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#101
06/23/2007, 06:19 AM
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My skimmer isn't that dark either morello. It's kind of a light amber color. Maybe it's just the flash on the camera making it look darker in Rue's picture? Or maybe the latest ones are darker (and hopefully improved, but I'm doubtful). OK on the maldives star - I guess they're reef safe? Funny about having to take a piece of live rock to get blenny - did you have to pay for the LR too?
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. |
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#104
06/23/2007, 09:49 AM
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...the skimmer isn't that dark in real life...so it's a trick of the flash/lighting...
Boy! I'm getting antsy to get it going...seems like it's been dragging out forever...but it's only been since Tuesday and we've had a busy week... Haven't heard about the live rock...I'm assuming it arrived at the LFS yesterday...
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Authorized Pistol Shrimp/Goby Matchmaker... |
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#105
06/23/2007, 12:00 PM
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I have my RSM now for about 4 1/2 months and really happy with it.
I know there are some pro and cons for the RSM as stated in earlier postings here but in general I believe it is tank with quality. None of the "all-in-ones" are perfect. One might have a better skimmer, therefore the other has better lighting and so on. I love the RSM because of his clean look that fits perfectly in our room. For a beginner it is easy to setup and you have the tank going in a short time. Maintaining it is a piece of cake. Yes I had some issues with the airbubbles escaping from the skimmer but after doing some tweaking they are all gone now. Otherwise I had no issues at all so far. Red Sea has an excellent customer service and they were always there when I had questions. I added a chiller while it is getting fairly warm here in summer and wanted to have a constant water temperature in the tank. The flow from the return pumps is ok and will do it for most of us but I wanted some more and added a Koralia #2 on the opposite side of the tank. The corals and fishies seems to love it. The lights are powerful enough to keep most corals. I hope Red Sea will come up one day with a version that has MH lights for those who like to keep clams and SPS corals. For now there is an excellent upgrade offered from Nanocustoms. If you ask me if I would buy the RSM again I would definitely say YES. I added some pictures and you can find more including a video of the tank at my website: My RSM Michael     
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#107
06/23/2007, 12:41 PM
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...before I get too carried away...I have two questions...
1. How far down in the little heater compartment do you stick the heater? Mine doesn't hang quite straight in there...it touches the glass a bit...is that okay? 2. Where does the air intake hose of the skimmer go? I just have it near the top...
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Authorized Pistol Shrimp/Goby Matchmaker... |
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#108
06/23/2007, 12:59 PM
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Quote:
I don't think it is a problem if the heater doesn't hang straight in there as long the glass part is completely under water. I use the suction cup that came with the heater and this keeps the heater in the right place. Just had a look at it and I saw that the bottom part of the heater is touching the glass but that shouldn't be a problem. RedSea suggests to stick the air intake hose into the wire compartment. I read somewhere people pointed it out of the back of the tank as it gets quite hot into the wire compartment. This way more cooler room air is getting sucked. Michael |
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#109
06/23/2007, 01:06 PM
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Hi Michael (Maxreefer). The tank looks better every time I see it! I think I decided on the RSM back when I first I saw your 2 month update. Thanks again for the times you've helped me with questions.
Haven't tried the mod yet, but I did get a grill scubber at Lowes that has some material on it that I may try before I try the other material. Not sure if I'll get to it today or not. Went to the lfs today and got my Yellowtail Damsel and a Bluespotted Watchman Goby. So far my tank boss - the diadem dottyback is only closely checkimg out the new fish. No fighting yet so hopefully the little damsel will hold his own. The goby's already made himself a cave under the rock. Also got a peppermint shrimp (my first 2 disappeared one at time) and a cleaner shimp. Got them all acclimated & time to do some non-tank stuff now. Terry
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. Last edited by Reefmack; 06/23/2007 at 01:13 PM. |
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#113
06/24/2007, 12:47 PM
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Carbon - Yes or No
Oops...meant to post this here!
