My new RED SEA MAX 250 bought from Wonderful World of Fish

[cathym1078]

Cathy, what brand ATO is it ?

Check out website:

http://www.autotopoff.com/products/

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I guess if you know that you are putting the fish in a significantly smaller tank than is advised, by about 50%, it makes it ok. You don't have to be a "fish whisperer" to know that an animal that at one point was swimming on a wild reef on the other side of the globe, grazing on algae, wouldn't be thrilled with the prospect of being crammed in a less than 4' long box to live out the rest of it's short life. The smallest of the 3 tangs still grows to about 1'. I realize you are new to the hobby but there are plenty of fish that would live out their entire life in that tank no problem without the eventual aggression as they outgrow the tank and can't get away from each other. I don't even know why they waste the paper printing this stuff anymore, everyone already knows better.
I'm not trying to argue about it I'm just pointing out a recurring issue that pops up often enough.

 

[fcatch76]

Cathy,

I am a new user, brought here by your post on the RSM250. I have ordered mine and wondered about the lighting. Can you set the lights to turn the Actinic on and then the 10k's or is it like I heard...all tubes all at once?

 

[NYreefNoob]

cathy very nice, people alway sbash about tangs, ive personally only saw 3 tanks that should have them in it, one's a 340g, a 450g and a 300g system, tangs require length to swim in, personally i have a 60g cube with a 2.5" yellow tang, is my tank to small ? yep. will i soon pull it out ? yep and it will go into a 450g system. lfs knows his stuff, and it isnt that he is trying to be a prick, just stating facts. forgot where it is but there's a thing that list the amount of area covered by fish, tangs are around 2500 square yards if i remember correctly, so really no one on here has a tank big enough for them or any fish for that fact, maybe a goby or 2, nice btw

 

[cathym1078]

Unfortunately, the lights all do go on at the same time. :-( In order to make sure that my fish don't get shocked by the lights going on, I installed more LED lights to ease the transition.

Cathy,

I am a new user, brought here by your post on the RSM250. I have ordered mine and wondered about the lighting. Can you set the lights to turn the Actinic on and then the 10k's or is it like I heard...all tubes all at once?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Thanks NYReefnoob, I am the first to admit that I am a card carrying member of the Tang Nazis. Honestly, I think once the "awe" of saltwater wears off and you start really getting into it as a hobby, decisions become more rational and less emotional. It's hard to control ones self at the start of this hobby. I'm not going to say how I started off but I promise a lot of people would be hard pressed to top it as far as gross disregard for tank sizing.

 

[Sandyp1]

Cathy, love what you did with the LED's.......my only complaint about the Max is that you cant turn on the actinics seperate from the rest.

Did you put your LED's on a seperate timer, or just an on/off switch ?

Finally.....love the aquascaping ! Ill let you know when I post pix of my Max.

 

[cathym1078]

Cathy, love what you did with the LED's.......my only complaint about the Max is that you cant turn on the actinics seperate from the rest.

Did you put your LED's on a seperate timer, or just an on/off switch ?

Finally.....love the aquascaping ! Ill let you know when I post pix of my Max.

I have the LEDs on a timer. It turns on about 1 hours before the actinics goes on, and then again for 1 hour after the actinics goes off.

Yes, you are correct, the actinics do go on all at the same time. But with the LEDs now work as a transition light. May be I should send a letter to red sea max.

 

[cathym1078]

I added candy canes to my tanks. I'll post a better picture once it has acclimated.

 

[cathym1078]

Thanks NYReefnoob, I am the first to admit that I am a card carrying member of the Tang Nazis. Honestly, I think once the "awe" of saltwater wears off and you start really getting into it as a hobby, decisions become more rational and less emotional. It's hard to control ones self at the start of this hobby. I'm not going to say how I started off but I promise a lot of people would be hard pressed to top it as far as gross disregard for tank sizing.

Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Yes, I am am new and most of my choices may not be the best. I do care about the fishes in my tank and have been obsessed with ensuring they stay healthy. I will deal with the tank size when the time comes. Who knows, I may end up having a bigger tank. If not, I do have a good friend who help me get into this hobby who will be getting a 200 gallon tank. He can take care of my tangs. (I'm talking about you Alex). LOL. :tongueani

 

[Alex]

love to take them when the time comes, but first lets beef those fish up, I like fat fish......lol

 

[Awibrandy]

Tank looks very nice, love the aquascaping and choices on corals!! As far as the fish are concerned others have already spoken up and you have stated your plans for them. Therefore I'll only say this; You have Good taste.

Enjoy your little slice of the ocean!!!!!

 

[Wilhelm]

The photos are stunning. Density, exposure, saturation all on the money. Good luck with the tank. Query: Digital seems obvious. What gear did you use, what lighting do you have for your tank and what color balance did you use in your camera? Again, great photos.

 

[cathym1078]

I'm using a Nikon D40. F4.5, auto white balance, 800 ISO, No flash used. I used a tripod and adjusted the shutter speed so that the picture will not come out too dark. My tank has T5 lights. Thanks for the compliments.

The photos are stunning. Density, exposure, saturation all on the money. Good luck with the tank. Query: Digital seems obvious. What gear did you use, what lighting do you have for your tank and what color balance did you use in your camera? Again, great photos.

 

[Bob 1000]

Love the full tank shots in the beginning.. I know I'm a little late but welcome to MR..

 

[cathym1078]

Love the full tank shots in the beginning.. I know I'm a little late but welcome to MR..

Thank you Bob.

 

[cathym1078]

New corals in my tank. And one old one, which happens to be one of my favorites. Enjoy.

I got this from fellow reefer Emmanuel in Queens. Thanks

I got this one from Will (aka nycpassat). It's a meteor shower monti. I love this piece.

This Yuma I got from Wonderful World of Fish

This old, but beautiful looking Acan I got from Blackbeards. It only had one head, and now it has 6 extra head growing around it.

This in an updated picture of the candy cane I got from Paul. I'm selling pieces of this. Let me know if you like a piece.

 

[SIReefer]

Late with the welcome. Its always good to see another reefer on the boards from Static Island. Good luck with the tank.

 

[Orca1]

Looking good Cathy......any new updates???

 

[Sandyp1]

Hi Kathy, just wondering, how much evaporation do you get. I sem to be adding about a gallon every 2 days. Going to install a chiller soon, but the tank runs about 77.8 all the time. I wanted to add a calcium reactor too , but Im still trying to figure out how to incorporate it. Ive been battling hair algae for the last 2 weeks, so I still havent put any of my corals back in. I bought a sea hare and 2 sally lightfoot crabs. They're munching on it like crazy ! Hope to have it all gone in the next 2 weeks so I can put my corals back in and post some pix.