Choff's RSM 650 Build

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Choff

Choff

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OK, dove in on an Neptune Apex controller. Just makes sense.

My last major purchase question for my initial set up....Reactors. Calcium? Phosphate? At a loss here and know nothing about them. I have some reading to do....and apparently some time before my tank actually arrives.
 
Choff

Choff

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It appears as if my tank is not coming anytime soon, so with more time to think I am considering moving the sump to the basement and adding a refugium. I am thinking of building something with a similar design to the Trigger Systems Elite models, just bigger. I'm thinking in the 50+ gallon range, but it will come down to how much space I have. I have a limited area in the basement and I already have the 2 35G water change drums going in, Ideally I would to design a floor to ceiling shelf structure to house all 3 in the minimum amount of floor space.

Trigger Systems - Elite vs Sump

I'm sure some folks here have some similar set ups.
 
Choff

Choff

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Took some quick measurements. The space I am looking at is 48"L x 30"W X 90"H. I have some play on L & W of a few inches. Thinking a 3 shelf stack.

Option #1

Top shelf: 23"H - Drum #1(RODI water). 24 inches left of shelf space for tank supplies
Middle Shelf: 23"H - Drum #2(Salt Mix). 24 inches left of shelf space. I would put a 20G high 24" x 12" x 16" QT tank
Bottom Shelf: 40"H - Sump+Refugium I can use a 120G tank (48X24X25)

Concerns - will 15" be enough head room for the refugium?.

OR

Top shelf: 23" - both Drums. 4 inches remain
Middle shelf: 18" - 20G L (30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 12 3/4) QT tank. 14 inches left for Shelf space
Bottom Shelf: 45" - Sump+Refugium I can use a 120G tank (48X24X25)

I like the 20 L better than 20H QT tank, but now I have to pump my RODI water to the mixer. Option 1 would be a simple gravity feed.
 
Choff

Choff

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After coming to my senses I shelved the idea of adding a refugium or larger sump in the basement. Going to run stock for a long while before I add any additional complexity to the system. I am

Got my 150# of rock plus 2 large pillars from Marco today. All I can say is wow. I was expecting a few large pieces and a lot of medium to smalls. Nope, almost all large. I may actually have to break a few to get some shapes I am after. There was really no rubble and very little breakage. Great recommendation. I will post some picts this weekend. Sand also came in as well. Just waiting on the Apex and of course the tank.

I am going to call on Monday to see if they have any status. That will be 3 weeks. I was quoted 3-4, but have since heard from other sources it may be 6 to 8 more.
 
Choff

Choff

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LFS actually called me on Friday night. Shipment of RSM's will be hitting the states in the next week or 2. Another week to get to them and about another week to me. Looking like a cinco de mayo tank building party.
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

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I've been looking at the Trigger system Sumps for my next tank.

Trigger Systems Sumps - Sumps - Aquariums & Sumps

I've not seen one in person but by the pictures the Elite worried my on skimmer footprint. Now running an external skimmer, which I'd not planned to do, the Elite would be great, it looks a lot like the flow thru my Lifereef sump.

If your getting a 650 why are you looking at sumps, it comes with one unless someting changed?

Good luck!
 
Choff

Choff

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Hey Tom, It does come with one. I was looking to do a couple of things, add a refugium, increase total water volume and move the sump into the basement. Having the sump in the basement below the display appeals to me in that it will minimize/eliminate any water work being done in the upstairs and the basement is always very cool even in the hottest summer months. I borderline will need a chiller as is, this would certainly eliminate it. So I could spend 800 bucks on a chiller that will get hardly be used, but possibly needed for a couple of months out of the year or spend that money on an upgraded pump and a 120G tank.

This simply came about as I was looking into how I was going to design my water change system. I was designing the shelving unit to house the drums and after I had the pipe system designed (on paper), I had a spare 3rd shelf that seemed like a natural fit for a large sump/refugium. So off my mind went..

I may revisit this idea in a year or so as I still think it makes a lot of sense, but for now I will keep the RSM stock and learn to work with what I have before I start adding/changing things on system I don't even have up and running yet.
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

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Understood, You could just take the 650 sump to the basement, you would need a stronger return pump to push the head pressure back up to the tank. I think I saw pictures of the 650 sump with a large open chamber to be used as needed. I'm with you, if I had that additional room I'd do a trough Sump just to add another 100 or 150 gal to the system and do everything but glass cleaning from there.

I'm wondering if the weight of the Sump in the stand adds to the stability of the stand & DT? I've never seen this talked about but the question just popped into my head talking about removing it. Maybe a question for Avid to answer. Have fun with it, space and your wallet are the only real limiting factors!
 
Choff

Choff

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Finally got around to taking some picts of the rocks from Marco. All in all pretty happy with the order. 2@15#, 9@10-12#, 3@3# and about 10 pounds of rubble. I also ordered 2 pillars not realizing how big the other rocks would be. Those came in at 12 and 13#. Using my bathroom scale I came up with 143# of rock, a bit short of 150#. On the other hand, the Pillars are only supposed to be in the 9# range so I picked up about 6# there, perhaps they viewed the order in total.

