Red Sea max 250

[mikeo2]

I can get a good deal on a 6 month old Red Sea max 250, I'm new to this hobby and was wondering if this all in one setup is good for a beginner for a simple fish mainly with some corals down the road in a few months?

[msjboy]

This would be beyond a starter tank... Highly recommended. However with the 6 bulbs, you m,ight need a chiller espes in summer. A beginner model would be the red sea max 130 ( 1/2 size of the 250) which is at the upper cusp of still being a nano tank.

[dolphinpoint]

I agree..this is beyond a starter tank...however it is a great setup. I did have a 130D prior to this and enjoyed it so much I moved up to the 250. It is a hobby which requires a big commitment and a sizeable budget!

[intarsiabox]

I can get a good deal on a 6 month old Red Sea max 250, I'm new to this hobby and was wondering if this all in one setup is good for a beginner for a simple fish mainly with some corals down the road in a few months?

This would be a great tank for a beginner or anyone else looking at this size of tank for that matter. The larger water volume over smaller tanks will give you more stability and more time to catch problems before they become disaterous. The key to any new tank big or small is patience. Let rock and sand fully cycle and use that time to research livestock that will be suited to the size of tank and compatible with one another. Avoid impulse buying of livestock as it can be a source of never ending frustration that will turn a hobby into a burden. The 250 has the capacity to give you a nice selection fish and corals as is.

Lots of friendly people on here with tons of experience willing to help you out. Good luck with your new hobby!

[ashr]

I love my redsea max 250. I highly recommend it if you can get a good deal. I also use a chiller to make sure the temp stays around 77-80 myself.

[Dempsey]

I went from a typical 75 gallon with homemade wood stand and cords everywhere, to a RSM 250 and couldn't be happier. I do run a chiller as well.

[LipmanJ]

Love mine and there are alot of great mods you can add to it. =) PM me if you have any questions or want to know what mods I have made.

good luck!

[mikeo2]

What would be. Reasonable price for a gently used one? It hasn't been used in about a year now.

[msjboy]

A very good deal is probably $400 , basic tank ( no cooler ).. with used bulbs, maybe some paraphenia tools, etc... I did see one that was up for grabs that was stocked , with chiller at the same price but that is probably unlikely to reoccur again at $400.

You do realize you will need to replace bulbs every 9 months or so, change 10% water every week- 2 weeks... perhaps add chemicals if you intend to keep sps corals.


Check the reefsanctuary.com site for people who have rsm tanks.. they have a dedicated link there.
regs

msjboy.

[LipmanJ]

+1 ^^
Thats the site i use to talk about anything RSM great group over there

[RGS88]

I've had a Red Sea Max 250 for about a year and a half now. Some comments...

- It's a excellent starter tank... because it's an all-in-one, it reduces the learning curve if this is your first steps into saltwater/reef... like it was for me. At the beginning, I didn't want to go with a piece-meal setup when I didn't even know what a protein skimmer was or what it was for.

As for the tank itself...

- It runs hot! This is primarily due to the two circulation pumps (which run hot). My water temp runs around 80-81 with all the fans going. The higher temps haven't had an adverse effects on anything that I can tell, and most soft corals (mushrooms, xenia, anthelia, green polyp, etc.) grow like weeds in my tank. I'm pruning/removing a lot of this stuff every month or two). I also started with one (sickly) Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. I now have 7 of these a year later, including baby ones. So I'm not overly stressed about the water temp otherwise corals or fish/anemones would be doing poorly (which they're not)

- Stock protein skimmer isn't the best. It does the job (sort of), and is kind of finicky to get it set properly

- I was recommended by a bunch of other RSM 250 users to replace the stock heater with something of better quality. (The RSM 250 stock heater isn't the best quality and is prone to failure). So I replaced the stock heater with another brand. (Obviously with the water temp running at the high end... the heater... which I have it set to 77 never goes on. So the heater is there as a safety backup in case the water temp drops below 77).

- If you don't already have one... I would recommend an auto-top-off system. Because the RSM 250 runs so warm, water evaporates quickly, and you'll find yourself topping off the tank every day or two.

- The stock bulbs are bright (skewed to the white end of the spectrum). When it comes time to change bulbs, you can change to a softer/blue spectrum if that's something you like. I found the stock RSM 250 bulbs to be so bright (white) that it lit up my entire room which made it hard to watch television at night.

[ashr]

As for myself I can also comment on the heat. I run a chiller and have my tank at a stable 79-80 most days. I also never have my heater on but I do recommend as stated above replacing it. I have done a little mods that have helped with the skimmer to make it work 50% better and I can share this if anyone is interested.

I have replaced all my bulbs with ATI's as well.
I need a ATO soon as well

[LipmanJ]

this is my primary tank right now. it does run hot, i have a chiller though.

as for my skimmer after 2 months (and a auto top off system) my skimmer is dialed in and stays dialed in.

my heater seems to work fine, I'm using it in my fresh water tank and no issues yet.

I have added the intank media tray mod, this has helped me get CPE and purging in my tank at the same time and my water is clear and levels perfect.

the products I use are
- intank media rack
- 1/4hp aqua euro chiller (more then the 250 need but i got it cheap and will be good when I go bigger)
- tunze 3155 ATO
- 1 mp10 powerhead

I also just got a 5 stage ro/Di unit because it's cheaper to make it then for me to go get it..

I'm very happy with the tank, my next upgrade will be led lights, but im in no rush right now.