Red Sea RSK 300 Vibration

[gsuller13]

Hi everyone,

1st time post. I have a 60gal FOWLR with future plans to add some coral once I get a hang of maintaining stable parameters for several months. I also need to stop spending so much money on my aquarium.. we'll see how long that lasts.

Question:

I find my red sea skimmer (AC motor version) to be very loud. I've disassembled the skimmer many times, placed the skimmer on a silicone mat, and the vibration is driving me nuts. The Skimmer is louder than my refrigerator's compressor when it is running at its loudest.

When I place my hand anywhere on the body of the skimmer, I can feel it vibrating. Is this normal?

The one and only time I was able to noticeably reduce the vibration was when the skimmer was at almost 10.5" depth of water, which is a depth the skimmer does not operate correctly at.

I'm including some general photos of my setup in case they are helpful.

I most recently placed my skimmer on a stand to achieve 6" depth per manufacturer recommendation.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[blaxsun]

What about a DC upgrade kit for it?

 

[gsuller13]

What about a DC upgrade kit for it?

This is definitely on my list of things to try, but kind of putting it as a last resort. Upgrade kit is $179 and then it requires the reefrun controller which is another $150.

I'm trying to make sure what I'm experiencing is normal before I keep throwing more money at it. The upgrade almost doubles the upfront price of the skimmer.

Thanks blaxsun.

 

[blaxsun]

This is definitely on my list of things to try, but kind of putting it as a last resort. Upgrade kit is $179 and then it requires the reefrun controller which is another $150.

I'm trying to make sure what I'm experiencing is normal before I keep throwing more money at it. The upgrade almost doubles the upfront price of the skimmer.

Thanks blaxsun.

A friend has the same skimmer and his is super quiet. I have a Nyos so I can't give you any specific advice for that model. I do run a silicone pad under mine to reduce any vibrations (which does seem to help).

 

[Create New]

The red sea skimmer I had was legit the loudest skimmer I've owned.

 

[gsuller13]

The red sea skimmer I had was legit the loudest skimmer I've owned.

My skimmer hums louder than my refrigerator when the fridge is running at its loudest.

I've been speaking with red sea. They reviewed a video of my noise. They did say it is running normally and that it is a little louder than usual. They offered me a pump replacement, so I'll take it and see what happens. I've read other forums where people have had no improvement with their pump replacements, but we'll see.

Red sea also stated that they thought my bubbles were a bit large and that it was an indicator that my pump still needs to break in. My skimmer has been running for a little over a week on a 3 month old aquarium. The Skimmer is pulling some pretty brown water into the collection cup and I'm not experiencing anymore overflows anymore.

I will admit that the skimmer does appear to be getting a little quieter, but still vibrates loudly.

I will keep everyone updated here in case it is helpful for anyone in the future.

Thanka everyone.

 

[Mark Goode]

Mine's loud. Bloody thing.

 

[gsuller13]

Mine's loud. Bloody thing.

I just want to know how some people claim they have a quiet red sea skimmer. I want the same!

 

[Sleepingtiger]

my RS skimmer is hit or miss when it comes to noise.

Here are somethings I noticed when it runs louder

1. Bubble patterns don't look milky. Definitely larger bubbles
2. Noise issue happens after I turn off the skimmer or if I make minor adjustments
3. Noise goes away after I break down the skimmer for maintenance
4. Temporary clogging and unclogging the air intake/muffler sometimes helps

If the noise goes away if you clog the air intake, changes are you need to break down the pump and clean it. What I found was some bubble algae might cause the issue.

 

[gsuller13]

my RS skimmer is hit or miss when it comes to noise.

Here are somethings I noticed when it runs louder

1. Bubble patterns don't look milky. Definitely larger bubbles
2. Noise issue happens after I turn off the skimmer or if I make minor adjustments
3. Noise goes away after I break down the skimmer for maintenance
4. Temporary clogging and unclogging the air intake/muffler sometimes helps

If the noise goes away if you clog the air intake, changes are you need to break down the pump and clean it. What I found was some bubble algae might cause the issue.

my RS skimmer is hit or miss when it comes to noise.

