saving up for these in my opinion. In the meantime I would clean up the glass and replace the light tubes if you don't know how long they have been running for. Just give it a good clean up all round, keep on top of your water changes and general tank maintenance .It will look much better after that. How much experience do you have in reefkeeping? Sorry if that sounds cheeky, just trying to gauge your experience level.

 

[discol76]

Regards the GSP. Keep it isolated from your other rock. If it recovers it will eventually take over the whole tank. Have you had a look for other RSM 130 threads on here. I am just no to this site, I'm sure someone will be along that can lol t you in the direction of some good 130 threads on here

 

[discol76]

Here is what it could look like if you give it the correct attention. Just do lots of research and keep asking questions on here.

 

[jonathan marmer]

Regards the GSP. Keep it isolated from your other rock. If it recovers it will eventually take over the whole tank. Have you had a look for other RSM 130 threads on here. I am just no to this site, I'm sure someone will be along that can lol t you in the direction of some good 130 threads on here

Thanks for the feedback Discol76! Good luck with your setup!
i have checked this website but there are so many methods people work with their tank that it gets very confusing.
I have been cleaning this tank for about a year, but i always thought these things were sorta like a plug and play, nothing else needed. Now that i've learnt they aren't, im trying to fix things up.

do you know how much that skimmer costs? Also, i want to add some blue light to this tank so when the lights are off i can get some cool colour. the ones that come with it are extremely weak and dont really show anything. you have any suggestions?

 

[jonathan marmer]

Got a few heads of my polyps popping out!
Can anyone advise on the placement of the polyps? are they too close to the powerheads?

should i adjust the pumps?

 

[Pancho75]

Maybe too much flow for them, I agree you should locate the GSP isolated to avoid a tank overrun or completely surrounded by strong corals like acans.

Keep it up, you are doing a good job.


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[Nobbygas]

Just my little input, and this is just my personal opinion, but the whole tank would look so much better if you scrapped the back and sides and cleaned them. Plus, and this may sound stupid, but can there be too much Coraline for that sized tank? I say this because Coraline consumes a lot of Magnesium, so could this be a problem in the longer term?

 

[jonathan marmer]

Just my little input, and this is just my personal opinion, but the whole tank would look so much better if you scrapped the back and sides and cleaned them. Plus, and this may sound stupid, but can there be too much Coraline for that sized tank? I say this because Coraline consumes a lot of Magnesium, so could this be a problem in the longer term?

Thanks Nobbygas! im gonna slowly start to scratch away the the sides and glass.
Anyone have any suggestions for blue stunner strips, and filteration setup in the back left part of the tank?

Thanks!

 

[jonathan marmer]

Maybe too much flow for them, I agree you should locate the GSP isolated to avoid a tank overrun or completely surrounded by strong corals like acans.

Keep it up, you are doing a good job.


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should the powerheads be pointed towards the polyps?

or focus my on overall waterflow and the polyps will make due

 

[Pancho75]

should the powerheads be pointed towards the polyps?

or focus my on overall waterflow and the polyps will make due

I would suggest you to use the power heads for total tank circulation instead of focusing on the polyps.

The water flow trough the tank will take care of the polyps.


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[jonathan marmer]

I would suggest you to use the power heads for total tank circulation instead of focusing on the polyps.

The water flow trough the tank will take care of the polyps.


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thanks!
from the looks of my tank, where would you position the power heads?

 

[Pancho75]

I will place them on each side but not completely facing each other pointing a bit downwards.


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[jonathan marmer]

Update:


after 2 weeks my GSP have started to evaporate and the purple is coming off the rocks, only 1 polyp opens out of an entire rock. The rest have slowly started to not have any bumps and the purple is slowly turning green/ brownish. I also have brown algae growing on one of my rocks.

I did a water test and discovered my ammonia is 0.5. Ph is 8.3 and nitrates are 7.


1 week ago after having gone 8 years without changing the ceramic biological filter I changed it and added a seachem pure elite.


Can anyone advise why this is happening? Is it the new filter bag?

what do I do?

 

[Pancho75]

Immidate water change 20% of the volume, too much ammonia will kill the inhabitants and test again.


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[jonathan marmer]

Immidate water change 20% of the volume, too much ammonia will kill the inhabitants and test again.


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Thank you. I will perform within an hour. And report back. Should I remove the ceramic biological filter and just leave the pure chem elite in the back left?

 

[jonathan marmer]

After water change

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

re: changing the ceramic biological filter - most don't use them and let the display tank live rock serve as where your bio-filter grows... in the back compartment they trap lots of debris and become a nitrate trap, unless you rinse them every couple weeks at the sink to clean... and just use them as a place for the cpe to sit in to improve flow...

+1 ^ water changes to reduce the nitrates and ammonia, ammonia readings = something died

cyano = overfeeding almost always... for a couple months, they no dosing & weekly water changes of 20% and you should see a great improvement - hope something here helps

 

[jonathan marmer]

re: changing the ceramic biological filter - most don't use them and let the display tank live rock serve as where your bio-filter grows... in the back compartment they trap lots of debris and become a nitrate trap, unless you rinse them every couple weeks at the sink to clean... and just use them as a place for the cpe to sit in to improve flow...

+1 ^ water changes to reduce the nitrates and ammonia, ammonia readings = something died

cyano = overfeeding almost always... for a couple months, they no dosing & weekly water changes of 20% and you should see a great improvement - hope something here helps

This is all very helpful!

I removed my ceramic biological filter and attached the pure chem to the pump with a zip tie so it hangs right below it as if it was sitting on a ceramic filter!

 

[jonathan marmer]

Is that 0?