Red Sea Max 250

[Gfuller]

Hello every! I'm very excited about what I found. My wife and I got a good deal on a used Red Sea Max 250. $250.00. So we had to buy it. This is an upgrade from my 20 gallon that I have had for just over 2 years. So I set it up filled it with water, sand and added a few pieces of life rock from my 20 gallon. I turned the 2 return pumps and protein skimmer on and left it run. That was Saturday & when I got home Monday after work the thank temp was 88 Degrees. yikes. without the lights on.

So after doing some research I have found out these tanks run hot. I took the skimmer out completely and left only the big return pump on. Still no lights. The temp dropped to 86 before I went to bed. The skimmer pump is what was really getting hot. It was very warm when I took it out. I was wondering, Would the skimmer pump from a Eshopps PSK 100 work with this skimmer? I have this skimmer on my 20 gallon, If so I think I have the skimmer problem fixed.

Next does anyone know of the least expensive place to buy new "water cooling" fans for this tank? I plugged them in and they do not work. Or would I be better off trying to get a different type of cooling fan. A chiller is just out of the question right now.

Its funny, I've been doing this for 2 years and I felt like I stated to know a few things, and now... I almost feel like I know nothing!

thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Acro]

Keep the hood up a bit should help

 

[Gfuller]

Yeah I left the front part of it open today. I would Prefer not to have to do that. but, I just may have to.

 

[Acro]

I don't have one, but I've read through forums where they switched out the pumps for a higher quality one and lowered the temperature.

 

[Gfuller]

Ok yeah I might try that to. On my 20 I have one return pump that works very good quite and no heat. Do you know if the sicce pump on my current skimmer would work with the skimmer on the RSM?

 

[Acro]

No clue, but I'm sure if it doesn't you could get a rubber gauge if it's too small. I know a lot of people complain about the skimmers on it. They don't have a sump right, it's all in the rear?

 

[Gfuller]

Yeah its all in the back of the tank. I have feel like it should work with a rubber gauge. The bad I've heard is they are loud or the pumps don't work right. So I'm thinking if I use a pump that had been very reliable for me. I should have no problem. we will see! my fingers are crossed. so do you know of any good cooling fans that may work for this?

 

[Acro]

Not sure about cooling fans, I've always used chillers.

 

[Lucky1456]

Not sure about cooling fans, I've always used chillers.

You can get the fans from marine depot on line. I replaced mine too. This isn't going to help a lot. The red sea tank just runs hot nothing else to tell you except save your money for a chiller. I just bought one my self. I'm waiting for the conversion kit to be delivered now so I can hook mine up. The problem im having is controlling my skimmer. The control valve is very touchy. I'm either not making any foam or running the cup over with foam. I read some were on this site were some of the guys changed skimmers all together. One guy even listed the part number of the skimmer that fit in the tank. But so far I cant find the thread again.

 

[aron7575]

Were you able to get the Eshopps PSK 100 to work on your RSM 250?

 

[Thunderfan]

I ran across a used one and almost bought it. I really like the idea of the all in one system but read to many posts of people constantly battling the heat. Started adding it all up and by the time i bought the tank and did all the upgrades to make it cool down I could do a set up on a brand new 75 gallon. When you start running your lights that will add even more heat. The is a conversion to leds. Think it is about $500.

 

[Amboss72]

These tanks flat out run hot! If you plan on purchasing one, at the very least, you'll need to leave the front opening open so the tank can breath and cool down. You'll also need to keep your ac cranking to keep the ambient temperature in the room down. If that's out of the question a chiller is a must. From my experience the chiller will add additional heat and noise to the room where the tank is located. My experience with the skimmers on these tanks is they are super difficult to fine tune. One thing you can do to increase the quality of the skim is buy a wood air stone and air pump. Run the air stone down into the skimmer body. This is an inexpensive way to increase the quality of the skim produced by a marginal skimmer.