High Tide Aquatics

Just found sand in the seal of my RSR250...

sfsuphysics said:
Well that's nice they're willing to sell you a "significantly discounted rate" whatever price that may be.

When I asked Marineland (or whomever the parent company was) about my failed DD tank, they were like "ok send us pictures, and this and that" and I was like "ok, is this good enough" and they completely ghosted me.
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Following up on this - they initially quoted a 30% discounted price of $531 for a new Gen 1 Red Sea Reefer 250. I expressed interest, then was told shipping would be $150-250. I begrudgingly agreed, provided my address, and was then told I'd be charged sales tax and shipping would be $310. So, roughly $900 to replace just the tank.

After thinking it over, I declined. Nice of them to offer, but doesn't feel much like a discount when a brand new Gen 1 RSR250 package goes for ~$1,750 after tax and it's to replace a ~3 year old tank that's failing due to manufacturing issues. Not sure if this is frequency illusion, but - in the past few days - I've seen two separate high-profile social media posts showing total seam failures in Red Sea tanks. I'm disappointed, because I'd been really excited about the prospect of a 6' long Red Sea tank whenever we upgrade our home.

Regardless, for now, I'm opting for another company and I'll have a cautionary tale to tell people when considering a new tank.
 
It does look like the gen 2 tanks are built significantly better, but ya... I wouldn't pay $900 to replace it with the same thing that just failed...
 
Meshmez said:
It does look like the gen 2 tanks are built significantly better, but ya... I wouldn't pay $900 to replace it with the same thing that just failed...
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I work in marketing and write copy like this for a living.

The way they've touted armored seams, have "extra fortified construction" listed as the first benefit, and call out extended warranties all tell me the marketing team was told some version of, "This is the feedback/customer perception we've gotten. We need to address it without actually calling it out."
 
Patio said:
Scary. What causes a silicon seam seal to fail?
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Insufficiantly clean glass prior to silicone or an assembly process that allows time for the silicone to skin over before contact with the glass. I'm sure there can be other reasons like temp or a bad batch of silicone too.

I'd say thickness of the glass panes will make a difference as well as incorrect dimensions of the tank that allow too much pressure on the panes. A guy I know bought an old Amano tank that was known for separation and had it professionally resealed. It failed inside a month.
 
IOnceWasLegend said:
I work in marketing and write copy like this for a living.

The way they've touted armored seams, have "extra fortified construction" listed as the first benefit, and call out extended warranties all tell me the marketing team was told some version of, "This is the feedback/customer perception we've gotten. We need to address it without actually calling it out."
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Ya I agree, but looking at some of them in person, it does seem they are made better
 
Meshmez said:
Ya I agree, but looking at some of them in person, it does seem they are made better
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I don't doubt it.

My comment was more pointing out that the benefits positioning and statements they've used are a subtle indicator they are aware this was an issue, but do not want to directly address it. Which, fine, I understand: it's a tough sell to acknowledge, "Hey, our old tanks had a high incidence of failure, but we've totally corrected it on the new models!"

I'll still never recommend a Red Sea to anyone again given these issues and their aftermarket support. I tried a few different options (including requesting a modest price break on a G2 system since I'm hesitant to trust their G1 seals), but their only concession was, "How about another tank that nearly failed, at retail?"
 
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Patio said:
Scary. What causes a silicon seam seal to fail?
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In addition to the other points people have said, I'd wonder if their decision to let the front pane hang over the stand is a contributing factor. (Picture for reference.)

Overhang.JPG
 
I have always wondered this too, though other tanks generally have a small gap so the vertical panels don't rest directly on the stand either. So in theory it's the same.
 
One more (hopefully final) comment on this:

Apparently, the official Red Sea owners' group on Facebook deletes posts on tank failures. One discussion post has been left up, but three others with images (including the one Eric posted on my behalf, before my membership was approved) have been deleted. That is their prerogative, but that behavior is shameful.
 
IOnceWasLegend said:
One more (hopefully final) comment on this:

Apparently, the official Red Sea owners' group on Facebook deletes posts on tank failures. One discussion post has been left up, but three others with images (including the one Eric posted on my behalf, before my membership was approved) have been deleted. That is their prerogative, but that behavior is shameful.
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I knew that they lock them so no one can comment anymore. Didn't know they deleted.
 
I’m wondering if anyone would be willing to sign a petition to Res Sea (and the other tank manufacturers, to be fair) asking them to release their tank failure statistics. I think all manufacturers should do this so we know what risks we’re taking by putting a tank in our homes.

I suspect that Red Sea has a very low rate of failure but because they are an extremely high volume vendor you will see some public examples of tank failures. I would be interested in how many of the failures happen after a tank has changed hands vs original owner so we also know if there’s a different risk for used tanks (it could go either way - a “proven” used tank that’s held water could be more reliable or the extra stress of moving a used tank might have impact).
 
IOnceWasLegend said:
In addition to the other points people have said, I'd wonder if their decision to let the front pane hang over the stand is a contributing factor. (Picture for reference.)

View attachment 39006
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Sorry to hear about your trouble! I was thinking of getting a redsea 250 at some point but probably not after seeing this issue and their aftermarket 'support'..

That looks like a terrible design!
 
I just bought a RedSea this year. Bummer to see this seem failure. I’ll have to just keep an eye out on mine. I first impressions were that is was built really nice and looks strong. I’ve had rimless tanks in the past that weren’t built this stout. Although, I did find it odd that the front pane is unsupported by the stand.
I wonder how many people in this club run RedSea tanks and how many have had problems?
Right now I’m very happy with but will most likely want a larger tank in two years.
 
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