Kitchen Shoals Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Hey Folks, Just started a Red Sea Max 32 Gal Reef Tank today...Set everything up as per directions (following Red Sea manual and "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta)...Tested with straight tap water, then siphoned, dried out, wiped clean, and filled with salt water from my local supplier (who I will be getting Live Rock from)...So far, just have the Max set up box stock, with filter media from the kit, protein skimmer with both black and white sponges in, and stock canopy lights and thermometer...Just letting the water acclimate, no 'rock or substrate in the tank yet...Params are 81 F , 1.022-1.023 grav Ph 8.0... Because I've started with established water, how long should I wait before introducing Live Rock from the same ssource as the water? The Rock will be cured already, so I won't need to wait as long as I would have if I mixed the salt water from scratch, right? Also, how do I post pictures that I have from my digital camera on the message...They don't have URL addresses, as they are straight from my Sony camera memory stick... This forum is an awsome wealth of information, have been reading almsot non stop since Friday night, as I have a lot of catching up to do....The tank is a surprise for my girlfriend's birthday, she will be back home in a few weeks...Hope I can have something crawling around the Live Rock by then! Thanks for any and all suggestions... Dr. Franz in NJ Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 46 views and no takers? I guess everything must sound good, huh? Tank is stable, although a little on the warm side (84* today)....Guess I better install the free cooling fan in the back of the hood.... Quote Link to comment
mrnugget Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Dr. Franz, to NR from a fellow Jersey RSM owner! I'm not in the best position to give you advice, but wanted to let you know I'm about two weeks into my RSM setup, and while I defer to the other experts here for better advice, and I can share my experience with you. First, on pictures, advice I was given was to use photobucket - free account, and easy cut and paste into messages for pictures. www.photobucket.com Second, regarding the liverock, if your tank is stable (temp and salinity), should be ok to add the rock. For me, I did the rock first, then 40lbs of livesand after the rock was positioned, and cleaned the excess sand off the liverock with a turkey baster. Some folks do sand first, but you do have to deal with the cloudy water when trying to rockscape. Being two weeks in, I'm dealing with a good deal of diatom algae (in part because of my water source, in part because it's a normal part of the cycle), and I've added a few snails to help with that. If your goal is to have a good looking tank in a few weeks, I can't offer too much hope from here - gotta go thru the uglies to get to the prize. Your experience may differ. Lastly, I'd suggest you take a look at the LONG thread StevieT has posted regarding his experiences with the RSM... I found it VERY helpful, and Stevie has been great at providing me advice over the last few weeks. Oh, and if you've found a good LFS in Jersey, please share! I haven't had too much luck finding one yet... mr.n Quote Link to comment
StevieT Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 hello!!! welcome to n-r and it is always good to see more RSM tanks out there. I would recommend looking through my thread, it is full of info on how to set up the tank, and what not to do. It goes over my progression and learning curve and a lot of problem solving can be found inside. It is indexed on the first page for easy access to topics, just click my signature to open the link. On the rock, throw it in, start that cycling, there is no reason to wait on it. Because it is fully curred you may not see much in the way of an ammonia or nitrite spike, so add live stock slowly, that of course would be further down the road. Remove the bio balls. remove the white sponge floss thing. Throw both away. Most with the RSM end up upgrading the skimmer to a Tunze 9002. The stock skimmer doesn't perform very well, it is loud, and HUGE. There are other option for better filtration after replacement. Good luck, if you have any questions shoot them my way, or post on the site, there is a great group of RSM owners that are ready to answer pretty much anything. -steve Quote Link to comment
smarsh Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 +1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Welcome and everything you need to know is located on StevieTs thread. Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi MrNugget, Thanks for the response....My local shop is Tropiquarium, located in Ocean Township on Rt. 35 South...Depending on where in central Jersey you are, they may or may not be convenient for you. They have a very large store, with a very large selection of Marine and Freshwater species, as well as a salt and RO fresh water faucets, straight from their system, which made my set up a little easier...You can search them on the net, or PM me and I'll give you their number if you're interested... Thanks again! Dr Franz Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 StevieT, I feel I know you a bit after reading your lengthy journal....Very, very helpful info....I picked up a Koralia 2 pump today, along with the chemi pure for the "chamber of death", and when the live rock goes in this weekend, the bioballs and white filter are getting fired out to the trash...I'll put up with the box-stock POS skimmer until the first big cleaning, by then I'll be sure to have the Tunze set up...I'll probably need to set up a chiller for next spring/summer, as I typically don't run the A/C very much in the house (It's a Jersey Shore thing, I'm two blocks from Sandy Hook, so the windows and fans blow sea air through the house all day)...I don't want to cook my new nano reef! My local shop has plenty of cured 'rock ready to go, any suggestions of which types I should try to get or avoid? Thanks for taking the time to chronical all of this useful info on this great forum! Dr Franz in Jersey PS Is that "Gill" from Finding Nemo hanging on the wall behind your OfficeMax? Thanx again.... +1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Welcome and everything you need to know is located on StevieTs thread. Smarsh, Thanks for the heads up....Your Max seemed to go together well...I read your thread as well... Thanks for sharing... Dr Franz in Jersey Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share Posted October 5, 2008 (edited) Hey Gang, The new RSMax is wet and running since last Sunday...Just added some Fiji Live rock Friday...about 35lbs...I'm gonna try to figure out this photobucket posting thing for some pics...I could use some help with my lame rock scape... Any suggestions for a better 'scape? Thanks... Dr Franz in NJ Edited October 8, 2008 by Kitchen Shoals Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 5, 2008 Author Share Posted October 5, 2008 How do I fix my last post....The photos uploaded came in all in a row sideways and stretched the page out... Sorry for my ignorance, but I'm new to this photobucket thing! Dr Franz in NJ Quote Link to comment
