Starting Back From Scratch.. RSM250 Build.... Need Opinions

97dezertranger · 12/27/2014, 12:39 AM

Well as it seems I could not get away from this hobby. Long story short I started my first salt aquarium about 7yrs ago after I had falling off a building ladder and had to have surgery on my foot. After about 4 weeks of doing nothing I normally could for instance welding, fabricating,etc. I decided I wanted a reef aquarium so I could stay sane for the next 12 months while my foot healed. Once I got healed went back to work full bore and was out of town too much and unfortunetly my GF (now wife) was overwhelmed trying to maintain it by herself, so I had to sell it. My wife has been asking to build another tank ever since the day I sold it.

Now its 7yrs later and I find myself in the same perdicament but now with a more serious back injury that could require a fusion and possibly take me out of my line of work. I am not thrilled about it but as luck would have it I ended up buying my wife a new tank for xmas. So we both are more then thrilled about our second go around and bigger and better things. Were starting with a Red Sea Max 250 I picked up off craigslist for 500 bucks and swiped a ecotech mp10es from the same guy for 150. Im already somewhat regretting the purchase. My last tank was a 125g with all the bells and whistles. With the RSM 250 I just feel so limited not only with the size but with the filtration set up. I originally wanted it for the simplicity for her. The tanks in decent shape. One of the pumps is bad and one of the ballast I replaced this evening. It didnt come with a skimmer. But the more I keep looking at it the more I dont like the idea of being so limited for future expansion.

We are currently renting but we both have agreed once we are able to purchase that we will be building our own one off 300ish gallon "drop off" reef tank built in to the wall. I was gonna have a custom aquarium company build the tank for me and I am gonna handle all the fabricating of the steel stand, woodwork, plumbing, etc. Anyway so with what I am given what would be your guys suggestions to hold me over till I can build my big system. Should I ditch the RSM250 idea. Ive also looked into the life reef sump/fuge system and like the overall design but I feel for that kind of money($1300) I can get more bang for my buck shopping Craigslist for a used 120-200gallon tank and starting back from scratch. Plus I could prolly sell the RSM250 and recoup some of that money to put back into the build.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated Ive always browsed this site but never posted I figure since Im gonna be out for awhile I might aswell start participating on this forum. At the very least I could post my build to help show others my own information.

johnyfalco · 12/27/2014, 12:49 AM

I think if you have previously had a tank with a sump etc, you would probably find the RSM 250, too limiting.
My first ever tank was a RSM130 and the money I spent on modding it, I should have put towards a real tank. Anyhow RSM have there place but having had one I couldn't personally recommend them.
Unless its the new model, with the sump etc.

97dezertranger · 12/27/2014, 01:03 AM

Yeah my previous tank was 125g ish, sump, refugium, protein skimmer, external pumps, UV sterlizer, calcium reactor, MH's, apex controller,etc. the list goes on.....

It is the older model non-sump version

Yeah just seems like a lot of money to spend on such a limiting tank. Aswell as I have no trust in them nor am I comfortable running a hang on overflow box. I would only consider adding a sump with drilling a hole in the bottom of the current filtration area. I know this seems to be a very talked about topic and some people say it cant be done and some say it can. Ive seen some very detailed pictures of it done,and would be more then comfortable doing it and making it work just trying to figure out any added benefit to running a sump on a rsm250 kinda seems like I am giving up a lot of tank real estate for a giant overflow box essentially if I end up converting to a sump theres no real need to own that style display tank i think is my reasoning.

JoelA7 · 12/27/2014, 01:21 AM

I looked at the RSM line before choosing custom fabrication. In a condo so I had to have the stand made for me too. Just how I decided but I'm glad I did. Rimless. LED lighting really well done. The visual of the tank is awesome as well as the contents.

97dezertranger · 12/27/2014, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoelA7

I looked at the RSM line before choosing custom fabrication. In a condo so I had to have the stand made for me too. Just how I decided but I'm glad I did. Rimless. LED lighting really well done. The visual of the tank is awesome as well as the contents.

Yeah i am really starting to lean away from the RSD. I live in a house that im renting so I have plenty of sliding doors to get it in and I figure I am gonna be here for the next 3 yrs or so. Does anyone have a company somewhere in Socal that could build a custom "drop off" tank? Im planning on building my stand with 2x2 steel and making a nice fasad (know i didnt spell it right) to fit around the steel frame aswell as a canopy.

