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Dan's RSM 130D


Dan.

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Hi everyone,

 

I have ordered a RSM 130D in Black that will hopefully be with me this time next week! :D

 

I have been reading many threads on Nano-reef and thought I would document my progress on here to both help me keep track of how my tank is progressing, and to also show my mistakes so that new RSM owners do not do the same!

 

I currently have a 180L bowfront tank which I have had some success with, but it is not what I want it to be. I will therefore be transferring my Live Rock, 2 black and white clownfish and all of my LPS and SPS corals to the new tank over the course of the next couple of weeks if all goes to plan.

 

As the tank is 23" high, or at least that is what Red Sea claim on their website, I will be drilling my Live Rock and using acrylic rods and epo putty to gain height and stability. I have never done this before, so should be interesting, but I will post pictures when I get around to doing it!

 

For flow I have a Vortech MP10w ES that I plan on putting on the top right of the back wall. I have seen others who have done this so it must be possible. I think that this should give adequate flow, and leave little dead spots.

 

I also plan to move my Tunze Osmolator over to the new tank, providing I can find a place where I can put it.

 

Any comments, criticism and help will be most appreciated! If I can make my tank look half as good as some of them on here then I will over the moon! :)

 

Ps, If any RSM 130D owners on here read this and get the chance, it would be most appreciated if they could note on here the actual dimensions of the glass part of the tank, excluding the chambers at the back!

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Congrats on the RSM! I just got one myself and I love it. The dimentions are on their website along with a little video.

 

Try some creative scaping, its quite fun and not that hard.

 

Check out EZ's thread, he just made one for the first time and it came out great. Also, check out my thread, I made one too.

 

The lighting is good on the RSM, but not good enough for SPS imo.

 

I see you've seen Stevie T's journal. That's why I have an RSM as well. Take the time and read it cover to cover.

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Thanks! :)

 

So is the tank actually 20" deep? I wasn't sure if that was the distance from the front of the tank to the back, including the rear chamber...meaning that the tank was actually only say 16" deep.

 

I have just read your thread, and love your scape. Lets hope it doesn't prove too difficult for me. Yes I am slightly worried about my SPS (Acropora, Montipora, Seriatopora, Millepora) as they will have to put into the tank after a relatively short time period of the tank being set up. I will put them towards the very top and see how that goes (fingers crossed!) Im hoping to avoid my tank going through a mini-cycle.

 

I have heard that the stock skimmer is relatively noisy, i'm hoping its not actually too bad.

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Yes the tank is 20" high, bottom to top rim, (outside measurement). It's 15" wide not including the rear chamber and 24" across the front.

 

Based on Stevie's build, I budgeted and did the mods from the start. Can't argure with success.

 

I highly recommend the media rack and the tunze skimmer mods right off the bat, trust me you'll be glad you did.

 

I also did the JBJ ATO, very cool and makes top off trouble free.

 

Next should be the MP10, especially with your corals and do yourself a big favor and get the ecotech batteryback up. It's a life saver, literally.

 

Someday I'm gonna get me a Radion light as well.

 

OK, so now all you need is another extra $1,000 ++, to get started!

 

Of course do what you can as you see fit, have fun and keep us posted with pics!

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Small update:

 

The tank will (hopefully) be with me tomorrow! I can't wait!! :eek:

 

I am trying to come up with some sort of plan of how to do things tomorrow. I need to move all of my livestock into bags and in a tub of tank temperature water. Then move all of my rock into a vat whilst im getting rid of the old tank and cleaning up the space the tank was in. Then assemble my new tank and position it, drill my rock and aquascape (still undecided on how I want my tank to look) and re-stock it Friday morning after everything has settled down!

 

I am hoping that all of my corals will be ok in the bag for 24hr!! :/

 

Lots of pictures to come tomorrow night/Friday morning! :)

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I have had mine for about 7 months. Working great so far.

You can do SPS/Clam in upper 1/3 per Stevie T. He has gone Halide and now Ecotech Radion but he seemed pretty successful with stock lighting initially.

