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Is it worth it to swap tanks


If_Only

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So basically I impulsively bought a redseamax 170 at 15% off, and im resizing that Im not loving the system, and is what I really wanted was a IM 30L or IM 20, the Red Sea tank is scape nicely and already filled and started cycling, and now another thing that started pissing me off is the skimmer, I can adjust it, the bubbles won't get to the collection cup at any adjustment, and I still need an ATO, and I dislike the shape of the tank and I love the IM tanks, would it be worth it to try to sell this tank on eBay, the tank is in near perfect condition, and would I be able to sell the tank and maybe build an IM tank with good equipent and maybe have a hundred or two left over (for livestock), would this precess be worth it, or should I stick with the Red Sea Max?

 

Thanks, any responses are much appreciated.

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having gone through a situation like this very recently. Go with what you want the first time because trying to get rid of near perfect equipment, you'll take loses no matter what. If you haven't put livestock in and the tank is still cycling, I'd definitely recommend getting it to where you want now. It's significantly more difficult trying to move from a semi-established to new tank while also trying to hook everything up properly.

As for the IM tank, if youre going with the AIO, you could make it work with the remaining budget. I went with the EXT and had to fork over close to 2k in equipment to get it "perfect". But my philosophy, buy cheap, buy twice. So go big and do it right the first time.

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It’s far too early to make any judgements on the skimmers worth, while likely not the best, you don’t have any real DOC’s for it to be pulling. Skimmers take 10+ days to really settle even on an established tank, a cycling tank is going to go through a lot of water chemistry changes that result in odd skimmer behavior.

 

As far as the tank, I think you’re gonna take a large loss trying to sell it. By trying it out for 6-8 months you won’t really lose too much value, you’ll learn, and you’ll know better what you actually want out of your next tank.

 

I’d slow down a bit and ride this decision out.

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13 minutes ago, scribz718 said:

having gone through a situation like this very recently. Go with what you want the first time because trying to get rid of near perfect equipment, you'll take loses no matter what. If you haven't put livestock in and the tank is still cycling, I'd definitely recommend getting it to where you want now. It's significantly more difficult trying to move from a semi-established to new tank while also trying to hook everything up properly.

As for the IM tank, if youre going with the AIO, you could make it work with the remaining budget. I went with the EXT and had to fork over close to 2k in equipment to get it "perfect". But my philosophy, buy cheap, buy twice. So go big and do it right the first time.

Yeah, i can't really go back in time to change my decision, and I didn't buy the tank alone, so I didn't have a full choice, even though im taking care of it. And I don't think the Red Sea tank are "go big" if that what you mean, I have had a horrible experience with the Red Sea tanks, I will most likely never consider another one again, or recommend one, in my opinion they are meant for people who don't know much about the hobby and have a lot of money.

 

Sorry if I got a little "rant" but thanks for the response.

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2 minutes ago, shaner014 said:

It’s far too early to make any judgements on the skimmers worth, while likely not the best, you don’t have any real DOC’s for it to be pulling. Skimmers take 10+ days to really settle even on an established tank, a cycling tank is going to go through a lot of water chemistry changes that result in odd skimmer behavior.

 

As far as the tank, I think you’re gonna take a large loss trying to sell it. By trying it out for 6-8 months you won’t really lose too much value, you’ll learn, and you’ll know better what you actually want out of your next tank.

 

I’d slow down a bit and ride this decision out.

Ive had the tank set up and cycling for 19 days, the skimmer can't even push bubbles up to the top of the neck, and ive tried increasing the water level and such.

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1 minute ago, If_Only said:

In my opinion they are meant for people who don't know much about the hobby and have a lot of money.

 

What’s your opinion based on?

 

I ask, because the Red Sea tanks are often regarded as excellent quality, and great value. 

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1 minute ago, If_Only said:

Ive had the tank set up and cycling for 19 days, the skimmer can't even push bubbles up to the top of the neck, and ive tried increasing the water level and such.

 

That’s completely normal. The expected foam head that builds in a skimmer is the result of the dissolved organics in the water column. Your water is too clean, and likely has inadequate surface tension to create such a foam. Just let it run to build a slime coat and oxygenate the water. The added gas exchange will help the cycle along. 

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3 minutes ago, shaner014 said:

 

What’s your opinion based on?

 

I ask, because the Red Sea tanks are often regarded as excellent quality, and great value. 

