Tank started leaking - Redsea 250

[disbelieph]

Unfortunately my tank started leaking today this afternoon. From what i've been reading online I don't really have many options, most don't recommend trying to re-silicone/reseal the tank.

Looking for any opinions or thoughts?

Currently have most of the livestock sitting in a 27 gallon tub with a powerhead, heater, and my rock.

Livestock

Fish
A pair of clowns, mocha and picasso
1 x smedium sized rabbit fish (was always going to rehome it once larger)
1 x smedium yellow tang ( same as above going to rehome it once larger)
1 x pink anthias I think its female
1 x bengai cardinal
2 green chromis

Inverts
1 x fighting conch
1 x emerald crab
2 x kuekenthals cleaner shrimp
astraeas, nassarius snails, turbos, hermit crabs

 

[JojosReef]

I'm sorry you're going through that. Is the tank still under warranty? I imagine it's a G1. Only recommendation I've read has been to accept losses and get a new non-Red Sea tank.

 

[Sold4JC]

I would look at getting a new tank. I've been happy with my AquaJapan tank. It is of good value and has some nice features. I'm sorry to hear about the seal failure.

 

[turbonut]

Another one bites the dust. Sorry to hear that it happened. As suggested aqua Japan easy on the pocket book and have been a solid tank. Go see tom @ seaside aquatic


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[Duckman]

Sorry about that. Mine leaked as well about 1 month ago. Fortunately I had a 30 Gal frag tank that I was setting up and cycling so i transferred most of it there from my redsea 350. Definitely lost some coral in the transfer but so far the fish are all thriving.

 

[Raptor72]

I lost my RS 750 G1 after only 5 yrs. Luckily I caught it right before it was going to bust. I’ve moved on to Waterbox and haven’t looked back.

 

[tygerjace]

Sorry to hear about people going through this horrible experience. It's a tank owners nightmare! I've heard quite a few RedSea leak stories. Is this a common thing with RedSea? If so why is it so popular?

 

[bluemon]

Sorry to hear about people going through this horrible experience. It's a tank owners nightmare! I've heard quite a few RedSea leak stories. Is this a common thing with RedSea? If so why is it so popular?

Yea definitely a common problem with Red Sea, especially its G1s.

I hear it's "fixed" with G2s, but I've still heard some horror stories.

People blame it on the "floating glass" design, but many rimless tank manufacturers employ this manufacturing technique without horror stories. Many people have pointed to low grade silicon as the prime culprit, although Red Sea themselves think the stand was to blame. That and the lack of a Eurobrace.

They are popular because they are one of the biggest brands, so hence will have competitive pricing, ease of purchasability, exposure, and brand name. It looks nice and seems to come all set up (sump and plumbing wise) with little lead time so it's no wonder they are popular

 

[All Delight]

I'd sell the livestock and start over if it were me.

 

[JojosReef]

Sorry to hear about people going through this horrible experience. It's a tank owners nightmare! I've heard quite a few RedSea leak stories. Is this a common thing with RedSea? If so why is it so popular?

The popular narrative is that certain Gen 1 RS tanks are prone to seam failure because:

1. Red Sea switched their source of silicone to something cheaper and as you might expect, much lower quality.

2. Stand design maximizes sump space and forewent center bracing, so the wooden stands bow in the middle, adding additional pressure to the seams that now have weaker silicone.

3. Stand design has the doors closing flush with the front glass, which means the front glass is "floating" over the doors unsupported, putting further strain on the weak silicone.

I think that the key in this narrative is the weaker silicone. Other tanks have the floating front glass design, such as Waterbox, but only the Red Sea tanks are notorious for seam failures.

Should be a Lemon Law for tanks!

 

[joseserrano]

The popular narrative is that certain Gen 1 RS tanks are prone to seam failure because:

1. Red Sea switched their source of silicone to something cheaper and as you might expect, much lower quality.

2. Stand design maximizes sump space and forewent center bracing, so the wooden stands bow in the middle, adding additional pressure to the seams that now have weaker silicone.

3. Stand design has the doors closing flush with the front glass, which means the front glass is "floating" over the doors unsupported, putting further strain on the weak silicone.

I think that the key in this narrative is the weaker silicone. Other tanks have the floating front glass design, such as Waterbox, but only the Red Sea tanks are notorious for seam failures.

Should be a Lemon Law for tanks!

I don’t understand how and why ppl have not gone after them with lemon law.

 

[mchain275]

I don’t understand how and why ppl have not gone after them with lemon law.

I think they're an Israeli company, so it's difficult to hold them accountable in the US

 

[mchain275]

I had a G1 Red Sea Reefer 750 for about five years - it's on to its second owner and has not failed to date. But sudden failure was a constant worry.

Based on the volume of posts reporting seam failures, they appear to experience total failure at an alarmingly high rate (though it's difficult to assess what the failure rate is, as I'm sure there are many, many happy anonymous owners).

To me, as concerning as the catastrophic failures are in and of themselves, the bigger problem is Red Sea's typical response to aggrieved customers. Based on various threads, it seems their response is typically to disclaim responsibility, not accept fault and offer a modest discount on a new tank. While I don't expect any manufacturer to voluntarily take responsibility for consequential damages (like losses of livestock, floor damage, etc.), the very least they could offer is a free replacement or a refund for the original purchase. I suspect they offer minimal compensation because they know no one is going to go to the trouble of attempting to sue them and enforce a judgment halfway across the world in Israel.

Personally, I won't ever consider Red Sea for a tank purchase in the future. While I don't doubt that they have made design and/or process improvements, it's nonetheless my personal choice to steer clear of them as an objection to their disappointing business practices.

 

[turbonut]

I don’t understand how and why ppl have not gone after them with lemon law.

Because lemon law applies to cars not tanks


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