Red Sea Max water level trouble

[dsprouse]

Hey everyone,
As you can see from the title and my other posts, I have a rsm 130d. I have removed the hood and run one Radion over it and in the back I have a media rack with filter floss, purigen, and chemi pure elite. I've removed the carbon bag and ceramic rings so that all that is present is skimmer and the media rack (from inTank). My water level is stable in all areas of the tank but in the chamber of death it is super low and if I run both return pumps it drops so low it sends out bubbles. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem or knew of any possible solutions. Thanks.

 

[freezerrat]

Try removing the media rack and see how it works. You are not getting balanced flow into and out of the rear. The flow to the pumps is being restricted too much somewhere.

 

[y-not]

Before I put an ATO on my RSM 250, I had the same issue.
The water level in the display part of the tank would remain at the same level while the water level in the rear chamber would drop. When it dropped enough, I'd get the bubbles from hell.

It was a combo of adjusting the overflow gate and topping off with water that solved the problem.

No need to worry about the water overflowing the display side as long as you keep an eye on it.
Top off the chamber and the air bubbles should disapate.

 

[y-not]

freezerrat;946602 wrote: Try removing the media rack and see how it works. You are not getting balanced flow into and out of the rear. The flow to the pumps is being restricted too much somewhere.

Yeah, and that too! :yes:

 

[dsprouse]

First off thanks for the quick responses. If removing the media basket does in fact help, are there parts of the basket that aren't necessary? I figured all the parts of it were fairly important since I removed the carbon and old media sponge.

 

[y-not]

My 250 does not have a basket.
If I were you, I'd get a refillable bag and run carbon just to help with water clarity.

I truly suspect that you simply need to fill the camber with RO water. That would be my first plan of attack.

If the low water in the chamber is causing bubbles in the display, raise the water level in the chamber.

 

[tromblydavid]

You need to zip tie the chemi pure to to rack above so it hangs and does not block the flow. You also need to place the purigen at an angle to also not block the flow. I used the marineland rite size bonded filter pad for the top. I used a cardboard template and cut the pad to fit. You need to change the filter pad whenever the flow starts to get blocked. With this setup I was able to run both return pumps. You also may need to adjust the overflow level by moving the gate cover up or down, in your case.

I also had removed the oem skimmer, filter stuff. I used the tunze skimmer with the In-tank skimmer cup.

 

[indecloudzua]

add more water..i had the same issue with my BC29 with the media baskets..you'll more than likely need to add more water to your system..it seems like will overflow but it wont..and then an ATO will help tremendously

 

[y-not]

indecloudzua;946665 wrote: add more water..i had the same issue with my BC29 with the media baskets..you'll more than likely need to add more water to your system..it seems like will overflow but it wont..and then an ATO will help tremendously

My son has a BioCube that was doing the same thing, today, as the OP's tank.

Normally I hear the gurgling water sound before the bubbles kick in. :confused2:
Topped it off with a gallon of fresh and the bubbles stopped right away. As did the tell tale gurgling sound.

 

[dsprouse]

I think it might have to do with the media basket because the display level is good and the all back chambers are full it's just the far left one that's low.

 

[tromblydavid]

If you look at what I call the middle chamber, the water level drops to the level of the baffle and doesn't overflow it fast enough to fill the pump chamber. That is because the water flow through the media basket has become too slow to keep up.

I think Red Sea made some oem changes to partially address the water flow problems. I though they made a change to his the pumps are mounted and went from two to one?

It's all in the maintenance. Make the changes I said and change the floss-pad often

 

[drydock]

I've had multiple configs for my RSM 130d. Stock config. With media rack, without. With stock skimmer, with AquaMedic skimmer. Different media in different configs in rack, etc. I have microbubbles no matter what if I run both return pumps. So I only run one return pump and add in tank circulation pumps to keep water flow up. No microbubbles.

 

[indecloudzua]

dsprouse;946710 wrote: I think it might have to do with the media basket because the display level is good and the all back chambers are full it's just the far left one that's low.

thats why you need more water..call mediabaskets..they will say the same thing..

 

[dball711]

dsprouse;946710 wrote: I think it might have to do with the media basket because the display level is good and the all back chambers are full it's just the far left one that's low.

Nothing to do with the media basket, it's evaporation and you need to top it off. This is normal with All in ones, water levels will fluctuate in the compartment with the return pump if that compartment is fed via spill over from the top.

No need to adjust flows or turn pumps off, just top off the tank daily and your good to go (this will also reduce salinity fluctuations). Or get an ATO. I had a biocube with an open top that lost 3 cups of water daily to evaporation. I just added 3 cups of fresh water and all was well.

 

[dsprouse]

I just figured it wouldn't be a top off problem because it appears the water can't get to the pumps fast enough. Water is almost overflowing from the first chamber and the middle or skimmer and pump chamber are low. I thought all chambers were good other than the pump chamber but after looking tonight all chambers are low except for the first (basket) chamber. But I appreciate all the feedback. I'll try suggestions out until something works out.

 

[indecloudzua]

Call up media baskets. They will know and most likely say the same thing. You will have to keep adding until the level in the chamber with the pump remains stable. And set up your chemipure and purigen as suggested by an earlier poster.it will work. I promise

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[dball711]

Have you tried to add some water? if not just add some fresh water and see what happens. If that docent help then remove the media basket...

 

[drydock]

There's a number of posts and discussions on this topic over at