Reef Frog · 12/27/2014, 12:57 PM

If you want a bigger tank you should go for it IMO. You only live once. The fish species you can keep is greatly expanded when compared to any 65 gallon tank. You have prior experience in a the hobby and it sounds like you have the DIY skills to get it done. Of course the two choices are no where near comparble in terms of money, but that may or may not be a consideration for you. $500 may not get you the lighting you want on a custom build. If you like the idea of the build and love tinkering & fine tuning an AIO may not provide that satisfaction.

But the RSM250 is a nice tank. It works well and you can have any kind of reef you want. If you want big fish like Tangs you'll be disappointed. The stock skimmer is cheap and works fine but the water level must be kept stable for constant output so an ATO would be recommended. There are after market skimmers available if you want to go that route. The rear chambered sump will perform all the same functions as an in cabinet sump with the exception of having a large macro algae refugium. A shorter person may need a step stool for some things like yearly maintenence when pulling the pumps or skimmer body from the rear chambers.

So it all comes down to personal preference. AIO wins for ease and speed of set up. Custom build wins for size and the extra space & features of an in-cabinet sump. Good luck with your choice.

97dezertranger · 12/27/2014, 07:37 PM

I appreciate all the input guys. So I went out to the garage and tinkered with the the measurments of the back filter system. Looks like I can fit one of the innovative marine full size skimmers in the back aswell as swap the noisy red sea stock return pumps out for a decent eheim pumps. I also measured out the bottom of the stand and I have a few ideas incase the IM skimmer and new pumps dont work out so I can switch to a sump/fuge system out later down the road. More then likely a life reef setup. As much as I want the bigger system Im gonna let my wife enjoy the smaller tank for the time being, and hopefully it doesnt backfire. I keep telling her shes gonna be very limited with her fish choices with the smaller tank but she keeps insisting on me not making it such a complicated system like my last tank. But shes extremely in love with tangs and she has a serious problem with buying them. We had a good group of tangs in the last tank Powder blue, naso, yellow, blue hippo and I really wanna get it up and going for her to enjoy, but I can almost see me literaly setting this tank up getting it all cycled and adding rock ready to start adding livestock and all of a sudden she gets a slap in the face the first trip to the LFS cause it becomes a reality for her what she can actually keep in the tank. Im almost thinking for the sake of my wallet I should bring her down to a LFS before I spend a dime on the RSM250 and let her see what she can and cant have. Might make her second guess.

Well on a side note since I have some time to kill today. Does anybody have any experince with the innovative marine skimmers ghost gadget or something along those lines. Im looking at the full size model as of right now?

97dezertranger · 12/27/2014, 07:55 PM

On as side note theres a nice rimless 150g for sale about 40 miles from me for 600 bucks its tank,stand,canopy,sump,skimmer. But I figure atleast with that I can expand with. Plus I could probably sell the rsm 250 for 500 bucks and put that money back into the new 150g .Is there a classified ads on this form. I couldve swore there was back when I joined cause I remeber buying stuff from a few members. But for the life of me I can find them. I figured if I need to sell the rsm 250 atleast I would have somewhere other then craigslist to find a buyer.

97dezertranger · 12/28/2014, 01:12 AM

Or by chance does anyone have any suggestions for a skimmer that would fit the back filtration area that has some good reviews looks like the deltec is the most popular but 600 bucks is steep for such a smaller skimmer in my opionion. there seems to be plenty of very well built skimmers for sump setups around the 350 range that would be much more practical

doctorwhoreefer · 12/28/2014, 05:43 AM

Just chiming in as you say you've been out of the hobby for some time.
Read up on carbon dosing, it's a great thing. In my experience I will probably never imagine setting up another tank without a recirculating biopellet reactor, ecobak plus pellets(multiple carbon sourced pellet; think vsv) and biodigest.

Also, I guess not everyone is the same, but every tank I've ever gotten off craigslist only had a few years left in it, so it might be super beneficial to grab a new tank..

Welcome back though, sucks it's under such circumstances. At least your wife is on board with the fish tank!

(a lot of guys don't have the kind of relationship that allows that hehe)

97dezertranger · 12/28/2014, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorwhoreefer

Just chiming in as you say you've been out of the hobby for some time.
Read up on carbon dosing, it's a great thing. In my experience I will probably never imagine setting up another tank without a recirculating biopellet reactor, ecobak plus pellets(multiple carbon sourced pellet; think vsv) and biodigest.

Also, I guess not everyone is the same, but every tank I've ever gotten off craigslist only had a few years left in it, so it might be super beneficial to grab a new tank..

