What's up with the recent Red Sea Tank failures? 750XXL ? *UPDATE* Design Flaw CONFIRMED by Red Sea !!!

[Marco S]

Uh, probably mostly because they had a Red Sea fail and are discussing the extreme hardship needless loss of carefully cultivated life, money for a new tank (for some), and often immense property damage and painful cleanup process that ensues when one of their tanks fail, often months to a few years after install?

I mean others are justifiably concerned that the same could happen to them, and want a support beam for their tanks too.

Many owners would like much fuller disclosure on failure rates from Red Sea too, so they can decide what to do with their current set ups and potential future purchases.

I'm talking specifically about the people that do not have a Red Sea tank, but are on the group to talk crap about Red Sea. The group is for Red Sea Tank Owners so I am confused why there are people in the group that are not Red Sea tank owners...

You work for Red Sea bro?

I do not, but if I got a discount on their products I would love to work for them! ;Happy

 

[Brian1f1]

I'm talking specifically about the people that do not have a Red Sea tank, but are on the group to talk crap about Red Sea. The group is for Red Sea Tank Owners so I am confused why there are people in the group that are not Red Sea tank owners...



I do not, but if I got a discount on their products I would love to work for them! ;Happy

I’d sell you my 525 at a steep discount at this point if your local enough that it makes sense.

 

[Ross Petersen]

The moderator of the largest Red Sea group in the world on Facebook, had this to say about the 450 that just blew at the seams (see image from comment above):

Liam Lovatt I’m sorry to read this Stephen! I would normally direct you to Red Sea customer care but your tank is unfortunately well out of warranty.
Can I please remind people commenting to keep the replies on topic and constructive. Thanks in advance

It's hard to discern the extent of this problem as no data has been released. I don't think anyone would disagree, a 4-year-old tank that costs thousands of dollars should never fail after 4 years under normal conditions and treatment.

 

[Brian1f1]

The moderator of the largest Red Sea group in the world on Facebook, had this to say about the 450 that just blew at the seams (see image from comment above):

Liam Lovatt I’m sorry to read this Stephen! I would normally direct you to Red Sea customer care but your tank is unfortunately well out of warranty.
Can I please remind people commenting to keep the replies on topic and constructive. Thanks in advance

It's hard to discern the extent of this problem as no data has been released. I don't think anyone would disagree, a 4-year-old tank that costs thousands of dollars should never fail under normal conditions and treatment.

This is disturbing at best. I’m very worried about my 525. I wish they’d send out supports for all the XL models.

 

[Marco S]

So I just put in my support and one of the steps is to measure the distance from the bottom floor of the stand to the top brace and adjust the support to match. Well, it matches, but I also decided to measure several different spots and the distance gets larger the further I go.

So looking at my tank from the far left side it measures 27 1/4 " and that is the same up to the support section. It gets slightly further from there and at the far right it is 27 1/2". The tank is level as can be, but this is one more thing that is going to keep me up at night.

I also think I see small bubbles looking from the bottom up at the glass at an angle, but cannot see them looking straight at the glass so I don't know what to make of that...

 

[Dom]

So I just put in my support and one of the steps is to measure the distance from the bottom floor of the stand to the top brace and adjust the support to match. Well, it matches, but I also decided to measure several different spots and the distance gets larger the further I go.

So looking at my tank from the far left side it measures 27 1/4 " and that is the same up to the support section. It gets slightly further from there and at the far right it is 27 1/2". The tank is level as can be, but this is one more thing that is going to keep me up at night.

I also think I see small bubbles looking from the bottom up at the glass at an angle, but cannot see them looking straight at the glass so I don't know what to make of that...

Unfortunately, I don’t see any other way other than a complete tank break down and rebuild.

The leak has to be fixed before you can start adding in supports. I’m sure you know this.

So, I would go out and get some big brute cans, save as much as you can from the tank so that you can allow it to dry out.

Then effect repairs on the silicone and rebuild.

 

[RavenDay]

Just going to throw my hat into the ring, I created an account to specifically respond to this.

I'm the owner of a Red Sea 525... and the front seam recently failed.
Purchased fall 2017, and I have to say while the situation sucks, Red Sea is sending us a replacement. I'm not sure if we're going to want to fill up the new tank or not- the entire situation has really freaked us out. On one had I'm happy with the customer service and don't want to drag the company through the mud; and on the other my trust in these tanks has evaporated.

 

[AZMSGT]

Just going to throw my hat into the ring, I created an account to specifically respond to this.

