Review: Red Sea MAX 130D Coral Reef System (34 Gallons)

By Luke • Jan 18th, 2011 • Category: Hardware and Supplies

The Red Sea MAX 130D coral reef system is a plug and play aquarium ideal for saltwater reef setups. This system comes with all the hardware that you need to start a reef tank. It’s good for both beginners and advanced aquarists, and can be used for fish-only as well as reef systems.

Not only is this a complete aquarium package, but it is also a new and improved version of the original MAX 130 system. This system has numerous improvements over the original system. Red Sea listened to tons of feedback and made some key adjustments to turn this into one heck of an all-in-one aquarium system. Read on to learn more about what those improvements were, and what makes this such an appealing reef system.

“Reef Spec” Out Of The Box

This aquarium system is designed to be “reef spec” out of the box, meaning that it’s hardware performs to the levels needed to support a healthy reef tank. You don’t need to worry about getting the right type of hardware components, and making them all work together, when you get a system like this. It removed a lot of the guesswork and research required to get the right hardware configuration. This is why this aquarium can be so appealing and advantageous to beginners and advanced aquarists alike.

This New 130D Model – What’s Been Improved?

Before we get into the other details, we’ll take a quick look at what has been improved upon.

The front of the hood now has rounded corners to match the aquarium.
The cable channel covers are easier to use, this was a big complaint on the original model.
The skimmer compartment cover now has an anti-drip strip.
The power center cable is now on the rear of the aquarium rather than sticking out the side, for better aesthetics.
An accessory kit is now included that has inlet and outlet connectors for any accessories you want to add onto the tank that require water flow.
Coarser mesh is now used in the bio media bag, which reduces clogging.
Coarser foam filter material is also being used, also to reduce clogging.
Red Sea added a thicker top rim on the aquarium, so it’s easier to hide fluctuations in water level.
The protein skimmer has been upgraded with an adjustable neck, allowing you to adjust as needed to best fit your system.
The filter compartment now has a water level viewer.
The hood has been changed to a 3-stage opening system, making it easier to access the aquarium depending on what you need to do.
An adjustable overflow box has been added, making it easier to adjust the surface skimming for optimal performance.
There are now 4 LED lights instead of 2 (the moon lights).

As you can see, there are quite a few improvements in the 130D. It’s a nice progression from the original 130. These improvements address the top issues reported by sellers and buyers. This is now one heck of an all-in-one aquarium system.

The Water Circulation, Skimming and Filtration Capabilities

This aquarium will cycle the water through the filtration system at a rate of 3X per hour. The water is first pulled into the filtration through a surface skimmer and into the turbo injected protein skimmer. The protein skimmer can be adjusted to fit your aquarium situation, and it has a 3:1 water to air ratio.

The water also passes through a chamber that includes biological media, media bags filled with any other media of your choice, and a foam filter.

The filtration system is designed to promote free water flow with less restrictions, allowing everything to perform at optimal levels.

You can also add more devices to the filtration system by utilizing the accessory fittings that are part of the aquarium design.

The Lighting

This aquarium system provides you with lighting that is ideal for a reef tank. The lighting system provides 4 watts per gallon, which is the ideal reef spec for lighting. It’s a T5 lighting fixture that houses two 55w power compact T5 lamps, providing a total of 110 watts. One lamp is an actinic lamp, and the other is a 10,000k lamp.

The lighting fixture includes a fan to keep it cool when needed. There is also an integrated timer for the lights.

Moonlights? Yep this light fixture has them. There are 4 integrated LED moonlights.

This system will provide your reef with the light it needs, and you won’t need to worry about manually turning the lights on and off since you can use the integrated timer.

The Main Control Panel

One thing that is nice about an all in one system is that the controls are often in one easy to reach location. That is definitely the case with this system.

