Poll about Redsea tanks.

Nate Chalk · Jul 2, 2023

DanDman said:
why? Only 1 persons on r2r has had a problem. Going by the poll.

Do any actual research. That's why. There's way more posts on the failed

Anemone_Fanatic · Jul 2, 2023

blaxsun said:
There are many Red Sea owners not on R2R, so this isn't exactly a good metric. And not everyone on R2R who has a Red Sea tank saw this poll, either (I didn't).

I'd be more curious to see a breakdown of seam failures, ie: new vs. used, pre-G2 vs. G2/G2+, size of tank, where the seam failed (front, sides, etc.)

True. I don't think it'd be possible to count how many RSRs are on R2R, but I don't see so many problems from WaterBox and Innovative Marine, of which there are at least as many tanks out there.

From my brief search through the forums, most of the leaks were from the 350s and 425s, with a few 625s and 250s thrown in. Most of the leaks appear to be on the front panel, usually at the bottom in the middle. I do suspect that used tanks will have more issues, if a tank is drained, allowed to dry, and then refilled, who knows what happens to the silicon seal.

I'm hoping that the G2 tanks are better, I haven't seen anything about them leaking. I would still like to wait a few years to see if any of them start leaking before I would buy one.

I think that this problem is going to arise more often with rimless tanks in general. Even a small bottom brace would probably help.

blaxsun · Jul 2, 2023

Anemone_Fanatic said:
True. I don't think it'd be possible to count how many RSRs are on R2R, but I don't see so many problems from WaterBox and Innovative Marine, of which there are at least as many tanks out there.

From my brief search through the forums, most of the leaks were from the 350s and 425s, with a few 625s and 250s thrown in. Most of the leaks appear to be on the front panel, usually at the bottom in the middle. I do suspect that used tanks will have more issues, if a tank is drained, allowed to dry, and then refilled, who knows what happens to the silicon seal.

I'm hoping that the G2 tanks are better, I haven't seen anything about them leaking. I would still like to wait a few years to see if any of them start leaking before I would buy one.

I think that this problem is going to arise more often with rimless tanks in general. Even a small bottom brace would probably help.

I think the "floating" aspect in the front could be a design flaw. The (new) corner bracing probably mitigates that to some extent, and the larger tanks have the aforementioned aluminum brace to support the front panel.

Anemone_Fanatic · Jul 2, 2023

blaxsun said:
I think the "floating" aspect in the front could be a design flaw. The (new) corner bracing probably mitigates that to some extent, and the larger tanks have the aforementioned aluminum brace to support the front panel.

Yes, the floating aspect of the panel seems like a problem. Silicone is pretty strong, but an unsupported 1/2" glass pane is pretty heavy, and the weight of the water is pushing the glass outwards. I do think that the new tanks are stronger, but only time will tell. I didn't see any leaks from larger models, so maybe the aluminum brace is doing something.

flashsmith · Jul 2, 2023

Drewe said:
Was in the market for one of these types of tanks pretty recently and decided to go with a different brand due to the data. Even with the new generation showing promise I still wouldn't trust it in my living room when Innovative Marine and Glass Cages etc aren't having these problems. Whether that's due to market share I don't know but it definitely played a part in the decision

I've owned 5 maybe 6 IM tanks. I currently have an SR80. Issues aside they just don't have the clarity that my RS does. That was one of my driving factors in choosing a RS over another IM. My mindset is that it doesn't matter what brand you have it's never a good Idea to have large amounts of SW in a glass box in your house. But we do it anyway.

blaxsun · Jul 2, 2023

Anemone_Fanatic said:
Yes, the floating aspect of the panel seems like a problem. Silicone is pretty strong, but an unsupported 1/2" glass pane is pretty heavy, and the weight of the water is pushing the glass outwards. I do think that the new tanks are stronger, but only time will tell. I didn't see any leaks from larger models, so maybe the aluminum brace is doing something.

I know the aluminum brace is needed to prevent the plywood cabinets from sagging and potentially splitting the glass on certain models (625 and up?). I think they may have also increased the glass thickness on the bottom pane of the v3 models (750, 900).

All the new G2/G2+ tanks featured a combination of thicker glass, marine-laminated plywood stands (no longer MDF) and corner bracing. The 850/1000 also have Euro bracing.

OfficeReefer · Jul 2, 2023

MnFish1 said:
Recently there has been a bit of back and forth about Red Sea tanks - Please Vote below:

This ado was only about used tanks and those that were not well supported in the middle.

Both my Reefer 250v3 and Max Nano have been without incident. If there is anything I have not enjoyed, it would be their metric fittings which do not work well with accessories on the Apex and UV. Otherwise, it's been a solid tank with a reasonably functional app.

I would like to see more customization on LED lighting though, as AI was on those Max Nano units first. The RS models are either blue, white or too much of either.

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

A_Blind_Reefer said:
Just a heads up, might want to adjust your poll as there isn’t a checkbox for yes I encountered a leak. It says if yes have you had a leak, no way to select yes or no

Edit. Also, I’m not wanting to jinx myself here as I have a 750, with a small defect in the seam (which they have assured me is purely cosmetic) that started before they sent out the retrofit kit which is now out of the warranty period. I

A leak is a failed seam, no?

