Wayne's lazy RSM 250

waynemah · #1 01-27-2015, 10:19 PM

Back in the game!

I purchased a used RSM250 and decided to try an ultra simple (lazy) approach to reefing. I'm taking chances on things that I felt were imperative to keeping a reef tank and implementing technologies that keep the water as consistent as possible.

Skimmerless:
During the years of keeping my 225 alive, maintaining the skimmer was one of the least satisfying jobs. I've always felt a strong skimmer is crucial to having a successful reef. This is a great opportunity to try something that others have had success with.

Tap Water:
Eliminating unwanted chemicals/nutrients from source water has always been the goal, but it comes at a cost of maintenance and funds. Recently a friend of mine with a very successful tank discovered he was pouring high TDS water into his system, with no real effects. This is always something I can adjust later, but for now using tap water is easy and essentially free.

Weekly-Bi-Weekly water changes:
I'll be performing water changes every week to start and hopefully move to a bi-weekly schedule. The total volume changed would be 10G which is around 15%.

Auto Top Off:
I'm running a Tunze nano ATO unit connected to a 5G pail. The evaporation at the moment is 1G per day (which feels pretty high). I treat the tap water with a pond grade water treatment solution.

Dosing:
I will be dosing Calcium, Alkalinity and some sort of carbon source. For now I will perform a weekly water test to keep the parameters in check. Dosing will be performed with a cheap Jebao 4 pump unit. So far the unit works flawlessly and is an excellent value at $120 shipped. Carbon source is vinegar for now, but I will likely introduce a small amount of Vodka in the mix. I may consider the 4th unit to dose Peroxide for fish health and algae growth.

Lighting:
After switching to T5 from LED on my 225 I was sold. I will continue with the stock lighting and ATI bulbs. I haven't changed out the stock bulbs yet, but will be going with 3 Blue+, 2 Coral+ and 1 Purple+.

Tester SPS frag, seems to be doing well so far. Color hasn't change since I bought it.