red sea reefers are not worth the cost

[Lavey29]

I'm diggin mine

 

[glency]

SCA tanks are made overseas. i actually ordered a custom tank from them but then canceled the order once i found out it was "lost" at sea somewhere in a shipping container

I wanted one but euro bracing makes me cringe.

 

[glency]

As I said originally the functionality of the ATO is not the issue. Its how its positioned making it difficult to refill. This is an easy fix on red sea's part and they failed to do it.

And how is a system "All-in-one" if you have to buy multiple other items? By the very definition it isn't an all in one setup.

And I am not at all new to the hobby. Ive been keeping saltwater for about 8 years, fish overall for 15. This tank is NOT the ferrari of tanks. Its more of a Tesla. A tank with alright reliability(so actually better than a Tesla) but its unique design draws a loyal following. The quality of these tanks are no better than any other tank Ive owned.

Agree. I ditched the ATO for an external tank because filling was stupid hard.

 

[Jeffcb]

I'm diggin mine

I'm diggin my 2 also.

For those that say Red Sea isn't worth the money, I think it just depends on how much money you got...lol

I own and use every Red Sea product on my 2 Red Sea Tanks and don't be leave I would find anything better. Including salt and supplements. Still thinking about a roller mat but if I get one it will be RS.

Reef On!

 

[Lavey29]

I'm diggin my 2 also.

For those that say Red Sea isn't worth the money, I think it just depends on how much money you got...lol

I own and use every Red Sea product on my 2 Red Sea Tanks and don't be leave I would find anything better. Including salt and supplements. Still thinking about a roller mat but if I get one it will be RS.

Reef On!

I just added the Red Sea doser to mine. First day operational. I bought some reservoirs to match the color scheme but they might be to big. I'm not sure how long the shelf life is for alk and cal in there and I'm only dosing 16ml a day so it will last months. I may just switch to the Red Sea bottles with the hose caps.

 

[PanchoG]

Well, that is the reason there are many options out there. No product is good for everyone. In my case I had a Japanese AIO tank and after 10 years I took the leap to a Red Sea S-500, the tank is in my living room so my wife asked whaterver the tank it must look cool and sleek. I do like the aluminum frame compared to the Reefers models so I don’t have to worry. Also it comes with a nice light rack, the system looks great and it is always a great conversation starter at home

In terms of equipment the only downsize I saw on my tank was the old C-Skim, not good enough and noise. After a year I upgraded it to a Nyos Quantum 150 and been happy ever since. If someday I would decide to go for another tank, it would another Red Sea or something similar to it.

 

[Manny’s Reef]

I love everything Red Sea. No complaints whatsoever.

 

[DavidinGA]

Meh I don't know that I'd say they're way overpriced, but you can definitely do better for the money elsewhere.

Personally I would never buy one as I prefer to piece together my own setup and I can build something better than the package deals they offer.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I used to think the same about Red Sea. Why would anyone pay that much for a tank when there are cheap rimless options out there. Then I won a Reefer 250 at a show and my opinion was changed. The tank is world's better in terms of quality and appearance. The stand is well built even if it is like putting together some IKEA furniture. The glass is crystal clear and the edges are perfectly ground and polished. There's no trying to figure out what plumbing parts you need. I had that 250 running for 3 years(set up 3 different times, FOWLR, freshwater and then a reef) until I just outgrew it and now I have a 750xxl. I find them to be a great value and far more economical than buying pieces parts here and there.

 

[Tamberav]

Saw this posted today

 

[davidcalgary29]

Saw this posted today

I've got seam incursions in my IM40. I know you know that it's a thing that can happen with any tank (and especially rimless ones), and not just Red Sea aquariums. The real measure of a company is how they deal with these failures, and the Parting of the Red Seas seems to be an ongoing saga, with lots of chapters to come.

 

[glency]

I've got seam incursions in my IM40. I know you know that it's a thing that can happen with any tank (and especially rimless ones), and not just Red Sea aquariums. The real measure of a company is how they deal with these failures, and the Parting of the Red Seas seems to be an ongoing saga, with lots of chapters to come.

I see what you did there.

 

[Unitylover]

I know this is controversial, but there is no way red sea tanks are worth the money at all in the slightest. I bought a red sea 250 after moving and needing to downsize from my 150(which was just a standard 150 from planet aquariums I purchased from my lfs). It was somewhat sudden and I didn't want to go through the hassle of designing, purchasing, and installing plumbing; I found a good deal so I decided to get it. I bought the system used for a price of $800. It had only been used for a year and everything worked fine. So I figured I would outline the things I don't like about the system to warn others but hopefully have some input from to improve these issues.

1. The "all in one"/"plug and play" lie: The red sea 250 system cost $1824. That includes the tank, stand, sump and plumbing. How is this plug and play? Theres nothing even to plug in as it doesn't come with a return pump. I think that most people would agree that to just get the tank started you would need to put in at least another $1000. You could easily spend over $3000 including the tank and not have any fish or coral. Thats insane for a tank with a system volume of 65 gallons. You could easily find a tank at least twice the volume including stand and probably a sump for the same price or less. Even other all in ones like IM give you a pump, media, and a top. Luckily I had a bunch of extra stuff from my 150 but for someone starting out it would be ridiculous.

