RedSea 525 Reefer cabinet integrity - Please Help!

[bluesky]

Hi R2R,

I just recently setup a Redsea 525 Reefer back in June. After ~7 weeks, I found that my cabinet is starting to have some "gaps" between the panels on the back left. Please see photos. I don't know if the weight of the tank has caused some integrity issues on the cabinet or not. This is a brand new tank and the gaps seem to have become slightly wider so I am starting to get concerned. The tank was built and leveled by the aquarium store employee (not me). The cabinet was leveled first and it was leveled again when the tank was placed on top of it. When I first inspected it, I certainly did not see any issues. As of now, the tank still looks leveled from all sides. Does other reefer owners have this experience as well?

Many thanks!

I have already submitted an inquiry with RedSea to see what can be done.

 

[jtl]

I have never owned a RS tank or stand, in fact I have never owned a mass produced stand as I always build them custom. I suppose some are better than others but I have seen too many that are just shoddy. Sometimes if the stand gets bumped, even a little, it can rack and that is the worst danger because it is side to side motion and most stands are not built to withstand this. Gaps are never a good sign you may want to have the person who set it up take a look.

 

[rkpetersen]

There definitely shouldn't be any gaps like that.
Whoever assembled it may not have tightened all the connectors all the way.
Or they may have overtightened them, causing them to break away slightly.

 

[MnFish1]

OK so I have 2 of these tanks - can you circle where the 'problem is' (I think I see it) - and then say - 'where it is'. If those are doors - its of no consequence. If its something else - maybe - but honestly - I have no clue where youre photographing

 

[mta_morrow]

I have a 525xl and I can’t figure out what the pic is. Please stand back a bit and take a pic and explain where the gaps are.

 

[bluesky]

OK so I have 2 of these tanks - can you circle where the 'problem is' (I think I see it) - and then say - 'where it is'. If those are doors - its of no consequence. If its something else - maybe - but honestly - I have no clue where youre photographing

There definitely shouldn't be any gaps like that.
Whoever assembled it may not have tightened all the connectors all the way.
Or they may have overtightened them, causing them to break away slightly.

Thanks all for your feedback. Here are the photos to highlight where the misalignments are.

 

[AZMSGT]

Did you build the stand or did someone else? Pull the plastic plugs and make sure the cam locks are installed and tight.

In my build thread I talk about them.

Build Thread - AZMSGT build thread

Big day today, I started the process towards my dream reef tank. A little background... Back in 1988 I started in the marine hobby while I lived in Tampa, Florida. I started with a 20g marine fish tank, that went to a 55g, then a 90g. All the time I had marine fish. I ran a "wetdry" system on...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[bluesky]

Did you build the stand or did someone else? Pull the plastic plugs and make sure the cam locks are installed and tight.

In my build thread I talk about them.

Build Thread - AZMSGT build thread

Big day today, I started the process towards my dream reef tank. A little background... Back in 1988 I started in the marine hobby while I lived in Tampa, Florida. I started with a 20g marine fish tank, that went to a 55g, then a 90g. All the time I had marine fish. I ran a "wetdry" system on...

www.reef2reef.com

My LFS built the tank. I already checked all the cam locks are in and fully tightened. I also read through your build thread. Very nicely done! So informational for all of us. Thank you!

2 questions:
1) you mentioned that 2 of your cam locks were missed but you installed them just fine. Did that cause a similar issue with the board/panel alignment?

2) since mine is pulling apart slowly, what would you suggest I do in my case?

Thanks!

 

[MnFish1]

My LFS built the tank. I already checked all the cam locks are in and fully tightened. I also read through your build thread. Very nicely done! So informational for all of us. Thank you!

2 questions:
1) you mentioned that 2 of your cam locks were missed but you installed them just fine. Did that cause a similar issue with the board/panel alignment?

2) since mine is pulling apart slowly, what would you suggest I do in my case?

Thanks!

Thanks for the pictures. I would strongly suggest that you contact RedSea - only because its really hard to see exactly what 'gaps' you're talking about - Maybe its just my eyes - but I think I see what you mean - and having put together 3 of these stands I'm not sure how there can even be gaps - unless something is not tight - or was put together incorrectly - or - pieces were warped before you started (Though you would likely have noticed this when you put it together).

One question - does the stand seem 'unstable' - or is it solid - but you're just seeing 'gaps'. Another question - is it level/ square?

 

[mcwhng]

I don’t have a Reefer but if those gaps are widening that seems like a disaster waiting to happen. As others have mentioned it was either assembled incorrectly or loosely, or the cabinet was/has warped. If it was my tank I would empty the life into temporary holding containers with life support equipment and arrange to have your LFS to come back to check this stand. They assembled it with you paying for adequate assembly and they should at least try to find out what went wrong and fix it.

