Thinking about getting into Reef--Tank questions

[Tikosyn]

Hi all,

I have had a 75g freshwater african cichlid tank for about 7 years now. I have always wanted to do saltwater, but the prospect is intimidating. This leads me to wanting an all in one system so I don't have to do any guesswork with equipment. I am really interested in the systems from Red Sea. I have my eye on two tanks, the Red Sea Reefer xl 525 and the Red Sea Max S-500. I definitely want to be in the 100-125 gallon range. Any have some experience with these tanks want to weigh in?

The Red Sea Max is basically double the price of the 525, but I wouldn't need to buy an additional equipment, but I still don't know if it's worth it. I really want the 525 xl but the all in one prospect of the max makes it intriguing. Thanks for any help or advice! I will be visiting this forum frequently if I decide to make the plunge I'm sure.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I seriously looked at the RS Reefer 525 and ended up with a CADlight Artisan 125. The look is very similar. You can see my build thread (the link address is in my signature below).

Don't be intimidated by the equipment or the chemistry (I suck at chemistry). Even the best Red Sea system isn't perfect and you'll need to get other equipment. Look at the build thread my friend Eric has here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2624983
He is crazy over the top with the best hardware and anal with the quality of his build. But you can see in his thread and mine that there isn't a system out there that is "an all in one system so I don't have to do any guesswork with equipment." But I bet you'll do just fine.

 

[Rcj520]

I'd say the 525. Not that there is anything wrong with the max, there is just so much more you can do with the reefer series to make it to your personal taste. But it's all subjective, spend some time in the Red Sea sub forum and look at some of the builds.