I just looked back at the mentioned Maxi mod and its no what I'm talking about,"though it looks to be a good mod" what I did was plug one of the holes, attach a hose and a elbow to the maxi jet 1200 to where it sat down at the bottom of the compartment, and got good flow better than the original two pumps. The little barbed elbows I used I just grinded the barbs off and the locline would slide on.
Red Sea Max Owners Club
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Scooterman67
New member
I added on of the #1 hydrors & will add maybe a #3 later to bump up flow but this little tank is easy to move water. As far as replacing the red sea pumps, I may do that later to increase flow throught the filter area but I really don't need higher flow through that compartment.
Donna, give it time, It should suddenly just kick in.
Donna,
Why not use a couple dabs of crazy glue to hold the lid in place. You probably wont need to remove the lid often. I use a couple small dabs of crazy glue to hold the pump intake covers in place...works well.
Scooterman67,
The Tunze skimmer works well but seems to be cheaply manufactured.
Why not use a couple dabs of crazy glue to hold the lid in place. You probably wont need to remove the lid often. I use a couple small dabs of crazy glue to hold the pump intake covers in place...works well.
Scooterman67,
The Tunze skimmer works well but seems to be cheaply manufactured.
Scooterman67
New member
Hodge is there a better skimmer that would work with this tank?
donna53w
New member
Scooterman67: Did you get the film skimmed off the top of your water? I also keep my water level slightly below the black rim as Reefmack mentioned.
Hodge: I don't think the glue would hold the lid down, as there was a lot of pressure on it ... It is staying in place now that I shortened the air hose & pulled it tightly from the bottom. The shortened tube makes it a bit difficult to insert it into the lid tho. I like the idea of using the crazy glue to hold the pump intake covers in place!! :thumbsup:
Hodge: I don't think the glue would hold the lid down, as there was a lot of pressure on it ... It is staying in place now that I shortened the air hose & pulled it tightly from the bottom. The shortened tube makes it a bit difficult to insert it into the lid tho. I like the idea of using the crazy glue to hold the pump intake covers in place!! :thumbsup:
Scooterman67
New member
Donna, all I did was raise the little gate until I saw where the water surface was being sucked in & it cleared up fast. I think as long as you skim the surface then that is all the flow through the sump/filter area needed. IMO just like a regular sump, all you need is enough flow for water treatment such as a skimmer, media, heating & whatever filtration needed then pumped back into the main tank. Two of the Hydor Koralias should provide enough flow for any type corals. The only downside to these tanks is it needs an ATO, better skimmer & better lighting. Then it would be on another level for a complete reef system. I've been using my Ranco temperature controller on the heater & now have very stable temp. in the tank, this is very important IMO. When I sell my chiller it will have to go with it but I'll buy a new controller, simply because they work so well compared to the all in one type heaters.
donna53w
New member
Good to hear. Yes, I agree, that the gate should be positioned to provide the constant surface skimming but ... as soon as there's some evaporation .... look out for the micro bubbles!! 
Hence, as you suggest, an ATO!! I have one of my stock pumps directed to the surface & this keeps the surface nice & clear.
I am happy with the stock lights as they allow me to keep anything I am interested in. MH are nice, too, but so blasted hot!!!
Hence, as you suggest, an ATO!! I have one of my stock pumps directed to the surface & this keeps the surface nice & clear.I am happy with the stock lights as they allow me to keep anything I am interested in. MH are nice, too, but so blasted hot!!!
donna53w
New member
Here is the reply I got from the Tunze Forum here on RC (thanks for the link Reefmack:
"The hose is left long so that it is easier to remove the pump and connect and disconnect the pump. The key is to pull the hose through into the lower portion. I would connect it the the nipple on the lid and gently pull it through so you don't disconnect it."
That makes pretty good sense ... I was doing it backwards, pulling the hose to the bottom and then trying to attach it to the nipple on the lid ... which of course would just pull the extra length back out of the bottom!!
"The hose is left long so that it is easier to remove the pump and connect and disconnect the pump. The key is to pull the hose through into the lower portion. I would connect it the the nipple on the lid and gently pull it through so you don't disconnect it."
That makes pretty good sense ... I was doing it backwards, pulling the hose to the bottom and then trying to attach it to the nipple on the lid ... which of course would just pull the extra length back out of the bottom!!
Brent F
In Memoriam
When closing the gate to get surface skimming you can tell when you have gone too far if the water level in the display starts to rise (i.e., the grate can’t keep up with the pumps)
Like Donna, I'm happy with the light intensity. What I don't like about the lights is that they used a bulb that is not readily available. Too bad they didn’t use 4 T5’s instead of the proprietary T5 PC. It would have provided very similar light from a standard bulb.
Scooterman67 made a great point about flow in the back and the pros of using a pair of korillias instead of increasing flow through the back.
Like Donna, I'm happy with the light intensity. What I don't like about the lights is that they used a bulb that is not readily available. Too bad they didn’t use 4 T5’s instead of the proprietary T5 PC. It would have provided very similar light from a standard bulb.
Scooterman67 made a great point about flow in the back and the pros of using a pair of korillias instead of increasing flow through the back.
StevieTdrill
In Memoriam
DXTR - It is designed for the the Tuzne, I have no idea what other applications it would work on, probably not many since there are very exact height and width issues with the tube and collection director I have installed. Most run the Tunze on the RSM and other AIO tanks, so it will work with that skimmer.
