Red Sea Fail, very harsh!! But truthful IMO.

[Bruttall]

So I clicked the little Magnifying glass top right of page and input 3 words, Red Sea Fail. This is the results just from these forums. Over 20 pages of threads. Given we have this preponderance of evidence that Red Sea tanks are BAD, why do people keep buying them, and worse replacing one with another when the front seam fails?

I am pretty sure the reason for the seam failure on a red sea is that the front glass is just to thin, allowing for Flex in the pane, which then separates the silicone in the middle of the tank causing catastrophic failure (most common failure spot from my research).

Now add to this the horror stories posted about Lack of Customer Service on the part of red sea!! It has become very obvious to this dummy that Red Sea does NOT care about the hobby, or what we go thru to keep coral in our house. All they care about is separating us from our money with a sub-standard product complete with Lousy Customer Support.

You do what you think is right with your money, as for me, well, Friends do not let Friends buy Red Sea tanks!!

 

[UtahReefer]

Terrible but true... I have a new IM sitting in my garage. After seeing so many posts about Red Sea Failures there was no way I was taking a chance. It became time to be proactive before I have a failure. Within a month my Red Sea will be no more, nor will I buy any of their products ever again.

 

[Coinzmans Reef]

I think we will see more of the Euro braced tanks from red sea as they know this is a problem. I own a 525 for 3.5 years and it is always on my mind so I check it weekly. I will never buy another large tank without a Euro brace top and bottom front and back.

 

[brandon429]

This is the second wave of mass red sea breaks not the first

Five years ago, editions from the previous few years were splitting and they issued 'new' designs, which are the ones splitting today

Who wants to trust in round the four or five? Buyers who don't know the legacy

I asked reefbuilders to write an article on the new break trend, they'd just posted an article helping red sea sell the gen 2's which brings new buyers into red sea using the trustworthy nature of our only available reef blog

Radio silence

Sellers play a role in misinforming the masses by excluding directly counter information even when shown, see this thread:

Please do a review/ article on the massive amount of red sea tank failures for the last five years

This is a serious impact to the hobby. Red Sea refuses to discuss it on their Facebook page https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/may-we-please-discuss-seam-breaks-in-2-3-yr-tanks.981828/page-7#post-11352276

www.reef2reef.com

 

[brandon429]

Almost four months ago I asked reefbuilders to inform readers of the trend

This was the last thing they wrote

Red Sea G2+ sees Reefer ReefATO+ upgraded and Four New Peninsulas | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Red Sea continues its upgrade path with the immediate release of the Reefer G2+. The G2+ Series aquarium range enjoys all the useful upgrades of the Reefer G2 as well including the ReefATO+ Auto Top…

reefbuilders.com

=buy some more

I lost trust in reefbuilders due to their inability to just be informative without ad revenue compromising information i get from them.

 

[DylanE]

Absolutely. I’m glad to have seen the many threads on here prior to upgrading to >100g, as there’s no way I’d ever buy a Red Sea product now.

 

[blecki]

Do any brands have a reputation for not failing? It's difficult to search for e.g. 'planet aquarium fail' because of all the results that come up talking about red sea.

 

[1112-425XL]

My RSR 425XL is 3 weeks away from 2 years old. If I knew then what I know now I would not own a RS tank. All I can do at this point is keep an eye on it and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[PhishMonger84]

The appeal of a turnkey solution certainly exist for those without time/experience and with disposable income.

i do like the looks of the black cabinet setups but they also seem limiting. i considered the reefer 1000 but for the cost i can do way better building my own setup.

I know they aren't fancy but Aqueon/ AGA tanks are solid, yes they are rimmed but is that really a bad thing other than for mounting lights? i wish they made larger formats like Marinelands old DD 300 but not made by marineland (the old blowout kings). They used to make a 7 footer too.

 

[DylanE]

The appeal of a turnkey solution certainly exist for those without time/experience and with disposable income.

i do like the looks of the black cabinet setups but they also seem limiting. i considered the reefer 1000 but for the cost i can do way better building my own setup.

I know they aren't fancy but Aqueon/ AGA tanks are solid, yes they are rimmed but is that really a bad thing other than for mounting lights? i wish they made larger formats like Marinelands old DD 300 but not made by marineland (the old blowout kings). They used to make a 7 footer too.

Check out SCA aquariums. They do custom sizes, have prefab “PNP” systems and their stands are solid wood.

 

[MnFish1]

So I clicked the little Magnifying glass top right of page and input 3 words, Red Sea Fail. This is the results just from these forums. Over 20 pages of threads. Given we have this preponderance of evidence that Red Sea tanks are BAD, why do people keep buying them, and worse replacing one with another when the front seam fails?

The answer is - there are 2 million saltwater tanks world-wide and 800,000 in the US. According to 3 LFS here - the majority of tanks sold (approximately 70%) are RedSea tanks. It is estimated that it's a very small percentage of tanks fail, and if you search the site, you'll see examples of multiple brands with some failures. I believe RedSea has addressed the issues in the new versions of the tanks. Thats why people keep buying them (which is the question you asked).

All of that said, I have nothing but sympathy for those that have had leaks. I posted something the other day that I think bears mentioning. You can buy insurance to take care of any damage, and the tank itself (Some - but not allover aquariums, most regular policies do not cover livestock). This would be a small consolation if you had a huge mess. I checked with my insurance if the tank etc are covered - especially damage - since its on wood floors. Luckily it was

 

[Nate Chalk]

Only way to do it right is to do it yourself. Or hire @Joe Glass Cages

Red Sea skimping on glass thickness and safety factor is total bs.

Why just get by on something that can break and lose months of gain and thousands of $$$. Over engineer for the worst.

Could we build a bridge out of popsicle sticks. Maybe. But do we. No.

