New Red Sea Max

[RedSeaGal]

Hi RSG -

 

I went ahead and bought this great system over the weekend instead of the much bigger aquarium. I will just have to resist in getting any tangs for a while until a later time when I can convince my wife on a much bigger tank....lol

 

Anyway, what happened to your fuge? Why did you end up taking it off? I was thinking of adding one to mine. Also, do you find that when everything is running (lights, pumps & skimmer), it is pretty loud, specially the skimmer? My LFS has a beautiful one setup which definitely got my attention and convinced me of getting it, but because of the environment inside the store, hearing just the RSM was almost impossible.

 

Hi elmar~Good to hear from you again! Congratulations on your new Red Sea Max!! I think you are going to love it! I LOVE mine! You will have to take lots of pics and let me know everything, step by step that you do!! I am like you...I really wanted a tang, found one the other day that had the greatest little personality..wanted to bring him home sooooo bad, but... I managed to resist!

 

You know, I took the fuge out because my eyes just kept focusing on it first, it just kind of drove me crazy!

But, what I am doing...I left some room between the back wall and my live rock and I have some chaeto and some live rock rubble and some algae that had been pulled out of a tank full of pods and I just have it all piled up behind my rock, and it seems to be keeping my scooter blennies happy enough. My water also has never had any nitrates over a trace. I may still put that fuge back in my tank if I find other reasons that I need it, but I mainly wanted it for pods, and the back thing is working pretty good. Eventually I may use it for frags, but not sure about that either!

 

If you need any help with the filtration..what to use and where to put it, just let me know..my tank is looking pretty crystal clear. I put some filter floss in this morning and it really polished it good! Don't be surprised if you have lots of bubbles, they will go away with time. Mine come and go, just according to what I am doing with the tank.

 

My tank is in my office, right beside my desk ..and it's pretty quiet. I hear the fans but nothing, like real annoying. I really don't even pay attention to them anymore. It's a little bit louder with the skimmer running but still nothing annoying. I do have a fan that rattles pretty bad right when the lights come on but after a couple of minutes it quiets back down. If it's really loud, you might want to send an email to Red Sea, on their website... from what I hear they are pretty helpful.

 

So, do you have the water in it yet? What have you done so far??

 

I am SO excited for you!! to the Red Sea Max family!!

[RedSeaGal]

How's the tank doing RSG, any new additions?

 

Hi Phixion~tank is doing good....I got 8 Zoa frags today!! I put them in and they are just sitting on the bottom right now. I am waiting for them to open, it's been about 2 hours and so far only a couple look like they are trying to. Can't wait to see them open and then start putting them where I want them!!

 

I saw my scooter blennies swimming to the top of the water, side by side, looked like they even had their fins locked together, it was pretty darned cute! So they are falling in love and the clowns are doing good, I have seen the male do his little dance for the female and when the lights go off, they stay together in the same corner of the tank, so hopefully they are falling in love too!

 

I will take lots of pics, once I learn how to, on my new camera! Thanks again, Matt!!

[StevieT]

You don't need to wait till they open to move them, unless you are waiting to see what they look like so you can place them by color etc. Do you have the glue and or putty ready?! I bet you are pumped, good luck and have a great holiday.

[RedSeaGal]

You don't need to wait till they open to move them, unless you are waiting to see what they look like so you can place them by color etc. Do you have the glue and or putty ready?! I bet you are pumped, good luck and have a great holiday.

 

Hi Steve! That is good to know because I was afraid of, what I have read, "sunburning" them, cause some of my rocks are pretty close to the lights. Do you know how long it takes for them to open up? It's been about 3 hours now and still nothing has opened completely up, some don't even look like they are trying to! Oh, also..I got some neon green and red blastos and they are on this ugly plug, am I able to take them off of that? Or should I leave them alone?

 

I used all your suggestions on the filtration and I got some filter floss today, put it in and my water has never looked better! Once again, I have to say~ I am very grateful to you for all the great advice you have given me, it has made my experience a lot more fun than worrisome and I DO appreciate it!!

 

Here's wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

[StevieT]

Well you're very welcome again. I am glad I am not heading you down the wrong path! haha.

 

I wouldn't worry about "sunburning" them under T-5 lighting, most likely they were grown under MH and they will be fine. It may take a light cycle for them to open up. If they don't open yet today (might happen) they should be open by tomorrow. Only one of my zoa frags took more than a day to open, this bugger took a week!!! It must have been pretty mad.

 

You can remove them from that nasty plug. Most likely it will just pop off if you give it a little pressure. Otherwise use a screw driver or a razor. I have kept a few SPS pieces on the plug but they fit right into some holes in the live rock, you can't see the plug.

 

Good luck, I can't wait to see pictures.

[RedSeaGal]

Well you're very welcome again. I am glad I am not heading you down the wrong path! haha.

