My new Red Sea Max

Nirvana

New member
I just bought a new red sea max fish tank. I will be transfering everything from my old 24gallon dx to my new RSM. I will be posting some pictures as i get this thing set up. There is alot of parts to be putting together to get it setup. This is so far the nicest nano i have seen.
 
I HAVE ONE; I ONLY CHANGED LIGHT FOR 250W HQI PLUS 10K PLUS 150W 20K PLUS A TRUE SKIMMER, AND TWO STREAM 6000 PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS; RED SEA IS TOP!! AS YOU SEE YOU JUST NEED TO CHANGE EVERYTHING HAHAHAHAHHAHA
 
I HAVE ONE; I ONLY CHANGED LIGHT FOR 250W HQI PLUS 10K PLUS 150W 20K PLUS A TRUE SKIMMER, AND TWO STREAM 6000 PLUS PLUS PLUS PLUS; RED SEA IS TOP!! AS YOU SEE YOU JUST NEED TO CHANGE EVERYTHING HAHAHAHAHHAHA

soooo why did you buy it?
 
I just got a new Red Sea Max wednesday. It's been running since Friday night, happy with the appearance, etc. but I'm having a few issues right now which seem to be quite common with the MAX. Maybe you guys can help me?

1. Micro-bubbles: According to Red Sea's support page on the website this is somewhat common. Initially the micro-bubbles were everywhere, the next day they were a a bit less, but since then they have stayed constant. Pretty annoying. The problem comes from the Skimmer. When I shut it off the skimmer the bubbles stop completely. I have read that Red Sea has a newly modified Skimmer nozzle to stop this. I'm going to call Red Sea tomorrow. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

2. Water Level / Surface Skimming : The overflow gate is placed in a way so that the water level has to be just at the bottom of the top plastic rim around the MAX in order to filter/skim the surface of the water. With any surface turbulence at all you can see the water line from outside the tank. Otherwise at a higher level I get a layer of very small flaky particles all over the surface. Suggestions on this one?

3. Fan Noise: The left side of my tank faces the front door with the front of the tank facing the living room. Well the stock noisy cooling fan is on the left side of the tank. If you asked somone to walk by it blind-folded and to describe what they just walked by I'd put money on it they'd say it was a vending machine. I've read a few RSM owners have swapped out the stock cooling fan for a quite PC Fan of some sort. Has anyone here done this?

Thanks for the help
 
after I did all possible tweaks I could imagine off I had a few emails with RSM. Finally yesterday they proposed to sent me new skimmer pump. btw: the skimmer pump should have a BLUE ring on the bottom.
Of course this will take a few days and knowing myself I wouldn't rest even with a new pump coming up. So I kept thinking what could cause this.
I was always thinking the air was sucked out of the skimmer in an area close to the thermometer chamber but then I started investigating the first chamber (where the skimmer pump is) and I saw also air bubbles raising up there. Where the hell can this thing suck air? I thought the airline or pump had a leak. Took it out and reassembled the thing in the sink. No leaks.
I remembered the guy at my LFS told me that instead having not enough flow I might have to much flow on the intake of the skimmer pump and the air was sucked out again right after the water was mixed with the air and blown into the skimmer.
Now guess what! I put a little piece (about 5cm) over the intake of my skimmer pump to make the pipe longer. Then on that tube I attached a "flow valve" which I closed half way so the skimmer wouldn't suck that much water. Result: 99% of the air bubbles are GONE. It might sound weird to some people here but it works for me.
It is sad we have to do all this tweaking to make thing work but otherwise I love the tank. Have some nice pices of rock in there and in the mean time some nice corals also.
 
Here you go.
Just starting up here. Nothing compared to what can be done and what you can see in the picture gallery but I am very excited and patient with the tank.

Michael

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the stand looks like a mini fridge.

we have one set up at the LFS I work at. I like the lights (they seem nice and bright), and design (timer included, independent switches, place to put test kits, etc.) I don't like the skimmer at all, and I think the price is too high.
 
I got mine here in the US for about $750.00 including the stand. Tank only was about $570.00.
The cabinet goes in line with the tank and is very stable and has also a cutout in the back. Putting additional equipment in the cabinet is very easy this way.

I agree. There might be pro and cons for the advanced reefers here but you have to see for who it was designed.
In my opinion it is ideal for somebody who is setting up his first tank and is not very experienced. We must admit. Buying just a tank and then getting all the equipment you need is not an easy task. When I read the postings here there are so many opinions about what skimmer to use, what pump to use and so on.
My skimmer (once I got the air bubble under control) is just doing a great job. Yes I am sure there are better and more powerfull skimmers but for this tank it is just fine. Consider also how much a real good skimmer cost!
The level of lighting is somewhere in the middle I guess. RedSea is using modified compact T5's which gives you some extra power.
There are cheaper and more expensive methods of lighting available on the market.

If you are a pro perhaps it is not the ideal tank and you should built your own.
If you are a novice it is just ideal and you will enjoy this tank a lot.

Michael
 
Love my RSM, anyone surface skimming with a mod? I was thinking if I cut every other tooth (just at the top 1/2 inch) in the over flow, the surface would be able to fall through. I want someone else to try before me. Oh and the skimmer is doing great. I am glad it is not the same as their old hang on back model.

Pat
 
k, good to hear the skimmer is working on your tanks. the one we have set up hasn't skimmed anything yet, and it's ben a few weeks. We aren't super happy with some of the gear that red sea puts out. Red Sea's rep told me that they are going to be coming out with a new skimmer soon that will be able to compete with the likes of euro-reef, but at a lower cost.... Okay, I'll believe it when I see it.
I agree that it's a great product for a novice. Working (even part-time) at a LFS I'm constantly reminded how confusing it is for beginners as I watch their eyes glaze over during my little crash course in reefkeeping technology.
 
Yeah there is no such thing as beginner in this hobby. I don’t think many beginners will buy RSM because they will think 750 bucks is a lot of money, when in reality it is nothing.
 
I completely agree regarding how tough things are for beginners--I'm only 9 months in, so I recall how damn confused I was when the language coming at me was greek from those trying to help.

$750 bucks is in fact a lot of money. In a way it's too bad that beginner's think they need to buy new tanks, unless you absolutely positively MUST have one exact model of tank. IF money is an object, you don't have to go anywhere NEAR 750 to get into a nice nano. Having experience with aquariums, and with access to a large city (Phoenix) and patience, I took the strategy of going used--and saved an absolute arm and a leg--with each of my tank buys. My most recent was a 24g JBJ nano with 30 pounds LR and sand, not much coral, and one fish, and all mods (surface skimmer, MJ 1200, etc...).
150 bucks. That is not a misprint.
I got even better deals on my other 2 nanos fully set with corals and fish.
Maybe I got lucky on these deals, but picking up a fully stocked nano for $300 or less is easy if you keep your eyes peeled.
 
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