 

[AZMSGT]

My LFS built the tank. I already checked all the cam locks are in and fully tightened. I also read through your build thread. Very nicely done! So informational for all of us. Thank you!

2 questions:
1) you mentioned that 2 of your cam locks were missed but you installed them just fine. Did that cause a similar issue with the board/panel alignment?

2) since mine is pulling apart slowly, what would you suggest I do in my case?

Thanks!

When I had the stand fully assembled I had gone back over everything and found I missed two. They really had no effect on everything as they where not overly structural.

as for as what to do.. Call the shop that built it and call Red Sea. Please follow up with their response too.

 

[iko2thdk]

That looks like a camlock issue. When you assemble these stands the "male" camlocks get screwed into a plastic housing that is lodged in the stand. If the plastic loosens, the stress pulls the assembly apart. Check to make sure everything is still tru and level. Document it and submit the info to Red Sea They are very responsive to these issues.

 

[bluesky]

That looks like a camlock issue. When you assemble these stands the "male" camlocks get screwed into a plastic housing that is lodged in the stand. If the plastic loosens, the stress pulls the assembly apart. Check to make sure everything is still tru and level. Document it and submit the info to Red Sea They are very responsive to these issues.

Thank you. Red Sea is very responsive and they have decided to ship me a new cabinet. I am very thankful for their responsiveness and superior care for the customer. I have been using Red Sea tanks since 2008. Glad I kept using them.

 

[bluesky]

When I had the stand fully assembled I had gone back over everything and found I missed two. They really had no effect on everything as they where not overly structural.

as for as what to do.. Call the shop that built it and call Red Sea. Please follow up with their response too.

Thank you. They have addressed my issue. Now I just need to hire my LFS to rebuild the cabinet and move things over.

 

[tgrick]

The cabinets are very easy to build. I'm not sure I would let the same people that built the 1st one build the 2nd one. The secret is not to over tighten anything. I suspect they used too much force and that created the existing situation.

 

[bluesky]

The cabinets are very easy to build. I'm not sure I would let the same people that built the 1st one build the 2nd one. The secret is not to over tighten anything. I suspect they used too much force and that created the existing situation.

Thank you for your suggestion

I am still very surprised to see these cabinets are able to sustain 2000lbs of load. Seems a bit flimsy but I am not an expert in cabinets.

 

[rkpetersen]

Thank you for your suggestion

I am still very surprised to see these cabinets are able to sustain 2000lbs of load. Seems a bit flimsy but I am not an expert in cabinets.

With this size tank, it's probably ok. As also seems to be the case with smaller Reefers like the 450 and 350.
But there are increasing reports of disasters that suggest that this stand design is simply inadequate for larger models.
With the 750, the vertical divider between the sump and dry compartments of the stand can become a fulcrum.
When the support surface of the stand to the left of the divider starts to sag slightly, pressure rises at the divider.
This has apparently resulted in cracked glass and/or blown-out seals at the front lower margin.

 

[MnFish1]

With this size tank, it's probably ok. As also seems to be the case with smaller Reefers like the 450 and 350.
But there are increasing reports of disasters that suggest that this stand design is simply inadequate for larger models.
With the 750, the vertical divider between the sump and dry compartments of the stand can become a fulcrum.
When the support surface of the stand to the left of the divider starts to sag slightly, pressure rises at the divider.
This has apparently resulted in cracked glass and/or blown-out seals at the front lower margin.

6 times at most. I wouldn't call this an epidemic...

 

[MnFish1]

With this size tank, it's probably ok. As also seems to be the case with smaller Reefers like the 450 and 350.
But there are increasing reports of disasters that suggest that this stand design is simply inadequate for larger models.
With the 750, the vertical divider between the sump and dry compartments of the stand can become a fulcrum.
When the support surface of the stand to the left of the divider starts to sag slightly, pressure rises at the divider.
This has apparently resulted in cracked glass and/or blown-out seals at the front lower margin.

Can it? Yes it can - only if the stand isnt level. - it can happen with all of the tanks with the same design,. (I mean the Red Sea tanks) - that have a brace in the middle - unless they are un-level there can be no problem

 

[bluesky]

With this size tank, it's probably ok. As also seems to be the case with smaller Reefers like the 450 and 350.
But there are increasing reports of disasters that suggest that this stand design is simply inadequate for larger models.
With the 750, the vertical divider between the sump and dry compartments of the stand can become a fulcrum.
When the support surface of the stand to the left of the divider starts to sag slightly, pressure rises at the divider.
This has apparently resulted in cracked glass and/or blown-out seals at the front lower margin.

I have read these horror stories online and in different Facebook groups. That is why I am getting another installer to come move my tank to a new Red Sea cabinet (which I will build myself).