The RSM Adventure

alphasierra · 11-01-2008, 02:14 PM

Hello to everyone!

I'm a newbie to Reef Sanctuary and I hope to get plenty of useful info and ideas from all of you that have a Red Sea Max aquarium (and also those which don't).

After searching through many reef and aquarium forums it is great to finally have a dedicated forum for the RSM owners. A big thanks to those involved in setting it up.

I am new to this hobby and I must say that I'm becoming addicted very quickly. This thread will show the progress of the tank developing and any advice/comments or ideas are welcome.

Below is a picture of the tank just after setup. It has been running for 7 weeks now, so stay tuned for more updates.

AS

redseareef · 11-01-2008, 03:46 PM

Alpha,
Greetings! Welcome to the forum! Nice to see you have your tank up and running. Looks great!!! Nice rock work.
I actually ordered the 130D tank and am awaiting it's arrival! Keep us posted with the pics. I will be doing the same!

Reefmack · 11-01-2008, 04:33 PM

alphasierra -

to Reef Sanctuary and the Red Sea Max forum! Great to see another RSM owner join us!

The thanks on setting up this forum section for the Red sea Max tanks go to the Reef Sanctuary staff - Witfull was instrumental in working with us to set up this great "home", and Travis was agreeable to the subforum setup. All of the staff here are great to work with!

Thanks for setting up a post on your RSM - it keeps it from getting lost in the "neverending thread" approach that some of us suffered with on a different forum. But, be sure to check out all of Reef Sanctuary, and don't limit yourself just to the RSM section. Lots of good information on Reef Sanctuary!

As redseareef said, your tank and rock setup look great! Have you got your cycle under control now? Added any fish or critters yet? Yes - it's too easy to get addicted to this! Put a lock on your credit/debit cards and cash LOL!

alphasierra · 11-02-2008, 10:26 AM

Thanks guys.

My girlfriend and I have always wanted a marine aquarium so we invested in the RSM. We liked the look of it and the fact that it was an all in one system.

Prior to the live rock introduction, the tank ran for 4 days to ensure all was working and to monitor the water temp. As a result, we had to buy a chiller as the temperature here in Hong Kong is around the low 30's (around 90 degrees fahrenheit) most of the year.

Below are some more pics from the first to 2 weeks of the cycling process.

Building the aquarium

The rock setup

Week 1 side view

The start of Week 2

End of Week 2

End of Week 2 side view

Another angle

Reefmack · 11-02-2008, 01:01 PM

Looks very nice! I like that rock too. I didn't realize it was that warm in Hong Kong all year long.

alphasierra · 11-03-2008, 10:49 AM

Thanks Reefmack,

It is Indonesian rock. I read later somewhere that it's not the best to lay rocks completely flat and rather try to stand each piece up on its edges. We'll remember for next time.

I mis-lead you and others with the last post. It will cool down (and is starting to now) for around three months where we will probably not require the chiller however it will be required once it warms up again. We're glad we invested in it though.

CUC were added at the start of week 3.
6 Turbo snails and 1 pacific cleaner shrimp (mainly for us to watch)

For around the last 3 weeks, long hair algae has appeared on some of the rock work. We've removed what we can while the snails have cleaned around it. It appears to be disappearing slowly.

Below is a pic at the end of Week 3. You can notice the hair algae starting.

Reefmack · 11-03-2008, 09:44 PM

Hopefully the turbos will work on the hair algae. I used to have a couple emerald crabs that helped with the small amount of algea I had. At least the emerals didn't wipe out my small snails like the hermits did. I never had my emeralds bother anything else, but a lot of people don't trust any crabs.