Hi all - Great info! I've had my RSM about 2 months now & have been really pleased so far. I have experienced some of the same issues with the micro bubbles, so I've tried running it without the sponge which has given slightly better results - think I will try cutting the sponge in half & see what that does. What are your thoughts on using the carbon? I'm not using it at the moment & all parameters are fine. Thanks! (will hopefully post some pics soon) |
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#114
06/24/2007, 01:28 PM
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Great pictures and a nice looking tank morello! Keep 'em coming!
BTW, Still haven't got to the skimmer impeller mod. Too many non-tank things to get done. I'm anxious to get on it, but can't find the time yet. Hi Thrillman. Nice to see yet another RSM owner show up. I think when I really saw a difference in the microbubbles was when I cut the black sponge back to 2 inches. If you're still using the white pad be sure to rinse it out every other day. I still get a few bubbles but I can live with them for now. It's difficult for me to get the skimmer doing anything without the air valve open all the way, and that doesn't help since that's where the bubbles originate. On the carbon I think most people recommend it - helps to remove things that most people don't test for, or can't. I recently switched to Chemi-Pure Elite as it's supposed to be good for up to 6 months, and has carbon plus other things in it. If you have any pics please post some.
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. Last edited by Reefmack; 06/24/2007 at 01:36 PM. |
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#115
06/24/2007, 02:49 PM
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Thanks for the response Michael...I double checked and I think I've got it all right...although I have nothing to skim - the skimmer appears to be working since I have milky-water bubbles in it...
I got home at 11:30 this morning and I raced to the LFS! Good thing I got to there when I did. I thought the owner got the Jakarta shipment last night, but instead it arrived this morning. I was second in line and the folks ahead of me only bought a little piece. I bought 13 kg. At $8 a lb. it adds up! My tank is still a sandstorm...it only cleared a little overnight - I added 30 lbs of coarse aragonite yesterday afternoon. I rinsed each batch some 5-7 times and then just gave up and added it to the tank... I also tried to add it directly to the bottom...and gave up on that as well, and just gently dumped it in from the top...so the water's likely cloudier than it has to be... I tried to aquascape right away...but I couldn't even see my hand...so I just plopped everything in the best I could...hoping I left enough room for water flow... I'll have to aquascape when I can see what I'm doing and hope I don't have a 2nd die-off... On the plus side! Found a bristleworm, a feather-duster and several teeny-tiny crabs (no idea what species) alive in the bottom of the box...so I am now an official reef-keeper! Can't wait to see what else grows...
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Authorized Pistol Shrimp/Goby Matchmaker... Last edited by Rue; 06/24/2007 at 03:01 PM. |
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#118
06/24/2007, 03:43 PM
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Rue - good to hear of your progress! Give it time & it will clear up. Did you put the sponge & white pad in the skimmer? That white pad will help take out a lot of the floating sand & may need to be rinsed out a few times during the clearing (turn the skimmer off first). Yes - the rock cost adds up! Not cheap for good rock. Watch out for the bristleworms that you don't get stuck by one. Do you have any gloves to wear when you do your rockwork? I have an arm length one, but usually just wear one of the cheap surgical/lab type gloves & trash it when done. I can get them at work. They tear easy but are good for light work. If I move a lot of big pieces of rock I wear the full arm one so I don't get bit by something. But, the full arm rubber/nylon glove is bulky and doesn't give any sense of touch.
Thrillman - I'm not an expert - use of the Carbon & Chemi-Pure Elite are just things I've read in other posts. Most agree carbon is good. I went to Chemi-Pure as it supposedly last longer and changing that stuff in the pump compartment is a real pain so the longer the time between working in there the better! I get my wife to hold up the partially disconnected hood when I work in there. Morello - I meant to mention how great your rock looks - nice, and a lot of coralline on it!
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. Last edited by Reefmack; 06/24/2007 at 03:49 PM. |
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#119
06/24/2007, 04:04 PM
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...hiya Reefmack...still not sure what all the equipment bits and pieces are called...I have the black sponge and the white sponge in the skimmer compartment right beside the skimmer where the manual said to put it...hope that's right...
Don't have gloves yet...but I think I'll have to buy a pair of pond gloves...I have a FW rash on my arm that isn't going away, so I imagine I might react to the SW too...on top of being bitten by various little critters... I've been trying to find info. on Jakarta rock, but not having any luck...Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Marshall Islands...etc. but NOT Jakarta...any ideas of what to search under? I was hoping to find a list of common reef animals on this rock so I can start IDing any that I find...
