CDMSeaLife
Active Member
Hi Roy, my skimmer pump failed as well. I called Red Sea and all they asked is that I send them a copy of sales receipt and serial number and they sent me a new pump! I purchased my RSM 250C in May 2014.
Roy's Red Sea Max C-250
- Thread starter Roy Page
- Start date
Hi Roy, my skimmer pump failed as well. I called Red Sea and all they asked is that I send them a copy of sales receipt and serial number and they sent me a new pump! I purchased my RSM 250C in May 2014.
Roy Page
Active Member
Unfortunately, my replacement Skimmer pump has just failed so I am rather disappointed.
This is a failure to produce foam, the pump is still pumping but foam generation has stopped.
I can get it going again by stopping and starting the pump several times and blowing hard into the air tube.
But after a few hours it stops generating foam again.
I have had the skimmer out and given it all and the pump a good clean [wasn't dirty] and again it runs for a few hours but then the foam stops.
Has anyone had a similar problem and found a fix?
This is a failure to produce foam, the pump is still pumping but foam generation has stopped.
I can get it going again by stopping and starting the pump several times and blowing hard into the air tube.
But after a few hours it stops generating foam again.
I have had the skimmer out and given it all and the pump a good clean [wasn't dirty] and again it runs for a few hours but then the foam stops.
Has anyone had a similar problem and found a fix?
Hi Roy - don't know if it will help in your case... but on mine, whenever I have experienced something like this, it's always related to cleaning the impeller & it's housing - sometimes more than 2 or 3 times... doing the same cleaning.... then it works again, this has happened on mine a few times over the last 5 years.
Roy Page
Active Member
T5 Lights -How often do you replace the bulbs?
Our RedMax C-250 has been up and running for almost 11 months and I am sure the T5 bulbs must be getting tired.
We have run the lights on average about 8 hours per day.
How often do you change yours?
How do you know it's time to change them?
Roy
Our RedMax C-250 has been up and running for almost 11 months and I am sure the T5 bulbs must be getting tired.
We have run the lights on average about 8 hours per day.
How often do you change yours?
How do you know it's time to change them?
Roy
Pat24601
Well-Known Member
This is what I do as well, but I couldn't tell you why. I just took others rule of thumb and decided to play it cautious. I know Roy likes to know why.
mtsully71
Well-Known Member
Here ya go Roy enjoy http://kb.marinedepot.com/article.aspx?id=10857 
Hey Roy,
I have seen many saying T5s last 12 months plus... like the above post ^
but I believe I can tell a difference in my corals if they go over 12 months
so I have been changing mine in the 10-12 month range (for the last 5 years now...), hope this helps
I try to place my order around month 10-11 months and get them changed in the following weeks.
see what others are doing & having success with...
I have seen many saying T5s last 12 months plus... like the above post ^
but I believe I can tell a difference in my corals if they go over 12 months
so I have been changing mine in the 10-12 month range (for the last 5 years now...), hope this helps
I try to place my order around month 10-11 months and get them changed in the following weeks.
see what others are doing & having success with...
Adrienne
Well-Known Member
I started to change mine out at six months - done four, two to go and am just waiting on the next shipping container in so I can put them in the tank. Am changing a single tube every second week so replacement will always be staggered. I ended up having to go Geissmann as the reef spec aren't over here and I love them. They seem to have a lot greater output as far as lighting goes.
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
Depends on the bulb brand, and how long each day you run your lights. Running at 6 hours a day verses 12 hours a day can extend the length of time using them. Some replace at 6 months and others replace at 10 or 12 months. Some brands can tend to keep their light spectrum longer then others. I tend to see more algae growth starting at about 7 months, so I usually change them out around that time (anywhere from 6-8 months). All T5HOs will start to change their spectrum and loose intensity after a while. That is a good link above that @mtsully71 provided.
I change three bulbs at a time. Three at the beginning of the month and three at the end of the month, so that all 6 are replaced within a certain time frame, but not all at once to shock the most sensitive corals.
I change three bulbs at a time. Three at the beginning of the month and three at the end of the month, so that all 6 are replaced within a certain time frame, but not all at once to shock the most sensitive corals.