Welcome back though, sucks it's under such circumstances. At least your wife is on board with the fish tank!

(a lot of guys don't have the kind of relationship that allows that hehe)

Thanks for you post. I will definately read up on this carbon dosing. I always enjoy a good reading of whats ahead and the new technology. I got out right around the time everyone was coming out with led fixtures and was always intrested in trying them out.

Yeah I know what you mean about craigslist. I got pretty lucky with the 125g I had bought awhile back. Realistically I only reused the tank stand and canopy and replumbed it with all new pumps and filtration. But ive always been pretty lucky buying off craigslist. Its a headache on some stuff though One persons perfect is another persons trash. And Ive driven multiple times to go pick something up that was supposed to be in so called perfect condition and got there only to waste time and gas on garbage. But I do agree with you that you can get burned on craigslist its a 50/50 shot.

As far as my wife being on board I am blessed. She is actually the one the got me into aquariums which makes for great weekends with the two of us going to the lfs every damn weekend to pick out new stuff. Also makes it a very expensive weekend but its all worth it in the end.

Thanks again in advance for all the responses its all good info.

97dezertranger · 12/31/2014, 10:11 PM

Well figured Id let everyone know what option I took for the time being. Ended up putting the tank in the house today. Wife just talked me into keeping it for her to tinker with for a month or two. I figured it wouldnt hurt as I could transfer all the livestock to the bigger tank once its done. Got most of it put together. Just waiting for the amazon nomes to show up with all my packages. On a side note I have no idea how they ship so fast, ive literally ordered something from amazon prime at 8pm on a monday and it was at my doorstep by 1pm the next day. And ontop of that all the parts were cheaper then the online tank suppliers. I have new sumbersible pumps coming aswell as new RODI filter and membranes. Just need to order a new DI filter from spectrapure. Aswell as pickup a reeflo dart pump and two 55 gallon drums and some steel to weld up a little frame for my salt mixing station.

My ultimate plan is to get the rsm250 going. And start a 150g-180g build in february. Although I may start building the steel base aswell as the wood cabinet fasad and canopy.

Thanks again for everyones opinions.

sh8g8delik · 12/31/2014, 11:09 PM

Nick, glad you decided on keeping the RSM. Post up some pictures when its all up and running when you get the chance. Did you decide on the innovative marine skimmer? That was the same skimmer i was planning on getting before i decided to upgrade. Happy new year brother and i hope you a speedy recovery from your back fusion.

97dezertranger · 01/01/2015, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sh8g8delik

Nick, glad you decided on keeping the RSM. Post up some pictures when its all up and running when you get the chance. Did you decide on the innovative marine skimmer? That was the same skimmer i was planning on getting before i decided to upgrade. Happy new year brother and i hope you a speedy recovery from your back fusion.

Yeah I figure it will give us something to tinker with till I have the bigger system ready to go. No I havent decided on what skimmer yet. More then likely im gonna try out the IM full size It appears to be rated for up too 100g and has a perfect foot print to fit in the stock location.
Happy New Years aswell

97dezertranger · 01/01/2015, 01:08 AM

And I will be sure to post pics of it once its up and going. Aswell as some pics of the project tank once I start getting some of the pieces together.

12/27/2014, 12:39 AM	#1
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	Starting Back From Scratch.. RSM250 Build.... Need Opinions Well as it seems I could not get away from this hobby. Long story short I started my first salt aquarium about 7yrs ago after I had falling off a building ladder and had to have surgery on my foot. After about 4 weeks of doing nothing I normally could for instance welding, fabricating,etc. I decided I wanted a reef aquarium so I could stay sane for the next 12 months while my foot healed. Once I got healed went back to work full bore and was out of town too much and unfortunetly my GF (now wife) was overwhelmed trying to maintain it by herself, so I had to sell it. My wife has been asking to build another tank ever since the day I sold it. Now its 7yrs later and I find myself in the same perdicament but now with a more serious back injury that could require a fusion and possibly take me out of my line of work. I am not thrilled about it but as luck would have it I ended up buying my wife a new tank for xmas. So we both are more then thrilled about our second go around and bigger and better things. Were starting with a Red Sea Max 250 I picked up off craigslist for 500 bucks and swiped a ecotech mp10es from the same guy for 150. Im already somewhat regretting the purchase. My last tank was a 125g with all the bells and whistles. With the RSM 250 I just feel so limited not only with the size but with the filtration set up. I originally wanted it for the simplicity for her. The tanks in decent shape. One of the pumps is bad and one of the ballast I replaced this evening. It didnt come with a skimmer. But the more I keep looking at it the more I dont like the idea of being so limited for future expansion. We are currently renting but we both have agreed once we are able to purchase that we will be building our own one off 300ish gallon "drop off" reef tank built in to the wall. I was gonna have a custom aquarium company build the tank for me and I am gonna handle all the fabricating of the steel stand, woodwork, plumbing, etc. Anyway so with what I am given what would be your guys suggestions to hold me over till I can build my big system. Should I ditch the RSM250 idea. Ive also looked into the life reef sump/fuge system and like the overall design but I feel for that kind of money($1300) I can get more bang for my buck shopping Craigslist for a used 120-200gallon tank and starting back from scratch. Plus I could prolly sell the RSM250 and recoup some of that money to put back into the build. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated Ive always browsed this site but never posted I figure since Im gonna be out for awhile I might aswell start participating on this forum. At the very least I could post my build to help show others my own information.