The cup allows you to put that skimmer at any height in the chamber as necessary. But i have mine right now where the water line is about 1/2 bellow the white line, doesn't seem to effect performace at all.
On cutting the lid, there is no need for that. The tunze cup will fit in there oK, it is just a pain to open and close the hood, you get that nice cracking sound, ick! Cutting the lid would allow you to sink the skimmer in more if needed, but the Cup upgrade prevents that nasty fix, who wants a cut lid on their clean RSM?!
StevieTdrill
In Memoriam
I open my lid all the time I wouldn't think you would want to remove that feature from this tank. I use it to empty my skimmer cup, access and change my filter floss, check and adjust my ATO. It is a better direct angle than opening the hood to do these tasks.
donna53w
New member
Brent: I absolutely agree with the fact that having to buy our bulbs from RSM makes it inconvenient ... I just ordered replacements last week and was informed that there were a very few left in their warehouse. It could take several weeks until there next shipment arrives. What would one do if (god forbid!!) a light went on our tank and there was no replacement to be had??
I guess it's like the hood fans ... I have a set of spares ... should have ordered an extra set of lights while I was at it.
I guess it's like the hood fans ... I have a set of spares ... should have ordered an extra set of lights while I was at it.
Reefmack
In Memoriam
Scooterman67 - be careful if you ever do decide to replace the 2 RSM pumps with something with a lot more gph - you might end up dropping the level in back if the pump(s) pump more water than can get through the gate.
Hodge - On the RSM pumps - you could use plastic cable ties to secure them together, rather than glue. That way if you need to clean the pump you just cut the cable tie instead of trying to break the bond of the superglue. I've done it to mine, but can't remember if you need 12 or 14 inch ties. I agree that the Tunze 9002 is cheaply manufactured. When I got mine I was surprised that it was so light weight, and like Donna, that the top lid doesn't have a decent way to secure it to the body. In my 2 attempts to use it I even had the bottom popping off once or twice.
Donna - a cable tie might be a good solution for the top of the Tunze too - I'm not sure if cable ties are available long enough to do that though? If you think you cut the airline too much you could always replace it (or ask Tunze to send you a replacement piece, hopefully at no charge). By the way, I think replacing the RSM hood with a raised hood, even with MH, has given me a cooler tank. The raised hood doesn't trap heat like the closed hood did, and with a small dual fan my tank stays in the 79-80F range. I can put my hand on top of the raised hood with a 150W MH and 96W of actinics on all day and it's barely warm. Lots of topoff though - close to 1 gallon a day, but I also had a fair amount of topoff with the closed hood and that little fan going in back.
Hodge - On the RSM pumps - you could use plastic cable ties to secure them together, rather than glue. That way if you need to clean the pump you just cut the cable tie instead of trying to break the bond of the superglue. I've done it to mine, but can't remember if you need 12 or 14 inch ties. I agree that the Tunze 9002 is cheaply manufactured. When I got mine I was surprised that it was so light weight, and like Donna, that the top lid doesn't have a decent way to secure it to the body. In my 2 attempts to use it I even had the bottom popping off once or twice.
Donna - a cable tie might be a good solution for the top of the Tunze too - I'm not sure if cable ties are available long enough to do that though? If you think you cut the airline too much you could always replace it (or ask Tunze to send you a replacement piece, hopefully at no charge). By the way, I think replacing the RSM hood with a raised hood, even with MH, has given me a cooler tank. The raised hood doesn't trap heat like the closed hood did, and with a small dual fan my tank stays in the 79-80F range. I can put my hand on top of the raised hood with a 150W MH and 96W of actinics on all day and it's barely warm. Lots of topoff though - close to 1 gallon a day, but I also had a fair amount of topoff with the closed hood and that little fan going in back.
Brent F
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12825886#post12825886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by donna53w
Brent: I absolutely agree with the fact that having to buy our bulbs from RSM makes it inconvenient ... I just ordered replacements last week and was informed that there were a very few left in their warehouse. It could take several weeks until there next shipment arrives. What would one do if (god forbid!!) a light went on our tank and there was no replacement to be had??
I guess it's like the hood fans ... I have a set of spares ... should have ordered an extra set of lights while I was at it.
I'm still considering swapping out the ballasts and end caps and converting my hood over to T5's. For $125 ($185 with bulbs) I can get a 4 X 24 watt = 96 watt T5 which should be near if not better than the 2 X 55 watt T5 PC the RSM came with. I would need to make sure it could fit in the same space.
Another advantage of this swap is the actinics can be turned on earlier and shut off later than the 10,000k daylight bulbs giving a dawn and dusk effect.
This could work out cheaper in the long run especially if there are brokerage fees on shipping the RSM bulbs into Canada.
StevieTdrill
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12825897#post12825897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by donna53w
Hodge was referring to the black lid on the skimmer body, not the lid on the RSM.
aaa drrrrr. Stupid me.
I hate that lid, it doesn't seem to effect performance but next time I am in there a nice big zip tie will be placed around it to keep it down
donna53w
New member
Brent & Reefmack: Yes, a cable tie might be the solution to keep the silly lid in place on the skimmer body. Great idea ... & Reefmack, thanks for reminding me of the cable tie used on the pump guards, too! :thumbsup:
I really thought the MH would be a lot hotter than the stock lighting. With the fans blowing it's a good thing you have your ATO!
OK, I am off to do my water change that I never got at yesterday.
I really thought the MH would be a lot hotter than the stock lighting. With the fans blowing it's a good thing you have your ATO!
OK, I am off to do my water change that I never got at yesterday.
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