Used Red Sea Max S-650 Build

[Caleb123]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been wanting a larger tank for some time now. However, in the past year and a half, I’ve had some major life changes. I moved out of a rental and into my first actual home, got married, and we are now expecting our first baby!

Before all of that took place, I did have a Waterbox Peninsula 4820 in the rental. I really enjoyed the tank but ultimately decided to sell it instead of trying to move it. Since then, I’ve set up a couple of smaller tanks but have just not gotten the enjoyment out of them that a larger tanks brings, and ultimately they did not amount to much.

Fast forward to now, I’ve been driving my poor wife crazy talking about getting another larger tank. Well, this weekend a used Red Sea Max S-650 popped up for sale semi-locally. We made the drive to take a look at it and ultimately ended up purchasing it. Although it is a Red Sea, I feel comfortable with the structural integrity of the tank since these tanks had the aluminum frame stand along with the euro bracing, etc. As far as I know, these tanks were not a part of the Red Sea leakers.

With a baby on the way, I have a budget to stick to, so most of my equipment will end up being secondhand as well.

The tank itself is in good shape for the age and being a used tank. It does have some scratches, mostly near the bottom where the sand bed would have been, but nothing unbearable. The hinges to the cabinet do have some rust/corrosion on them. I do plan on trying to source some replacement hinges. I bought the tank from a LFS that had taken it down from one of their customer’s homes. The store owner recommended that I replace the ball valve with a new one due to the age. So I’m working on sourcing that as well.

I just got the tank home late last night, with help supposed to be coming to unload tonight. I’ll get some more pictures then. I then plan to leave it in the garage and start the rehab of this dinosaur!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along! We have a baby on the way, too, so I completely get trying to budget the tank!

 

[Catawba_Valley_Reef]

Congrats on the little one, exciting times.

 

[Caleb123]

Following along! We have a baby on the way, too, so I completely get trying to budget the tank!

Congratulations!

 

[Caleb123]

Congrats on the little one, exciting times.

Thank you! We are excited!

 

[Caleb123]

Well we got the tank and stand unloaded into the garage last night. This thing is heavy but with 4 guys it’s manageable. I wouldn’t want to try to move it with just 2 people…

I was able to find some replacement hinges for the cabinet and I’ve also ordered a replacement main drain valve assembly. I was talking to an LFS owner that told me they were common about getting worn on these tanks. I figure it will be best to replace it now and not worry about it later. I could have bought the diaphragm only and just replaced it, but for an extra $20 I went ahead and just got the whole assembly to replace.

 

[Caleb123]

Over the next few days, I plan to try to remove the center brace, pull out the sump and do a really good cleaning inside the stand from all the built up salt creep and get the sump cleaned out really good too. Once I get that done, I plan to get the tank on the stand and run the system with tap water and vinegar for a day or two and then give it a good scrubbing before preparing to move it into the house.

 

[W31Olds]

Hi Caleb, I have the same exact tank that I bought used about a year ago. Probably the best RS Tank for reliability. Make sure your diaphragm is the upgraded one because it's much easier to tune and I rarely have to adjust mine. Did you get the hood also? Mine had one scratch on the outside front which I polished out. Lot of work to get a good result though. I replaced a couple of hinges also and the holes strip out easily. Too bad they don't make them anymore and my biggest complaint, like most Reefers, I wish it was larger. Probably a cost/profit thing as they were expensive.

 

[Caleb123]

Hi Caleb, I have the same exact tank that I bought used about a year ago. Probably the best RS Tank for reliability. Make sure your diaphragm is the upgraded one because it's much easier to tune and I rarely have to adjust mine. Did you get the hood also? Mine had one scratch on the outside front which I polished out. Lot of work to get a good result though. I replaced a couple of hinges also and the holes strip out easily. Too bad they don't make them anymore and my biggest complaint, like most Reefers, I wish it was larger. Probably a cost/profit thing as they were expensive.

I’m actually not familiar with the upgraded one. I ordered the exact one in the picture I posted above. If that’s not it, could you direct me to the correct one please? I definitely would rather have that!

I did get the matching hood! I just have it removed currently, along with all of the other trim for cleaning and moving it.

I’m sure I will eventually get to that point of wishing it was bigger…. We always do in this hobby! But it’s been years since I had a tank of this size! My last was a Red Sea 170, which wasn’t cutting it so this is a major upgrade for me at the moment!

 

[Caleb123]

More boring stuff. I removed all of the rear chamber pumps and the nozzles and filter plugs today after work. I have them soaking in a bucket with Sicce pump clean. 3/4 of the pumps from the rear chamber are in working order. I guess I will be looking to source a replacement for the dead one.

