I got my HQI around 800+ dollars. The tank is very well made and I love it.. if you have any questions about it let me know ill see what I can tell you about it.. It does have a heating problem sits around 78 in my apartment but in the fall and winter things are fine.
The light on the HQI is amazing and is what you are paying for, on second glance I think the HQI light is a little too powerful for me as i'm not experience enough to keep coral that benifits from the light, but hopefully one day I can and thats why i chose it over the red sea max.
The skimmer barely works and the air pump that came with it broke a few weeks in. The tank itself is built strong and the wave maker is handy. the 2 stock pumps i found didn't give me enough circulation so i was constantly sucking up most of the waste untill i put a new pump in.
Minus all the flaws it still is an amazing tank and for a beginner like me i know it made my journey into saltwater that much easier. The glass has a maginifcation that is amazing to look at and the corners are nice and don't block your view too much. The night time lights also make the whole tank viewable.
Also something to think about is the difference in sizes of the red sea max and the HQI. The HQI is very much a tall tank and the Red Sea looks more wide then tall soo this might give you some options on how you want your live rock looking.
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