AP vs. Red Sea Max
- Thread starter handtlkr
- Start date
masivemunkey
Member
I have a RSM and while I don't think it's the greatest tank ever; everything on it works pretty good after messing around with it for awhile.
Skimmer works perfectly.
The filtration pumps are weird because if you turn one on the other refuses to turn on because the water level in the back drops just enough that it can't. I found the trick is to turn the first on and then quickly turn the second on so the water hasn't dropped enough to affect it. Works perfectly.
I don't think the pumps provide enough flow so I bought two nano hydor koralia powerheads and stuck them in, which I think gives me more than enough flow. These powerheads are EXTREMELY small and built very well, I highly recommend them.
Lights are great IMO. I have a frogspawn coral and it is doing really well, actually better than it was under my MH lights in my old aquarium oddly. I think this could be due to my frequent water changes though. Either way the lights are at least strong enough to easily support a frogspawn.
Some other gripes about the RSM: the tallness of it (wish it was shorter/wider), the carbon placement (underneath the pumps so they must be removed to change it), and the surface skimming which doesn't really do a good job. Once a week I have to slide it up a little to clean off the surface of the water (I didn't have to do this with my last aquarium).
Overall I'd say it's a pretty good aquarium, not prefect, but definitely not bad. I think a lot of people that give it bad reviews didn't take the time to try to solve the problems they were having. Currently I am having sort of an algae problem (nothing TOO bad) hopefully this goes away with time (I've had the tank for about a month).
Cross did you call customer service about your problems or read the manual carefully? I thought the manual was particularly helpful for a lot of my problems.
BTW if you have any more questions about the tank or whatever, just PM me.
Skimmer works perfectly.
The filtration pumps are weird because if you turn one on the other refuses to turn on because the water level in the back drops just enough that it can't. I found the trick is to turn the first on and then quickly turn the second on so the water hasn't dropped enough to affect it. Works perfectly.
I don't think the pumps provide enough flow so I bought two nano hydor koralia powerheads and stuck them in, which I think gives me more than enough flow. These powerheads are EXTREMELY small and built very well, I highly recommend them.
Lights are great IMO. I have a frogspawn coral and it is doing really well, actually better than it was under my MH lights in my old aquarium oddly. I think this could be due to my frequent water changes though. Either way the lights are at least strong enough to easily support a frogspawn.
Some other gripes about the RSM: the tallness of it (wish it was shorter/wider), the carbon placement (underneath the pumps so they must be removed to change it), and the surface skimming which doesn't really do a good job. Once a week I have to slide it up a little to clean off the surface of the water (I didn't have to do this with my last aquarium).
Overall I'd say it's a pretty good aquarium, not prefect, but definitely not bad. I think a lot of people that give it bad reviews didn't take the time to try to solve the problems they were having. Currently I am having sort of an algae problem (nothing TOO bad) hopefully this goes away with time (I've had the tank for about a month).
Cross did you call customer service about your problems or read the manual carefully? I thought the manual was particularly helpful for a lot of my problems.
BTW if you have any more questions about the tank or whatever, just PM me.
deepsix
New Member
I've got a Max that I've had up and running since the beggining of the year and its been a great tank so far.
I get pretty good flow from the two stock pumps and the skimmer works well, it does need a little break-in time. I had micro-bubbles for a good week or two until things got broke in, but they're not an issue any more and it definately pulls the crud out.
Here's a few minor things/mods I've done:
1. I added a hydor flo deflector to one of the returns;
2. I added a Koralia Nano to the lower back, right corner thats hidden by the rock scape and blows behind the rock work;
3. I added a Koralia 1 to the upper right side (opposite the power heads) that points toward the front glass;
4. The stock carbon bag that sits in the chamber under the pumps and on top of the bio-media seemed to be creating a flow issue for the pumps due to gunk build-up in the bag, which is somewhat normal but kind of a pain to remove the pumps to access and clean. So I pulled that bag out and now use a bag of chemi-pure elite dropped in the top of the return side of the skimmer chamber, I added a fitted piece of egg-crate there to keep the bag from getting sucked over the baffle. No more flow restriction. I've also thrown an occasional bag of phos. remover in that spot also.
All the live stock (corals, fish, anemone, clam, etc.) loving life...
I get pretty good flow from the two stock pumps and the skimmer works well, it does need a little break-in time. I had micro-bubbles for a good week or two until things got broke in, but they're not an issue any more and it definately pulls the crud out.
Here's a few minor things/mods I've done:
1. I added a hydor flo deflector to one of the returns;
2. I added a Koralia Nano to the lower back, right corner thats hidden by the rock scape and blows behind the rock work;
3. I added a Koralia 1 to the upper right side (opposite the power heads) that points toward the front glass;
4. The stock carbon bag that sits in the chamber under the pumps and on top of the bio-media seemed to be creating a flow issue for the pumps due to gunk build-up in the bag, which is somewhat normal but kind of a pain to remove the pumps to access and clean. So I pulled that bag out and now use a bag of chemi-pure elite dropped in the top of the return side of the skimmer chamber, I added a fitted piece of egg-crate there to keep the bag from getting sucked over the baffle. No more flow restriction. I've also thrown an occasional bag of phos. remover in that spot also.
All the live stock (corals, fish, anemone, clam, etc.) loving life...
cross
Member
Originally Posted by masivemunkey
http:///forum/post/2628049
I have a RSM and while I don't think it's the greatest tank ever; everything on it works pretty good after messing around with it for awhile.
Skimmer works perfectly.
The filtration pumps are weird because if you turn one on the other refuses to turn on because the water level in the back drops just enough that it can't. I found the trick is to turn the first on and then quickly turn the second on so the water hasn't dropped enough to affect it. Works perfectly.