2. The lack of space: One of Red sea's main selling points is that you wont have to spend time and money buying different pieces of plumbing and filtration equipment to put your system together. For a beginner who has no experience in what to look for in buying equipment this is a good reason to buy Red sea. But for more experienced reefers who are looking to run more sophisticated equipment such as gfo reactors, calcium reactors, auto dosers, or an ato(i will cover this more later) they will be greatly restricted by space. The sump takes up a considerable amount of space and leaves just a small area, about 14inx20in, to store EVERYTHING else. My stand looks like a bomb went off. Between auto doser pumps and containers, wires for the heater, refugium light, skimmer, and return pump there is almost no room to store anything else. This is because the opening for wires require that they be stretched across the sump from the left side. And the sump has to be installed on the left. This means wires get covered in salt creep and take up valuable space in the storage area.

3. The ATO: The ATO is famously hated among red sea owners. This should be no surprise since all it is is a cheap float valve system with no real fail safe in it except for the fact that the volume when filled is not enough to overflow the sump. That's fine if you don't mind losing sensitive species to a large salinity swing. Now granted, I have had no reliability issues with the ATO and the feature for adjusting the water level in the return pump compartment is very nice. My main issue is how it is positioned. Since the ATO sits on top of the sump, it is high above everything else so it is difficult to access. You can't pour the bottom half of a 5 gallon jug into it as you cant tip the jug over enough to get the water out. This means you need to empty the water and scoop it in with a cup or something. And forget trying to take the ATO out and filling it. The reservoir is a small glass tank with an open top so there would be no way to reinstall it without sloshing water all over the place. And that open top quality makes you lose lots of extra water due to evaporation. The design is so poor that it makes way more sense to just get another ATO, especially if your house is as dry as mine. The design could have been fixed so easily too. Just make the reservoir a closed top jug with a hole at the side and include a funnel to pour the water into. Almost like a gas tank or oil for your engine. But it is so obvious that red sea instead chose to forego functionality for aesthetic by keeping their minimalistic glass box instead of a custom plastic jug that would have made sense. Instead I have to keep a new ATO outside of the tank stand as there is no room inside the stand for one.

4. The quality issues: Red sea has a reputation of quality in general. That is until you start to have problems with your tank and find all the red sea owners with the same problem. From seam leaks to the incredibly annoying defect with the drain plumbing that causes the tank to sound like a toilet 24/7, red sea has its fair share of issues. Personally, my tank is way louder than my 150 ever was. If the dial on the drain line isn't tuned exactly right it is extremely loud. Many people replace this part with one from home depot. For a near $2000 tank kit, this is unacceptable.

Conclusion: Red sea systems are great if you like how they look. That's it. After owning one for the past 6 months I can tell you that it isn't worth it. The equipment is not better. It requires mods to make it function optimally and you will be spending hundreds of more dollars before ever putting a fish in. In my opinion, red sea takes advantage of people with the idea that they will provide you with everything you need to get you a tank that looks like the ones on their website or at fish stores(btw, red sea requires displays in stores that sell their tanks, the stores aren't necessarily choosing red sea because they want to). I understand that many people love red sea reefer tanks. And not all red sea products are bad either, just the tanks(and test kits lol). If you want to buy a red sea tank, just do your research and think about how your money is being spent and where else it could go. Cheers!

i dont even use name brand tanks lol. I just buy the petsmart kits, but my saltwater tank was found at a thrift store. The hood is great

 

[Bob Weigant]

This is my first Red Sea tank. I get the noise complaint but mine is in my garage and does not bother me. If it was in the house it would be a different issue. I can say I actually like mine. Simple and it works just fine. Fish and corals are happy. Outside of the noise issue I’m happy with mine.

 

[Waynerock]

Reefer 250 owner here and I have to disagree. I have owned a Reefer 170 and 2 250’s. Quite honestly my first reefer started to have scary silicone on the front panel, yes that PO’ed me badly! After 2.5 years none the less. I did like I was supposed to do and registered the tank when I first bought it and RS sent me a new aquarium with no issues!! Just sent the picts and yea It probably was fine for a long time still but they stepped up and express shipped a new one! Yup they are expensive. I have no skills building a stand or plumbing and no desire to have a tank built so it was absolutely worth it to pick a size and order. And really do the math it winds up being way more money to have one built and pieced out. The Red Sea reefers (like the WB’s and the Cades) are elegant and super clean and just easy! Yea the ATO’s are kinda laughable or so I thought but There is some big names out that swear by gravity fed ATO’s and many people use them just fine. I think they are a great value for someone like me and even if they really were more expensive than having something built totally worth it! Good luck getting anything built now a days at a decent time and god forbid you wait 6 months for a tank to be built only to have it crack during shipping and get a new one made all over. Plus CS with Red Sea for me at least has been phenomenal. Once the Picts were sent RS had a replacement at my door in 4 days! 4 days!!! IF it was an emergency with the tank that would of been a life saver. Luckily it wasn’t but just saying. Mass produced stuff is always going to have some things slip through the cracks but it’s how it’s handled when there is an issue that speaks volumes. I have read some horror stories with RS not helping but most times it comes out that whomever was being a total A hole and either did not register for the extended warranty like it tells you to do like 10 times or they were not totally upfront about the issue or they treated the rep like said A hole and yelled and screamed or threatened to “burn them” on social media ect. I would not want to help anyone that treated me like crap. I will buy another RS tank if I ever get the chance to upgrade, even with the issue I had because it happens and was handled properly. It’s just nice to go from a couple boxes to a fully built ready to go tank in just a few hours.