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

C4ctus99 said:
Would be interesting @MnFish1 to add a poll option for “had another brand and it busted”

Unfortunately I don't think that its possible to add to the poll

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

Anemone_Fanatic said:
I went and counted, 10 different threads started by someone whose tank leaked, not counting leaks in the plumbing. There are at least as many from those who posted about issues with the seam failing, and either took the tank down before anything happened or never updated as to what happened. Just because they haven't said anything on this thread doesn't mean they don't exist. Who knows how many others have had a seam failure and not started threads about it? Given how many people don't use R2R and the number of people who didn't start threads about it, I'm estimating that over 50 people have had these issues, and quite probably many more. Maybe somebody's been counting? I haven't, but I might start now.

Curious - did you also go to the 'show off your Red Sea Reefer' thread - there are 400+ pages.

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

OfficeReefer said:
This ado was only about used tanks and those that were not well supported in the middle.

Both my Reefer 250v3 and Max Nano have been without incident. If there is anything I have not enjoyed, it would be their metric fittings which do not work well with accessories on the Apex and UV. Otherwise, it's been a solid tank with a reasonably functional app.

I would like to see more customization on LED lighting though, as AI was on those Max Nano units first. The RS models are either blue, white or too much of either.

I do not think the 'ado' was only about used tanks - though some were used.

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 5, 2023

MnFish1 said:
A leak is a failed seam, no?

I think it’s a glitch in the matrix. I use a screen reader and while I hear quote if yes did you have a failed seam, I don’t hear the availability of selecting yes or no. I’m finding that many things do not work well with screen readers

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 5, 2023

MnFish1 said:
I do not think the 'ado' was only about used tanks - though some were used.

Although I am curious as to if people were unfortunate enough to have a seam leak, and they were within the terms of the warranty coverage (original owner, x amount of years old) or original owner beyond the stated warranty period, if the tank was replaced under the terms of the warranty. Only because so many people state the customer service is horrible and as far as I can tell that really isn’t the case. Again, full well understanding that no one would be happy with just a replacement tank after a leak.

Northern Flicker · Jul 5, 2023

How many people have a seam go and stick around reef2reef?

This data is not helpful. Even with the bias, we’re still at 3.5% failure rate.

Infinite Reef · Jul 5, 2023

I've had 3 Red Seas so far over the years with no issues.
E-260 (3 years) purchased used from original owner after their 2 years of use.
525XL V1 (4 years) purchased used with silicone damage on front glass. 2-3 owners before I got it
S-1000 (9 months) Bought new. Tank and bracings are great. Sump sucks

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 5, 2023

Lebowski_ said:
How many people have a seam go and stick around reef2reef?

This data is not helpful. Even with the bias, we’re still at 3.5% failure rate.

Devils advocate…. Member posts estimated claim about percentage of tanks sold vs faulty…. gets shot down for making up numbers, member asks local maintenance providers what their thoughts are… gets shot down for making up maintenance providers and their opinions, member makes poll asking questions to gather possible data… gets shot down for having a useless and biased poll……

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

Lebowski_ said:
How many people have a seam go and stick around reef2reef?

This data is not helpful. Even with the bias, we’re still at 3.5% failure rate.

It’s “helpful” in some ways. It’s certainly not a large enough sample size to make any conclusions scientifically. But this poll wasn’t designed to be scientific or exact. No more or less than any other poll and there are polls posted on r2r daily. None of which are scientific

MnFish1 · Jul 5, 2023

Lebowski_ said:
How many people have a seam go and stick around reef2reef?

This data is not helpful. Even with the bias, we’re still at 3.5% failure rate.

Likewise. How many people have not had a Seam break and stuck around r2r

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 5, 2023

Snoopdog said:
The poll is not going to be worth much anyway, a good number of people that had it happen likely ditched their tank and never returned here.

You’re still around. You can’t be the only one, and I don’t mean that in a snarky way. Things get lost in text vs speech. As there is no way to obtain any data from the manufacturer, and I’ve seen all kinds of numbers and percentages thrown around on these polls, it’s at least an attempt to quantify something. Yes, a scientific poll consisting of every known owner would absolutely be better but hey, I’ll take what I can get. I though Brandon’s thread was going to be more data centric myself but it’s just random links to other threads with no viewable data. You would have to extract it yourself and with all the back and forth, that is near impossible. Also, it’s a major bummer that you experienced a failure. I don’t wish that on anyone.

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 5, 2023

blaxsun said:
You did eventually add the retrofit kit, yes? They made some other changes with the v3 as well such as corner bracing and a 2"x1/8" aluminum lip that runs along the front of the cabinet under the front pane of glass.

Yes, I received the retrofit a couple months after getting the tank. Knocking on wood! Ha. Funny thing is that I really wanted the 750. Brs had several RS sales and the 750 was always out of stock. It was out of stock for over six months. I called brs and all they told me was that they had no clue when it would be in stock again. As it’s drop shipped from the manufacturer and not an item that anyone just keeps a hundred of in the warehouse, I called RS. They told me that there were plenty available and didn’t know why brs had them as out of stock. RS gave me three authorized dealers near me to order from. In hindsight I made this purchase at the end of the flawed run in 2019…brs probably did exactly what I would have done as a supplier…stop all sales of a product that appears to have a known defect. That’s my only gripe looking backward, that rs who knew at that point there was a problem, allowed orders to go through. The retrofit kit shipped two months later. At least hold orders until they could include the retrofit kit at that point the kits were in production. This was before I lurked on any forum. Also, disappointed that the lfs who most likely knew of the issue with that model didn’t say anything like you might want to get the next size down, wait for a minute, look at this other brand, whatever. It’s not like they had it in house and needed to get rid of stock on hand.