Here are somethings I noticed when it runs louder

1. Bubble patterns don't look milky. Definitely larger bubbles
2. Noise issue happens after I turn off the skimmer or if I make minor adjustments
3. Noise goes away after I break down the skimmer for maintenance
4. Temporary clogging and unclogging the air intake/muffler sometimes helps

If the noise goes away if you clog the air intake, changes are you need to break down the pump and clean it. What I found was some bubble algae might cause the issue.

These are great to know.

When I restrict the air silencer it only helps with the intake noise. Vibration is unchanged.

I'm going to reinstall my silicone mat under the skimmer just as blaxsun mentioned. It didn't help last time, but going to try again.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

My Red Sea skimmer is super quiet. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

 

[Sleepingtiger]

These are great to know.

When I restrict the air silencer it only helps with the intake noise. Vibration is unchanged.

I'm going to reinstall my silicone mat under the skimmer just as blaxsun mentioned. It didn't help last time, but going to try again.

what happens when you restrict the airflow to zero? still have noise issues? if you're still having noise issues, make sure you have the skimmer installed properly and nothing is loose.

Does restriction on water flow help?
Lifting the skimmer off the skimmer floor help?

Mine always had issues due to the airflow causing vibration noises. It sounds like the skimmer is vibrating against a sump wall. Actually its the needle valve is clogged.

 

[gsuller13]

My Red Sea skimmer is super quiet. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

You at least give us hope!

 

[SPS2020]

Since no one else said it, WELCOME TO REEF2REEF!!

 

[SPS2020]

I have the same skimmer, but it is the lid that rattles and makes a disturbance on mine. No real issue with the motor. I'll go back and give a listen to see how loud mine seems to be. I have my 100g in the same room, so maybe it is so loud that I do not notice the RSK300.

 

[SPS2020]

This is definitely on my list of things to try, but kind of putting it as a last resort. Upgrade kit is $179 and then it requires the reefrun controller which is another $150.

I'm trying to make sure what I'm experiencing is normal before I keep throwing more money at it. The upgrade almost doubles the upfront price of the skimmer.

Thanks blaxsun.

Wowzers! That is an expensive upgrade...as much as the skimmer itself!

 

[gsuller13]

I have the same skimmer, but it is the lid that rattles and makes a disturbance on mine. No real issue with the motor. I'll go back and give a listen to see how loud mine seems to be. I have my 100g in the same room, so maybe it is so loud that I do not notice the RSK300.

I appreciate that!

It's nice havi

Since no one else said it, WELCOME TO REEF2REEF!!

I appreciated that!. My only good LFS where I can go for advice is almost a 30 minute drive from me. It's nice to have somewhere online to go for advice.

 

[gsuller13]

I have the same skimmer, but it is the lid that rattles and makes a disturbance on mine. No real issue with the motor. I'll go back and give a listen to see how loud mine seems to be. I have my 100g in the same room, so maybe it is so loud that I do not notice the RSK300.

I had the same rattle at the lid. I resolved it by making sure the skimmer wiper was completely snapped into the slots on the skimmer lid.

 

[SPS2020]

I had the same rattle at the lid. I resolved it by making sure the skimmer wiper was completely snapped into the slots on the skimmer lid.

FWIW, I removed the skimmer wiper (do not like the concept) and used saran wrap and silicone to make a "plug" for that slot. If and when I would like to remove the plug, it isn't an issue since the silicone is bonded to the saran wrap and not the skimmer lid.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Have same skimmer in a Red Sea system and it’s set right in sump Prbly lil deeper than optimal but working k all this time. No real noise. If it does let’s me know something is wrong. Which I guess is a good thing. Lol.