Well I have had experience with other tanks, and in my opinion (like I said) I think you can build your own system, and save high amounts of money and have more configuration, and from my experience better results, but thats how I view it, my opinion might be a little heavier right now because I'm not in the best mood. Also because redsea says its "every thing" but you still need about 800$ worth of stuff, which is a lot of money from my view point.

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1 minute ago, If_Only said:

Well I have had experience with other tanks, and in my opinion (like I said) I think you can build your own system, and save high amounts of money and have more configuration, and from my experience better results, but thats how I view it, my opinion my be a little heavier right now because I'm not in the best mood. Also because reds says its "every thing" but you still need about 800$ worth of stuff, which is a lot of money from my view point.

 

Given your experience, I’d think you would have had the foresight to see that before you purchased. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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Just now, shaner014 said:

 

Given your experience, I’d think you would have had the foresight to see that before you purchased. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Yeah, thats why im so regretful, and I didn't have full decision on the purchase of the tank... but thank you for your response I don't want to cone across as a mean guy, im just kinda mad, and I might be being a little harsh on the Red Sea line, but also I had never had any experience with Red Sea and I had the same understanding as you as them being a superior tank. Just my opinion...

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5 minutes ago, If_Only said:

Yeah, thats why im so regretful, and I didn't have full decision on the purchase of the tank... but thank you for your response I don't want to cone across as a mean guy, im just kinda mad, and I might be being a little harsh on the Red Sea line, but also I had never had any experience with Red Sea and I had the same understanding as you as them being a superior tank. Just my opinion...

 

I’ve never owned one either. I just was curious what you were basing it on. 

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Just now, shaner014 said:

 

I’ve never owned one either. I just was curious what you were basing it on. 

Yeah, I might just end up riding it out though, but I can't find anything about the skimmer, and the customer service hasn't been very responsive, and the instructions just say, "Udjust skimmer till skim mate is produced" which doesn't really tell me how to adjust it.

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Fwiw I have a red sea and love it.  Bulk reef supple on youtube is your best friend for showing tips and tricks on anything with poor directions ime.  

 

Just wondering... what did you need to buy for another 800 bucks?? My red sea came with everything but heater, return pump, and skimmer.  Ime, any of those things that come with any kit is going to most likely be needing an upgrade anyway. 

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Just now, patback said:

Fwiw I have a red sea and love it.  Bulk reef supple on youtube is your best friend for showing tips and tricks on anything with poor directions ime.  

 

Just wondering... what did you need to buy for another 800 bucks?? My red sea came with everything but heater, return pump, and skimmer.  Ime, any of those things that come with any kit is going to most likely be needing an upgrade anyway. 

Yeah, I can't really find any updated videos on the skimmer that comes with the Red Sea max, I'm going to just ride the tank out and maybe my opinions will change.

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1 minute ago, If_Only said:

Yeah, I can't really find any updated videos on the skimmer that comes with the Red Sea max, I'm going to just ride the tank out and maybe my opinions will change.

I have been told that the red sea skimmers lack a certain something people are looking for.  Maybe @StevieT might have a recomendation?

I got the 170reefer so I had the luxury of picking my own skimmer and went with a reefocto.  

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if you buy an AIO youll almost always end up having to do mods. So when weighing the price, is the aesthetic of the tank worth the price tag? All the other crap inside is fluff that you usually replace. What I hate about AIO's is eventually when you decide you need more, you have to make dangerous "to the live stock" mods to get it to work, or settle for lower tier. I made the same mistake and paid for it. 

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Is this the AIO version? They arn't really well known for their AIO's. Not really at all IMO....they are well known for the sumped versions. 

 

I would agree the skimmer shouldn't be doing much of anything right now so being upset about it is pointless. There is no bioload to skim so why would it skim? It simply can not.

 

I do like my IM tanks, they are amazing value for the price but I would not call them perfect. I don't like the dead space in the 3rd chamber, I don't like the black silicone at all. They have thick silicone instead of clean lines like a Mr Aqua or Aquamaxx. They do not fit many types of skimmers, the IM skimmer is complete garbage, probably worse than red sea by far (DO NOT BUY IT). I am still happy with my IM tanks and no regrets but I knew what I was walking into and they are fairly cheap.

 

It's a personal decision if you want to take the loss of $$ or not. I don't think anyone can give you the right answer but you. I think the biggest concern here is you dislike the shape of the tank. The skimmer will probably start working once there is a decent bioload but you will always have that shape of the tank and have to look at it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Is this the AIO version? They arn't really well known for their AIO's. Not really at all IMO....they are well known for the sumped versions. 

