Red Sea Reefer Tank Seal Failure

[ColoredRock]

I'm shocked anyone buys their aquariums. It must be because they haven't seen the 20 threads here at 20+ pages of 200 seam breaks.

I have to question this.. yes it happens, yes it happed to me, and yes I will no longer buy a redsea product.. other then some of their test kits.. see my build thread. Lets not throw out numbers to throw out numbers.

 

[blaxsun]

It's a known problem for original owners as well. The BRS giveaway tank last year (I think it was last year) busted for the winner of it. Problem with red sea accepting responsibility for it is the lawsuits for other damages that will have to be paid...same goes to tropic Marin. They will replace it if the warranty is followed...but there's not a real admittance of "YEAH... we fd up". I agree there's no telling on a tank that's moved...but it's the same failure every time regardless...front seam.

See, here's an example of rampant hysteria - the BRS giveaway tank last year was a custom tank on a really nice wood-stained stand. I remember this because it featured removable glass weirs in the overflow (something Red Sea doesn't offer).
..........

I have a Red Sea 750XXL v3. This is the model with the redesigned stand (2-3" steel lip that runs along the front), the aluminum strut bar for the wider portion of the cabinet and armored/corner reinforcements with the glass panels.

The Red Sea G2 line now features marine-laminated plywood on all cabinets, thicker glass on most tanks and armored/corner seams. I don't think they've announced a G2 peninsula line yet, though.

 

[billyocean]

See, here's an example of rampant hysteria - the BRS giveaway tank last year was a custom tank on a really nice wood-stained stand. I remember this because it featured removable glass weirs in the overflow (something Red Sea doesn't offer).
..........

I have a Red Sea 750XXL v3. This is the model with the redesigned stand (2-3" steel lip that runs along the front), the aluminum strut bar for the wider portion of the cabinet and armored/corner reinforcements with the glass panels.

The Red Sea G2 line now features marine-laminated plywood on all cabinets, thicker glass on most tanks and armored/corner seams. I don't think they've announced a G2 peninsula line yet, though.

I'm not hysterical by any stretch. There's a known problem...its not isolated...that's the whole point. I just wouldn't buy the models with a known problem. Defend and what not all you want...it doesn't change the facts. Years ago Marineland had failures on a certain date of manufacturing with their tanks due to bad silicone. Doesn't mean that all their tanks suck..lol

 

[blaxsun]

I'm not hysterical by any stretch. There's a known problem...its not isolated...that's the whole point. I just wouldn't buy the models with a known problem. Defend and what not all you want...it doesn't change the facts. Years ago Marineland had failures on a certain date of manufacturing with their tanks due to bad silicone. Doesn't mean that all their tanks suck..lol

So what was the issue with your Red Sea tank?

 

[Cell]

I do not own a RS tank, therefore I cannot discuss the potential for or incidents of seam failures on them?

 

[blaxsun]

I do not own a RS tank, therefore I cannot discuss the potential for or incidents of seam failures on them?

Is there a question here?

 

[Rjramos]

Ok I have to chime in. While I agree overall that one tank failure is one too many, saying that RS uses a thin black silicone is massively misleading. I personally have never seen another brand use such a thick amount of adhesive/silicone. This is what they call their armored seams. Ya I still wake up scared every day thinking I might find water on the ground but I would never say RS reefers have a thin adhesive. Just plainly wrong.

What I mean by thin adhesive is that it definitely cures into a hard consistency more dense than silicone, whatever it may be they use. Furthermore, the technique is one that does not include a bead of silicone on the inside of the tank, just between the panes of glass.
From a friend this happened to and from the many cases I’ve seen, the separation
most often starts on top. Possibly, because it’s a joint composed of 2 panes rather that 3 at the bottom.

 

[billyocean]

So what was the issue with your Red Sea tank?

Don't own one. My buddy that does, caught his seam early and after some back and forth red sea replaced his so that was good.

 

[ninjamyst]

Other rimless tank manufacturers like IM and WB do not seem to have the same frequency of seam failures as RS. If there are way more RS tanks in circulation compared to IM/WB it could make sense mathematically, but I'm not sure if that's the case.

There are absolutely way more RS tanks in circulation than IM/WB. IM is popular with nano tanks. Their big INT / EXT line didn't get popular till 3-4 years ago and they still don't sell a lot of it. WB may be as popular as RS right now RS still had years ahead of them. And since the tank failure usually happen on older tank, raw number of RS tank failing is expected. However, percentage of RS tank failing seems to be higher than other vendors so there is a problem with their older G1 tanks. But I would think they addressed the problem already with their G2.

 

[xiaoxiy]

See, here's an example of rampant hysteria - the BRS giveaway tank last year was a custom tank on a really nice wood-stained stand. I remember this because it featured removable glass weirs in the overflow (something Red Sea doesn't offer).
..........

