Buying a used redsea reefer 450

[MnFish1]

would you buy a second hand redsea reefer 450 that is 3 years old why would you do it or why wouldn't you do it thanks in advance

ps: i already have a 55g reeftank the redsea reefer 450 would be a upgrade for my 1 year old 55g reeftank

I would consider it - though I said I would never buy a used tank - in re-thinking, - however, because some of the bigger generation 1 tanks have had problems (as noted in multiple posts) - I would ask for a significant discount. Note - I have had 2 large redsea reefer xxl tanks (generation 1) - and not had any problems. Others have. The problem is that no one has any statistical details except the companies involved - the rest is anecdote - i.e. my redsea tank broke. The smaller tanks probably have the same risks as any other tank - curious - why is someone selling after 3 years? (That would be my first question)

 

[MnFish1]

I'd thoroughly check the seams, and if they show no signs of failure, I'd put it on a custom stand where the entire tank is supported (no front hanging glass). Then I'd throw the Red Sea stand in the fire pit. But of course, the tank itself would have to be highly discounted from MSRP to even consider this.

IMHO - there is no rationale to throw the stand into the trash. Agree with the discount. The seams should be checked with water in the tank!

 

[JaimeAdams]

I have a 450. Its been fine for me. I have had other RS tanks fail. I have a 750xxl that failed. I had a 170 fail. I have a buddy who quit the hobby after his 350 failed. I bought the 450 after I had 2 fail and it's been fine.

 

[avianman]

JaimeAdams - That's a lot of failures to continue to trust Red Sea - why is it you still feel they are safe to buy? Most people wouldn't buy another 450 after they had two fail, let alone several others - yet you did... I'm curious as to whether you saw something that made it seem wise (Like you feel the others were exceptions, you knew they had been damaged, etc.)

 

[JaimeAdams]

JaimeAdams - That's a lot of failures to continue to trust Red Sea - why is it you still feel they are safe to buy? Most people wouldn't buy another 450 after they had two fail, let alone several others - yet you did... I'm curious as to whether you saw something that made it seem wise (Like you feel the others were exceptions, you knew they had been damaged, etc.)

Well. The 750s were known to fail in the front center. It was a design flaw that Redsea later added a brace to. I personally think that there should have been a recall or class action, but hey that's my feelings. The 170 at the store really had no reason to fail. The 350 was older and I questioned the integrity of the stand. The problem that I see with a lot of tank failures is not really the tank just giving way it is the stand. Those stands are made out of medium density fiber board and when they start to get wet they lose their structural integrity. I see this happen mostly on the partition between the sump area and the dry equipment area. A little splashing from the sump and the bottom of that board swells and losses it's integrity. That then allows the bottom of the tank to try and bow which. That puts pressure on the seems pushing them out of being square and leads to seam failures. Granted that is not the case 100% of the time, but in my experiences and what I have seen that is the majority of it. I have installed the G2 series in customer's homes they have addressed some issues. I'm certainly not a Red Sea fan boy by any means. If you want a tank that won't fail go buy a nice old thick glass rimmed tank.