Buying a pre-owned Red Sea Max 130???

[CanAmSteve]

Hello - I am new to marine after many years keeping tropicals, so I want to start small and see how successful I am.

I've been leaning toward the RSM 130D. However, I see the odd pre-owned RSM 130 for sale, and I wonder if it is possible to upgrade the 130 to the 130D. What are the important differences between the two? I think skimmer, lights and hood (opens fully on D) but probably more?

Any idea what it would cost to fully upgrade the 130 to the 130D spec?

Finally, what is the situation on service regarding per-owned units? Is any warranty carried over? If not, are parts readily available at reasonable cost?

Many thanks - Steve

[flashpanther]

You can pick up the 130D for £600. Think thats too good a price to even consider going second hand and trying to mess around upgrading. IMO get the 130D for £600 mate.

[CanAmSteve]

Good point - thanks for that. I agree it would have to an awfully good deal to consider a used tank needing an upgrade. Especially when you see that most people are trying to sell full tanks with no packaging. A fair bit of bother to get home. Thanks again - Steve

[Tom73]

Steve as stated before , i bought a 9 month old red sea max for £250 , changed the 2 t5 compacts £40 and added a surface skimmer £17 , phoned interpet when i had a prob with the heater , but was told by them that the warranty was with the person who bought in the first place ,, i contacted the rep redseastev on this site and had a replacement within days ,,,,, the only thing you can upgrade on the 130 to make it like the 130d is the surface skimmer as the internal skimmer has different fitting ( so ive been told) ,, as also stated before this is the best set up ive ever had ,,, happy hunting ,,,,

[CanAmSteve]

Thanks Tom. That was a good deal. The units I have seen lately are more in the £400+ range used for the early model, which makes it easier to justify new. I have gathered that the rep (RedSeaSteve) is excellent but that the distributor is not so "responsive". Which is a shame. I see this in a lot of UK distributors. Good products let down by poor customer service on the UK end. I also sense that -like some retail shops - they have focused more on "pond life" than "tank life", so we are just little fish to them :-) Thanks again - Steve