# Newsflash: Saltwater Rookie Takes On A RSM 130!



## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

I was a very lucky boy on my birthday: my brother (who is a SW nut) gave me an RSM 130 to turn me over to the Dark side. Seeing how I only have a single 8 gallon Fluval Ebi, and this is a 34 G saltwater tank, I am now forced to say that I'm more of a saltwater guy than a freshwater one. Well played, Darth Tonga, well played.



















All cleaned up and ready to go! And this was when I was introduced to ... J&L, AKA the Dark Temple Of The Ocean. Got my salt, got a couple of bags of Special Seaflor Grade sand, borrowed a refractor and I was all good to go! Then he came over and donated some live rock to my cause. I'd say this was a pretty awesome start.



















Close-up view.









Green trumpet (?). These are all new words to me, like macro algae, salinity, reef-safe and refugium. My head spins.


















I knew I needed more live rock though, so I decided to get some base rock from The Dark Temple. Gave it a rinse, soaked it good and then I did some re-arranging. Bought a few small but nice chunks of goby rock, the big brainy looking one is marco rock. 









Not sure if I did this right. Tried to set it up so that there was good flow, caves, nooks and crannies.









Brother warned about making sure the rock was really secure, so I gave it my best shot.









I think I need another 10 lbs or so... but that's as far as I've gotten. Planning to pick up some fish for it this weekend or next. Would seriously welcome comments on the layout of the rock, how much more I need (aiming to get at least another 10 lbs), livestock suggestions... fire away.

Teach me the awesome power of the Dark Side


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Very nice start...wow, going from an Ebi to a sw. Big jump.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Looking good. Can't wait to see it getting fish and inverts


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Not sure why people call SW the dark side. My SW tanks is all brighter than my FW.

Colours of the SW also brighter. Even your bank account should get brighter red :lol:

So, I would say welcome to the bright side ! Super nice start.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

It's been a busy week - picked up another 5 or 6 lbs of Marco base rock to build up what I need, and I also grabbed the reef custodian package #1 from J&L - unfortunately my bag fell into the tank, wrecking any possibility of acclimating them, and I paid for it... lost a margarita snail a couple of hours later and I think half my hermit crabs aren't going to make it.

Sigh.

Anyways, got them to take on the expected outbreak of algae growth on the sand, and what I do have left are doing a decent job; I'll have to pick up reinforcements.


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Really nice start


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

Yah you're off to a speedy start, it's always enjoyment when starting a new tank. Although I go completely nuts and my head starts spinning for corals. I set up a 50g that was sitting empty for a year and it's completely full of corals now...This hobby is bad!


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Having my brother's seed rock really helped things along; I think the AIO nature of the RSM130 really helps too. But exciting times! Such a different beast from FW tanks...


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Highly addictive. Especially the coral-buying/collecting. Dropped a lot of $$ in the last two months and sent up 2 big coolers of LPS, ricordeas and fancy zoas to my friend in Powell River. Crazy thing is my tank is still full after sending off all those corals.

That's why its called the "dark side". Once you start spending on your reef tank, its hard to stop.


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## BaoBeiZhu (Apr 24, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Highly addictive. Especially the coral-buying/collecting. Dropped a lot of $$ in the last two months and sent up 2 big coolers of LPS, ricordeas and fancy zoas to my friend in Powell River. Crazy thing is my tank is still full after sending off all those corals.
> 
> That's why its called the "dark side". Once you start spending on your reef tank, its hard to stop.


Gordon and I have agreed its called the bright side now


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## Acipenser (Apr 21, 2010)

obviously your brother doesn't like you very much.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

BaoBeiZhu said:


> Gordon and I have agreed its called the bright side now


Haha. Actually, yes, my LEDs and Metal halides make my sw reef tanks far brighter than my fw setups

So the "Bright Side" it is.

Now if more people start jumping into sw because of the name change and we all end up on welfare, I'll be sure to let them know who came up with this "Bright Side" name-change, ok Gordon and BaoBeiZhu???


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Now if more people start jumping into sw because of the name change and we all end up on welfare, I'll be sure to let them know who came up with this "Bright Side" name-change, ok Gordon and BaoBeiZhu???


That's only going to happen if we get a "Set For Life" lottery. I can buy an entire FW setup for one of your lights...even the DIY ones. Never mind the pumps, chillers, additives, skimmmers and other equipment.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Very impressive setup and layout, your pictures are great as well.So much for freshwater setups huh? you done with them? Keep the updates coming and thanks for sharing!


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## zhasan (Oct 28, 2010)

Very nice start Arcteryx! I wish my brother gave me a setup like that to play with!



2wheelsx2 said:


> That's only going to happen if we get a "Set For Life" lottery. I can buy an entire FW setup for one of your lights...even the DIY ones. Never mind the pumps, chillers, additives, skimmmers and other equipment.


Couldn't agree with you more in terms of costs involved... Thats why My SW project is just stalled  I hope to get it up and going soon!! I want to sail both boats and see how it goes.. I just hope I don't drown!!


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## deepRED (May 22, 2010)

Looking good. 
Saltwater is a lot of fun and a lot to learn. Do as much research as possible and take your time. That's the one thing I would recommend over anything else. Let things settle in slowly and naturally.
When I first started, I wanted to put everything in there right away, get it looking like a full blown reef. The more you do that, the longer it'll take for the tank to actually come into it's own, and the more issues you'll likely encounter. 

Once a saltwater tank is established, it's actually quite easy to take care of, much easier than say a planted tank. 