Roy Page
Active Member
Pat you know me better than I know myselfThis is what I do as well, but I couldn't tell you why. I just took others rule of thumb and decided to play it cautious. I know Roy likes to know why.
Thanks all, I decided to buy a new set and change all of mine which are now 10 months old.
Roy
Roy Page
Active Member
Black Sponges in RedSea Max C-250.
I have often seen it written here that "Black Sponges are Nitrate factories"
Despite our best efforts, the Nitrate levels in our C-250 hover around 5ppm.
Yes, we have too many fish but enjoy them and as a result have a somewhat higher bioload than we would wish for.
Yes, we also suffer with cyano which builds in the day and most vanishes after the night only to build again the next day. This is our cyano cycle ... [Been with us for about a couple of months]
We have been dosing the tank daily with NO3 PO4-X for last 2 months but it has zero effect on the nitrate level or cyano. We have very good water flow throughout the tank using the standard RedSea pumps and an MP40 which operates in Reef mode and our brand of cyano must enjoy a good flow rate .....
Maybe the only really good part of out tank husbandry is that we religiously do a 5 Gall water change every weekend. Never miss.
As Pat remarked up above, "Roy like to know why!" and have maintained the use of the Black Sponges since day 1 because in my book they are catching most of the floating detritus before it gets pumped back into the tank.
Also:-
If they are producing nitrate, surely they are also converting dissolved ammonia to nitrite and playing an important part of the water cleaning cycle. No?
We pull the sponges out every month or so and wash them thoroughly.
Can someone give a good technical explanation why they remove the sponges and as a result lower the nitrate level?
Roy
I have often seen it written here that "Black Sponges are Nitrate factories"
Despite our best efforts, the Nitrate levels in our C-250 hover around 5ppm.
Yes, we have too many fish but enjoy them and as a result have a somewhat higher bioload than we would wish for.
Yes, we also suffer with cyano which builds in the day and most vanishes after the night only to build again the next day. This is our cyano cycle ...
[Been with us for about a couple of months]We have been dosing the tank daily with NO3 PO4-X for last 2 months but it has zero effect on the nitrate level or cyano. We have very good water flow throughout the tank using the standard RedSea pumps and an MP40 which operates in Reef mode and our brand of cyano must enjoy a good flow rate .....
Maybe the only really good part of out tank husbandry is that we religiously do a 5 Gall water change every weekend. Never miss.
As Pat remarked up above, "Roy like to know why!" and have maintained the use of the Black Sponges since day 1 because in my book they are catching most of the floating detritus before it gets pumped back into the tank.
Also:-
If they are producing nitrate, surely they are also converting dissolved ammonia to nitrite and playing an important part of the water cleaning cycle. No?
We pull the sponges out every month or so and wash them thoroughly.
Can someone give a good technical explanation why they remove the sponges and as a result lower the nitrate level?
Roy
Hi Roy 
I removed my black sponges because I felt like the thickness and the plastic like material they are made of, made the innermost part of them impossible to clean.
My tank has been running without them since it cycled. My nitrates tests at only a trace if not zero. (Tested today) I don't dose anything.
I do a 10gal WC every week. You might try increasing your weekly WC amount.
Doing so even for a few weeks will allow you to siphon off more of the cyano during your WC.
I removed my black sponges because I felt like the thickness and the plastic like material they are made of, made the innermost part of them impossible to clean.
My tank has been running without them since it cycled. My nitrates tests at only a trace if not zero. (Tested today
) I don't dose anything. I do a 10gal WC every week. You might try increasing your weekly WC amount.
Doing so even for a few weeks will allow you to siphon off more of the cyano during your WC.
