New to the hobby looking for equipment advice

David_CO · Feb 24, 2022

Hi everyone,

my name is David and I’m based in Colorado.

I’ve been extensively researching for the past 6 weeks and think I’m close to the point where I’m willing to buy in and get my feet wet.
Right now I’m looking at the Red Sea Max S 400. I think it looks good and I think it’s something I’ll be able to somewhat grow into. Some people recommended a smaller first tank, but I know how I am and the last thing I want to do is buy something that I’ll find underwhelming in 6 months.

I plan to put a 25w uv sterilizer in line from the return pump. Also a ups battery backup to start, evaluating other options but where I live power outages are very rare.

some things I’m not thrilled about the Red Sea max s 400 are:
1. The skimmer
2. Drain gate valve
3. Noisy circulation pump
4. Lack of support for the red sea roller filter

The way I look at these items as they can all be replaced if I’m not happy with them although I would prefer to buy once.

another consideration I have is my path to a controller based eco system. I’m a tech nerd who travels a good bit for work so that certainly something I plan to do eventually and I’d prefer not to have to swap a bunch of components.

im honestly open to and feedback and recommendations. I want to do this the right way and this forum has been an invaluable resource to me so far.

thanks!

blaxsun · Feb 25, 2022

1. Well, it's a Red Sea system - so of course they're going to use their skimmer.
2. If it's the same valve in my Red Sea system, it's fine.
3. Again, it's a Red Sea system. You can probably replace the pump with a Sicce SDC 6 (or equivalent).
4. It looks like it has filter socks, no?

tharbin · Feb 25, 2022

Welcome to R2R! There is certainly nothing wrong with starting with a larger tank. The only downsides are more maintenance and more cash up front. The upsides are more room to grow and a little less sensitive to changes.

I can understand the desire to buy once but it rarely works out that way in this hobby. The main thing is buy good quality, not necessarily the most expensive but has good reviews. If you are away a lot then a filter roll may indeed make the most sense. It is the only mechanical filter I know of that does not need frequent changing. Check on some of the other filter rollers some of them are designed to be retrofit into sumps.

I haven't seen any negative reviews of the Red Sea skimmers so I have nothing to suggest but if you don't like it you can always resell it and buy something else.

There are tons of good return pumps on the market that will fit and you can use the original as a spare or for other duties. Don't let that unduly sway your decision.

Any plumbing parts can be replaced but there are lots and lots of people using the Red Sea valve without issue.