RR's RSM S650

rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Well I thought I would kick off a tank blog to track my RSM S650 setup and overall experience.
I am new to SW tanks but have a ton of experience with freshwater(mainly cichlids) and have a good understanding of the importance of water quality as a whole. Definitely hoping that coupled with learning from others will help me be successful with SW tanks.

Tank arrived Tuesday Feb 26th and was completely setup and running. Came with the newer RSK 900 skimmer. Curious to see how well it works as the reviews on the CSkim were not so good. Only issue I have with it so far is it doesn't fit easily into the Skimmer compartment in the sump. I have sent a message to Red Sea to see if they have suggestions> Still cannot get it to fit!! And I really do not want to keep it in the far left compartment.

Feb 27th I added ammonia to the tank as I plan to do a fishless cycle.
Feb 28th I did my first set of water tests to see where the tank was.

Test results were:
Alkalinity 7.8
Ammonia 1.2
Calcium 493
Magnesium 1320
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
PH 8.2
Phosphorous 0
Salinity 1.025

Using Red Sea test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH and Magnesium
Using Hanna testers for Alkalinity, Calcium, and Phosphorous
Using Red Sea Refractometer for Salinity

I will retest again tonight and provide those results. Currently tracking them in iOS app called Tank Mate.

After my water tests I added Dr Tims one and only to the tank. Never used this or anything like it before so curious to see how or if it works on cycling the tank faster. At this point I don't plan to stock the tank for 4-6 weeks as I am skeptical :)
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Good luck. The new skimmer just has to be better than the old C-Skim :)
I've never used Dr Tims so I can't really comment on that. I used ATM Colony, which means you can add a couple of fish that very same day ! It beats waiting for ages for the tank to cycle!

Do the new tanks come with socks or cups?
 

rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Good luck. The new skimmer just has to be better than the old C-Skim :)
I've never used Dr Tims so I can't really comment on that. I used ATM Colony, which means you can add a couple of fish that very same day ! It beats waiting for ages for the tank to cycle!

Do the new tanks come with socks or cups?
The Dr Tims one and only says you can add fish same day too, I just don't plan to.
The new skimmer is pretty quite so that must be an improvement.
The tank came with 2 socks.
 

rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Just a few pics to get started
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Still thinking of tinkering with the scape a bit. But I need and ladder. Not something I needed with my 100 gallon lol
It’s in the buy list for the weekend.


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Pancho75

Well-Known Member
Good to have you here with your own thread! Your tank is looking good, definitely is good you did not get the old C-Skim, that thing is too noisy!

Your aquascape looks good, following along.


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SPR

Well-Known Member
The Dr Tims one and only says you can add fish same day too, I just don't plan to.
The new skimmer is pretty quite so that must be an improvement.
The tank came with 2 socks.
You need to follow the instructions with these and certainly with ATM Colony you need to create fish waste for it to work properly and to feed and develop the bacteria otherwise you may have issues with it not working

I’ve just read the instructions and you need to add fish within 24 hours of adding Dr Tim’s and that will be for the above reasons. You basically need to create an ammonia source, if you don’t the bacteria could maybe die off which you don’t want, although I see you’ve added some ammonia so maybe that will work with it the same

Why won’t the new skimmer fit, It ‘looks’ the right size from the pictures and surely they wouldn’t sell one that won’t fit in were it should ?

The tank looks great as well
 
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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Well Red Sea got back with me and the skimmer is too big for the skimmer compartment and the recommended location is the left compartment. Not happy about that as they was not where I wanted it! I’ll have to figure that out at some point as I planned on using the left compartment for other things.
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I did change the scape a bit. Small tweak.
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Other than that. Still patiently waiting on the tank to cycle.


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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Well I decided to tinker with the skimmer and ended up getting it in the skimmer slot. Nothing about that was easy though. Ended up disassembling and then put pieces in as I went. Took a couple tries to ensure it was all assembled properly and running efficiently and quietly but it is done!
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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Folding small stepladder is crucial! And a screened top.
Looks great so far!

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Thanks! I know this chair is not the way to go lol. Probably going to swing by and pick a step ladder up tomorrow.
Screen top should be here soon as I ordered it the other day.


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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Good to have you here with your own thread! Your tank is looking good, definitely is good you did not get the old C-Skim, that thing is too noisy!

Your aquascape looks good, following along.


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Thanks! Finally got the skimmer where I wanted it. We will see how well it works out. It was running fairly quiet when I had it running earlier. Not running it during my cycle.


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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
You need to follow the instructions with these and certainly with ATM Colony you need to create fish waste for it to work properly and to feed and develop the bacteria otherwise you may have issues with it not working

I’ve just read the instructions and you need to add fish within 24 hours of adding Dr Tim’s and that will be for the above reasons. You basically need to create an ammonia source, if you don’t the bacteria could maybe die off which you don’t want, although I see you’ve added some ammonia so maybe that will work with it the same

Why won’t the new skimmer fit, It ‘looks’ the right size from the pictures and surely they wouldn’t sell one that won’t fit in were it should ?

The tank looks great as well
Thanks!
I’m dosing ammonia to keep it as close to 2 ppm as possible so hopefully that will help. I finally did get the skimmer in. Wasn’t easy! Very tight fit!



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emvanburen

Well-Known Member
Good job getting the skimmer in the middle. The left is too big to waste because Red Sea is a bit lazy! The scape looks good! Make sure you have a plan on how to remove the skimmer to clean it!


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rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Good job getting the skimmer in the middle. The left is too big to waste because Red Sea is a bit lazy! The scape looks good! Make sure you have a plan on how to remove the skimmer to clean it!


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I completely agree! If I didn't get it in there I was about to go shopping for a new one :duh:
And there lies the rub! I have to take the casing off, remove it and then remove the base. Tight spot to work with so not as easy as it sounds. But manageable.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I completely agree! If I didn't get it in there I was about to go shopping for a new one :duh:
And there lies the rub! I have to take the casing off, remove it and then remove the base. Tight spot to work with so not as easy as it sounds. But manageable.
I can't believe Red Sea are recommending putting the Skimmer in the left side! Anyone from Red Sea on here willing to comment?
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Well I decided to tinker with the skimmer and ended up getting it in the skimmer slot. Nothing about that was easy though. Ended up disassembling and then put pieces in as I went. Took a couple tries to ensure it was all assembled properly and running efficiently and quietly but it is done! ...

Keep one thing in mind. You need to clean a skimmer from time to time, so at some point you'll need to take it out of there and them clean it and then reinstall it. Make sure this is what you want to get involved with. You might want to do a test removal and reinstall before you make that location it's permanent home.
 

rustyreefer

Well-Known Member
Keep one thing in mind. You need to clean a skimmer from time to time, so at some point you'll need to take it out of there and them clean it and then reinstall it. Make sure this is what you want to get involved with. You might want to do a test removal and reinstall before you make that location it's permanent home.
Oh I did! It took me putting it in and taking it out twice to get it done properly. The hard part is getting the pump to stay seated while putting the casing on. Now that I know what to do and how to do it, it will only take me 10 minutes to get it out and 15 to put it in. Its worth every bit of that!
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Oh I did! It took me putting it in and taking it out twice to get it done properly. The hard part is getting the pump to stay seated while putting the casing on. Now that I know what to do and how to do it, it will only take me 10 minutes to get it out and 15 to put it in. Its worth every bit of that!
When you get bored of this just get the NYOS Quantum 160, it fits it works and it’s silent.

I can’t believe Red Sea would sell something like that in their flagship tank that doesn’t fit. Even the C Skim from ‘soviet russia’ fitted were it was supposed to!
 
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