Zoe's first aquarium - RSM250 thread.

Built347

Built347

Has been struck by the ban stick
I don't know how your setup is but if your having problems with keeping the Skimmer in tune make sure the water level where the Skimmer sits/pumps from is always the same... the water pressure (height)of the water on the Skimmers pump changing will effect the tune.. as far as ato there are endless options available but my personal favorite is the cheap ro unit attached to a manual float valve.. (no refilling tanks, no pumps or sensors to fail, no controllers to mess with.. home depot has a 10gpd ro with a 4 gallon tank for $150.. easy to hook up. Good luck.

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Inyotef

Inyotef

Member
nanoreefing4fun said:
I forgot to wash my sand on my 1st tank too... it will clean in a couple of days... just rinse the fine filter several times a day... your not the 1st to do this :)
Click to expand...

I'm about to set up my tank in a couple of weeks, and this might sound like a newbie question too--but should the Caribsea live reef grade sand also be washed? Won't that remove the beneficial organisms?
 
whippetguy

whippetguy

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
PREMIUM
Inyotef said:
I'm about to set up my tank in a couple of weeks, and this might sound like a newbie question too--but should the Caribsea live reef grade sand also be washed? Won't that remove the beneficial organisms?
Click to expand...

If it's live sand, don't wash it. You're right, you will kill or remove the beneficial stuff in the sand.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
+1 ^

but most called "live sand" is not very alive - just think... if you took some live sand out of your tank and put it in a sealed plastic bag at room temp & let it sit on a shelve for a few weeks or months, how many things would still be alive in it. They advertize it as... with Live Stabilized Marine Bacteria, but you can buy an add this to your tank if desired

If you want, you can bring some sw to temp in a 5 gal bucket, add the "Live sand" to rinse it, pour off the sw & then add it to your tank, this would be like doing a wc
 
T

TheGolfBallKid

Member
Here's the first picture. Tank has started the first diatom bloom and getting freckles of brown everywhere. So it begins....

080.jpg
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Rock & rockscape looks great !

I like the large open sand area in front, I went for that too, as lost of cool corals like to live there :)
 
T

TheGolfBallKid

Member
Just a quick update:

Skimmer's finally pulling junk out and producing the "right" kind of foam (thanks for the set-up tips everyone).

Ammonia level is at 0 all weekend (shortened cycle due to 10 lbs of live rock and Dr. Tim's One and Only), and the diatom bloom is in full effect. My Nitrites and Nitrates are holding at 0 as well (probably due to CPE and Purigen), so I'm going to order a CUC from ReefCleaners to battle the presumed upcoming algae bloom.

My target for adding my first fish is probably in the first or second week of February - that would allow 2 weeks or so after adding CUC to insure cycle is properly finished (and testing every other day). Do 30% water change in last week of January. Test some more. If everything remains OK, time for Nemo. Sound like a reasonable plan (if not, don't hesitate to chime in).

More pics later this week (of the "ugly" tank).....

Gary
 
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TheGolfBallKid

Member
Just cleaned out the skimmer for the first time..... What a foul smell! And I haven't put anything in yet. CUC should be arriving today. It sure is hard to be patient. All parameters are reading 0 and have been for a week. Good cured LR from my lfs has certainly helped, but no fish until the first week of February (my rule).

Great help here has us off to a successful start. Thanks again.
 
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TheGolfBallKid

Member
Update time! CUC came in on Friday and they're gettin' to work. John at Reefcleaners was awesome... would highly recommend to anyone.

Been running all the tests: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0, ph 8.2, temp is consistently between 78.2-79.1, salinity is staying at 1.022-1.023.

Going to do a 10 gal water change on Thursday, test again on Friday and take my daughter to find her pair of Percs on Sat if all goes well.

Now, the dumb question of the week: does everyone go completely lights out at night for the fish, or do you leave the blue moonlights on? My old set up 20 years ago was just on a timer for on/off, so these LEDS are new to me. Would love to get opinions.

Pics this weekend of the new inhabitants.
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Looks really nice. Magfloat ready to rock! Leave on those led night lights. Fish still go sleep plus it's much easier to see the critters that'll pop up and guess it's a good night light! Great job.

Matt leaves out punctuation.
 
T

TheGolfBallKid

Member
Wow, I can't believe that I haven't updated this post in so long. Time flies I guess. Anyhow, here's the list of inhabitants of the tank now:

1 Purple Firefish Goby
2 Percula Clowns
2 colonies of eagle eye Zoas (one orange, one pink)
1 small hammer coral frag
6 polyps Happy People Eater Palys
1 frag of Neon Green Polyps (segregated onto their own piece of rock)
1 Coral Banded Shrimp
1 Peppermints Shrimp
Whole lotta snails (thanks reefcleaners).

Anyhow, been doing my weekly water changes (7-8 gallons), cleaning filters, cleaning glass and all parameters are doing great thanks to everyone's help here. Don't plan on adding anything else for another month or so, then maybe another fish TBD. I've upgraded the skimmer to a Nano Skimmer - what a difference!!!! Pulling all kinds of green nasty stuff out. Smells like a sewage treatment plant (which I guess it is) :p.

Only real question I have is that the water seems cloudy. Not like a bacteria bloom or anything, but like dust is swirling around in the water. I've not hand my hands in the tank to stir up anything since my last water change on Saturday and it just seems all around murky. Anyone have issues like this or is it just part of a newer tank (about 7 weeks into the process). Here are my parameters in case it's relevant:

SG: 1.024
Temp: 78.5-79.9
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates: all 0 as tested by both API and RSM kits
PH: 8.2

Have the lights on from 9:30 AM - 8:45 PM (Zoe's bed time)

Still running the black foam in the left chamber, not around the heater

I'd love to hear everyone's opinions as to what may be happening. I'll try to post up some pictures this evening to help illustrate the issue. I appreciate the help.....
 
GregT

GregT

Active Member
Welcome Gary,

Your background mirrors my own. I too had a long break after owning a 4 foot fish-only marine tank decades ago. I even had a undergravel filter.
Couldn't believe the changes in terms of live rock and T5 lighting when I saw the RSM tanks.

Sounds like you're doing everthing right, i.e. patient - and expecting the different algael phases

Lookforward to seeing Zoes tank flourish. (Also got a daughter named Zoe - she's only 12 weeks but loves watching the tank :)
Cheers
Greg
 
T

TheGolfBallKid

Member
Yet again, I've been lazy to keep things updated. Nothing's changed since my update other than things are maturing - which is excellent. Now I'm wondering - What would be a good "showcase" fish that I could add that will be 1) newbie resistant and 2) newbie tolerant?

Colors that I'd be ineterested in adding to the aquarium would be either blues or reds. Not a big fan of Chromis, but I'm open to any/all suggestions. This site has been such a great reference for me even though I've been mostly reading everyone else's posts.

Pictures will be up no later than Tuesday.......
 
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