March 2014 R2R Spotlight: Chrissy

March 2014 R2R Spotlight: Chrissy
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/132522-chrissys-rsm-250-a.html
​

​

Introduction
Hello, I'm Chrissy Gilbert from Franklin, MA, and this is my Red Sea Max 250 mixed reef aquarium.






I got into the reefing hobby while living in the Seattle area in 2008. I saw a photo of a saltwater tank on the internet and asked my husband for a 12 gallon Eclipse for my birthday. I had no idea what I was getting myself into! After doing some research and seeing all of the beautiful photos of reef tanks, I upgraded to a 20 gallon reef, and then a 72 gallon bow front reef. At the end of 2009, my husband got a job promotion and we had to move across the country to Boston. I sold all of the live stock and kept the tank and live rock to set back up when we got settled in our new home. It took a couple of years before I started planning out the new tank. We didn't want to set the old 72 bow back up because we didn't like the hang on overflow, so we started cycling the old rock in a Brute can with some live rock, and sold the tank. I fell in love with the look of the RSM 250, so we ordered one that was on back order for a couple of months. While we were waiting for it to be delivered, I set up the old Eclipse 12 and 20H that I had started with. The Eclipse was used for a QT and the 20H was basically holding tank so that I could play with corals until the new tank was up and running.


I love the look of the RSM 250 and the neatness of the all-in-one features. Most of my corals have been grown from small to medium frags, and I have really enjoyed taking care of them and watching them grow into colonies in this past year that the tank has been set up. I would love to upgrade to the RSM 650 in the future because I am quickly running out of room in this one!

​

System Profile
​

• Red Sea Max 250 (65 gallons, 38"x21"x26")​
  • 10mm glass with curved edges
• Original RSM 250 stand​
• The sump is attached to the back of the tank and has 4 chambers. From left to right is the large pump chamber, the media rack chamber, the skimmer chamber, and the small pump chamber.​
• Original protein skimmer that is designed for the tank​
• Media rack with 2 bags of Chemipure Elite, and sometimes I put an extra bag of carbon in.​
• Original RSM return pumps (1x 320gph and 1x 640gph)​
• Water Circulation: the 2 return pumps and I added a 400gph maxi jet.​
• Original RSM hood with 234w of T5HO and 8 blue LED moonlights.​
• I manually dose BRS 2 part (50ml of Alk each day, 8 oz of calcium every few days, and magnesium when needed)​
• I manually top off with RO/DI each day when needed​
• I use the 5 stage BRS RO/DI system and change the filters and DI resin every 1 -2 months.​
• RSM 200w heater, built in fans in the hood for cooling​
• The RSM 250 comes with 2 return pumps, a 320 gph on the right side, and a 640 gph on the left side. I have the return nozzles pointed towards the middle and up to break the surface of the water and simulate waves. I also added a 400gph powerhead onto the right side to flow across the back of the tank, which also flows around to the front so there aren't any dead spots in the tank.
  ​

Water Parameters


​

API Tests

• pH: 8.0-8.2
• Ammonia: 0
• Nitrate: 15
• Nitrite: 0
• PO4: 0
• Calcium: 460
• Alkalinity: 8 dKH
• Magnesium: 1360

Lighting​

• The tank has 6x 39w T5HO ATI bulbs. From front to back they are: Coral Plus, Blue Plus, Aquablue Special, Purple Plus, Coral Plus, Blue Plus
  • All lights turn on at 12:30pm and off at 10:30pm. I only use the moonlights for night viewing.

Filtration and Water Quality

• I change 25-20 gallons of water out weekly and replace it with fresh mixed Red Sea Coral Pro saltwater to lower the nitrates and replace trace elements. I also run two bags of Chemipure Elite and a single piece of fine filter floss in the media section of the sump.

​

3/24/13

4/16/13




6/27/13




9/27/13





1/1/14





2/15/14


Conclusion

I would like to thank Reef2Reef for spotlighting my reef, and a special thanks to those who nominated me. I have learned so much on this forum, so thank you to all of you have have answered my questions and provided such valuable information that has helped me create such a wonderful reef aquarium. I would also like to thank my husband, Jeff, who supports me in all aspects of this amazing hobby.

​