Fight the urge to tinker and add things too quickly and it'll save you a ton of money and frustration in the long run. 

Slowww and steady wins the race.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Appreciate the comments and the advice to go slow and steady - seems to jive with the sense I get from reading the sw forums. I have the expected run-in with brown & green algae right now, so just patiently waiting for that to blow over  Trying pretty hard to refrain from going down the path of additives, chems & extraordinary means, I'll see how that ends up working out.

So for now, content just to watch the clean-up crew do their stuff, get into the flow of maintaining it and getting familiar with what's normal for the tank.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Luke78 said:


> Very impressive setup and layout, your pictures are great as well.So much for freshwater setups huh? you done with them? Keep the updates coming and thanks for sharing!


No, in fact am trying to set up one more FW tank in the kitchen; want to try my hand at shrimp too. They're different animals... both very interesting in their own way. I'm more comfortable with FW right now but that's just b/c I'm new to it.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Well, you are lucky to have a brother who gave you an RSM as your first sw tank. It is a good bang-for-the-buck AIO unit. Big enough to play with, not too big that it gets completely overwhelming. 

BTW, if you want, come on over some time and we can talk about sw. I just set up a used RSM 135 as well very recently. My main tanks, though, are a 165g full reef and a 2' 60g anemone/clownfish tank. I'm in South Burnaby about halfway between Metrotown and King Ed's.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> BTW, if you want, come on over some time and we can talk about sw. I just set up a used RSM 135 as well very recently. My main tanks, though, are a 165g full reef and a 2' 60g anemone/clownfish tank. I'm in South Burnaby about halfway between Metrotown and King Ed's.


Sir, you're a real ambassador for this hobby.


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## Acipenser (Apr 21, 2010)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Well, you are lucky to have a brother who gave you an RSM as your first sw tank. It is a good bang-for-the-buck AIO unit. Big enough to play with, not too big that it gets completely overwhelming.
> 
> BTW, if you want, come on over some time and we can talk about sw. I just set up a used RSM 135 as well very recently. My main tanks, though, are a 165g full reef and a 2' 60g anemone/clownfish tank. I'm in South Burnaby about halfway between Metrotown and King Ed's.


Anthony is one of the true "nice guy's " a very helpful guy !


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Arcteryx said:


> Sir, you're a real ambassador for this hobby.


 Just let me know what day/time works for you and I'll try to fit your visit into my work/family schedule. BTW, this week is good, but my work will get really busy soon


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Here's a shot of one of my favourite inhabitants... I got him (her?) as part of the clean-up crew Package #1 at J&L, and these astrea snails have been mowing down the fuzzy red algae on the live rock. They work slowly but they're steady


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Hahahaha. Didn't even realize you are the brother of one of my best friends. Cool. So you've seen my tanks but you're still welcome to come by some time for a visit and to talk salt.

I even have your bro's "old" starphire tank as my main reef tank nowadays. Very cool to know you.

Anthony


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Very nice birthday present indeed...every time I look at something like this, I feel the "Dark Side" calling me....must....resist....


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## lotus (Apr 22, 2010)

It looks nice any new updates!


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Sorry for the length of time between updates... the little Fluval Ebi was sucking up all my time, but I've been busy with the RSM too, but nowhere near as much. No fish yet - I'll add some toward the end of April. So since I posted the pictures last, I've had a few additions.Platy coral, and behind it, a small developing "kelp forest" of prolifera.










Frogspawn colony 1. What's that carpeting coral that's around the base of the frogspawn? I can't recall the name right now, but it's one of my favourite things about the tank 









Frogspawn colony 2:










Got a red open brain... (I constantly worry if it's doing OK)









An RBTA too... this one moved all over until it found a spot it liked. Made me nervous for a little while. He's grown quite a bit since I got him (I think of him as a boy, I don't know why)










Here's how it looks today:










There - should be all caught up!  Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed the photos.


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## Flygirl (Jul 23, 2011)

That tank is starting to look really nice. Admire your bravery, I've been ogling SW for quite some time now... but too big a chicken and always run back to my FW planteds.

Who knows, maybe you're just the inspiration I need.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Very nice. And beautiful pics.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

The "carpet" like coral is green star polyps.


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Flygirl said:


> That tank is starting to look really nice. Admire your bravery, I've been ogling SW for quite some time now... but too big a chicken and always run back to my FW planteds.
> 
> Who knows, maybe you're just the inspiration I need.


I've found a lot of people think saltwater is hard to do but in reality, if you have patience and don't rush things, it's very easy


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

spit.fire said:


> I've found a lot of people think saltwater is hard to do but in reality, if you have patience and don't rush things, it's very easy


I think proper set-up and knowing what you want from the get-go are both important elements. Which is hard if you are new to the hobby, then the only way to find out what you really want is ask ask ask, look look look, and then ask ask ask some more. I spent a lot of time discussing things with my brother about the overall direction the tank should take, given the limitations of not just the gear in the RSM but demands on my own time and how much care and maintenance I want to put into it.

Right now the RSM is super easy. I clean the glass, the protein skimmer and top it up with DI water everyday, and that's pretty much it. I regret letting the algae getting hold at the sand level. It's damned tenacious! I also regret not leaving enough room at the back between the rock and the tank to clean things easily there, but that's where I hope the snails hold up their end of the bargain.

It's been very little work and I've gotten so much relaxation and enjoyment out of it. I think the softy corals I have are pretty hardy and undemanding, I sure do have a lot of zooanths but that's OK, I like them too. Looking forward to adding some fish to it later next month, I'm sure that will add another level of challenge & interest to the experience.


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