I have Porites porites in bottom of tank, doing well, not growth though.

I just got some test Acropora sp. in top 1/3, doing well after two weeks so far.

My BTA doing well too.

 

I kept everything stock except extra Current USA LED strips @ 453 nm for better pigment florescence and shimmer. Doing well and my nutrient levels are zero. Most people also please with the inTank modifications (Tunze 9002 skimmer and media rack).

 

Good luck, it is a great tank despite some minor short comings.

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Right, this is my first proper post!

 

I got the tank on Thursday much to my excitement, and I was then faced with the task of shutting down my old tanks, moving it and putting my new RSM 130D in its place! :)

 

I had to do all of this by myself, and to help me not stress out so much, I decided not to take photographs all of the way through the process! I wish I had my gf with me at the time to put her in charge, but she was banished for the day whilst I move the tanks as she doesn't understand why I get so stressed out of it!

 

So I moved my old tank without any issues and bagged all of my corals and fish in a bucket and set the RSM up. I am really impressed with the build quality and the design of the whole thing - couldn't be happer! :)

 

I was then challenged with my aquascape, which to my surprise I did first time! :o Which has never ever happened to me! I scaped my tank dry to avoid getting very wet and didn't have any problems. Drilling the rock was easier than I imagined too, and this was the first scape that I came up with;

 

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I felt that the left hand structure was not tall enough, so I drilled and added another smaller piece to the top

 

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So once I was at this stage, I began filling up and let the tank settle for 24hrs. Friday noon time I began adding all of my corals and fish. They were obviously sulking alot so i didn't bother taking a photo. But this is how the tank stands today, although the corals are still sulking alot, you get the impression.

 

FTS December 2011

 

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Right structure

 

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Left structure

 

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B+W Clowns

 

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Full tank

 

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I am really happy with the way things have turned out and hope the tank will thrive. I have not had any issues with the skimmer at all - just put a air valve on the end and its near silent now and producing a nice dry brown foam :)

 

I have also installed my Ecotech Vortech MP10w ES and put on the back wall. I have this on 50% Ecotech TSM (Tidal Swell Mode) and love it!

 

I have also installed a Tunze Osmolater too to help with evaporation.

 

If anyone has any comments, criticism and advice then please post, it will be most appreciated! Thanks for reading!

 

Dan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Photo Update:

 

Well my tank has been fully salted for 3 weeks now, and thought I would share a couple of photos that I have just taken. My DSLR is still without batteries, so ive had to use my iPhone so I apologise for the quality but you get the jist of things :)

 

Euphyllia ancora

 

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Favia Sp

 

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Bubble

 

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Duncans

 

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Zoas

 

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Hystrix

 

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I now have a couple of random shots I thought I would share! :)

 

Snail ride

 

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Little hermit

 

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Reflection

 

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And finally a few top down shots!

 

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Clown's think its feeding time :)

 

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Thanks for looking, and as always comments and criticisms are most welcome.

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Nice shots Everything sure does look happy.

 

Wow man tank looks great. Love that scape

 

Thankyou! :blush:

 

Hey Dan, Great job on everything! Love the scape, it came out great! Did you mount that MP in the electrical box?

 

Yes it's in the electrical box. I didn't use the stock heater for fear of it sticking and boiling my livestock. So my heater is wired up to a ATC300 which controls the temperature.

 

That meant I could put the MP10 in its space without any issues at all! I can remove the electrical box fully without disturbing the motor. I think it gives the tank more of a sleek look :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well I have had my tank up and running for one month now!

 

So far I am really enjoying this tank, and there are no real negatives so far. I'm sure as the tank progresses I will find certain things that could be improved.

 

All of my corals are happy under the lighting, apart from the echinopora lamellosa which is either struggling with the low lighting compared to my previous halides, or it is changing colour as I have heard this can happen. Either way I am watching it closely as I don't want to loose this piece.