LaurentSeattle · 11-03-2008, 10:47 PM

alphasierra: Very nice interior design! Black on white, your RSM looks great!

alphasierra · 11-06-2008, 04:27 AM

Thanks for the nice comment LaurentSeattle! That's exactly why we bought the RSM. It looked great and sounded like a great starter tank for us. Now all we have to do is make the inside look nice too

AS

alphasierra · 11-07-2008, 10:21 AM

G'day Guys,
The tank is into week 8 now and it's progressing well (I think??) The hair algae has reduced now, but there is still some around.
In Hong Kong, most of the fish for sale are unfortunately from the wild and I've been told and also read that their survival rate is low once in captivity. Decided to setup a quarantine tank to hopefully increase the chance of survival and to protect the tank from any disease.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to best acclimatise wild fish or would it just be the same way as captive bred? I've heard and read that it is difficult to get them to eat. Plan on getting two clown fish for the tank soon.

Both tanks together during Week 4

To our surprise, found a hitchhiker. Does anyone know what type of crab it is and whether it is bad?

Pacific Cleaner Shrimp

Reefmack · 11-07-2008, 12:06 PM

Nice closeups alphasierra! I would think the procedure for acclimating both wild and tank raised fish would be the same. It can be difficult to get wild fish to eat - maybe frozen food like Mysis would be best to start. I'm no crab expert, but I think the crab may be a gorilla crab type, and probably not the best thing to have in the tank. Here's one of many crab sites, and this page has a gorilla picture:

One crab site

alphasierra · 11-09-2008, 12:23 PM

Quick questions guys.... Do you switch off the skimmer during feeding and adding additives/supplements? What are the advantages, if any?
Thanks

Reefmack · 11-09-2008, 02:14 PM

I don't know about others, but I've always run my skimmer 24/7.

yungreefer2410 · 11-09-2008, 02:40 PM

same here. what type of lighting doed your rsm have?

alphasierra · 11-10-2008, 08:02 AM

Thanks for the advice guys.

Quote:

what type of lighting doed your rsm have?

I currently have the standard lighting. Not sure if I'll upgrade as people appear to be keeping corals successfully with the standard lights.

yungreefer2410..... Do you have an RSM? What have you modified?

11-01-2008, 02:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	The RSM Adventure Hello to everyone! I'm a newbie to Reef Sanctuary and I hope to get plenty of useful info and ideas from all of you that have a Red Sea Max aquarium (and also those which don't). After searching through many reef and aquarium forums it is great to finally have a dedicated forum for the RSM owners. A big thanks to those involved in setting it up. I am new to this hobby and I must say that I'm becoming addicted very quickly. This thread will show the progress of the tank developing and any advice/comments or ideas are welcome. Below is a picture of the tank just after setup. It has been running for 7 weeks now, so stay tuned for more updates. AS

11-01-2008, 03:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
redseareef RS Sponsor Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: L.A. California Posts: 1,367 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Alpha, Greetings! Welcome to the forum! Nice to see you have your tank up and running. Looks great!!! Nice rock work. I actually ordered the 130D tank and am awaiting it's arrival! Keep us posted with the pics. I will be doing the same!

11-01-2008, 04:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,162 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure alphasierra - to Reef Sanctuary and the Red Sea Max forum! Great to see another RSM owner join us! The thanks on setting up this forum section for the Red sea Max tanks go to the Reef Sanctuary staff - Witfull was instrumental in working with us to set up this great "home", and Travis was agreeable to the subforum setup. All of the staff here are great to work with! Thanks for setting up a post on your RSM - it keeps it from getting lost in the "neverending thread" approach that some of us suffered with on a different forum. But, be sure to check out all of Reef Sanctuary, and don't limit yourself just to the RSM section. Lots of good information on Reef Sanctuary! As redseareef said, your tank and rock setup look great! Have you got your cycle under control now? Added any fish or critters yet? Yes - it's too easy to get addicted to this! Put a lock on your credit/debit cards and cash LOL! __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

11-02-2008, 01:01 PM	#5 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,162 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Looks very nice! I like that rock too. I didn't realize it was that warm in Hong Kong all year long. __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

11-03-2008, 10:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Thanks Reefmack, It is Indonesian rock. I read later somewhere that it's not the best to lay rocks completely flat and rather try to stand each piece up on its edges. We'll remember for next time. I mis-lead you and others with the last post. It will cool down (and is starting to now) for around three months where we will probably not require the chiller however it will be required once it warms up again. We're glad we invested in it though. CUC were added at the start of week 3. 6 Turbo snails and 1 pacific cleaner shrimp (mainly for us to watch) For around the last 3 weeks, long hair algae has appeared on some of the rock work. We've removed what we can while the snails have cleaned around it. It appears to be disappearing slowly. Below is a pic at the end of Week 3. You can notice the hair algae starting. Last edited by alphasierra : 11-03-2008 at 12:36 PM.