davidr2340 Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 Hey Gang,The new RSMax is wet and running since last Sunday... Just added some Fiji Live rock Friday... About 35lbs...I'm gonna try to figure out this photobucket posting thing for some pics... I could use some help with my lame rock scape... Any suggestions for a better 'scape? Thanks... Dr Franz in NJ Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 (edited) Thanks, but how do I fix it? Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and.... Thanks... Dr Franz in NJ Edited October 6, 2008 by Kitchen Shoals Quote Link to comment
StevieT Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 It looks like you could use a little bit more rock, or just rescape it. To me it is just a pile of rocks right now. But aquascaping is the toughest part, I think mine took over 2 hours! I think you have your codes mixed in with text. Next time do this akfdklajfldskj typing kanfdslkfd typing kdkdkd[img/] more codes For now, go to Edit, full edit and seperate them with the enter key, that should clear it up nicely. If you are having problems getting the rock to fit, you can always break larger pieces up with a hammer. Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey Gang, It's been a week since the 'rock went into the tank....Now I'm getting wavy brown algae on many of the rocks and also on the substrate....Is it time for a clean up crew? Water params are 79*avg., Ph 8.2, SG 1.024, Ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0.1....Also, I'm starting to see a few little micro- centipede looking critters crawling in and around the live rock... Here are 2 pics of the algae... Thanks for any advice.... Dr Franz in NJ Quote Link to comment
mrnugget Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey Gang, It's been a week since the 'rock went into the tank....Now I'm getting wavy brown algae on many of the rocks and also on the substrate....Is it time for a clean up crew? Water params are 79*avg., Ph 8.2, SG 1.024, Ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0.1....Also, I'm starting to see a few little micro- centipede looking critters crawling in and around the live rock... Here are 2 pics of the algae... Thanks for any advice.... Dr Franz in NJ Hey Dr. F. Sounds and looks like you've got the diatom bloom starting, normal part of the process. Also sounds like your nitrogen cycle is underway, so not sure on how to answer the 'when' part of the question... some will say to wait until you see 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites before adding any living things, even snails. For me, with 0's on all the parameters, I added 2 turbo snails, followed by 3 astrea snails and a fighting conch. The turbos only come out at night, but they clean rocks, glass, and will cross the sand. The astreas will clean the rock, and migrate to the glass (one rock is close), but won't venture on the sand. The fighting conch is the sand cleaner.... had diatom all over the sand, and in a week he had it cleaned up and was digging for more. Hope that helps, someone wiser than I might be able to steer you in the right direction for timing. mrn Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hope that helps, someone wiser than I might be able to steer you in the right direction for timing. mrn Thanks Mr Nugget, Maybe I'll wait a bit more, unless I hear different from StevieT or SDT.... Sounds like your Max is moving right along well.... Did you get to look at the site for Tropiquarium in Ocean NJ? They are a great LFS near the shore... Thanks again.. Dr Franz Quote Link to comment
mrnugget Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Did you get to look at the site for Tropiquarium in Ocean NJ?They are a great LFS near the shore... Thanks again.. Dr Franz I did! If I get down that way, I'll be sure to stop in. Lately, haven't had much time for road trips... Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Nice start with your 34 Gal RSMax! As far as your aquascape, I would definitely add a little more live rock and make some caves. And with your question about adding a cleanup crew, I would probably wait until you get your algae bloom. It freaked me out the first time I got it - hahaha! Anyhow, what are your plans for fish and corals? Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Nice start with your 34 Gal RSMax! As far as your aquascape, I would definitely add a little more live rock and make some caves. And with your question about adding a cleanup crew, I would probably wait until you get your algae bloom. It freaked me out the first time I got it - hahaha! Anyhow, what are your plans for fish and corals? So what I'm seeing now is not algae? It's diatom bloom? Cool, atleast something is happening! I've got close to 40lbs of rock in there so far, and there are plenty of nooks and crannies that you can't see in my lousy pictures! Anyway, as for fish/coral plans, I'm prolly gonna go with the recipe of a pair of clowns, a gramma, a jawfish, and I'll take advice from the forum and my LFS for the coral... Thanks for the info/suggestions... Dr Franz in NJ I did! If I get down that way, I'll be sure to stop in. Lately, haven't had much time for road trips... Thanks for the tip! No Problem! Hope you can check them out sometime... Cheers... Dr Franz Quote Link to comment
Kitchen Shoals Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 Hi Folks! Bringing this thread back from the dead! Back in 2012, Hurricane Sandy, the flood, and 15 days of power out basically killed everything in my 32 Gal RSMax tank.... I cleaned up everything back then, bought some new coral sand substrate, and basically ignored the dry tank since then... A new Aquarium shop recently located here in NJ, I visited them the other day, and now I've been inspired to start up my original tank again! Quick question....What's the best way to clean the inside surfaces of the tank and filter chamber for a re-start? Looks like quite a bit has changed since I started this tank originally in '07-08! Thanks for any insight into cleaning for the re-start! Cheers! Franz in NJ Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.