The first shot is all my gear just waiting for a tank to go in. Test kits, RODI, Salt, 35G drums, water change pump etc and the last pict are my 2 QT/Sick tanks. A 20G long and 29H. Also saw that my Apex system is set to arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to playing around with that.

Picts came out ok. Love my galaxy Nexus, but the camera is really subpar. I also put the magfloat in for size perspective on the close up coral shots.

All.jpg


2 pillars on the right.
Pillars.jpg


Close up
Rocks_Close.jpg


Vertical shots to get the height
Rocks_Vert1.jpg

Rocks_vert2.jpg


2 more of all of them
Rocks1.jpg

Rocks2.jpg


Rubble
Rubble.jpg


QT tanks
QT.jpg
 
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B

black2012

Member
Choff said:
Finally got around to taking some picts of the rocks from Marco. All in all pretty happy with the order. 2@15#, 9@10-12#, 3@3# and about 10 pounds of rubble. I also ordered 2 pillars not realizing how big the other rocks would be. Those came in at 12 and 13#. Using my bathroom scale I came up with 143# of rock, a bit short of 150#. On the other hand, the Pillars are only supposed to be in the 9# range so I picked up about 6# there, perhaps they viewed the order in total.

The first shot is all my gear just waiting for a tank to go in. Test kits, RODI, Salt, 35G drums, water change pump etc and the last pict are my 2 QT/Sick tanks. A 20G long and 29H. Also saw that my Apex system is set to arrive tomorrow. Looking forward to playing around with that.

Picts came out ok. Love my galaxy Nexus, but the camera is really subpar. I also put the magfloat in for size perspective on the close up coral shots.

All.jpg


2 pillars on the right.
Pillars.jpg


Close up
Rocks_Close.jpg


Vertical shots to get the height
Rocks_Vert1.jpg

Rocks_vert2.jpg


2 more of all of them
Rocks1.jpg

Rocks2.jpg


Rubble
Rubble.jpg


QT tanks
QT.jpg
Click to expand...

I have to say, very jealous. I think the equipment acquisition/set up process is half of the fun of owning a reef tank. It looks like you are really doing it right. That rock is killer. How are you going to set it up? Glue? Zip ties? PVC dowels?

If you're going all dry rock (like i did the second time around after some demonic hitchhikers overrun my tank) you should pick up some dr. tim's one and only. It will get you cycled really fast.
 
Choff

Choff

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Thanks for the kind words. I have to agree, I am having a ball just planning the system. It has made waiting for the tank bearable. My office is littered with about 50 scraps of paper with various water change designs, I think I may have it it finalized. May try to get into a CAD program and post it. I love anything that allows me to buy lots of gadgets.

Black, I plan on supplementing the rock with approx 40#'s of cured rock from the LFS. I also can't really pre-plan too much because I don't know how the cured rock will fit in with the other rock. I planned on using an epoxy/glue, but not sure how that will work out since I will being doing my design wet.

My rough thought right now is to have a solid "mountain" range in flat concave pattern when looking from above. I want 3 peaks with the middle peak off-center and some nice arches/pass-throughs throughout the structure. I actually don't plan on doing my scape until I have the other rock and the tank is setup and filled. Then I will tinker around for a few weeks while the water cycles. I also have the rockwork thread bookmarked. I will be going through that with a fine tooth comb. I am sure there are some great ideas I will be borrowing in there.

This is probably a silly question, but here what I don't quite get. When I look at the rock I just bought I don't see how any live corals/nems can reside on it? Don't they need a flatter surface? When I look at other reef tank picts, the rocks all look solid for the most part. I figured when I cherry pick my 40#'s I would be looking for more solid, shelf like rock for the corals. Am I off base and the other stuff is fine?
 
carlfike

carlfike

Active Member
Choff if your looking for a good scaping adhesive I use the mortar that marcorocks sells. Stuff is awesome and after a couple days in the water it blends in nice. I used a wire brush over it once I get it set and it gives it the nice dimple look like a lot of live rock.
 
Choff

Choff

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Thanks Carl, he was out of it when I purchased my rock. I just checked back and oddly, the site says he is still out of the 10lb kit, but it would let me order 2 5lb kits (of course this costs 10 bucks more to do it this way). I am going to email them to see what's up. I like that it will cure in water.
 
Choff

Choff

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I was going to ask that. They do seem like they stack really well and given that they are all 10# plus rocks do I really need to mortar them? I have no experience with LR and I read threads where people's rocks collapse or things in the tank bulldoze them around. I just can't see these being moved by a snail.

There will be a handful of smaller rocks I can see attaching with mortar or maybe where I have a less secure bridge so maybe the small kit is the way to go. I really don't want to mortar the entire thing together. I know I will want to change my scape at some point. I still have a month to chew on this...
 
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