 

I wouldn't worry about "sunburning" them under T-5 lighting, most likely they were grown under MH and they will be fine. It may take a light cycle for them to open up. If they don't open yet today (might happen) they should be open by tomorrow. Only one of my zoa frags took more than a day to open, this bugger took a week!!! It must have been pretty mad.

 

You can remove them from that nasty plug. Most likely it will just pop off if you give it a little pressure. Otherwise use a screw driver or a razor. I have kept a few SPS pieces on the plug but they fit right into some holes in the live rock, you can't see the plug.

 

Good luck, I can't wait to see pictures.

 

OH...I just took a look at them and some of them are on stalks and they look like they are drooping to the bottom!! Is that normal???

[StevieT]

Hard to tell without a picture, but I would expect that they are fine. Zoas are really hardy and ship very well. Give it a few days before you start worring. They might pop open tomorrow just fine, if they are longer stalks yes this is normal, only the head retracts and the stalk droops

[Phixion]

I wouldn't worry much about the zoas yet, sometimes mine don't open right away, and sometimes they open within minutes. They should be open by tomorrow though I'd imagine. How did you acclimate them out of curiosity? And yes, please DO post pics when you're able to, hehe!

[RedSeaGal]

The zoas are not opening up but they have quit drooping so much, some even seem to have perked up...so I will just stay calm and wait!!

 

I just let them float in the bag for 15 min and then I put them in...a few of them dropped in the water before I wanted them to though and some of the bag water got into my water I had 8 bags floating at the same time and i saw a bristle worm and in the process of trying to catch it, which I did, knocked some bags around and there ya go! I will handle it a little different next time!

 

Staying calm.......

[StevieT]

Use a bucket with a heater next time. Otherwise just FW dip them and chuck them in.

[Phixion]

That's fine then. A fellow reefer convinced me to dunk some zoas in the tank straight from the bag WITHOUT even floating the bag, and all turned out well. Those zoas started opening up in less than a half hour!! I'm hoping you didn't mean catch the birstle worm with your hands, lol! If so, you're A LOT braver than I am! But yeah, due to light, tank params and such, some will open up faster than others of course. Ones that don't open today, most certainly should by tomorrow. It's a debatable matter, but some argue that it's best to add corals when the lights are off, in which case you won't usually see them open till the daylight period anyways.

[StevieT]

I also have been talked into this way of introducing a new coral. I am told to let them slime up for about 10-30 seconds out of the water then just introduce them into the reef. A FW dip is good.

 

So far so good, this is how i do corals now, no floating, no drip acclimation. All is good and they open up really fast.

[Phixion]

Hey, another step eliminated, less fuss time.

[StevieT]

no kidding !! I am happy it works out this way, babysitting allimation is a pain in the A$$

[elmar]

Hi elmar~Good to hear from you again! Congratulations on your new Red Sea Max!! I think you are going to love it! I LOVE mine! You will have to take lots of pics and let me know everything, step by step that you do!! I am like you...I really wanted a tang, found one the other day that had the greatest little personality..wanted to bring him home sooooo bad, but... I managed to resist!

 

You know, I took the fuge out because my eyes just kept focusing on it first, it just kind of drove me crazy!

But, what I am doing...I left some room between the back wall and my live rock and I have some chaeto and some live rock rubble and some algae that had been pulled out of a tank full of pods and I just have it all piled up behind my rock, and it seems to be keeping my scooter blennies happy enough. My water also has never had any nitrates over a trace. I may still put that fuge back in my tank if I find other reasons that I need it, but I mainly wanted it for pods, and the back thing is working pretty good. Eventually I may use it for frags, but not sure about that either!

 

If you need any help with the filtration..what to use and where to put it, just let me know..my tank is looking pretty crystal clear. I put some filter floss in this morning and it really polished it good! Don't be surprised if you have lots of bubbles, they will go away with time. Mine come and go, just according to what I am doing with the tank.

 

My tank is in my office, right beside my desk ..and it's pretty quiet. I hear the fans but nothing, like real annoying. I really don't even pay attention to them anymore. It's a little bit louder with the skimmer running but still nothing annoying. I do have a fan that rattles pretty bad right when the lights come on but after a couple of minutes it quiets back down. If it's really loud, you might want to send an email to Red Sea, on their website... from what I hear they are pretty helpful.

 

So, do you have the water in it yet? What have you done so far??

 

I am SO excited for you!! to the Red Sea Max family!!

 

Thanks! I've closely been following your thread and it has given me some good direction on how to set up my tank. I filled it with water and some 20lbs of live rock this last Saturday (11/17/07). I am actually going to a LFS right after work today so that I may pick up some more rock. I've also ordered some Purigen and Chemi-Pure so that I may replace the bio-balls that are in my 1st (left) compartment. I almost ordered the small CPR Fuge, but decided to wait and see how you were handling that. I too would hate to have it a distraction, so i might do what you have done and keep a small biological filtration in the back somewhere. What is filter floss and what is its purpose?