Hi Roy,
Will have to have some other member give a technical explanation, but to me here a logical one...
when I feed some of the particles of food circulate in my RSM 250 & end up flowing into the back sump area through the gate, some are exported through my skimmer (being I am not running mechanical filtration - the black sponges) what my skimmer does not remove is circulated where in my DT (display tank) my corals, fish, pods, snails, and a host of other living things like brittle stars, bristle worms, eat them, imo, this is far better than this food being trapped in a sponge to rot (Nitrate results from nitrogen source like food and wastes rotting) it would be like leaving food from our plates left in our sinks for a month... way too long, if you want to run the sponges, which is fine I think, if you clean them regularly, I would suggest more than once a week.
anecdotally I ran the sponges in my RSM 130D for 2 years, cleaned them at the sink under running warm tapwater twice a week & this worked well
after watching many beautiful RSM 250 tanks for two years that didn't run the sponges, I got one and gave it a go (not running sponges) and this worked well for me too, for over 3 years now.
See what others think... hope this helps
PS - cyno is almost always related to overfeeding & not cleaning sponges twice a week or more... will add to it (imo - in my opinion)
Here a good read... on some tips for controlling them
Nitrate Problem
Will have to have some other member give a technical explanation, but to me here a logical one...
when I feed some of the particles of food circulate in my RSM 250 & end up flowing into the back sump area through the gate, some are exported through my skimmer (being I am not running mechanical filtration - the black sponges) what my skimmer does not remove is circulated where in my DT (display tank) my corals, fish, pods, snails, and a host of other living things like brittle stars, bristle worms, eat them, imo, this is far better than this food being trapped in a sponge to rot (Nitrate results from nitrogen source like food and wastes rotting) it would be like leaving food from our plates left in our sinks for a month... way too long, if you want to run the sponges, which is fine I think, if you clean them regularly, I would suggest more than once a week.
anecdotally I ran the sponges in my RSM 130D for 2 years, cleaned them at the sink under running warm tapwater twice a week & this worked well
after watching many beautiful RSM 250 tanks for two years that didn't run the sponges, I got one and gave it a go (not running sponges) and this worked well for me too, for over 3 years now.
See what others think... hope this helps
PS - cyno is almost always related to overfeeding & not cleaning sponges twice a week or more... will add to it (imo - in my opinion)
Here a good read... on some tips for controlling them
Nitrate Problem
Roy Page
Active Member
Diana & Glenn,
Thanks!!!
I now have a reason to experiment with removing the sponges
So .......... just removed the black sponges, understanding that the bits of food and detritus are lodging in the sponges and not available as food for the cleanup crew and that they will create a home for the production of Nitrate via the normal Ammonia > Nitrite> Nitrate cycle.
Certainly increasing the water change amount from 5 to 10 galls per week would dilute the % of Nitrate but only by a very small amount. I will continue with my 5 galls for a month without the sponges so I can directly compare the Nitrate levels with those seen over the recent past with the sponges in place.
When this experiment is proven one way or the other, I think that increasing the water change from 5 galls to 10 galls per week will be beneficial and I will do that.
Roy
Thanks!!!
I now have a reason to experiment with removing the sponges
So .......... just removed the black sponges, understanding that the bits of food and detritus are lodging in the sponges and not available as food for the cleanup crew and that they will create a home for the production of Nitrate via the normal Ammonia > Nitrite> Nitrate cycle.
Certainly increasing the water change amount from 5 to 10 galls per week would dilute the % of Nitrate but only by a very small amount. I will continue with my 5 galls for a month without the sponges so I can directly compare the Nitrate levels with those seen over the recent past with the sponges in place.
When this experiment is proven one way or the other, I think that increasing the water change from 5 galls to 10 galls per week will be beneficial and I will do that.
Roy
increasing the wc to 10 gallons a week will help
and it's my understanding the food rotting in the sponges, is not the same, as when this happens in the LR, the anaerobic bacteria breaks down the nitrates and the LR is much better at doing this than the anaerobic bacteria living in the sponges, it related to the surface area and oxygen content if I remember what I have read correctly...
maybe someone can elaborate on this that knows more and or correct anything I have wrong ^
and it's my understanding the food rotting in the sponges, is not the same, as when this happens in the LR, the anaerobic bacteria breaks down the nitrates and the LR is much better at doing this than the anaerobic bacteria living in the sponges, it related to the surface area and oxygen content if I remember what I have read correctly...
maybe someone can elaborate on this that knows more and or correct anything I have wrong ^