My first marine tank, RSM 250

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Hi everyone and thank you for the great site.

After years of drooling over marines and talking about "someday" my wife has decided to surprise me with my first marine tank. I've enjoyed many of the threads on MASA and thought I would have a go at starting my own.

Any advice or assistance would be great. If you notice I'm screwing it up please let me know. I don't want to intentionally cause any harm.

Tank: Red Sea Max 250

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30 kg of live rock

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Live rock spread on two black plastic bags. Found lots of long red worms and a little pink crab between the rocks. The worms look like "bloedwurm" but that from a fisherman's point of view. Long, red, look segmented with what looks like short little legs on the side. Got rid of all of them but saw another one in the tank the next day.

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Washing and washing and washing the sand. I had to do this with tap water due to the shear amount of water needed. I drained the sand completely afterwards but it was still damp when I put it in the tank.

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I scaped outside of the tank first. My main concern was instability and therefore I didn't balance anything for fear of later avalanches. I also had some of the rock touch the back glass but didn't let anything lean against it. I suppose this compromises flow. Hope it'll be ok. Lots of caves and crannies.

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Rushing to make RO, mix salt and get it into the tank. Managed to break one of my containers and spill about 40 liters of mixed water on the driveway.

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Mixing station. RO unit from the The Waterboy (Thanks Marco!) He has been lots of help. Seachem Reefsalt.

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Salifert testers

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Refractometer.

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Saga two float ATO with time related cut off for safety. Looks great, but I haven't set it up yet.

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The dust is starting to settle

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Right side from the front

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Left side from the front

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My first skim

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First adjustment (saw it at the lfs). Disconnect two air tubes form valve, feed tubing from skimmer pump out the bag and attach small air valve. Easier to remove skimmer cup, easier to adjust air flow.


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Fantastic, exciting times. :thumbup: Looks like some really good quality live rock you've got there. Good luck with the setup.
 
Howdy bud, looks so good, you are certainly way more organised than when I started. You are going to have such fun as your tank matures. Congrats and thank your wife everyday, I know I thank my "missus" for letting me me be crazy and keep a slither of ocean in our entrance hall.

Remember, first rule, be patient, it will be tough some days, but it will pay off in the end. I speak from experience here!
 
Howdy bud, looks so good, you are certainly way more organised than when I started. You are going to have such fun as your tank matures. Congrats and thank your wife everyday, I know I thank my "missus" for letting me me be crazy and keep a slither of ocean in our entrance hall.

Remember, first rule, be patient, it will be tough some days, but it will pay off in the end. I speak from experience here!

Hi Carlos. Will do on all accounts, but waiting really does suck!
 
Or better yet...get the "missus" all involved too...does not take long before the "marine bug" gets hold of you. I have in the last 2 months , 4 people who was family also start up tanks...so yeah good luck and wish you well
 
Looking good...the worms you removed are bristle worms...should have kept them in my opinion...:)

But, very good start...will follow this thread to see progress.

Enjoy
 
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Hi. Congrats on the tank! looking great and nice looking live rock. :thumbup:

I would recommend leaving the worms - part of the cuc but get rid of the hairy crabs - they tend to cause havoc later!

I recently set up my RSM too - luckily minimal cycle as I simply transferred everything over from my Boyu TL550. Loving the tank but struggling with temperature swings - going to have to put a chiller in immediately and it isn't even that hot in Cape Town yet :p. Love the change in air value - cleaning the skimmer cup has been an absolute pain. Will definitely change mine too - thanks.

Another person that has a a RSM 250 is @brentnorm. He has added an ATO too as well as a doser - might be interesting for you to look at his thread. Another great site I have found is an American forum specifically for RSM owners: Reef Sanctuary - RSM (hope I am allowed to post this link :blush:). Lots of RSM photos and answers to all sorts of questions.

Good luck and looking forward to more pics once cycle is over!
 
