RED SEA e260? HELP/ADVICE PLEASE

[Jack.jack]

Hi all! Newbie to r2r here.
I’m looking for some advice from anyone that’s had/has a Red Sea E260.
It’s been around 10 years since I’ve had marine aquarium and a lot has changed... so I’m back to being a newbie once again.

I really like how aesthetically pleasing the Red Sea aquariums are and I think I’m set on purchasing one, but..... which one?
The e260 is very appealing to me But I have my reserves with the protein skimmer at the back of the tank. I’ve read on one post that people have issues with it working properly? Has anyone here ran into any issues with the e260?

the reason I'm interested in this particular model is the fact it comes with everything (except a sump ) and works out to be less money than buying lighting, heater, skimmer etc separately.
But at the same time I don’t want to buy the system to only regret it.

ideally I would like a mixed reef, probably dominated with sps

any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks guys
Jack

 

[Edp251]

Hi Jack

welcome to R2R!

Red sea makes great tanks. I have the 170 Max-E and the Nano Max-E. Both have worked well.

Overall, i think they are setup well enough for soft or LPS corals but not so much for more difficult sps corals. That is fair though as advanced reef keeping would be difficult to handle generically as methods vary

all that said, i did find the stock skimmers subpar and upgraded both but things have changed in the last few years so the included skimmers may be better

either way, they are still a great value

best of luck!

 

[Jack.jack]

Hi Jack

welcome to R2R!

Red sea makes great tanks. I have the 170 Max-E and the Nano Max-E. Both have worked well.

Overall, i think they are setup well enough for soft or LPS corals but not so much for more difficult sps corals. That is fair though as advanced reef keeping would be difficult to handle generically as methods vary

all that said, i did find the stock skimmers subpar and upgraded both but things have changed in the last few years so the included skimmers may be better

either way, they are still a great value

best of luck!

Hi thanks for your reply.
yes I was thinking maybe the stock protein skimmer might not be up to par.
Are the reef led 90s no good for sps either?

 

[Edp251]

Hey. My older versions came with AI hydra 26’s as it was before a Red Sea introduced their lights. In general, they were fine but they were a point source of light and the spread was uneven. Think of a cone shape that is very hot in the middle but very cool on the edges. I had sps that looked great on one side but brown on the back. Easily solved though by adding a T5 retrofit kit which evened things out wonderfully. Best of both worlds.

 

[Jack.jack]

Hey. My older versions came with AI hydra 26’s as it was before a Red Sea introduced their lights. In general, they were fine but they were a point source of light and the spread was uneven. Think of a cone shape that is very hot in the middle but very cool on the edges. I had sps that looked great on one side but brown on the back. Easily solved though by adding a T5 retrofit kit which evened things out wonderfully. Best of both worlds.

so are the new Red Sea led lights not good then?
sorry I’m just really confused with it

 

[Edp251]

so are the new Red Sea led lights not good then?
sorry I’m just really confused with it

hi,

not saying that at all. I am actually hopeful that the new red sea lights are better and have solved the issue but i have no way to know for sure. Maybe someone that has those lights will chime in