I'm the owner of a Red Sea 525... and the front seam recently failed.
Purchased fall 2017, and I have to say while the situation sucks, Red Sea is sending us a replacement. I'm not sure if we're going to want to fill up the new tank or not- the entire situation has really freaked us out. On one had I'm happy with the customer service and don't want to drag the company through the mud; and on the other my trust in these tanks has evaporated.

Welcome to R2R, sorry it’s under these kind of circumstances.

 

[MTBake]

This sure does make me nervous. Should I start looking for a replacement tank and stand for my 525 before it starts to leak? Seems like it's a matter of when it'll leak, not if it'll leak.

 

[RavenDay]

This sure does make me nervous. Should I start looking for a replacement tank and stand for my 525 before it starts to leak? Seems like it's a matter of when it'll leak, not if it'll leak.

I'm not sure about that... I would definitely keep checking seams weekly though. If we set up the replacement, that's what we'll be doing. I have the "luxury" of owning a 100gal brute water trough we can use in case of emergency.

 

[MTBake]

I'm not sure about that... I would definitely keep checking seams weekly though. If we set up the replacement, that's what we'll be doing. I have the "luxury" of owning a 100gal brute water trough we can use in case of emergency.

Sounds like a plan. I have emergency equipment as well. I would most likely have to use brute cans instead of a trough though

 

[Ross Petersen]

Data from the RS Facebook group here. No interpretation. 525 seam failure - tank reported new. RS immediately replaced for the customer.

All posts that are constructive are immediately closed.

 

[Mirkus]

I wonder what the failure rates are on these tanks.....

 

[xsquyz]

so do we still think that this is a stand quality/design issue related to these leaks or could this actually be a silicone issue?

 

[Ross Petersen]

I wonder what the failure rates are on these tanks.....

Data not released. But I don’t know if any company would.

The consensus seems to be that eurobraced tanks with a good silicone job should last well over 10 years.

I don’t get that impression about large rimless tanks from RS from liaising with experts locally and abroad at reef shows.

If RS adds eurobrace options and a few more stand structural integrity components, they could easily squeeze into the 10-20 year tank life bracket and eliminate any trust issues.

 

[DS204]

This is terrible news. But thank-you for sharing. Personally, I have a 525xl v3 and would agree that the stand doesn't exactly inspire confidence. I glued every seam & joint together using polyurethane glue but I have no idea if that will actually help.

What does actually concern me, is that if I look at the front glass from the side perspective - there is an obvious bowing outwards for the entire pane of glass. A 6ft level to the glass confirms this. It's probably only 1-2mm or so, but it's there. I realize the weight & pressure of water could cause a flat piece of glass to flex and that could be well within range of it's limits, but visually - it definitely concerns me.

 

[MTBake]

This is terrible news. But thank-you for sharing. Personally, I have a 525xl v3 and would agree that the stand doesn't exactly inspire confidence. I glued every seam & joint together using polyurethane glue but I have no idea if that will actually help.

What does actually concern me, is that if I look at the front glass from the side perspective - there is an obvious bowing outwards for the entire pane of glass. A 6ft level to the glass confirms this. It's probably only 1-2mm or so, but it's there. I realize the weight & pressure of water could cause a flat piece of glass to flex and that could be well within range of it's limits, but visually - it definitely concerns me.

I have the same tank and can also see the bow on the front glass. The side panels seem to be pushing out at the top as well. Going to measure it with calipers to see how much it shifts in the next month.

The stand does not inspire confidence at all. It looks nice but that's about it. I'm stating to wish I would have built a stand for the tank. I would probably sleep better knowing the tank is firmly supported.


Not exactly related but kind of;
FWIW, I also have a 40 breeder setup. The front and back glass on that bows out as well. About a quarter to three eighths inch total in the middle. That has been setup for 3 years. I dont worry about it.

 

[DS204]

I have the same tank and can also see the bow on the front glass. The side panels seem to be pushing out at the top as well. Going to measure it with calipers to see how much it shifts in the next month.

Not exactly related but kind of;
FWIW, I also have a 40 breeder setup. The front and back glass on that bows out as well. About a quarter to three eighths inch total in the middle. That has been setup for 3 years. I dont worry about it.

That is a smart idea! I should start taking periodic measurements as well. In fact, I may do just that. Thank-you for the idea.

Also, thanks for your input about the 40g breeder bowing out and still going strong. That sort of helps assure me. I suspect it's somewhat normal for the glass to flex and could be within manufacturer's specifications. In any event, I reached out to Red Sea to ask their input and am expecting a reply some time next week.

 

[shred5]

All glass tanks bow a little and so does acrylic.

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

I would say bowing glass is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.