bubbles in my red sea max

Fishguy52 · #1 03-11-2010, 01:50 AM

Just wondering if anyone has a red sea max or anyother kind of tank) and if they get little bubbles all the time, i have tried all the tricks i can think of( skimmer, powerheads, pumps) i cant seem to remember how long setup bubbles last?

any help would be great its annoying!!!

thank you

freezetyle · #2 03-11-2010, 04:52 AM

I dont have any experience with the RSM so i am not sure what the back chambers look like. My guess in that they are coming from the skimmer.

After i added my skimmer to my biocube i was getting them for a bit. The problem got fixed my adding a sponge(be sure to clean it regularly) near the outtake to help slow the movement allowing them to reach the surface in the back compartment and not the display.

viperfish · #3 03-11-2010, 05:00 AM

I had a Red Sea Max. I went through the same thing and you'll find pretty much every RSM owner has the same problem. Seems to go away when the skimmer is broken in. I assume yours is new.

dankent · #4 03-11-2010, 11:21 AM

Yea have the same thing ... even changed to a tunze 9002 skimmer .. didnt make much difference .. in fact its probably worse then what i had with the RS skimmer. I think it all has to do with flow and water level ... you notice the 130 has the return powerheads up high .... I have a biocube that puts the return pump in the bottom of the chamber and never have any microbubbles. I get bubbles with or without my skimmer on. Its not a whiteout ..... but its enough to anoy me. My next thing to try before i sell it ... is a sump in the cabinet and run everthing (skimmer, reactors) in there. and see that works.

ElGuappo · #5 03-11-2010, 09:08 PM

i had the same problem with mine. then my skimmer pump crapped out and the problem stopped.

yes the higher the water level the less bubbles. check for clogs in your returns intakes aswell. if this setup is new you are prbably using the media bag under the returns? get rid of it and put some LR rubble in there. first of all hte bag just fills with debris. secondly its always got air in as its near impossible to remove all the air when inserting it. when bubbles from your skimmer make it thru the baffles the bag then traps them and releases them into your return.

ponokareefer · #6 03-11-2010, 09:29 PM

I've got the same issue. Initially, it was worse until the skimmer got worked in, but it has never quit. That is one of the reasons I went with a peacock mantis shrimp in there, rather than risk seahorses with the bubbles.

Griffin · #7 03-12-2010, 07:32 PM

Had the same problem when i set up - replaced the skimmer with a tunze 9002 and homemake media rack, added the optional suface skimmer (works great), shut off one of return power heads (most of my lsp didnt like to higher flow with both going) and put in a Koralia powerhead #2 by the suface skimmer to move the water along the back wall - no microbubbles - It has more than enough flow for what i have in my tank

viperfish · #8 03-13-2010, 07:06 AM

I hooked up a sump and relocated the skimmer, problem solved. I also added a fuge.

RIPTANK · #9 03-13-2010, 09:39 AM

Ok, I'm really curious as to how you guys managed to rig a sump, fuge and replace the skimmer with a tunze 9002 given how little space there is in the RSM250.
Mine is still sitting in the box and I've been thinking of ways to install a sump 'cause I hear the stock skimmer is absolutely junk.

Anyways, I'm sure the rest of us RSM owners would love to see some pics of your modified red sea max 250s!

tinman · #10 03-13-2010, 02:07 PM

hey,
i've got about 10 months on mine now, and it's been quite a learning curve, and numerous calls to pinky at rsm about the skimmer! finally i think i've got a handle on it now! first use a good water conditioner, do not use anything with a slime coat this is hell on the skimmer it will produce micro bubbles for a week. go with something like prime(seachem) water quality seems to really matter aside from regular water changes and testing i thought my ph was good until i purchased a aqua controller with the ph probe it was then i found out that my ph test kit was bad, so after fixing my ph problem the skimmer worked great i had to use a reef buffer and reef builder to make it right. now i can run the air valve wide open and the height adjusted to just about the min and i get plenty of skimmate in one day! also the light bulbs seem to be real sensitive and don't have a long life span under 6 months so far. if you don't keep a sharp eye on them you'll have the nicest crop of algae in all of town! if you do get excessive bubbles, i found that if i shut down one of the cir pumps the areated water won't get pulled out of the skimmer as fast. also you could cut your black filter filter sponge in half and use one half to difuse the bubbles on the outlet side just place it the skimmer outlet side before the heater compartment. and while you're at it get rid for the media under the cir pumps unless you've got small hands and skinny forearms it's a long reach to the bottom! now i run a two little fishes reactor to tumble rowa phos or carbon now. anyhow all of this worked for me and may not work for you i am currently building a 10 gallon sump for this tank and i'll post some pics as soon as i get the details hammered out!