Princess Hockey
New Member
Since I'm a little green to the hobby, I had my LFS set up my new Red Sea Max S-400 today.
It's up and running and really seems awfully noisy, without the protein skimmer even on. Turning that on just makes the system even louder...so loud that I can't really have a phone conversation in the room. I got an app on my phone to measure the volume, (dB Meter) and it says its giving off about 53-55 decibels with the cabinet closed. Cabinet open, no protein skimmer, 62 decibels. (Turning skimmer on, bumps those to 58 closed / 67 open). I'm not super concerned about the skimmer since I've seen some posts talking about replacing it...even the guys installing it said it was pretty huge for the size of the tank.
I believe the primary source of the sound is the return pump. Moving it around in the sump only lowers the noise a hair (when I hold it so that it's not touching the bottom or sides at all)
Anyone else with this tank (or any of the S series) that could tell me how much sound theirs is emitting so I can get an idea of whats normal? I'm planning a visit to my LFS where they have one set up (although they've made some changes) so I can get an idea if theirs is giving off as much sound as mine. I've never had a tank this large before or a sump on a tank so I'm not sure what level of noise is considered normal, but its certainly not what I would call "whisper quiet" by any stretch of the imagination.
Nothing to look at yet, but I threw a picture up just for kicks. Tank itself is beautiful. (Window does not get direct sun)
It's up and running and really seems awfully noisy, without the protein skimmer even on. Turning that on just makes the system even louder...so loud that I can't really have a phone conversation in the room. I got an app on my phone to measure the volume, (dB Meter) and it says its giving off about 53-55 decibels with the cabinet closed. Cabinet open, no protein skimmer, 62 decibels. (Turning skimmer on, bumps those to 58 closed / 67 open). I'm not super concerned about the skimmer since I've seen some posts talking about replacing it...even the guys installing it said it was pretty huge for the size of the tank.
I believe the primary source of the sound is the return pump. Moving it around in the sump only lowers the noise a hair (when I hold it so that it's not touching the bottom or sides at all)
Anyone else with this tank (or any of the S series) that could tell me how much sound theirs is emitting so I can get an idea of whats normal? I'm planning a visit to my LFS where they have one set up (although they've made some changes) so I can get an idea if theirs is giving off as much sound as mine. I've never had a tank this large before or a sump on a tank so I'm not sure what level of noise is considered normal, but its certainly not what I would call "whisper quiet" by any stretch of the imagination.
Nothing to look at yet, but I threw a picture up just for kicks. Tank itself is beautiful. (Window does not get direct sun)