11-02-2008, 10:26 AM	#4 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	Thanks guys. My girlfriend and I have always wanted a marine aquarium so we invested in the RSM. We liked the look of it and the fact that it was an all in one system. Prior to the live rock introduction, the tank ran for 4 days to ensure all was working and to monitor the water temp. As a result, we had to buy a chiller as the temperature here in Hong Kong is around the low 30's (around 90 degrees fahrenheit) most of the year. Below are some more pics from the first to 2 weeks of the cycling process. Building the aquarium The rock setup Week 1 side view The start of Week 2 End of Week 2 End of Week 2 side view Another angle

11-03-2008, 09:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,162 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Hopefully the turbos will work on the hair algae. I used to have a couple emerald crabs that helped with the small amount of algea I had. At least the emerals didn't wipe out my small snails like the hermits did. I never had my emeralds bother anything else, but a lot of people don't trust any crabs. __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

11-03-2008, 10:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
LaurentSeattle Midas Blenny Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 122 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure alphasierra: Very nice interior design! Black on white, your RSM looks great!

11-06-2008, 04:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Thanks for the nice comment LaurentSeattle! That's exactly why we bought the RSM. It looked great and sounded like a great starter tank for us. Now all we have to do is make the inside look nice too AS

11-07-2008, 10:21 AM	#10 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure G'day Guys, The tank is into week 8 now and it's progressing well (I think??) The hair algae has reduced now, but there is still some around. In Hong Kong, most of the fish for sale are unfortunately from the wild and I've been told and also read that their survival rate is low once in captivity. Decided to setup a quarantine tank to hopefully increase the chance of survival and to protect the tank from any disease. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to best acclimatise wild fish or would it just be the same way as captive bred? I've heard and read that it is difficult to get them to eat. Plan on getting two clown fish for the tank soon. Both tanks together during Week 4 To our surprise, found a hitchhiker. Does anyone know what type of crab it is and whether it is bad? Pacific Cleaner Shrimp

11-07-2008, 12:06 PM	#11 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,162 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Nice closeups alphasierra! I would think the procedure for acclimating both wild and tank raised fish would be the same. It can be difficult to get wild fish to eat - maybe frozen food like Mysis would be best to start. I'm no crab expert, but I think the crab may be a gorilla crab type, and probably not the best thing to have in the tank. Here's one of many crab sites, and this page has a gorilla picture: One crab site __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

11-09-2008, 12:23 PM	#12 (permalink)
alphasierra Torch coral Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 552 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure Quick questions guys.... Do you switch off the skimmer during feeding and adding additives/supplements? What are the advantages, if any? Thanks

11-09-2008, 02:14 PM	#13 (permalink)
Reefmack NaClH2O Addicted Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Charlotte, NC, USA Posts: 6,162 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: The RSM Adventure I don't know about others, but I've always run my skimmer 24/7. __________________ aka Terry Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. No such thing as an evil crab. Only humans have the ability to be evil. "If you don't like what your fellow forum neighbors are doing, then don't pay so much attention to them" 34g Red Sea Max 130 (April 07), ~50-60 lbs. live rock, Aragonite substrate. Lighting: Current USA Outer Orbit Pro - 150W HQI, 2 x 24W Blue Plus T5 HO Fluorescent by ATI, 2 x 24W Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent by UVL, Vortech MP20, LifeReef RSM Siphon, EShopps RS-75 Sump, Euro-Reef custom sump skimmer, Simplicity media reactor, Tunze Osmolator ATO, ReefKeeper Lite L3 controller Reefmack's RSM 130 and...Red Sea Max Owners Club and My JBJ 6G in this thread[/color][/i]

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