I don't think the pumps provide enough flow so I bought two nano hydor koralia powerheads and stuck them in, which I think gives me more than enough flow. These powerheads are EXTREMELY small and built very well, I highly recommend them.
Lights are great IMO. I have a frogspawn coral and it is doing really well, actually better than it was under my MH lights in my old aquarium oddly. I think this could be due to my frequent water changes though. Either way the lights are at least strong enough to easily support a frogspawn.
Some other gripes about the RSM: the tallness of it (wish it was shorter/wider), the carbon placement (underneath the pumps so they must be removed to change it), and the surface skimming which doesn't really do a good job. Once a week I have to slide it up a little to clean off the surface of the water (I didn't have to do this with my last aquarium).
Overall I'd say it's a pretty good aquarium, not prefect, but definitely not bad. I think a lot of people that give it bad reviews didn't take the time to try to solve the problems they were having. Currently I am having sort of an algae problem (nothing TOO bad) hopefully this goes away with time (I've had the tank for about a month).
Cross did you call customer service about your problems or read the manual carefully? I thought the manual was particularly helpful for a lot of my problems.
BTW if you have any more questions about the tank or whatever, just PM me.
I did absolutely everything from reading the manual troubleshooting about 15 times to calling. For what I had paid for it, I would expect not to go out and pay for any new pumps, skimmers etc. Maybe I got a lemon, but the only thing I liked about the max was the way it looked and how much room the stand had.I have had the 28 gallon nano with MH lighting for a few days now and everything mechanically works perfect. Personally the lighting and filtration are the most important to me in an aquarium. The max had the looks, but I gave it about 3 weeks total. The skimmer never worked and I had an algae problem also..It was just too many things that added up. Im glad it works great for some people. I looked on line and alot of people are having the same problems.. Anyway good luck and im glad all is well with yours.
http:///forum/post/2628049
I have a RSM and while I don't think it's the greatest tank ever; everything on it works pretty good after messing around with it for awhile.
Skimmer works perfectly.
The filtration pumps are weird because if you turn one on the other refuses to turn on because the water level in the back drops just enough that it can't. I found the trick is to turn the first on and then quickly turn the second on so the water hasn't dropped enough to affect it. Works perfectly.
I don't think the pumps provide enough flow so I bought two nano hydor koralia powerheads and stuck them in, which I think gives me more than enough flow. These powerheads are EXTREMELY small and built very well, I highly recommend them.
Lights are great IMO. I have a frogspawn coral and it is doing really well, actually better than it was under my MH lights in my old aquarium oddly. I think this could be due to my frequent water changes though. Either way the lights are at least strong enough to easily support a frogspawn.
Some other gripes about the RSM: the tallness of it (wish it was shorter/wider), the carbon placement (underneath the pumps so they must be removed to change it), and the surface skimming which doesn't really do a good job. Once a week I have to slide it up a little to clean off the surface of the water (I didn't have to do this with my last aquarium).
Overall I'd say it's a pretty good aquarium, not prefect, but definitely not bad. I think a lot of people that give it bad reviews didn't take the time to try to solve the problems they were having. Currently I am having sort of an algae problem (nothing TOO bad) hopefully this goes away with time (I've had the tank for about a month).
Cross did you call customer service about your problems or read the manual carefully? I thought the manual was particularly helpful for a lot of my problems.
BTW if you have any more questions about the tank or whatever, just PM me.
I did absolutely everything from reading the manual troubleshooting about 15 times to calling. For what I had paid for it, I would expect not to go out and pay for any new pumps, skimmers etc. Maybe I got a lemon, but the only thing I liked about the max was the way it looked and how much room the stand had.I have had the 28 gallon nano with MH lighting for a few days now and everything mechanically works perfect. Personally the lighting and filtration are the most important to me in an aquarium. The max had the looks, but I gave it about 3 weeks total. The skimmer never worked and I had an algae problem also..It was just too many things that added up. Im glad it works great for some people. I looked on line and alot of people are having the same problems.. Anyway good luck and im glad all is well with yours.
cross
Member
Originally Posted by ntracy
http:///forum/post/2638752
I just bought a RSM a few weeks ago, and am having problems with the skimmer... the bubbles are passing through the skimmer and making their way into the main part of the tank. did you have this problem in the beginning?
I did. u have to push on the sponges down to get that to go away. It may go away after awhile..
http:///forum/post/2638752
I just bought a RSM a few weeks ago, and am having problems with the skimmer... the bubbles are passing through the skimmer and making their way into the main part of the tank. did you have this problem in the beginning?
I did. u have to push on the sponges down to get that to go away. It may go away after awhile..
ntracy
Member
actually it was a newbie mistake... the airflow was not turned up high enough, and instead of a cyclonic-action, the bubbles were just floating around in there, causing them to get into the rest of the tank. I opened the air flow all the way and the tank was clear in 10 minutes time.
It goes against all logic, really.... air bubble problem fixed by adding more air bubbles.
It goes against all logic, really.... air bubble problem fixed by adding more air bubbles.
deepsix
New Member
It's a simple little air valve on the skimmer, but you can really fine tune the amount of bubbles from WFO to shut completely off.
I've also found the skimmer pump adds a couple of degrees to the water temp. and now that we're getting warmer here in So.Cal. I am running the skimmer at night when it's cooler and leave it off during the day. Seems to be working great so far.
I've also found the skimmer pump adds a couple of degrees to the water temp. and now that we're getting warmer here in So.Cal. I am running the skimmer at night when it's cooler and leave it off during the day. Seems to be working great so far.