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#120
06/24/2007, 04:29 PM
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hey folks, some more pics here
 the rock is premium fiji from TMC and i haven't used any milliput just careful stacking there's about 14kilo's in there.i am only using about one third of the black sponge and none of the other media that they supply. some small LR rubble in the chamber under the pumps and a bag of elimi-phos on the sloped side of the skimmer. i would highly recommend anyone not using a phosphate remover to get one straight away! i used instant ocean salt to fill the tank as i got it free from work but for the water changes since i've been using the red sea salt supplied. i change about 10-15 litres per week and all params have been fine right from the start i really should have my skimmer turned on more but the bubble thing is so annoying i only have it on probably 2 days a week :s im not sure its essential depending on what u want to stock as we had a deltec 12g set up in work for ages with no skimmer and the coral growth was amazing anyway enough rambling here's some pics smaller of my two percs, i call him little neems  orange ricordea, looks amazing under the moonlights  note - the little stomatella snail in bottom right, lots of these hitched a ride on the live rock  fungia plate coral, growing a fair bit i add approx 10ml of phyto daily
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#121
06/24/2007, 05:35 PM
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Rue - my LR was purchased as "Indonesian". No idea where excactly it came from. I think Jakarta is in Indonesia? Try a search on Indonesian live rock. Yes - you have things in the right place per RSM directions and it a good place to start. Yep - gloves are a good idea (although I took a chance today in moving some small pieces of LR around with my bare hands & arm. My featherduster popped it's crown last week and I think it was because his tube shifted so that the crown was constantly being annoyed by touching the Euphillia coral next to it. The worms head has been popping up frequently so hopefully it'll get some peace now & grow a new crown.
More good pics morello! a lot of my neon green tipped soft corals look almost fluorescent under the moonlights. The Chemi-Pure Elite I switched to from carbon has a phosphate remover in it, and that's why I got the Elite version. I've replaced the RSM bio-media with LR Rubble also, but put the Chemipure on top. I did have it in the left skimmer chamber for a while, but I wasn't sure if it was affecting flow through the skimmer so I moved to that hard-to-get-into pump chamber. I started our with IO salt too, but recently switched to the Red Sea Coral Pro that came with RSM starter kit. I found the IO easier to dissolve than the Red Sea. I do a 4 gallon water change every weekend - a bit over 10%. I've read a few posts that phyto doesn't do much for coral - that zoo (I use Zoomax) plankton is really what they need - I have both Phytomax and Zoomax & I'm never sure what's best.
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. |
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#122
06/24/2007, 05:52 PM
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Thanks guys!
My water has cleared (not completely, but almost) rapidly since I added the rock... ...and my 'blind' aquascaping turned out surprisingly well...I'll leave it be for a day or two to contemplate...and then likely rearrange it... Soon as I get new batteries, I'll post a pic...
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#124
06/24/2007, 06:15 PM
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yea i've been meaning to move the phosphate remover into that chamber but because its such a hassle im still yet to do it. ill have to give the pumps a clean sooner or later, probably next water change ill sort it then
ill have to look into zoomax, last few days i've been puttin a bit of frozen baby brine shrimp in aswell as the phyto as im sure the sun coral and the zoa's will be able to eat it forgot to upload this pic, its a blue leg hermit with a zoanthid attatched to his shell hehe  how cool is he?
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#125
06/24/2007, 08:25 PM
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Good news on the clearing water Rue. I'll bet it looks great tomorrow.
More great pics morello. I forgot you work in an lfs - I'll bet that helps in getting some good stuff! That hermit with the zoa attached is not something you see every day! Here's the Blue Spotted Watchman Goby I got yesterday, He still only comes out of his burrow at dinnertime:  And a view of the tank from the right side:  I've taken about 20 shots of the Yellowtail Damsel & have yet to get a good one. Here he is by my Koralia. He's still being taunted by my dottyback: 
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Excellence in reefkeeping is achieved by mastering the fundamentals, and learning from mistakes. |
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