Cake's RSM 130D

[onthecake]

This is my first time with a saltwater environment so be gentle.

 

 

Equipment:

RSM 130D

Tunze 9002 Skimmer

Tunze Osomlator

Koraila EVO 750

Stealth 150W Heater

InTank Media Rack and Tunze Cup

Filter Guys 75GPD RO/DI Filter

Purigen (Not in use yet)

Chemi-Pure (Not in use yet)

InTank Filter Floss

40# Bali LR

40# Arag-Alive Special Grade Reef Sand

 

 

Creatures:

2 Crabs

A couple featherdusters

After a couple months of browsing the multiple reef forums I decided on an RSM 130D.

 

I ordered it and waited. About a week later it showed up via Fedex Freight. We ended up taking it apart on the trailer because they didnt send one with a liftgate.

 

Here some unboxing pictures and the stand setup.

 

Unbox:

 

 

 

 

I waited about 4 days to place an order of the rest of my stuff as the first purchase had burned most of my cash. Finally after the wait I ordered 40# of uncured Bali LR from Premium Aquatics along with some Arag-Alive sand. The guys I talked to were very nice and helpful picking out which LR to get.

 

Since it was Friday they waited until Monday to ship the LR. I was able to just use UPS ground and get it in 2 days which saved a lot of money.

 

The LR arrived in a cardboard box but inside that was the Styrofoam container which they had packed with ice/gel packs. Each piece was wrapped in a separate piece of wet paper which was still very moist. There was no foul smell and only a tiny bit for breakage. I pulled each piece out inspected it. This stuff looks great (ok.. not an expert but it looked nice to me). There were a couple crabs attached to 2 different pieces and I think I saw some other things.

 

I removed about 1/2 the water from the tank into my trusty home depot 5G buckets then added the sand. The water turned cloudy and stayed that way. I went ahead and decided to just drop the LR into the tank until I could turn the powerheads back on and clear up some of the water. I waited about 3 hours and it was clear enough to start moving the rock around.

 

I pulled most of it back out and then started from the bottom. About 1/2 way though the water became cloudy again and I started just kinda stacking. I was trying to get the most colorful pieces in front. Once I was done I filled it back up and turned the powerheads and skimmer on.

 

Here are some of the LR pics before I put them into the tank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now I have just the filter floss and skimmer cleaning. I plan on keeping it like that until the tank has cycled. I will then add the purigen and chemi-pure to the media rack.

 

My PH is a little low at 7.85. Salinity is at 1.024-1.025

Have not run any other tests yet.

 

Some more pictures of the tank with the LR in (sorry about the murky water):

 

 

 

 

 

I will post more when it clears up.

[Jerfrog]

rockscape looks great!

[luvmyacans]

Looks good. I wouldn't worry about putting the most colorful pieces in the front, chances are you'll get some die off and eventually it'll all be covered up anyways!

[onthecake]

Thanks. I am going to move some rocks around tonight to get some better placement and prevent shifting.

 

I am kind of worried that I dropped those crabs in the tank after reading about some of the issues they can cause.

 

Based on the picture above does that look like a hostile crab? I read that if the claws are black then they are bad. I think this one has brownish claws.

[StevieT]

Great Start

 

I have added you to the RSM index thread

[onthecake]

Just moved a couple rocks around and tried to get a bit of the die-off removed from the rocks. They were definitely a lot nicer looking two days ago but I am sure they will make it back.

 

The water cleared up a couple hours after the rocks went in. I still am in search for the crabs that I think I am going to take out.

 

Current tank parameters:

 

PH 7.95

Salinity 1.025

Temp 78.5

Ammonia 0.25-0.50

Nitrite 0.1

Nitrate 10

 

I guess those are decent for tank just starting its cycle?

 

 

 

[onthecake]

I just did my first water change. I mixed up about 3.5 - 4 Gallons in a 5 gallon bucket and let it sit with a powerhead/heater overnight. I dont know that I am going to continue using the red sea coral pro salt or go with another type. I seem to keep having a low PH but have not determined if its the salt.

 

After changing out the water I did a quick PH and ALK check. I will test the rest tomorrow after it has sit for a day.

 

The rock seems to be getting some life back to it. I have been changing the filter floss about every 3 days. The water is still crystal clear.

 

I have re-done the rockscape about 4 times at this point. I think I finally have it where I really like it but think I might need to set it with some epoxy.

 

Definitely going to look into getting a ATO device as this tank is evaporating about 32 ounces a day.

 

PH 7.89

ALK 3.2

Salinity 1.025

Temp 76.8

Ammonia 0.25 (From test day before)

Nitrite 0.1 (From test day before)

 

 

 

 

[onthecake]

It has almost been 3 weeks since I started curing my LR.

 

I have added a Koralia EVO 750 and a Tunze Osmolator.

 

My ammonia and nitrites are almost at 0 so getting ready to add some livestock soon starting with snails.

 

Some pictures of the Tunze ATO and current tank pictures:

 

 

 

 

[onthecake]

I added a couple new additions last week.

 

Bluefin Damsel --- (Was told he was a semi-aggressive/reef safe damsel at LFS) After finding out more about him I don't agree with that at all. Now I know why he was separated from the other damsels.

 

Assortment of snails

5 Hermit Crabs

 

The hermit crabs seem to do nothing but eat and they have really cleaned up my rock. I love watching the snails pop out of the substrate and make a mad dash when I feed the fish.

 

LR has really come along in the last week since I have had the lights on for 13 hours a day.