Cost of Red Sea Max E-260 vs E-170

[earman88]

Hello LR people.

I'm looking at getting back into the reef game, and have decided on the Red Sea Max E-170 or E-260.
Does anyone have a good estimate on cost and maintenance comparison between these two sizes? Aside from the obvious tank price.

Would it be much harder or time consuming to maintain the 260 over the 170? As a beginner, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Becky]

Just wanted to say welcome back to the forum! :)

 

[troybuckle]

I have recently been looking at RED Sea tanks as well, planning for an eventual upgrade in a few years. I had a 50g tank in the past and now have a 30g tank. Personally, there was no difference in maintaining these tank, if anything the 50g was a little more forgiving with late water changes and things like that. I would personally go with the E-260 if its in your budget, as it is a better size for a reef/fish tank IMO.

 

[earman88]

Ok that is good to know. I was worried that with the 260, time and money costs would scale. I was budgeting about $2,500 total for the new setup, meaning everything I need to get going in the first few months. I realize after that I can steadily add fish/coral at a manageable rate. I just didn't know if there was other gear I needed to add to make the 260 shine. But I suppose that's why the E-series is labeled as a 'all-in-one plug and play'. I can always add more components when the need presents itself.

 

[troybuckle]

Did you figure out what your are going with?