The controls

The Cabinet

You won’t need to worry about finding a stand to put the aquarium on since it comes with it’s own matching cabinet. The cabinet is sturdy and is designed to aid air flow through the aquarium. The cabinet actually look pretty stylish, and will be colored to match the aquarium color that you choose (black or silver).

The Aquarium Hood

This aquarium system has a hood that has 3 different opening stages. This allows you to open it only as far as you need to. You can get minor access for feeding, or you can get full access for cleaning when needed, and it’s all easy to use. This is one of the features that has been upgraded for the 130D version of this aquarium.

The Cables

Of course, with any system that requires electrical power, there will be cords. Red Sea has improved the cable features of this aquarium to make it easier to use. The cable channels are now easier to work with. The main power cord also runs out the back of the aquarium rather than the side, which makes this aquarium look better as a furniture piece, since there’s no power cord running out the side and it’s hidden better.

The Starter Kit

This aquarium comes with a starter kit, which will be invaluable for beginner aquarium owners or people that need the testing kits and supplements.

The starter kit that comes with this aquarium is specifically designed for the 130D, and it comes with:

15 pounds of salt
A hydrometer
Nitro Bac starter
Marine lab master test kit with Alkalinity test, Calcium test, Magnesium test
Coral buff
Calcium and magnesium supplements

This is some pretty nice stuff to get along with the aquarium itself, this is typically the kind of stuff that beginner aquarium owners have to go back to the store for once they realize it’s needed.

Specifications

Tank dimensions: 24″ x 30″ x 23.8″
Cabinet dimensions: 24″ x 20″ x 32″
Total water volume: 34 gallons
Aquarium water volume: 29 gallons
Filter water volume: 5 gallons
Glass thickness: 0.3″
Main Lighting: Two 55 watt T5 power compact lamps, a 10,000k and an actinic
Moon lights: 4 LED lights
Light timer: Analog lighting timer
Aquarium hood: 3 stages of opening
Water pumps: Two 146 gph circulation pumps
Skimmer throughput: 100 gph
Skimmer foam output: Adjustable
Heater: 150 watt heater
5 outlet power center

Where Can You Buy This Aquarium System?

We like to recommend buying this aquarium from PetStore.com, they have good prices and this aquarium also will qualify for their free shipping. They also have excellent customer service, which comes in very handy if any issues or questions arise when you buy a system such as this.

The Reviews

Overall, people who buy this system are very happy with it. What are people saying about this aquarium system?

Great Build Quality…

First of all, people who buy this are very impressed with the build quality and tank quality. One buyer says the glass is thicker than some tanks, and that the divider inside the tank is actually smoked glass rather than plastic. This same buyer also says that the cabinet is very high quality as well and that it feels very sturdy.

This aquarium also looks very nice. Buyers comment that this setup looks very stylish in their homes. One person mentions that this setup also has a very tidy look due to the fact that the power center does a great job of hiding the power cables used in this system.

One person mentions that all the switches and the timer are splash resistant.

The Lighting…

A few people comment that they would like to see this system with a 150 watt metal halide, but they are happy with this system as is and still give it good reviews. Nobody complains about the T5 power compacts that this system currently uses.

Heat…

Mentioning the metal halide comments makes me think of another point I saw – some say that this aquarium can run a little warm, and you may find that it is necessary to use a chiller. However, it’s easy to hook one up due to the fact that Red Sea includes fittings to make it easy to add more hardware to your aquarium as needed. You will probably want to set this tank up and observer water temps before deciding if you need to use a chiller, many people find they don’t need one.

Customer Support…

What about customer support? One buyer mentioned that after he set up the aquarium he had abnormal fan noise and skimmer noise, and Red Sea sent him replacement parts right away. Another reviewer mentions that customer support recommended they replace the fans yearly if they make noise, and they didn’t really like that answer from support, but I thought it sounded like a fine support reply as hardware does wear out over time, and I’ve had plenty of computers and other hardware that rely on fans to keep cool, and fans can be somewhat volatile in general.