Red Sea - a rant

[SheldonC]

I purchased my Red Sea 300 about 4 months ago now, and I have had nothing but issues from it. The ATO sensor wasn't working, so I got a new one from Red Sea and that one still doesn't work, the ATO pump ran dry the whole night without turning off or a single notification to the app, the magnets in the wave makers aren't strong enough to really hold onto the tank (mind you I bought the MAX setup because the gear was "designed" for the tank), the "smart" protein skimmer doesn't do anything in terms of adjusting the pump or the skimmate levels. The list is far longer than it should be for a $4,000 setup. I thought Red Sea was supposed to be "premium"?

 

[brandon429]

the hundreds and hundreds of people with their living rooms destroyed by red sea seam breaks wish this was their problem set. I'm amazed people still buy from them at all

 

[SheldonC]

the hundreds and hundreds of people with their living rooms destroyed by red sea seam breaks wish this was their problem set. I'm amazed people still buy from them at all

You're not wrong. I went with them for a few reasons - the first being because this is by no means a large system, I wasn't worried about it exploding. But also I was very drawn to the whole ReefBeat ecosystem for simplicity. Unfortunately that was a mistake.

 

[brandon429]

if you have a g2 with no seam issues then it's still a good deal, those parts issues can be custom fitted over time and it'll look sharp. agreed fully at 4K it should be all troubleshot and bulletproof already agreed

 

[SheldonC]

if you have a g2 with no seam issues then it's still a good deal, those parts issues can be custom fitted over time and it'll look sharp. agreed fully at 4K it should be all troubleshot and bulletproof already agreed

It is the G2, so it has the reinforced seams and everything, which was the ONLY way I'd go.

I've already considered getting all new pieces so it can be controlled by an Apex, but it's a complete net loss because the gear isn't worth what I'd end up selling it for. But it shouldn't be needed, and Red Sea's response is always "well nobody else has this problem, so sorry".

As I said, just a rant from a cranky reefer

 

[brandon429]

those g2's really are solid looking. I still hack on red sea for never preemptively helping anyone, they could be emailing all these g1 break owners for a free replacement but they let them suffer

outside of the break issues the tanks look great in the new versions for sure. pro look for sure.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

Only thing I ever got from red sea that worked was their reef dose 2, and even that I had to take apart at the beginning because one of the original tubes that was inside the circle that turns to pump what you’re dosing was clogged by a solid piece of plastic in the middle. garbage.

 

[SheldonC]

UGH

Only thing I ever got from red sea that worked was their reef dose 2, and even that I had to take apart at the beginning because one of the original tubes that was inside the circle that turns to pump what you’re dosing was clogged by a solid piece of plastic in the middle. garbage.

UGH, how frustrating. For how much they tout the gear, it's certainly not that great. And for the price point I'd expect it to work out of the box.

 

[doubleshot00]

Red Sea either makes a great product or a total flop. I use there ABC, dosers, skimmer and reefwave gyre. All are great but there skimmer. It skims when it wants.

 

[doubleshot00]

those g2's really are solid looking. I still hack on red sea for never preemptively helping anyone, they could be emailing all these g1 break owners for a free replacement but they let them suffer

outside of the break issues the tanks look great in the new versions for sure. pro look for sure.

Those red sea tanks are gorgeous. I just saw a red sea reefer-1K and was like .

But man those seem failures keep me from even looking at them. On FB market place they are everywhere for sale.

 

[exnisstech]

I have a 300 G2 and love it. But the only other RS equipment I have is a reefdose and a rollermat.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

I should clarify, the doser works great now it’s just I spent $250, I don’t think it’s acceptable for that price I should need to sit there for 2 hours taking something fresh out of the box apart.

 

[SheldonC]

I have a 300 G2 and love it. But the only other RS equipment I have is a reefdose and a rollermat.

The RollerMat seems to be the only thing that actually works well! I guess maybe the return is fine, but hard to know it's not fluctuating in power or something else.

 

[Readywriter]

I thought Red Sea was supposed to be "premium"?

Im going to go ahead and spoiler my opinion here.

Spoiler

Ive always seen red sea as being among the "I just walked into a fish store What? Why would fish need a bicycle? Just tell me what to buy." brands

 

[Totroc3]

I bought the 950 peninsula and the 160 lights. They don’t make long cords or extensions for the lights so I have a ballast zip tied to my 80/20 light bar. It looks stupid on a tank that expensive. I let them know and got no answer. I should have known better after my Reefer 250 split a seam and they didn’t care. My 525 is starting to go as well.

 

[Tonycass12]

I'm a fan of their reef dose, ABC supplements and salt. That's about it. Won't ever see my buying one of their tanks.

 

[Reeferbadness]

My Red Sea xxl 750 G1 (200g) had a seam failure after 39 months (3 months after the standard warranty expired). I contacted Red Sea, did all the required documentation and 2 weeks later received an entire new G2 tank and sump + the ATO (which i didn't have). I found the customer service quite good. I didn't get their gear for skimmer and pumps so don't know about that but definitely am thankful for their owing up to the problems with the g2. I was also lucky that the seam failure was only partial, so i was able to rescue all fish and most coral (i have a 2nd 180g tank and friends lent me some frag tanks during the down time).

 

[Cthulukelele]

Their tanks are pretty, their doser and fleece rollers work well, but Red Sea makes a lot of bad (IMO) products. They're style over substance in a lot of situations. I'd never recommend a red sea ato, skimmer, or pump, and I wouldn't usually recommend the tanks only because of the failures and the fact that IMO tanks should be lasting at least 10-15 years if not 20+. A standard eurobrace tank while not as sleek will last oftentimes functionally forever.

I view Red Sea as the Beats by Dre of the fish world

 

[MnFish1]

When I bought my 2 redsea tanks - there was an option to buy it with all of the equipment installed. (a 525 XL and a 725 XXL). I elected to avoid the equipment - except the tank and the sump, and bought all of my lights, skimmer, etc etc separately. The ATO in both tanks (which was included in the sump - and is controlled by gravity and a float-switch) was non-functional within 2 weeks. I might suggest that this may be the way to go if one wants a RedSea tank. Im not sure about the quality of their other equipment - just my personal opinion.

 

[SheldonC]

When I bought my 2 redsea tanks - there was an option to buy it with all of the equipment installed. (a 525 XL and a 725 XXL). I elected to avoid the equipment - except the tank and the sump, and bought all of my lights, skimmer, etc etc separately. The ATO in both tanks (which was included in the sump - and is controlled by gravity and a float-switch) was non-functional within 2 weeks. I might suggest that this may be the way to go if one wants a RedSea tank. Im not sure about the quality of their other equipment - just my personal opinion.

If I knew the gear was going to be so unreliable, I would've gone the route you did and then got an Apex. But it was actually cheaper to go this route and have it under the ReefBeat ecosystem, which I thought I'd try.