Which tank

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

Hello all, new to salt water but I have to ask. I’m sure I know what the answer will be but .....
Red Sea or jbj, even with buying a good light it seems jbj would be about half the cost, is there a reason to go Red Sea over jbj and slowly upgrading?

pdt7361 · Feb 12, 2018

How large of a tank are you wanting? And have you checked out the Waterbox tanks?

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

Would like 45-50 gallon

JoshH · Feb 12, 2018

Is this a long term setup or something you want to have for a year or two before upgrading?

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

I’m hoping this will be it. Unless I lose my fresh water tank then maybe I’ll go bigger at some point. I wanna do some coral but not crazy and also want to be able to put more than just 2 or 3 fish in it that’s why I’m thinking 50ish

JoshH · Feb 12, 2018

Can't really go wrong in that case with either manufacturer, even waterbox as mentioned above would be good. Although Red Seas reputation is top notch and they certainly do build some of the best aquariums on the market. Of the three I would personally recommend Red Sea, love mine and the vast majority of reefers here will swear by them as well. There 250 is an excellent size for your needs, a little bit larger but will be able to accommodate most of your desires. Also it's a great size for reasonably prices accessories including skimmers and lighting which will help keep costs down overall.

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

That’s what I figured the answers would be, but the price of the max 170 being in the $1500 range and the jbj rl 45 for $600, throw a $200 light on top and it’s half price. That’s what has me stuck. I haven’t found a (I guess you could say) a solid enough reason for the price gap.

JoshH · Feb 12, 2018

A Max 170 is $995.00 the max deluxe (Which comes with a $400 light) is $1379.00. The Reefer 250 is $1349.00 but you would need atleast 2 lights...

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

I just grabbed a book from my lfs, according to that the max-e 170 is the only 170 model with rear sump. I’m not sure I wanna go with a remote sump. Maybe it’s just me not knowing the ins and outs, but that’s why I put that up

JoshH · Feb 12, 2018

Ahh, well TBH between the two options, you will definitely appreciate the sump vs the AIO. More flexibility in equipment options and add ons later down the road. Not that AIOs are bad by any means, many have them and love them. But for the long run the sump is arguably the better option.

Mattmac1291 · Feb 12, 2018

Is a sump easier or harder than a aio to deal with/ work on? Maybe I’m just having a fear of the unknown (sumps).

JoshH · Feb 12, 2018

Usually easier. But really both aren't super difficult to work with. Sumps keep noisier equipment inside the cabinet. Allows you to choose larger and more varied equipment for your setup. As well as gives you more room for an ATO, sensors and so on.

Jesterrace · Feb 12, 2018

Mattmac1291 said:
Hello all, new to salt water but I have to ask. I’m sure I know what the answer will be but .....
Red Sea or jbj, even with buying a good light it seems jbj would be about half the cost, is there a reason to go Red Sea over jbj and slowly upgrading?

The biggest thing is that you need to decide what kind of fish you are interested in. 45-50 gallons will give you a decent range of fish but is small enough to exclude many fish that people often want. If you have interest in angels (even dwarf), tangs, most wrasses, butterflyfish, etc. then you will need a bigger tank. Personally given the amount of money you are looking at spending, I would look into a complete used setup from your LFS. You will get a much bigger and nicer setup for the $.