12/27/2014, 01:21 AM	#4
JoelA7 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,056	I looked at the RSM line before choosing custom fabrication. In a condo so I had to have the stand made for me too. Just how I decided but I'm glad I did. Rimless. LED lighting really well done. The visual of the tank is awesome as well as the contents. __________________ New 48x24x26.25 w Precision Marine R30 sump, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, 2@Vertex 1.5L reactors for carbon & phosban, GEO Ca reactor w Aquarium Plants regulator. 2 MP40's 2@Radions. #120 live rock & #12

12/27/2014, 07:37 PM	#7
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	I appreciate all the input guys. So I went out to the garage and tinkered with the the measurments of the back filter system. Looks like I can fit one of the innovative marine full size skimmers in the back aswell as swap the noisy red sea stock return pumps out for a decent eheim pumps. I also measured out the bottom of the stand and I have a few ideas incase the IM skimmer and new pumps dont work out so I can switch to a sump/fuge system out later down the road. More then likely a life reef setup. As much as I want the bigger system Im gonna let my wife enjoy the smaller tank for the time being, and hopefully it doesnt backfire. I keep telling her shes gonna be very limited with her fish choices with the smaller tank but she keeps insisting on me not making it such a complicated system like my last tank. But shes extremely in love with tangs and she has a serious problem with buying them. We had a good group of tangs in the last tank Powder blue, naso, yellow, blue hippo and I really wanna get it up and going for her to enjoy, but I can almost see me literaly setting this tank up getting it all cycled and adding rock ready to start adding livestock and all of a sudden she gets a slap in the face the first trip to the LFS cause it becomes a reality for her what she can actually keep in the tank. Im almost thinking for the sake of my wallet I should bring her down to a LFS before I spend a dime on the RSM250 and let her see what she can and cant have. Might make her second guess. Well on a side note since I have some time to kill today. Does anybody have any experince with the innovative marine skimmers ghost gadget or something along those lines. Im looking at the full size model as of right now? Last edited by 97dezertranger; 12/27/2014 at 07:43 PM.

12/31/2014, 11:09 PM	#13
sh8g8delik Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 214	Nick, glad you decided on keeping the RSM. Post up some pictures when its all up and running when you get the chance. Did you decide on the innovative marine skimmer? That was the same skimmer i was planning on getting before i decided to upgrade. Happy new year brother and i hope you a speedy recovery from your back fusion. __________________ -Anh [url=http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2455425]125g Peninsula Tank[/url] Current Tank Info: 125g Peninsula Tank 48Lx30Wx20H, 24" Ati Hybrid powermodule 8 bulb, SWC 230 skimmer, Maxspect gyre 150, 36" Ruby Elite Trigger Sump, MP40W, 1" Sea Swirl, BRS Dual Reactor, Bubble Magus Dosing Pump.

12/27/2014, 12:49 AM	#2
johnyfalco Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Gold Coast, Australia Posts: 48	I think if you have previously had a tank with a sump etc, you would probably find the RSM 250, too limiting. My first ever tank was a RSM130 and the money I spent on modding it, I should have put towards a real tank. Anyhow RSM have there place but having had one I couldn't personally recommend them. Unless its the new model, with the sump etc.

