bluesky Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 love the ghetto reactor! +1 very smart design. Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Rockscape The rockscape is finished (at least for now). The water is clear, but nitrites and nitrates are still high. So, here are some pictures of the bare rock. The Koralia 2 is pretty well hidden in the back right corner, and the Koralia Nano is behind the rocks. These rocks are full of holes, caves, and passageways. I've carefully spaced the rocks to allow clearance for the algae scraper. The algae bloom subsided a bit when I turned out the lights for 2 days. Link to comment
Lizzie1324 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Woo! Another RSM! Can't wait to see this tank stocked Great start, love the rocks. Link to comment
StevieT Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 That is some crazy rock, it looks like it will cut you up Cup and rack coming down to you soon! Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Nature made them, Marco Rocks collected them -- all I did was some room arranging! I've seen a lot of rock in aquariums and I am really happy with this stuff -- it should be worth the wait for the cycle. As far as getting cut up by the rock, this tank shouldn't be any different than every other project I do -- I ALWAYS leave some of my DNA behind on everything I build. Looking forward to the latest StevieT creations -- once I see how much room I have to work with, I'm thinking about sticking some chaeto back there and adding a fuge light. I have some lights from my Picotopes that look perfect for hacking into a fuge light that will mount under the rear flip-up lid. Link to comment
StevieT Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 some customers are using the rack to hold chaeto. They have floss or sponge on the top then an underwater LED and macro algae bellow. Link to comment
klarion Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Great looking scape. Volcanic Island paradise to be, right? Link to comment
bluesky Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 The latest rockscape looks super cool ... Link to comment
Reefmack Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Hi Jim! I found your thread easily, no thanks to Reef Cental and their Hitler type tactics of auto blocking any posted links to Nano-Reef. Great to see another RSM in the making! I wish I could follow all of the RSM threads out there, but I already get more email notifications than I can keep up with, but I'll add one more! I'm back on the path of considering a sump/fuge again, and may just do it this time. Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 Glad to have you aboard! Link to comment
hollow Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Must go ahead and echo what other people have already said and say that your rockwork is awesome. Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 The nitrite levels are finally starting to fall, as are the nitrate levels. Looks like the cycle is progressing as it should. I'm introducing a few hermits as a test to see if they survive OK. I've also put a couple small frags in the tank as a test. I've spotted a few small starfish in the crevices -- they probabily came in with some sand from a friend's tank, or with the chaeto I pulled out of my 14G. Here's the latest chemistry: RSM_Data_Log.pdf Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 Livestock Added! The cycle has completed and I spent the last two days moving corals, fish, and inverts from my BC14 to the RSM. This is the initial aquascape -- nothing is glued down as I expect to make some changes after the corals tell me if they're happy or not. So far, it's gone smoothly with no disasters. Here's the latest water report RSM_Data_Log.pdf Now for some pictures . . . Link to comment
Reefmack Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Sounds good! Need a new FTS soon! Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 29, 2008 Author Share Posted June 29, 2008 OK -- here are the pictures of the newly inhabited tank. First, a brittle star waves from his new home The required FTS This shows the overhang area on the right side of the tank. And the inhabitants . . . Now we wait to see what gets dislodged, looks unhappy, or doesn't look right. Comments, suggestions for rearranging? Link to comment
Reefmack Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Looks great to me Jim, and nice pictures! I'm not sure I'd change anything. Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 A simple idea Don't know why I haven't thought about this before -- most of us keep a magnetic algae scraper in our tanks. Eventually the wet side gets covered with algae, but the light gray color still is visible. I noticed the scraper in a number of my pictures -- and it bugged me. So -- a quick cleanup of the scraper, wipedown with acetone, and some black plastic spraypaint -- virtually invisible! Link to comment
Lizzie1324 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Looking good! Those are some nice corals, and the mag-float idea was great, I might have to do that... Link to comment
Reefmack Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 You should send that idea to Mag Float - with your charge for a great idea! Is the paint reef safe? Link to comment
JimDantin Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 The paint is like Krylon -- designed to stick to plastic. I'm not worried about it. Other reefers are spraypainting eggcrate for frag racks. But no guarantees! I'd much rather freely share ideas with other hobbiests than try to get a commercial firm to understand! Just like all the mods we make to the RSM -- obviously Red Sea isn't paying attention considering the specs of their new model. Link to comment
Reefmack Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 I'll have to agree on the freely sharing ideas! I think Red Sea did pay attention to some of the comments they've gotten in reading forums. The new 250 liter layout looks improved in back, the media is in a better location, and the skimmer sounds like a better type of skimming system than the junk that we got with our RSMs. Time will tell on that. On the new RSM 130D - not much difference there other than a digital timer and a little surface skimmer add-on that allows you to run the water level higher, and still get good surface skimming. I'm wondering if that surface skimmer gizmo also cuts the flow in the back. I think that part will eventually be available to us owners of the older model. Any guesses on whether Krylon would also be OK? Did you avoid the Krylon for some reason? Link to comment
StevieT Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 wow, great idea on the paint, I would guess something would come out of your mind. I might have to try that if I can get the coralline off, or just leave it purple for now. Very impressive though, I try and hide it up by the return pumps but the black really would make it invisable in a newer tank! Link to comment
JimDantin Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 I would recommend using Krylon brand plastic compatible paint -- I couldn't find a can of Krylon when i went shopping, so I bought Sherwin-Williams version. Link to comment
hollow Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 very cool idea with the mag float seems so simple you would assume someone would have already commercially thought of it. thinking outside the box Link to comment
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