Picked up a used Red Sea Max NANO 20g and have a couple questions

[Tankandspank]

Howdy!

As stated in the title, proud owner of a new Max Nano. Filled it with freshwater to check all of the systems. Pumps appear to be working fine so will drain and buy some RO/DI saltwater from the LFS and some live sand and rock to get started!

A couple questions though:

1) What is the purpose of the sponge labeled 6 in this image from the manual? It was not included with my setup although I can buy it from Red Sea for like $10. It says it is a "bubble trap" sponge, but there are virtually zero bubbles in my system at the moment just running the freshwater through it checking everything.
-Also there was no carbon included (number 3), but I know that is just disposable for water quality. At what point should I consider adding carbon to my set up?

2) Can I/should I add some biomedia to the sump? I am coming from some smaller freshwater setups and it seems weird to me to not have any sort of separate biomedia (I know the sand and rock will contribute).

Thanks so much for the help. Thrilled to be getting into reef tanks.

 

[blaxsun]

1. It's there to trap any large debris or inverts from being able to enter the pump chamber. You should replace it and probably remove for cleaning every 2-3 months.
1a. I run carbon all the time and would recommend using it as soon as your tank has cycled. You will notice the difference in water quality.

2. You can, yes. I recommend something like the MarinePure small hexes.

 

[Adrift]

1. It's there to trap any large debris or inverts from being able to enter the pump chamber. You should replace it and probably remove for cleaning every 2-3 months.
1a. I run carbon all the time and would recommend using it as soon as your tank has cycled. You will notice the difference in water quality.

2. You can, yes. I recommend something like the MarinePure small hexes.

agree with blaxsun

 

[Tankandspank]

Thanks to you both! I will pick up a sponge, some carbon and the marinepure hexes!

 

[chipchipbro]

Thanks to you both! I will pick up a sponge, some carbon and the marinepure hexes!

For me the sponge is also to trap micro-bubbles.
I had alot, really alot of micro bubbles returned to the tank when I didnt have the sponge.
So def. u need that thing

 

[Tankandspank]

For me the sponge is also to trap micro-bubbles.
I had alot, really alot of micro bubbles returned to the tank when I didnt have the sponge.
So def. u need that thing

Thanks for weighing in! I noticed that the flow in the chamber above the return pump is almost non existent. I can see dust in the surface that is barely moving. I guess the return pump pulls water from lower in the water column so the surface barely moves. Is this normal?
I attached a photo. The chamber closest to the picture is the one housing the return pump. The water at the top there barely moves at all.

 

[chipchipbro]

Thanks for weighing in! I noticed that the flow in the chamber above the return pump is almost non existent. I can see dust in the surface that is barely moving. I guess the return pump pulls water from lower in the water column so the surface barely moves. Is this normal?
I attached a photo. The chamber closest to the picture is the one housing the return pump. The water at the top there barely moves at all.

yes, the water barley moves, thats correct. I do have the same in my tank and I guess this is just normal. The return pump pulls water from the very low thats why it can pump bubbles from the skimmer chamber.

However, I would strongly recommend getting your hands on an ATO as the original ATO (refill) system from Red Sea Max is rubbish imo. Your life will be so much easier with the tunze 3152 for example.

 

[Tankandspank]

yes, the water barley moves, thats correct. I do have the same in my tank and I guess this is just normal. The return pump pulls water from the very low thats why it can pump bubbles from the skimmer chamber.

However, I would strongly recommend getting your hands on an ATO as the original ATO (refill) system from Red Sea Max is rubbish imo. Your life will be so much easier with the tunze 3152 for example.

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve had it running with freshwater just to test it for 3 days and haven’t seen any noticeable evaporation yet. How often do you typically have to fill yours (without the ATO, obviously)?

 

[chipchipbro]

Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve had it running with freshwater just to test it for 3 days and haven’t seen any noticeable evaporation yet. How often do you typically have to fill yours (without the ATO, obviously)?

Honestly I did not get it.. I did not understand how the original refill system should work.
I was away for 3 days and first I was worrying if the tank will be enough, came back home and the refill box was still full of freshwater.... well.. i thought wow, whats wrong.. maybe my tank was running with water too high not sure..

But the tunze 3152 works perfect for me so far.

btw, an example.. the right chamber return pump chamber is normal to be very silent without flow.. u can also see it in that video if you go to minute 12:00 - same here.

 

[Tankandspank]

Honestly I did not get it.. I did not understand how the original refill system should work.
I was away for 3 days and first I was worrying if the tank will be enough, came back home and the refill box was still full of freshwater.... well.. i thought wow, whats wrong.. maybe my tank was running with water too high not sure..

But the tunze 3152 works perfect for me so far.

btw, an example.. the right chamber return pump chamber is normal to be very silent without flow.. u can also see it in that video if you go to minute 12:00 - same here.

Ah. Good find on the video. Ok I am reassured.

For the Tunze osmolator, does it come with a storage container for the freshwater? I assume you set yours up with a fresh water container in the cabinet?

 

[chipchipbro]

Ah. Good find on the video. Ok I am reassured.

For the Tunze osmolator, does it come with a storage container for the freshwater? I assume you set yours up with a fresh water container in the cabinet?

correct, I just took a 15 liter canister and filled it with RODI water for the refill.
But you can take whatever u want for that. The cabinet has enough space for different containers.