12/27/2014, 01:03 AM	#3
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	Yeah my previous tank was 125g ish, sump, refugium, protein skimmer, external pumps, UV sterlizer, calcium reactor, MH's, apex controller,etc. the list goes on..... It is the older model non-sump version Yeah just seems like a lot of money to spend on such a limiting tank. Aswell as I have no trust in them nor am I comfortable running a hang on overflow box. I would only consider adding a sump with drilling a hole in the bottom of the current filtration area. I know this seems to be a very talked about topic and some people say it cant be done and some say it can. Ive seen some very detailed pictures of it done,and would be more then comfortable doing it and making it work just trying to figure out any added benefit to running a sump on a rsm250 kinda seems like I am giving up a lot of tank real estate for a giant overflow box essentially if I end up converting to a sump theres no real need to own that style display tank i think is my reasoning.

12/27/2014, 12:57 PM	#6
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	If you want a bigger tank you should go for it IMO. You only live once. The fish species you can keep is greatly expanded when compared to any 65 gallon tank. You have prior experience in a the hobby and it sounds like you have the DIY skills to get it done. Of course the two choices are no where near comparble in terms of money, but that may or may not be a consideration for you. $500 may not get you the lighting you want on a custom build. If you like the idea of the build and love tinkering & fine tuning an AIO may not provide that satisfaction. But the RSM250 is a nice tank. It works well and you can have any kind of reef you want. If you want big fish like Tangs you'll be disappointed. The stock skimmer is cheap and works fine but the water level must be kept stable for constant output so an ATO would be recommended. There are after market skimmers available if you want to go that route. The rear chambered sump will perform all the same functions as an in cabinet sump with the exception of having a large macro algae refugium. A shorter person may need a step stool for some things like yearly maintenence when pulling the pumps or skimmer body from the rear chambers. So it all comes down to personal preference. AIO wins for ease and speed of set up. Custom build wins for size and the extra space & features of an in-cabinet sump. Good luck with your choice.

12/27/2014, 07:55 PM	#8
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	On as side note theres a nice rimless 150g for sale about 40 miles from me for 600 bucks its tank,stand,canopy,sump,skimmer. But I figure atleast with that I can expand with. Plus I could probably sell the rsm 250 for 500 bucks and put that money back into the new 150g .Is there a classified ads on this form. I couldve swore there was back when I joined cause I remeber buying stuff from a few members. But for the life of me I can find them. I figured if I need to sell the rsm 250 atleast I would have somewhere other then craigslist to find a buyer.

12/28/2014, 01:12 AM	#9
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	Or by chance does anyone have any suggestions for a skimmer that would fit the back filtration area that has some good reviews looks like the deltec is the most popular but 600 bucks is steep for such a smaller skimmer in my opionion. there seems to be plenty of very well built skimmers for sump setups around the 350 range that would be much more practical

12/28/2014, 05:43 AM	#10
doctorwhoreefer Moved On Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 353	Just chiming in as you say you've been out of the hobby for some time. Read up on carbon dosing, it's a great thing. In my experience I will probably never imagine setting up another tank without a recirculating biopellet reactor, ecobak plus pellets(multiple carbon sourced pellet; think vsv) and biodigest. Also, I guess not everyone is the same, but every tank I've ever gotten off craigslist only had a few years left in it, so it might be super beneficial to grab a new tank.. Welcome back though, sucks it's under such circumstances. At least your wife is on board with the fish tank! (a lot of guys don't have the kind of relationship that allows that hehe)

12/31/2014, 10:11 PM	#12
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	Well figured Id let everyone know what option I took for the time being. Ended up putting the tank in the house today. Wife just talked me into keeping it for her to tinker with for a month or two. I figured it wouldnt hurt as I could transfer all the livestock to the bigger tank once its done. Got most of it put together. Just waiting for the amazon nomes to show up with all my packages. On a side note I have no idea how they ship so fast, ive literally ordered something from amazon prime at 8pm on a monday and it was at my doorstep by 1pm the next day. And ontop of that all the parts were cheaper then the online tank suppliers. I have new sumbersible pumps coming aswell as new RODI filter and membranes. Just need to order a new DI filter from spectrapure. Aswell as pickup a reeflo dart pump and two 55 gallon drums and some steel to weld up a little frame for my salt mixing station. My ultimate plan is to get the rsm250 going. And start a 150g-180g build in february. Although I may start building the steel base aswell as the wood cabinet fasad and canopy. Thanks again for everyones opinions.

01/01/2015, 01:08 AM	#15
97dezertranger Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Lake Hughes / Palmdale Posts: 109	And I will be sure to post pics of it once its up and going. Aswell as some pics of the project tank once I start getting some of the pieces together.