 

[blaxsun]

1. The only thing Red Sea really needs to add is a manifold. Or at least provide an add-on manifold (based on the metric plumbing measurements). In terms of gear, I would prefer to choose my own skimmer, return pump, lighting, etc.

2. There's plenty of space in the stand, though obviously the larger you go the more you have to work with.

3. The gravity ATO is fine, and in any event the larger systems don't offer this anymore (I think the split sump is more beneficial). It's not a huge deal to remove the ATO tank and float.

4. Quality is first-rate. I have a v3 tank and sump and zero issues. Class is crystal clear, polished and the stand is rock solid (unlike a certain competitor who actually provides an IKEA-quality stand).

 

[Lowell Lemon]

All of the tanks sold by IM, Red Sea, Cade, Waterbox, and similar are all made in China by the same company or group of companies under contract. So there is very little difference in quality and price. I would prefer they are all replaced by North American manufacturers. When you start totaling up all the parts the total cost is driven by shipping, distribution, and warehouses. There is so much overhead that very little gets to the guy who actually made the tank.

I could design and produce a better quality product here in the U.S. but who would be willing to pay the 25 to 35 dollars per hour for my employees to make them? Yep you all would rather support China paying less than 10 dollars per day per employee. So at the end of the day why all the complaining about what you are only willing to pay for? You got what you the market demanded.

I personally built hundreds of aquariums over 25 years. I no longer do that since it would not pay the bills today due to material cost in North America, insurance, employees, equipment, and related overhead. I use the same technology and equipment, for products for the home and business environment but the customer values what we provide at a level that pays the bills. I actually find the majority of pet industry customers to be quite cheap and demanding. Notice I did not say frugal. That is why we see local fish stores going in and out if business all the time because the consumer does not analyze landed costs and is willing to roll the dice with someone across the country that has an internet site that makes fish and inverts look better than they actually are. All this is because it is a buck cheaper on this website or that website. Same with dry goods then people complain about shipping delays, damage, and having found the same product for a buck less after making their purchase. The pet industry is much tougher than opening a restaurant LOL!

Honestly you all got what you paid for and for the most part many people are quite happy with what they have.

 

[MartinM]

I mean, have you seen a CADE? Glass is apparently expensive, low iron glass even more so, it blows my mind what tanks cost, but then again, it blows my mind what a lot of things cost...

Edit: For the price of a CADE I'd expect it to be made of Crystal, or studded with Swarovsky crystals

Have you seen the price of Crystal now?

 

[MartinM]

All of the tanks sold by IM, Red Sea, Cade, Waterbox, and similar are all made in China by the same company or group of companies under contract. So there is very little difference in quality and price. I would prefer they are all replaced by North American manufacturers. When you start totaling up all the parts the total cost is driven by shipping, distribution, and warehouses. There is so much overhead that very little gets to the guy who actually made the tank.

I could design and produce a better quality product here in the U.S. but who would be willing to pay the 25 to 35 dollars per hour for my employees to make them? Yep you all would rather support China paying less than 10 dollars per day per employee. So at the end of the day why all the complaining about what you are only willing to pay for? You got what you the market demanded.

I personally built hundreds of aquariums over 25 years. I no longer do that since it would not pay the bills today due to material cost in North America, insurance, employees, equipment, and related overhead. I use the same technology and equipment, for products for the home and business environment but the customer values what we provide at a level that pays the bills. I actually find the majority of pet industry customers to be quite cheap and demanding. Notice I did not say frugal. That is why we see local fish stores going in and out if business all the time because the consumer does not analyze landed costs and is willing to roll the dice with someone across the country that has an internet site that makes fish and inverts look better than they actually are. All this is because it is a buck cheaper on this website or that website. Same with dry goods then people complain about shipping delays, damage, and having found the same product for a buck less after making their purchase. The pet industry is much tougher than opening a restaurant LOL!

Honestly you all got what you paid for and for the most part many people are quite happy with what they have.

Gosh I wish I could find high quality aquariums with high attention to detail. I’d pay $10k USD+ all day long for an amazing quality tank similar to a WaterBox 85.3 or equivalent from other manufacturers. I wish this hobby had more high quality products with high attention to detail and aesthetics. Other hobbies have the full spectrum (budget to incredible) and this hobby doesn’t.

 

[New Reef Keeper]

Thanks. I've been wanting to say it. Lol it's not that hard to make water go down hill. Lol.

Not everyone is good at DIY.