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Looking good @Bendor . The waiting does put a dampner on things. On my rsm tank i am day 44 put in 5 fish on day 38. I promise time does go quickly. Part of the fun is watching things grow and move around on the live rock, and testing water params are quite relaxing:p sometimes i think i am bill nye the science guy the way i carry on:lol:. But i assure you it is worth the wait and take your time in stocking.
Just a pointer if i may. Since you up in Pietermaritzburg, consider getting a chiller. For me best investment we can get quite warm;), chat with Marco am sure he will hook you up with one at an awesome price. Mine got i got through him. Looking forward to seeing yours mature. Good luck mate
 
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Or better yet...get the "missus" all involved too...does not take long before the "marine bug" gets hold of you. I have in the last 2 months , 4 people who was family also start up tanks...so yeah good luck and wish you well

Thanks Zandy. She is keen to help pick the life stock as long as i run the tank. As long as we are both involved it will be great.
 
Hi. Congrats on the tank! looking great and nice looking live rock. :thumbup:

I would recommend leaving the worms - part of the cuc but get rid of the hairy crabs - they tend to cause havoc later!

I recently set up my RSM too - luckily minimal cycle as I simply transferred everything over from my Boyu TL550. Loving the tank but struggling with temperature swings - going to have to put a chiller in immediately and it isn't even that hot in Cape Town yet :p. Love the change in air value - cleaning the skimmer cup has been an absolute pain. Will definitely change mine too - thanks.

Another person that has a a RSM 250 is @brentnorm. He has added an ATO too as well as a doser - might be interesting for you to look at his thread. Another great site I have found is an American forum specifically for RSM owners: Reef Sanctuary - RSM (hope I am allowed to post this link :blush:). Lots of RSM photos and answers to all sorts of questions.

Good luck and looking forward to more pics once cycle is over!

My temps are around 29.5 with the lights on and it isn't even hot here yet. I am planning to get a chiller. Apparently the new Haelia range is landing this week. I walked into one of the lfs's on Friday. Spoke to the owner about marines and he said he had just shut down his 6 foot marine tank and was giving his chiller to the first person who asked about marines. I was the second!:banghead:

Thanks for the thread leads.
 
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Looking good @Bendor . The waiting does put a dampner on things. On my rsm tank i am day 44 put in 5 fish on day 38. I promise time does go quickly. Part of the fun is watching things grow and move around on the live rock, and testing water params are quite relaxing:p sometimes i think i am bill nye the science guy the way i carry on:lol:. But i assure you it is worth the wait and take your time in stocking.
Just a pointer if i may. Since you up in Pietermaritzburg, consider getting a chiller. For me best investment we can get quite warm;), chat with Marco am sure he will hook you up with one at an awesome price. Mine got i got through him. Looking forward to seeing yours mature. Good luck mate

Thanks a lot. I am planning a chiller asap! I have talking to Marco. Awesome guy to deal with.
 
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Read the package insert!

So this evening I was planning on being all McGyver. I set out my kit: Saga ATO with timer safety, 25 liter RO reservoir for inside the tank stand, pump, tubing etc.

Drilled the lid, filled the reservoir, plugged it in and dropped the float valve. Hooray! The controller clicks on, the pump is activated and ....... no water comes out the top????

My Pump has a head height of 1 meter and the height is 1.30 cm.

Viervarksteaks! What a let down and I cut the plug to the pump to fit the wire through my small neatly drilled hole, so no returns.

New plan: i am going to get a chiller and run it from the right side of the sump. Instead of two pumps with ++ wattage on the right I am going to get one +- 3000 liter/hr pump and pump from the tank to the chiller to the outlet. Should leave about 1500 lt/hr flow like the first pump. Original red sea (Sicce) 1350 lt/hr 1.8 meter head height to be used fir ATO. Tiny pump to be used for mixing salt water.

I feel a little better.

Day 2
Ammonia not tested
Nitritres zero
Critters: Three small white snails, tiny.
One small white slug. 5mm by 3mm

Pics to follow when the ATO actually works.

"Never advertise your failures. People are going to find out anyway."
 
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