Honest opinions only

[Tamberav]

After being super excited. I checked seams and zero signs on issues. Filled the tank and bam! Bubbles in the seal. Ruined my day! Anyone know of a tank that fits this stand with sump plumbing. Man I was so excited! I was so close to throwing in the towel on reefing!

Seems like they were trying to make a fast buck at your expense. So sorry, older used red seas are a no buy imo.

If you drill and add your own overflow, something like this looks like a similar dimension

CLEAR 3620

Aquascaping has never been more beautiful and simplified. The CLEAR is designed thoughtfully with the freshwater and planted aquarium enthusiast in mind.

waterboxaquariums.com

 

[Lavey29]

I would send the serial number to red sea. See if it's still under warranty. See if they will give you some credit towards a new tank only without the stand and equipment.

 

[bossman818]

I am going to try to send Red Sea a message. I have zero hopes though. First tank with a sump now going to the dump. This is brutal.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Sorry to hear. It looks like the seller was trying to pawn it off on someone else.

I would personally never buy a used (or new for that matter) red sea tank. I just saw another thread from a few days ago about another leak and using clamps to hold it together. At least you got a good skimmer and roller mat, and some other useful items so not a total loss.

 

[Tamberav]

I am going to try to send Red Sea a message. I have zero hopes though. First tank with a sump now going to the dump. This is brutal.

It’s better it was busted now than all over the floor with your livestock.

You could also try your hand at fixing it, disassemble all the glass and redo all silicone and have glass cut to add euro bracing to the bottom and top which would hopefully take care of red seas structural issues. It would be time consuming but not costly, glass and silicone is pretty cheap.

Then I would look the stand over and figure out how old it is, Red Sea had to make an extra support to add to the old stands as well. So you want to be sure it has the right support or add your own.

 

[Doctorgori]

Dang, so close ….
Usually when I buy used I ask for a pre-fill first … also do the same when selling

 

[GatorGreg]

I mean to be fair if all the other equipment works. 600 for all that equipment and a Stand is still a really good deal. Like a really really good deal.

I’d just find a glass rimless tank with similar dimensions and drill it. Reuse everything else

 

[PopBot16]

I mean, the skimmer and fleece roller new (which they look to be, just about) are going to cost about as much as you paid for everything. Just make sure do do a leak test on the tank.

 

[Northern Flicker]

Why keep a ticking time bomb in your house?

It's shocking how much damage 30-60g of saltwater will do to your home, not to mention the loss of animal life.

edit: of course it had seam bubbles. It's an RS tank. RS used to stand for RED SEA but now it stands for RE SEAL.

 

[Northern Flicker]

I mean to be fair if all the other equipment works. 600 for all that equipment and a Stand is still a really good deal. Like a really really good deal.

I’d just find a glass rimless tank with similar dimensions and drill it. Reuse everything else

Eh, without lighting, most of that equipment is pretty meh. Very expensive retail for mediocre performance.

 

[Bruttall]

I started an argument about this a while back. Here is a link to the thread.

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

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...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[GatorGreg]

Eh, without lighting, most of that equipment is pretty meh. Very expensive retail for mediocre performance.

I mean like the Red Sea equipment or not. OP has to try and find a silver lining. You can say what you want. Or recommend whatever brands you have a hard on for. But reality is that there’s no way OP could get a pile that big of equipment for 600 bucks. Brand new.

OP still has almost everything they need to start their reef. For 600 dollars…….id say if someone was budget conscious. That’s a pretty dang good start. The roller and protein skimmer together alone retail for pretty much what OP paid for the entire setup. The ATO retails for 200. That control panel another 100 something. Sump will probably save them another couple hundred bucks. The pain of not having to build a DIY stand is a huge plus too.

OP has a really good jump on their equipment list. That’s the silver lining

 

[BeanAnimal]

I did check out the seams before buying. No bubbles, no water penetration past the seam. I was aware of the issues but for that price to me I was going to risk it. Would you recommend keeping it or selling it? I didn’t ask how old it was but any way to check through serial number?

I would, without question sell it or keep everything but the tank and stand... Far too many reported failures to have any level of confidence in a used tank of that size from that company.

 

[BeanAnimal]

After being super excited. I checked seams and zero signs on issues. Filled the tank and bam! Bubbles in the seal. Ruined my day! Anyone know of a tank that fits this stand with sump plumbing. Man I was so excited! I was so close to throwing in the towel on reefing!

Do not use their stand.

 

[Lavey29]

Why keep a ticking time bomb in your house?

It's shocking how much damage 30-60g of saltwater will do to your home, not to mention the loss of animal life.

edit: of course it had seam bubbles. It's an RS tank. RS used to stand for RED SEA but now it stands for RE SEAL.

Perhaps you should alert the other 10s of thousands of Red Sea tank owners around the world that are currently in service? You are obviously a well informed tank expert.

 

[bossman818]

Do not use their stand.

What is faulty with the stand if you don’t mind.

 

[Bruttall]

What is faulty with the stand if you don’t mind.

Red Sea used sawdust glued together in the form of Particle Board/Pressboard for the stands. At least the 2 RS stands I have seen in person had that cheap wood. Like what Petsmart sells.

 

[bossman818]

Red Sea used sawdust glued together in the form of Particle Board/Pressboard for the stands. At least the 2 RS stands I have seen in person had that cheap wood. Like what Petsmart sells.

Oh wow. Maybe I dodged a bullet. Thank you for all this useful info. I also got a Red Sea 5500 return pump with this purchase. I hope I can at least get my money back with all the accessories.

Thank you all

 

[Solo McReefer]

Hi guys, I need everyone’s honest and brutal opinions. Just hit me with facts without sugar coating anything please.

I ran into a family selling their fish tank. I think it was a deal of a lifetime but please, what do you guys think? They sold me a Red sea xl300 65 gallon tank with Red Sea stand. 15 gallon sump, all plumbing, Red Sea Skimmer, Red sea Reef mat, Red Sea ATO, Red Sea return pump, Red sea Dual controller, half bucket of salt, Red sea screen, Heater, half bottles of Red sea Calcium and other chemicals, all this for $600.

Tank has minor scratches with no leaks, does need cleaning. Stand looks new, all electronics are working.


What are the bad things about these tanks for all experienced reefers.


Please and thank you!

65 gallons is the limit, for me, on Red Sea tank stands without reinforcement

I would put at least a front and back extruded aluminum under the the stand top. And like a 1.5x3 extrusion. Epoxied and screwed in place is how I would do it

The Red Sea skimmers are made with extruded plastics, and not acrylic. Which bothers my aesthetic and quality sense

I have two Red Seas tanks, the 170 scratches when I breathe on it. It's mostly from magnetic frag racks tho, my fault. I hate scratches. The scratches can be polished out of glass, but the process is miserable and unsafe

I have not used their mat rollers filters, just their roller filter material, seems satisfactory to me

I put 1/2" neoprene between the stand and the tank on mine. The stand comes with that inside

I would reinforce all of the joints and screw holes of that stand with marine epoxy before filling. Even I would even consider using an AluFab stand, and toss the Red Sea stand

I would replace the gate valve on the drain before filling with water.

Honest, no lies detected

 

[Tamberav]

In

What is faulty with the stand if you don’t mind.

Older models weren’t supported appropriately and they sent out a brace or some such for it. It is basically a retrofit kit with an aluminum brace. Maybe post a pic of the inside of the stand?

I have no idea what model stand or if it has been updated or what you got there.