Red sea Nano max 20gal

[TriathlonJoshua]

Hi everyone, dipping my toes into saltwater finally. I've done great with freshwater but I want to step it up, so I'm thinking of purchasing a 20gal Nano max by red sea, it seems to have all the bells and whistles but I'm skeptical as sometimes it's really not all that. Does anyone have one and can give me a honest review on it? For example have you guys had to replace parts or upgraded because it lacked features? Noise level is a concern I've seen from reviewers but I'm not sure if it's true...yikes. 

Okay then lastly I'm a bit intimidated by having to be dosing for corals and watching parameters don't get me wrong my freshwater tanks I do all that but it seems so much more complicated for saltwater. Any advise on anything I've mentioned will be SUPER appreciated! Literally starting from scratch so advise on set up and cycling time I will take it all. Thank you so much. 

[thedon986]

I haven't seen too many of the Max units around. The display portion looks kind of small for the total investment at only 16.5 gallons. Have you looked at the Innovative Marine tanks? You would have to buy your own skimmer, ATO and light, but the dimensions of the Lagoon 25 are so great for a nano tank and super popular around here so you can check out what the successful examples are doing for equipment and mirror that. In the end you will come out at about the price of the Max but totally tailored to what you really want. The ReefLED on the Max is pretty new and doesn't have much for reviews yet, although it looks good, possibly similar to a Kessil. I tend to piece my equipment together so I get exactly what I want and wouldn't mind helping you out. I would say start with the tank, find the dimensions you really want. Peninsula? Lagoon? Standard rectangle? And go from there.

 

BTW, are you in Denver? Could definitely point you to some great stores.

[Clown79]

There are many ways to run a reef tank.

 

I don't know much about the tank you are considering.

 

An aio like innovative marine is really easy to run. You can stick with the stock pump but many prefer to upgrade for various reasons.

 

You need a light, tons of options in different budgets.

 

An ato is a good thing to get, I don't use them but they are convenient. 

 

Heater, an affordable controller is the inkbird.

 

Skimmers, reactors are not necessary but can be added later if you need to.

 

A powerhead.

 

SW can be intimidating but doing research, reading TOTM's, journals, and the various threads really gives you a lot of knowledge and knowledge is key in this hobby. 

 

During cycling you need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.

 

After alk, ca, and phos should be checked. Testing weekly is beneficial in the beginning because you get to know your system, how the chemistry works etc.

 

Until you have a decent amount of sps and lps, dosing isn't necessary, your weekly waterchanges will replenish the elements.

 

 

 

[krisjoseph]

16 hours ago, TriathlonJoshua said:

Hi everyone, dipping my toes into saltwater finally. I've done great with freshwater but I want to step it up, so I'm thinking of purchasing a 20gal Nano max by red sea, it seems to have all the bells and whistles but I'm skeptical as sometimes it's really not all that. Does anyone have one and can give me a honest review on it? For example have you guys had to replace parts or upgraded because it lacked features? Noise level is a concern I've seen from reviewers but I'm not sure if it's true...yikes. 

Okay then lastly I'm a bit intimidated by having to be dosing for corals and watching parameters don't get me wrong my freshwater tanks I do all that but it seems so much more complicated for saltwater. Any advise on anything I've mentioned will be SUPER appreciated! Literally starting from scratch so advise on set up and cycling time I will take it all. Thank you so much. 

 

I have a Nano Max - 2 months in. My previous tank was 120G so this is a change. Here's what I can tell you:

 

Good:

- It's so pretty. Even with a top on it (I got the Red Sea Kit and put that together) the rimless design is terrific

- Maintenance has been very easy. The nice thing about 20G is that you can do a 10-20% water change in a matter of minutes. And a water change can fix almost anything.

- The stand you can get with it is slick and provides lots of space to store food, testing kits, etc. I can see adding a shelf later in case I get a doser etc.

- I bought a $2 plastic ruler and used it plus a bit of sponge to raise the back edge of the overflow in the sump and route water into the mechanical filter. There is NO water noise now AND the mechanical filter works better. Oh, and I'm using filter floss instead of the expensive custom Red Sea filter bags.

 

Bad/You'll-wanna-fix:

- I ordered it thinking I'd get the new model with ReefLED 50 and actually ended up with an AI Prime HD instead. My LFS gets their Max Nano tanks from a wholesaler in New Jersey so... I dunno if I got old stock or what. I'm okay with the AI Prime light but was a wee bit disappointed at first.

- Having had a much LARGER tank, it's noticeable how quickly parameters can shift in a nano. This is true of all nanos, and not just the Nano Max, so don't panic.

- The auto top off is fine to start but it's not an auto top off, since you WILL be adding water to it every day anyway. I mean, it'll keep the levels stable enough but.... it's not like you can leave town for the weekend without the return pump starting to suck air after a day and a half. I've already replaced mine with an XP Aqua Duetto and a 1 gallon container in the cabinet

- I hated the stock skimmer. It's clunky and VERY large compared to other models made by Tunze. I'm trying out a Tunze 9001 and it's okay BUT the magnet mount is hard to make work in the RSM sump area... if I nudge to too much it'll detach and fall down and then I have to fish it out and remount it. Frustrating. The NICE thing about switching to the Tunze is that it adds space in the sump, and I've been able to add porous media there for bio-filtering, which has reduced the amount of rock in the display and, therefore, given me a bit more display space.

 

Unless you get into SPS corals, you won't need a lot of equipment. You can manage parameters with water changes and, in fact, may not even need the skimmer. My NUMBER ONE recommendation is something you'll hear from everyone: BE PATIENT and give the tank time to stabilize before adding things. And add things ONE at a time (especially fish) because their waste, etc., will alter things and the tank will always need time to readjust. Assume you'll have a box of rock and water for at least six weeks, and be okay with that.

 

Despite how much I wrote here, I LOVE the tank. All tanks require work and tweaking, IMHO, and this one is no worse than many others.