RED SEA How close to Failure?

[TheDuude]

Please take a look at this photo and let me know your thoughts on what appears to be a bubble in the rear seam of my Red Sea 525 XL.

I haven't noticed it in the past, but do not see that area of the tank often, as I have a screen cover.

Marking now with sharpie to monitor.

How long do I have?

 

[Futuretotm]

RedSea = always very close to failure. Yours even more. Change it as soon as you can and not support RSR.

Not much, but here was my 525. RIP.
It's a lot of work and $$$ to change.

Best of luck.

 

[rtparty]

Unless I am seeing it wrong, it looks like it has already partailly released at the top corner? If so, you need to move everything right now. That separation could extend halfway down the seam in an instant and flood your home

 

[BryanM]

Yep, looks pretty bad already, I'd probably try to put straps around it while you figure out your long term plan.

 

[TheDuude]

The photo makes it look worse than it appears in person. That top corner is not visibly separated; what you are seeing in the photo is actually a bit of excess silicon sticking up, but the air bubble in the actual seam itself is clearly visible from standing in front of the tank.

Hopefully my insurance covers because I will not be able to replace this tank until I find a replacement, as I have nowhere to home my fish and corals.

 

[MasterClassReefs]

 

[JumboShrimp]

So sorry about this, @TheDuude ! In that photo, have you drained the water level down to make the bubble more visible in the photo?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

Aw man. So sorry…

 

[TheDuude]

So sorry about this, @TheDuude ! In that photo, have you drained the water level down to make the bubble more visible in the photo?

No that is the operating water level of my tank

 

[ReefED!]

I’m not a Red Sea hater - I use a lot of their stuff (gyre, doser, reefmat, ATO) and am happy with most of it

But I wouldn’t touch one of those tanks if it were given to me for free

Especially a questionable one like that

 

[exnisstech]

That looks to be failing like my reefer 170 only it was a front corner.


This is how I fixed mine .

 

[Reefing102]

I agree with the others, definitely looks to be failing. I’d get a strap around it to try to slow it down.

If you can’t afford a new tank currently, it may still make sense to get something like a 100 gallon Rubbermaid tub to stick stuff in as a temporary home.

Also, while I too am against RedSea tanks, do you know if your still under warranty? It may be worthwhile, though at the same time hit or miss, to reach out to RedSea about warranty replacement. That may give you small leeway in either using the replacement or selling the replacement for funding for a different brand.

 

[gkprevite]

If you get a large stock tub you can transfer everything without the tank bursting first. Even if you got your 525xl rebuilt, (add euro brace while you’re at it) it will buy you time and possibly save you from losing livestock. As for insurance, please share the carrier and your agent if they cover it (they won’t)

 

[kboogie]

I’m sorry you are in that position. My Marineland started to show a similar bubble about half as big and ai gave myself 30 days to replace it. I was successful but I was stressed the whole time, expected to wake up one day to fish and water on my floor.

 

[UncommonSense]

Yep, this seam is starting to peel… it’s time to transfer rock/livestock to a holding container, and get the water drained out of this tank!

— Here’s a Red Sea Reefer 425XL with a vertical seam fully slit open via razor blade, you cannot even tell by looking at it:

ai gave myself 30 days to replace it

I’d be careful about using AI to answer high stakes questions in your life… its answer was almost certainly scraped from threads here on R2R, then parroted back to you with minimal consideration of the unique seam damage you were experiencing!

 

[JumboShrimp]

I ordered my 150 gallon tank (actually two of the) with internal bottom- bracing, and Euro bracing up top. I think I be scared to ever do less, except possibly on a much smaller tank. I'm careful with my scraper, and so I'm seriously hoping to get 20+ years worth of use out of the tank. I'm in year 5... so far so good.

 

[Luke Schnabel]

To buy time you can clamp it with heavy duty wood clamps and/or Call your local glass company and have them cut you a 3/8" thick glass piece to make a quick eurobrace. Silicon it in place.

At the end of the day, you will likely need to get a new tank soon.

 

[Ziggy17]

Good news/bad news.
Bad news- it’s failing.
Good news- is that because it’s high, it will be a slower burn out than if it was mid or near the bottom where the pressure is greatest.

I see some suggesting using straps or clamps. Be careful with that. If the restrictive pressure isn’t perfect, it just causes a new “weak spot” that will fail under pressure. By strapping the top, you can cause a blow out in the bottom, which is way worse. That’s why folks use pieces of wood that span the whole side with multiple straps/clamps to keep even pressure.

I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to a time frame for a seam failure, but keep an eye on the bubble, if it’s not leaking and it’s not getting bigger, I’d worry less. My guess is that it will get worse, but who knows how long that will take.

Full discloser, I’m not an expert. So take my advice for what it is. Also keep in mind, that with free advice, you usually get what you pay for :)

 

[TheDuude]

Good news/bad news.
Bad news- it’s failing.
Good news- is that because it’s high, it will be a slower burn out than if it was mid or near the bottom where the pressure is greatest.

I see some suggesting using straps or clamps. Be careful with that. If the restrictive pressure isn’t perfect, it just causes a new “weak spot” that will fail under pressure. By strapping the top, you can cause a blow out in the bottom, which is way worse. That’s why folks use pieces of wood that span the whole side with multiple straps/clamps to keep even pressure.

I wouldn’t hazard a guess as to a time frame for a seam failure, but keep an eye on the bubble, if it’s not leaking and it’s not getting bigger, I’d worry less. My guess is that it will get worse, but who knows how long that will take.

Full discloser, I’m not an expert. So take my advice for what it is. Also keep in mind, that with free advice, you usually get what you pay for :)

I tend to agree with pretty much everyone here. If I had an option I would remove right away but I dont so I will monitor closely and try to get a plan in place soon.

Most likely will be a significant downsize. Wallet will appreciate it at least.

 

[kboogie]

Yep, this seam is starting to peel… it’s time to transfer rock/livestock to a holding container, and get the water drained out of this tank!

— Here’s a Red Sea Reefer 425XL with a vertical seam fully slit open via razor blade, you cannot even tell by looking at it:

I’d be careful about using AI to answer high stakes questions in your life… its answer was almost certainly scraped from threads here on R2R, then parroted back to you with minimal consideration of the unique seam damage you were experiencing!

I was confused by the comment then I re-read my post and I see the iPhone autocorrect typo. LOL!!! “I gave my self 30 days….” I find it funny that Apple’s pseudo AI inserted itself into the comment. It truly is taking over!!!