[StevieT]

don't go with any bio filtration in the back, your live rock can handle this. Filter floss is like cotton or poly filter. You can find it anywhere, even walmart in the sewing section for dirt cheep. What it does is polish off the water, it catches every little piece of detritus. Run it for 10 days and throw it out or replace.

[Phixion]

Tony died last night. Apparently he ventured out of his burrow up to the top intake grate of me tank and got sucked up against it.

[Hodge]

Hi,

I'm a fellow RSM owner (running since Aug) and I thought I would share a few experiences based on some of your posts.

 

Astrea snails (12) they do a great job on algae (easy to tip em back over if they fall)

Added 2 turbo snails... back glass is clean now

I've got 2 peppermint shrimp and they're pretty cool to watch

I've got an emerald crab who works non stop

I've got blue and scarlet crabs... not really impressed with there effort compared to the snails.

 

Not sure if you're still dosing calcium but wouldn't worry about it yet. Weekly 10-20 % water changes will be fine unless you're stocking finicky hard corals.

 

Plan what you want for corals and fish...cuz you'll run out of room with all the options out there. lol

 

I'll post a pic of mine tomorrow after I get my new corals in (colt, trumpet, devils hand)

[RedSeaGal]

Tony died last night. Apparently he ventured out of his burrow up to the top intake grate of me tank and got sucked up against it.

 

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Tony!!

You must have a pretty good suction on your tank, mine wouldn't suck up anything like that, it's not very powerful at all.

 

Poor Tony HUGS

[RedSeaGal]

Hi,

I'm a fellow RSM owner (running since Aug) and I thought I would share a few experiences based on some of your posts.

 

Astrea snails (12) they do a great job on algae (easy to tip em back over if they fall)

Added 2 turbo snails... back glass is clean now

I've got 2 peppermint shrimp and they're pretty cool to watch

I've got an emerald crab who works non stop

I've got blue and scarlet crabs... not really impressed with there effort compared to the snails.

 

Not sure if you're still dosing calcium but wouldn't worry about it yet. Weekly 10-20 % water changes will be fine unless you're stocking finicky hard corals.

 

Plan what you want for corals and fish...cuz you'll run out of room with all the options out there. lol

 

I'll post a pic of mine tomorrow after I get my new corals in (colt, trumpet, devils hand)

Hi Hodge! I may have to add some different snails, I have about 3 banded Trochus that will only touch the rocks right now. I did get a lot of the algae off the back wall today but I am noticing that I have these brown stringy things all over everything!! Maybe with time, it will all go away!

 

I only dosed calcium about a week ago and its still around 420, so like you said, I think I am not going to worry about it anymore until I get some corals. Then I will test it and see.

 

I know what you mean about running out of room, there is so much to want! I have 2 clowns and 2 scooter blennies and that's all the fish I want. But I could go crazy on the corals!! What kind of things do you have in your tank?

Looking forward to your pics!!

[Phixion]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Tony!!

You must have a pretty good suction on your tank, mine wouldn't suck up anything like that, it's not very powerful at all.

 

Poor Tony HUGS

 

Thanks for the hugs for Tony! The strange thing is I see snails and stomapods and even the limpet in my tank walking all over the grate all the time with no isses. My other fish have gone near it with no issues, so I wonder if maybe Tony swam out, the clownfish nipped at it enough to injur it, and then it just floated up to there, I dunno really... It did look kinda torn up on the top fins when i took it out, but that could have been from the water suction... I just dunno why it would have left it's burrow like that in the first place. =/

[Hodge]

I've got some more corals arriving on the plane this morning. I'll post a pic when I'm done.

Coral stock list so far:

Star polyps

Frog spawn

3 different kinds of shrooms

Zoa frags (12)

Brain coral frag

Colt coral

Trumpet coral

Devils hand

Clove polyps

Toadstool coral

 

I've tried to stay with easier to keep/fast growing softies. Weekly water changes (5 gal) have kept all parameters in check so far but will be starting calcium supplements this week. I live in a small town without a lfs and have had to order my corals. Pests are my biggest worry as I don't have a quarantine tank. So far I've had aipstasia and a small majano arrive on a coral which I had to nuke (hot water syringe technique worked). Last night I found a few flatworms on a mushroom ( I siphoned them out with a turkey baster). I really don't want to use chemicals for pest control...hope I don't have too.

The whole sw experience has been great and the RSM has made it fairly easy.

[RedSeaGal]

Ok, here is a FTS with my new digital camera..still waiting for the zoas to open, params are all good, so..maybe they are just really ticked off!

[RedSeaGal]

More pics of zoas and frogspawn, the frogspawn is not open all the way, usually it drapes down to the rocks but the last several days, I can see underneath it. Any suggestions?? Water params all good. Just fed it this morning also.

[RedSeaGal]