 

[ReefHunter006]

The answer is - there are 2 million saltwater tanks world-wide and 800,000 in the US. According to 3 LFS here - the majority of tanks sold (approximately 70%) are RedSea tanks. It is estimated that it's a very small percentage of tanks fail, and if you search the site, you'll see examples of multiple brands with some failures. I believe RedSea has addressed the issues in the new versions of the tanks. Thats why people keep buying them (which is the question you asked).

All of that said, I have nothing but sympathy for those that have had leaks. I posted something the other day that I think bears mentioning. You can buy insurance to take care of any damage, and the tank itself (Some - but not allover aquariums, most regular policies do not cover livestock). This would be a small consolation if you had a huge mess. I checked with my insurance if the tank etc are covered - especially damage - since its on wood floors. Luckily it was

This argument goes both ways. If the number is statistically significant than it doesn’t matter what anyone considers to large or to small of a number. They have a problem and need some brand repair.

I really don’t understand this “it’s a small number overall”. There is no evidence that is true and the prevailing consensus is that their tanks have an issue with their seams that others don’t.

This is coming from someone with their second largest model.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Crza7LcAYu-/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

[brandon429]

Last month there was 1x report of a waterbox seam fail. So that leads me to believe people will report alternate instances they're just few and very far between. *forgive if I got the brand wrong/ point is was not a red sea

 

[DylanE]

The answer is - there are 2 million saltwater tanks world-wide and 800,000 in the US. According to 3 LFS here - the majority of tanks sold (approximately 70%) are RedSea tanks. It is estimated that it's a very small percentage of tanks fail, and if you search the site, you'll see examples of multiple brands with some failures. I believe RedSea has addressed the issues in the new versions of the tanks. Thats why people keep buying them (which is the question you asked).

All of that said, I have nothing but sympathy for those that have had leaks. I posted something the other day that I think bears mentioning. You can buy insurance to take care of any damage, and the tank itself (Some - but not allover aquariums, most regular policies do not cover livestock). This would be a small consolation if you had a huge mess. I checked with my insurance if the tank etc are covered - especially damage - since its on wood floors. Luckily it was

70% of saltwater tanks sold are red sea? We’ll need better supporting data than some lfs guys for that. Tons of places don’t even carry anything beside Aqeon. Also, if you look through any of the other threads, redsea was denying there were any issues with their previous tanks up until the day they release their “repair kits” for the old version. I think it’s been made pretty clear that they put cost cutting way before any kind of customer service.

 

[MnFish1]

This argument goes both ways. If the number is statistically significant than it doesn’t matter what anyone considers to large or to small of a number. They have a problem and need some brand repair.

I really don’t understand this “it’s a small number overall”. There is no evidence that is true and the prevailing consensus is that their tanks have an issue with their seams that others don’t.

Not going to debate you - I merely reported what I learned after speaking with 3 of the biggest aquarium maintenance companies in the area. The problems have occurred in all rimless-style tanks. You're right - there is no way to tell if it is statistically significant without doing a randomized controlled trial.

PS - I also have some skin in the game - having an older (about 5 year) Redsea 750 - which is why I asked around.

 

[ReefEco]

I'd be interested in a couple tank manufacturers chiming in here - when I spoke with AGE about designing my tanks, they flatly said that a typical eurobrace does next to nothing for the structural integrity of the tank, it is essentially just a splash guard. I think the trend of rimless tanks, which are beautiful, often ignores the structural risks of a lack of top brace. I got a powder coated welded frame, top and bottom of my tank so I can sleep easier being in earthquake country...

 

[MnFish1]

70% of saltwater tanks sold are red sea? We’ll need better supporting data than some lfs guys for that. Tons of places don’t even carry anything beside Aqeon. Also, if you look through any of the other threads, redsea was denying there were any issues with their previous tanks up until the day they release their “repair kits” for the old version. I think it’s been made pretty clear that they put cost cutting way before any kind of customer service.

I could have phrased that better. I'm assuming, they were talking about the tanks they service. Which would be likely to be higher end/larger tanks. In any case - all I was trying to do was to answer the OP's question - which was 'why do people keep buying the tanks'. I have read through many of the threads. I have talked to RedSea, etc. Obviously, they must have realized a problem or they wouldn't have added multiple fixes to their new tanks, and extended the warranty. I would not personally want to buy a used Gen 1 tank (or a new Gen 1 tank). I would have no problem buying one of the new RedSea tanks.

 

[ReefHunter006]

Not going to debate you - I merely reported what I learned after speaking with 3 of the biggest aquarium maintenance companies in the area. The problems have occurred in all rimless-style tanks. You're right - there is no way to tell if it is statistically significant without doing a randomized controlled trial.

PS - I also have some skin in the game - having an older (about 5 year) Redsea 750 - which is why I asked around.

I mean this in a non-confrontation way since sometimes this is lost on the internet.

My experience asking around in California shops paints a different picture. My opinion, the guys selling the tanks have an incentive to not disparage their products.

I don’t believe for a second that any other brands don’t have similar issues. I do believe redsea has an issue that they have handled poorly. They came out an recognized a seam issue in their older models and seem to think people would t extrapolate that to other models. That was a dumb move, in my opinion. That’s also a rock and hard place for them. Because their other models have the same faulty overhang.

Anyway, all I want to point out is that any potential customers reading these threads should be aware these are real problems that do exist. Yes they are a real risk elsewhere, but Redsea isn’t getting all the limelight because of some universal hatred towards their brand.

 

[littlefoxx]

My RSR 425XL is 3 weeks away from 2 years old. If I knew then what I know now I would not own a RS tank. All I can do at this point is keep an eye on it and keep my fingers crossed.

Yep Im in the same boat as you… mine is a 260 Max