Seam concerns…

[Petegbme]

I’ve had my RedSea Reefer 350 (first gen) tank running about 18 months now. Everything has been going pretty well until my feeds all of a sudden filled up with RedSea failures /: So of course I inspected my tank. It is a used tank and I knew there was a little algae scraper damage, but not too bad. Some of the spots look a little deeper than just scraper though now that I’m paying attention. Does this look like something I should be concerned about? Searching google all the images I could find were either already failed or seriously close to failure. So hoping someone with more experience can maybe give a little more insight regarding my situation! Like, is this going to continue deeper and cause failure? Do I need to be looking for something else? Thanks everyone.

 

[NanoSteam]

Given the reputation of these tanks and because how devastating a seam blow out could be to your home I would start looking at options because this looks like it's starting to give out.

 

[exnisstech]

That's how it starts. My Gen 1 reefer 170 started like that and just got worse. Some people says it's caused by being to aggressive with algae scrapers but mine failed in an upper corner above the water line.

 

[Reefering1]

My tank has a area that looked like this for 10 years now, hasn't got any worse. But given red seas reputation- start making plans. If able to buy a new tank- do that(not another red sea).
Personally, I would transfer livestock to a rubbermaid bin; clean and eurobrace the tank(top and bottom), corner guards for extra peace of mind, and monitor for progression. The seam is currently still adequate and eurobrace will stop the front panel from pulling away. Probaly cost a hundred or 2 in glass and silicone and take a week to cure. Worth a try- unless you're ready to upgrade anyways...

 

[Reefering1]

That's how it starts. My Gen 1 reefer 170 started like that and just got worse. Some people says it's caused by being to aggressive with algae scrapers but mine failed in an upper corner above the water line.

How long did yours take to go from looking like his, to leaking?

 

[exnisstech]

How long did yours take to go from looking like his, to leaking?

TBH I can't remember the time line. I was under the impression at the time that it was only large tanks failing so I did a poor job keeping an and eye on it and by the time I did notice it I was like oh crap. Mine didn't leak because the separation was so high which was nice because it wasn't an emergency like many of the failures reported.

@Petegbme JMO but I think you have some time but I would spend that time looking for a replacement. I contacted RS about buying just a replacement tank but they said the g2 tank would not be compatible with the rest of my G1 system.

 

[DMG Reef]

In my experience, it does no good to watch the seams. I watched my seams and they were fine. But then one night, the bottom separated from the front glass and I woke up to water pouring out from the bottom. It was a 425XL that I bought new and never moved. The silicone seems to have a 5 year lifespan. I'll never own a Red Sea again. Mine was a few months out of warranty. Of course.

 

[exnisstech]

OP I just wanted to stop back and say IMO using my Gen 2 reefer 300 as reference you have some time, maybe months but there's no way to say exactly how much time. After visiting here today I decided it was time to inspect my seams again.

This was May of this year. The tank has seam protectors so I wasn't terribly concerned.

This is the same seam today

It's still not all the way through the protector yet but I have no doubt it will continue to worsen so I need to start planning my strategy to move this tank which is just now reaching it's stride.

 

[BryanM]

I proactively replaced, I could turn my mind off the fact that it could go at any time.

It was a crappy, expensive decision, that I am very happy for now.... But it was rough at the time.