 

I would agree the skimmer shouldn't be doing much of anything right now so being upset about it is pointless. There is no bioload to skim so why would it skim? It simply can not.

 

I do like my IM tanks, they are amazing value for the price but I would not call them perfect. I don't like the dead space in the 3rd chamber, I don't like the black silicone at all. They have thick silicone instead of clean lines like a Mr Aqua or Aquamaxx. They do not fit many types of skimmers, the IM skimmer is complete garbage, probably worse than red sea by far (DO NOT BUY IT). I am still happy with my IM tanks and no regrets but I knew what I was walking into and they are fairly cheap.

 

It's a personal decision if you want to take the loss of $$ or not. I don't think anyone can give you the right answer but you. I think the biggest concern here is you dislike the shape of the tank. The skimmer will probably start working once there is a decent bioload but you will always have that shape of the tank and have to look at it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, Im gonna get the sump for the tank, and use a reef octopus 110ss skimmer, my friend has the newest model of the IM skimmer and she says the skimmer works great. Next tank I get im gonna do an IM, and I added aminian chloride (butchered spelling) so I thought there'd be something. thanks for the response, now I gotta finalize the stocking.

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25 minutes ago, If_Only said:

Yeah, Im gonna get the sump for the tank, and use a reef octopus 110ss skimmer, my friend has the newest model of the IM skimmer and she says the skimmer works great. Next tank I get im gonna do an IM, and I added aminian chloride (butchered spelling) so I thought there'd be something. thanks for the response, now I gotta finalize the stocking.

 

Ammonium Chloride is just a form of ammonia. Bio-load is fish/coral waste. Newly setup skimmers (during the cycle) will only really pull out stuff the rock leaches off, also, bacterial additives usually mess with the water chemistry enough to be pulled out as well. So most bottled bacteria actually advise to turn skimmers off, as not to strip them from the water column before they can colonize some surface.

 

Stock slow.

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2 minutes ago, shaner014 said:

 

Ammonium Chloride is just a form of ammonia. Bio-load is fish/coral waste. Newly setup skimmers (during the cycle) will only really pull out stuff the rock leaches off, also, bacterial additives usually mess with the water chemistry enough to be pulled out as well. So most bottled bacteria actually advise to turn skimmers off, as not to strip them from the water column before they can colonize some surface.

 

Stock slow.

Yeah I kept my skimmer off for 3ish days after I added my bacteria I just thought the ammonia would have been slightly transitioned into nitrate or nitrite so there would be something for the skimmer to pull, but I guess not. thanks for the help!

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3 hours ago, If_Only said:

Yeah I kept my skimmer off for 3ish days after I added my bacteria I just thought the ammonia would have been slightly transitioned into nitrate or nitrite so there would be something for the skimmer to pull, but I guess not. thanks for the help!

 

Skimmers don't pull out nitrate directly...they skim organic waste materials...  

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2 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

Skimmers don't pull out nitrate directly...they skim organic waste materials...  

I though that generally your mechanical (filter floss, sponge filter sock ect.) pulled out physical material, and the skimmer pulled out an oily protein that generally bases it self and builds up near the top of the water, (ie "protein skimmer) and that the skimmer is generally one of two way to fulling export (pull) nutrients along with a huge, or are we saying the same things and I'm just being stupid? Also im not trying to "prove you wrong" or anything I am  just seeing if what I know is correct. 

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17 minutes ago, If_Only said:

I though that generally your mechanical (filter floss, sponge filter sock ect.) pulled out physical material, and the skimmer pulled out an oily protein that generally bases it self and builds up near the top of the water, (ie "protein skimmer) and that the skimmer is generally one of two way to fulling export (pull) nutrients along with a huge, or are we saying the same things and I'm just being stupid? Also im not trying to "prove you wrong" or anything I am  just seeing if what I know is correct. 

Yes..what I am saying is they do not remove nitrate directly ...they remove waste before it breaks down into nitrate. It can remove larger chunks of waste as well.

 

Chemical products and certain things...even fish food make my skimmer not work for several hours. The oils in the food actually prevent it from skimming correctly. 

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9 hours ago, Tamberav said:

Yes..what I am saying is they do not remove nitrate directly ...they remove waste before it breaks down into nitrate. It can remove larger chunks of waste as well.

 

Chemical products and certain things...even fish food make my skimmer not work for several hours. The oils in the food actually prevent it from skimming correctly. 

Oh, good to know thank you so much for all your help, I’m propably gonna switch to a reef octo 110ss once I have the money, cause I have the sump and I’ve heard this skimmer is very easy to use and udjust.

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