 

I feel like I want to add some more fish, but I really am unsure at the moment. I dont want anything too big that will add large amounts to the bio load, or too territorial and annoy my clownfish. I have my eyes peeled to find a nice suitable addition.

 

Anyway, I want to try and add a picture each month to show its natural progression. Hope you like! :)

 

January Full Tank Shot

 

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Side View

 

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Thanks for looking!

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Today has not been a good reefkeeping day for me! :tears:

 

My favourite coral, my echinopora lamellosa colony, has not being doing so well in this tank. It was too low in my RSM I think, and could only save a small frag.

 

My poor lamellosa colony

 

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Out came the chopping board! :(

 

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and.........my tiny little frags!

 

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I think the light should be bright enough where I have placed it at the back of the tank.

 

However on a small plus side, I now have room for another coral where it used to be. Im thinking a nice large piece of encrusting montipora, or any usual montipora. Open to suggestions if anyone has any ideas what would look good, doesnt have to be montipora!

 

Also, just my a 10% weekly water change, so needless to say my tank isnt in the happiest of moods at the moment!

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Well doctor, it looks like the operation was a success!!

 

I'm certainly no expert, but that coral, which is beautiful btw, didn't look too bad/sick in the pic.

 

With the stock lighting, I would place it much higher.

 

Have you ever played with the easy to keep NPS like sun corals or other dendros?? I have not, but am thinking about it down the road. I know you have to feed them, but that doesn't sound too hard.

 

Keep the beautiful pics coming!!!!

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Well doctor, it looks like the operation was a success!!

 

I'm certainly no expert, but that coral, which is beautiful btw, didn't look too bad/sick in the pic.

 

With the stock lighting, I would place it much higher.

 

Have you ever played with the easy to keep NPS like sun corals or other dendros?? I have not, but am thinking about it down the road. I know you have to feed them, but that doesn't sound too hard.

 

Keep the beautiful pics coming!!!!

 

Yea I think It was a success i think! If I had left it for much longer I think I would have lost the whole colony. It's now at the same height as the Hystrix, so im hoping it wil be okay!

 

I would personally stay away from Dendros. They need constant feeding and will usually not end well. Sun Corals however, they tend to be more manageable with target feeding been able to sustain them. I am considering a getting a small sun coral frag, but at the moment I dont think I will as I dont want to add too much food into the tank with such a small about of water, relatively speaking. If you were to go down the NPS route, a nice black sun coral would look awesome in your tank in my opinion! B)

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I was curious if you've done the NPS thing. So what are you thinking of putting in that new empty realestate?

 

I did have a really nice dendro when I first started out a few years ago, however when it wasn't looking good after around 6 weeks, with twice a day feeding, I gave it to a friend who keeps alot of NPS corals specifically and it was went back to its former glory!

 

I really want a nice piece of Montipora, something unusual! If I was go to down the montipora route, I would definitely have either plating or encrusting. Do you have any ideas?

 

6 weeks or so ago, I had some problems with my mac and lost 12 months of data! I was going to add a recent picture of previous tank, but the closest I can find is it a picture around a year before I downgraded. The green staghorn grew like wildfire in that tank!! :)

 

Picture was taken under 10K Halides so colours look slightly washed out but you get the idea!

 

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The previous tank was beautiful.

 

Funny, I don't think too many folks on here downgrade to a RSM, lol

 

As far as what type of monti to put there, I have no idea. Don't all of them like more light than where the other one was?

 

I'm a total reefer noob. I've read a lot, but never even touched a coral until a few months ago.

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So I got my critter shipment a few hours ago and very pleased! Thought id take a few photos, so here you are.

 

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Really well insulated!

 

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Floating the bags.

 

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6 x Spiny Astrea Snails

 

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2 x True Peppermints

 

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Small Zoa frag

 

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I have got the Peppermints to help to me rid of the aiptasia that have pretty much infested my tank. Tried Aiptasia X with little success, so I am trying a more biological approach. Hope they do the job!

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