I have a Red Sea 750XXL v3. This is the model with the redesigned stand (2-3" steel lip that runs along the front), the aluminum strut bar for the wider portion of the cabinet and armored/corner reinforcements with the glass panels.

The Red Sea G2 line now features marine-laminated plywood on all cabinets, thicker glass on most tanks and armored/corner seams. I don't think they've announced a G2 peninsula line yet, though.

You’re right. It wasn’t last years give away, but it was from the 20k give away build a few years ago. Here’s the build thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/goodtimes-with-a-reefer-750xxl-20k-dreamtank.520437/

 

[Rjramos]

From 2020, right here. Does anyone know if this improvement reduced the amount of cases?

 

[blaxsun]

From 2020, right here. Does anyone know if this improvement reduced the amount of cases?

I have a 750XXL v3 with these upgrades - zero issues in 2 years. They also added a steel reinforced lip to the front edge of the top panel in the cabinet to support the "floating" aspect of the tank (this is something that's rarely mentioned).

You’re right. It wasn’t last years give away, but it was from the 20k give away build a few years ago. Here’s the build thread.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/goodtimes-with-a-reefer-750xxl-20k-dreamtank.520437/

Entirely possible if it's a pre-v3 model. I know of one local reefer that had a 750XXL where the cabinet gave way in the center (where they added the new aluminum support strut) and this led to the seal in the front giving way. I know this particular issue was with the 750XXL and 900XXL (again, pre-v3 changes).

 

[Steve2020]

Red Sea is a joke. This happened to me as well. I bought a tank that was under a year old. The previous owner saw some concerns with the seals slightly separating and Red Sea assured him that it was well under spec and there is no issue. Upon taking ownership, I emailed Red Sea the same while the original owner was in town, (he was in the middle of moving out of state), again RS assured me there was nothing to worry about and it was well within spec. A few months later, still under a year old, it got worst, emailed RS again, now they tell me they can't help me since I'm not the original owner and the original owner had now moved away. So, I had to buy a replacement tank. Red Sea knows about their seam failures and refuse to accept responsibility for poor quality issues. I now own a CDA tank that is built in Texas and the quality difference is night and day.

I am a little confused. The tank you say that was built in Texas is a CDA? What does the CDA in Texas stand for? I own a 84x30x24 tank from CDA ( Crystal Dynamics Aquariums ) and they are from Oceanside Ca and it is a beautiful tank that's built like a tank.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I would never, ever trust a used glass tank. I just don't trust anyone who cleans them out, a LFS was going out of business and cleaning out their glass displays to sell and I literally saw the dude scraping the inside corners and ripping silicon out as "sludge".

No Fing way.

Acrylic for life, I'll sand scratches all day. Getting bacteria infested water out of my floorboards is gonna be a no from me dawg.

 

[BetterJake]

I would not buy a used tank. I would not know how to properly inspect or know how it was taken care of.

That being said, as it is for most products, people that had an adequate - exceptional experience are much less likely to leave a review vs people that had a bad experience.

 

[piranhaman00]

I would never buy a used tank, rimless tank or Red Sea tank, all three!?!

 

[Hitchhik3r]

I hate to say it and I know this will rub some people the wrong way but building a large fish tank in a complex with units below you is straight up irresponsible and inconsiderate. I have dreamed of building a reef tank for a long time but living from apartment to apartment, I waited almost 8 years until owning a home where a worst case scenario like this will only inconvenience myself and not some innocent home dweller that now has bacteria infested salt water pouring down their walls and living area.

 

[BetterJake]

I hate to say it and I know this will rub some people the wrong way but building a large fish tank in a complex with units below you is straight up irresponsible and inconsiderate. I have dreamed of building a reef tank for a long time but living from apartment to apartment, I waited almost 8 years until owning a home where a worst case scenario like this will only inconvenience myself and not some innocent home dweller that now has bacteria infested salt water pouring down their walls and living area.

Same! I was in a condo for the longest time and finally moved into a home last year. Most apartments have rules that prohibit large fish tanks for this reason.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I hate to say it and I know this will rub some people the wrong way but building a large fish tank in a complex with units below you is straight up irresponsible and inconsiderate. I have dreamed of building a reef tank for a long time but living from apartment to apartment, I waited almost 8 years until owning a home where a worst case scenario like this will only inconvenience myself and not some innocent home dweller that now has bacteria infested salt water pouring down their walls and living area.

I didn't want to say it but i'm right there with you. I wanted to build salt water since I was a teenager and I always looked at it as setting a goal for buying my own home and that would be my reward.

I couldn't imagine how awkward the conversation or the mass guilt I would feel telling some neighbor below me my choices destroyed their stuff. Heck, it's bad enough having neighbors in general..

 

[MichaelFita]

Wow ...... Saw this post in the Chicago saltwater Facebook group .
Sorry for your loss , Beginning to wonder the quality checks being performed with certain brands . It looks like Red Sea is having an increase in this issue recently . Terrible situation but your HO insurance should cover the damaged caused by the leaking tank .