As of right now, my plan to have this build based around the fish with soft corals and I can never resist LPS. That being said, most of the corals I am expecting to keep will not require a ton of flow so I’m hoping I can rely on the return pump and the rear chamber pumps for flow. At least until the tank starts to mature and grow out.

I also ordered some drill bits from Amazon to fit the stand so that I can remove the center brace to remove the sump and clean it.

 

[Caleb123]

Hi Caleb, I have the same exact tank that I bought used about a year ago. Probably the best RS Tank for reliability. Make sure your diaphragm is the upgraded one because it's much easier to tune and I rarely have to adjust mine. Did you get the hood also? Mine had one scratch on the outside front which I polished out. Lot of work to get a good result though. I replaced a couple of hinges also and the holes strip out easily. Too bad they don't make them anymore and my biggest complaint, like most Reefers, I wish it was larger. Probably a cost/profit thing as they were expensive.

Also, I’d love to see a picture of your tank!

 

[W31Olds]

You want the R40369-V4 part number that has a red knob. That's what I have, it's supposed to be improved. If you have the Sicci pumps I would pull the impeller and check the bore very carefully. One of mine had a hairline crack that was leaching rust.

 

[Caleb123]

You want the R40369-V4 part number that has a red knob. That's what I have, it's supposed to be improved. If you have the Sicci pumps I would pull the impeller and check the bore very carefully. One of mine had a hairline crack that was leaching rust.

I’ll check that out, thank you!

 

[Caleb123]

You want the R40369-V4 part number that has a red knob. That's what I have, it's supposed to be improved. If you have the Sicci pumps I would pull the impeller and check the bore very carefully. One of mine had a hairline crack that was leaching rust.

After letting them soak in Sicce pump clean, I took them apart last night and cleaned them. I’m going to inspect them closer after they’re dry but I think I have at least one that showed signs of rust. Did you replace the pumps or just the impeller? If you replaced the pumps, what did you replace them with?

 

[Caleb123]

Well I got the upgraded ball valve put on the tank. Thanks @W31Olds for the tip. Also got the new door hinges in and replaced them. I gave everything a good scrubbing and got the tank on the stand finally this afternoon.

Next up will be a leak test and I will likely run some vinegar with the tap water to give it one last cleaning.

 

[UncommonSense]

Next up will be a leak test and I will likely run some vinegar with the tap water to give it one last cleaning.

Hmm…. What’s going on over here in the front left corner seam? Hopefully just a weird reflection off the glass?

 

[Caleb123]

Well…. You have me concerned lol. I knew the seams had some damage from glass scrapers over the years. But I thought they looked structurally ok. I took some better pictures here. I was attributing most of what I was seeing to it still being dirty inside the tank.

 

[Caleb123]

Here is the opposite side. Is this thing going to be risky to set up in my home?

I was going with the thought that this thing is eurobraced top and bottom and aluminum frame stand so it would last a long, long time. However, the last thing I need is 150+ gallons of water flooding in my house.

 

[UncommonSense]

Well…. You have me concerned lol. I knew the seams had some damage from glass scrapers over the years. But I thought they looked structurally ok. I took some better pictures here. I was attributing most of what I was seeing to it still being dirty inside the tank.

Try shining a flashlight into the silicone seam from several different angles to see if there is an apparent separation/bubbling of the silicone seam, or if it’s just reflections off the glass making the seam look suspicious…

I find that looking at the seam in good light from a slight angle tends to help really see what’s going on… — black silicone hides a lot of seam defects, conveniently…

Also, look at both sides of each seam wherever possible; the silicone can look perfect on one pane of glass, but be separating from the adjoining pane of glass!

The damage to the silicone on the interior of the tank is more or less purely cosmetic; we’re focused on the silicone between glass panes which has a structural job to do here!

Here’s a thread I did fairly recently on black silicone, and how it can hide issues unless viewed in the correct lighting — for reference!

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/black-silicone-can-hide-failing-seams.1113164/

 

[UncommonSense]

Here is the opposite side. Is this thing going to be risky to set up in my home?

I was going with the thought that this thing is eurobraced top and bottom and aluminum frame stand so it would last a long, long time. However, the last thing I need is 150+ gallons of water flooding in my house.

This is exactly why I’m bring up the seals, and encouraging a double-check!

I don’t want to worry you unnecessarily, or add any undue stress…This is just a cursory examination of the tanks structural condition, which should be done to any aquarium; new or used before it gets filled!

Here’s a Red Sea Reefer 450 I acquired for free with the initial plan being to use it for its glass… it provides an excellent example of what failing seams look like!