Technical issues:
Red Sea MAX | Support – product support information, user manual downloads
Q: Why does my tank keep filling with thousands of tiny bubbles?
A: First you need to identify the source of the bubbles.
To do this, turn off the protein skimmer via the external control panel and allow the aquarium to continue running for about 15 minutes to allow the filtration to acclimatize to the new conditions.
If the bubbles stop - see the Protein Skimmer section below
If the bubbles persist - the problem could be due to one of the following:
Air trapped in or released from the filter media
Black filter foam - When inserting the filter foam, expel any air trapped inside it by compressing it underwater with your hands. Repeat the operation a few times until no more air bubbles are released.
Carbon media - It is normal for new carbon media to release a lot of air bubbles. This will disappear naturally after a few days.
Insufficient water flow through the filtration chamber
This will reduce the water level in the chamber as water is being removed from the chamber by the powerheads quicker than it is entering through the inlet comb. When the waterline drops below the powerhead inlets, some air can be sucked in with the water and enters the aquarium as tiny bubbles.
The easiest way to identify this is to look or feel the depth of the water passing over the partition that separates the skimmer compartment from the heater compartment. If this is less than about 1 cm, or if you can hear the water gushing over it like a waterfall, then the water is not entering the filtration chamber quick enough.
REMEDY:
1. Push the inlet comb shutter down to the fully open position
2. Clean the fine white sponge filter. This tends to get clogged up after a few days of operation, especially when there is a lot of waste passing through the filter, such as during set-up or after live rock is added. We recommend that you remove and clean the fine sponge every other day (rinse it in either RO water or saltwater) for as long as is necessary.
3. Some MAX owners, in an effort to lower the likelihood of blockages, reduce the mass of the coarse spongeby cutting it into a smaller block of about 10cm/4” in vertical height.
Air trapped in the powerhead nozzles. If the nozzles were pointing downwards when you filled your MAX with water at setup, air may have got trapped in one or both of the nozzles. This air is released over time in the form of small bubbles.
REMEDY:
1. Turn the powerheads on and off a couple of times to clear them
2. Direct the nozzle/s upwards to release the air
Protein Skimmer
Note: Red Sea released a small quantity of MAX aquariums in December 2006 / January 2007 with an incorrectly calibrated inlet for the MAX skimmer pump, which causes a lot of bubbles to be released into the aquarium. Most of these original inlets have already been replaced. Click here to see if your model has been fitted with the original or the modified inlet. If you do not have the modified inlet, contact your Red Sea supplier to receive one.
The performance of protein skimmers is affected by small traces of chemicals in the water such as residues of silicon or glues from the production process (even smoking a cigarette next to a skimmer can affect its performace). Skimmers also need for there to be organic particles in the aquarium water in order to work properly. When there are no organic particles, i.e. in a new aquarium with new water and no livestock, the ability of the skimmer to retain the bubbles in the reaction chamber is reduced. Both these situations increase the surface tension of the water and cause a small proportion of the bubbles to escape from the skimmer instead of remaining in the reaction chamber. This is typical of new skimmers / aquariums and will cease naturally after a few days.
A large amount of detritus, or organic waste, in the water (such as when curing live rocks) may also cause bubbles to be released from the skimmer. In this case, the bubbles leaving the skimmer are normally accompanied by overskimming, a situation in which the skimmer produces large amounts of a very wet foam.
REMEDY:
1. Overskim until the skimmer has removed all the waste naturally
2. Change the carbon filter media
Artificial rocks, corals or other aquarium ornaments are also typical sources of contaminants that can affect skimmer performance. It you have any such items in the aquarium, removing them may reduce the bubble problem, though you may need to do a complete water change to completely clear the system of their affect.
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Q: I am having problems adjusting/fine tuning the skimmer
A: Firstly, remember that your skimmer will work only if the water contains proteins, as these proteins bind to the surface of the air bubbles and give the bubbles the structural rigidity they need to ascend the neck of the skimmer and settle in the collection cup. If your tank is clean, your skimmer cannot produce foam no matter how much you open the air inlet.
Once you’ve added live rock or fish to your MAX, it can take about an hour before the skimmer starts foaming. Start by opening the inlet valve half-way and observe what happens. After a while, you should see the top of the bubble column rise about half way up the neck of the collection cup. If the column is lower than this, open the air valve slightly; if it's higher, close it. A little later, you should see dirt starting to collect around the top of the skimmer neck and around the outside of it.
After a day or two you should see thick, dark, gunk in the collection cup, though you're not likely to get much more than dirt in and on the skimmer neck until your tank is properly stocked or you’ve added some new live rock. If you find the cup filling with bubbles or very watery waste, close the air valve slightly. If there’s thick goo in the skimmer neck but none on the outside of the neck or in the cup itself, open the air valve.
If you've just introduced live rock, or something else that’s generated a lot of organic waste in an otherwise clean tank, you might find that after a couple of days the skimmer is no longer producing foam. This means that your water is probably clean by now. Once the skimmer is consistently producing gunk, leave it running all the time - but check it regularly to keep it in tune with changing aquarium conditions.
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Q: There a dirty film floating on the surface of the water.
A: The dirty film is simply detritus, or dead organic matter, that has risen to the surface of the water and is held there by surface tension. Under normal conditions, surface detritus is drawn into the filtration system. However, if your MAX is filled right up to the base of the rim (i.e. so you can't see the waterline from the outside), then the surface of the water will actually be above the level of the filter inlet grill, meaning that it does not get drawn into the filtration system. There is no easy way around this, other than to lower the water level (permanently or temporarily) so that the waterline falls to below the top of the inlet grill, or to increase surface turbulence by repositioning the powerheads.
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Q: The powerheads are running but no water is passing through them.
A: This can be due to two reasons:
Airlock. During setup, small pockets of air (airlocks) can get trapped inside the impellor chamber of the powerhead, causing it to spin freely without pumping any water.
REMEDY:
1. Carefully remove each powerhead from the glass partition to which it’s attached
2. Invert the powerhead body inside the water of the chamber. Shake it gently to release the airlock
Inlet tube blockage. One of the corners of the bio media mesh bag has got sucked into the inlet of the powerhead and is blocking it.
REMEDY:
Push the bio media bag down so that its corners away from the powerhead inlet
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Q: The water temperature in the aquarium is going over 27°C / 83°F
A: Check the ambient temperature in the room in which Max is installed and see the answer to the question “I live in a hot climate and I’m worried my MAX will overheat” below.
Due to a lack of ventilation in your room you may find that the ambient room temperature has risen or is not in synch with the temperature in the rest of the house. If possible try to reduce the ambient temperature by increasing the ventilation in the room.
Most homes and offices are heated or air conditioned to a comfortable 22–24°C / 72-76°F so the addition of the optional rear water cooling fan should be sufficient to keep the water temperature in the desired range.
Very soon we will be offering a cooling fan add-on kit for the MAX. In the meantime it is possible to make one at home from readily available standard parts; you will find the pop-out fan housing located in the rear top frame of the aquarium. If you are interested in a DIY solution please contact a Red Sea office for specification of the parts required and detailed instructions.
08-30-2009, 11:06 AM
