red sea max

chelseagrin

chelseagrin

Member
so apparently the red sea max is the tank to have these days, i am really interested in getting one, the idea of a complete reef tank right off the shelf is very appealing. what are you guys' experiences with this tank? would you reccomend the 34 or 68 gallon?
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I went with the 130D earlier this year and LOVE it! I've done All-In-One before as well as "build your own". The RSM tanks set the bar pretty darn high in regards to quality. Then if you factor in the amount of AMAZING customer service you've got a really winner on your hands.

Re: 34g vs 68g - What can you fit into the available space? What can you afford to purchase? What can you afford to maintain (Salt, testing, rock, sand etc). Go as big as you can afford and enjoy it.
 
cindyp

cindyp

Active Member
I had a 34 and sold it, now I have the 250 I like the tank but it over heats due to it being an enclosed system
I've found that a chiller is a must year round. the skimmer is quirky at 1st but works ok once its broke in. the vent fans on the hood
rattle from time to time:( I bought mine new about 8 months ago. I would reccomend the RSM 250 over the smaller one for sure!
but to to totally honest my 180 that was plumbed and built the way I wanted and makes a much better reef tank if I had it to do over again I would have bought a cube and plumbed it myself.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
+1 ^ (Allen's post) one of the best AIO on the market

Red Sea MAX | The complete coral reef system

and if you want to go even bigger... 3 new tanks come out next month...with sumps

Three new tanks !

RSM 400 - 105 US gallons
RSM 500 - 132 US gallons
RSM 650 - 172 US gallons

http://www.redseafish.com/uploadimages/brochures/MAX500 brochure online 2011_GB.pdf

red-sea-max-500-sump-image.JPG
4e11861eb0fb2.jpg
 
cindyp

cindyp

Active Member
lol mines a dud, I have been hearing others having heat issues and fans rattling etc... so I can't be the only one.
I feel with the 1,599.00 price tag it should be better than it is...
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I don't have a chiller... just run stock (Arkansas temps to 113 degrees) but I do keep the ambient temp in the home at 73 F - everyone here in deep south runs the air all summer long.

on a sidebar - when the RSM 250 tanks 1st came out they used Hydor pumps that did run warm, but they have since changed all of them to Sicce & solved this problem.

(the pic I posted above was the sump of the new RSM 500, it now comes stock, they had a chiller)
 
cindyp

cindyp

Active Member
Hmm I just bought this tank it can't be an old one already? I looked back at my registartion and I bought it april 20th so I wouldn't think its an old model.
right now as we speak the house temp is 74 and the RSM is 86 and climbing my A/C has been on all summer if I keep the hood up and the
lights off then it wouldn't over heat but thats not an option.
I think I will contact RSM maybe mine is defective
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Look on your pumps... and see what the brand they are (easy to read big label on them) ... Hydor or Sicce... I got my RSM 250 in December of 2010 & at the time I called to made sure all three sump were Sicce.

There are lots of RSM members that do run chillers though... my tank run at 80 without a chiller & for me this is fine... as my fish & corals are thriving. I do run my rear cooling fan 24 x 7

Red Sea has great customer service & one year warranty - they should be able to help !

Also... check what you are measuring it with... I have bought 4 different thermometers ... I have found it hard to find a reliable one
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
might add... it is easy to compare them AIO tanks of the same brand "apples to apples" because lots & lots (thousands) of people have the same tanks - if thousands of people all built the same custom tank, with all the same components, you would have similar reports of issues, so I think one has to take all this into account. All my Red Sea Max tanks have worked flawlessly out of the box.

not saying one can't build a better custom tank, with better components - because (if you know what you are doing) you sure can, just saying the Red Sea Max All-In-One tanks work well, out of the box for the vast majority, they are not perfect, but they hold there own.

I have come to believe with good husbandry skills & good maintenance - you can have great sucess with a lot of "properly designed" sw tanks and without learning these necessary skills sets & practicing them, even the best custom or AIO tank will struggle... the one common denominator to success I see with lots of beautiful RS members tanks is they have developed these skills.

Cheers :clink:
 
reefer gladness

reefer gladness

Well-Known Member
BigAl07 said:
I went with the 130D earlier this year and LOVE it! I've done All-In-One before as well as "build your own". The RSM tanks set the bar pretty darn high in regards to quality. Then if you factor in the amount of AMAZING customer service you've got a really winner on your hands.

Re: 34g vs 68g - What can you fit into the available space? What can you afford to purchase? What can you afford to maintain (Salt, testing, rock, sand etc). Go as big as you can afford and enjoy it.
Click to expand...

+1 for what BigAl said

Coming from a complete newb (me :LOL: ), the RSM 130D has been a great tank to learn with. I have zero regrets except for maybe not making room for the RSM250 to start with.

That said, I've replaced nearly everything that came with it - purely by choice as others run beautiful tanks that are completely stock. For what it's worth, this is what I replaced and why:

#1 Heater - read too many posts about exploding RSM heaters. I do use it when mixing saltwater for changes.
#2 Skimmer - stock works okay but too noisy, plus I added a sump which opened my options
#3 return pumps - stock work okay but again are rather noisy and reputed to be on the warm side.
#4 Bio-media location - i.e. the Chamber 'o Death. If I hadn't added a sump the media rack from inTank would have been added so I don't have to reach into the CoD ever again.
#5 Lights - retrofitted stock hood with CREE LED's mostly to satisfy my inner geek but also wanted dawn/dusk dimming cycle, that LED 'shimmer' and the ability to keep any SPS coral.
 
chelseagrin

chelseagrin

Member
well i live in aspen, it never really gets above 80 degrees here so i dont think ill need a chiller. also when do the larger rsm come out? those look way more interesting than a puny 65 gallon tank!
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
They are scheduled to be released 1st in the UK, next month I believe, my guess... they should hit the states a couple of months latter - Red Sea historically has brought out new tanks (130D & 250) around Christmas, no one know for sure, but this is best guess...
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Dang Glenn is fast on the "ENTER" button... I need more caffeine if I'm going to try and keep up with him LOL!
 
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