Red Sea or something else for my first saltwater tank?

[sidpost]

I am looking for my first saltwater tank in the 40G~65G range. A little more or less is fine with me as this isn't an absolutely hard requirement. I DO NOT WANT a shallow or narrow tank so, I am thinking ~18" or more in width and height ~20" or more. For length I am thinking ~36" but, again a little longer is fine with me, and a little shorter would work well too. Separately, my sump should support a refugium along with the more standard stuff.

As a starting point, I am seriously considering the Red Sea Reefer XL 200 G2+ System (42G tank) at ~$1700 at retail. The Planet Aquariums in the past really impressed me, and those are an option as well and their factory is reasonably close to me. I priced a rimless Planet model that was 36"x24"x24" at $2200 which is a bit more than I would like to spend but, I'm unsure what a lesser tank would cost. I am also thinking that a direct comparison to the Red Sea in terms of pricing is not a fair one since the tanks are so dissimilar.

Most tanks are available in Dallas, Texas at various shops so, Marineland Aqueon, Fluval, and others are generally available with a little research and leg work.

What are my better options in a ~$1700 tank and stand? Red Sea has a strong reputation and the one tank I saw certainly looked nice. Before I buy one, I want to consider other awesome options and understand the pros and cons.

TIA,
Sid

 

[brandon429]

I would not buy any red sea at all, for this reason:

What's up with the recent Red Sea Tank failures? 750XXL ? *UPDATE* Design Flaw CONFIRMED by Red Sea !!!

Planet Aquariums (maybe that's the one in Dallas you are talking about?) Glass Cages used to be not the best quality. But they are under new management as of a couple years ago, and people seem to be really happy with their tanks now. I agree. Rimless tanks are inherently flawed. Personally...

www.reef2reef.com

that's sixty pages of warning not to buy one. it doesn't matter if six people on the forum here are doing fine, that's sixty pages of discussions of not doing fine

 

[Spare time]

I would just buy the parts separately and not do an all in one or prebuilt tank. The reason being you need to learn the individual parts to be successful Imo and these tanks are also very very expensive.

 

[j.falk]

Marineland 53 Breeder - Right in the middle of what you are wanting!

 

[nothing_fancy]

Ya, check around about Red Sea. They make really awesome looking tanks, really nice pre plumbed stuff but a lot of folks have been having issues with leaks on some of the models that are a year or so old. In the 40 to 60G range, IM is a brand I can attest to, mine is 10 years old, no issues. Ive heard really good things about aqua forest, CADE, and waterbox.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

After seeing countless R2R posts of seam failures from Red Sea, I would encourage you to steer clear of their tanks until they actually address the issue.

DIY is a route everyone should consider

 

[JPM San Diego]

Before we bash all Red Sea tanks, I seem to recall that it was one particular extra large Red Sea that was not sufficiently braced in the center. I seen to recall this was corrected with stands currently being produced.
Can someone provide more details? (I have not looked into this closely)

 

[brandon429]

See the thread, G2s included + all makes

 

[Seansea]

i have the red sea 350 g2 and its pretty awesome. PRetty sweet all in one package tank cabinet and sump

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

Before we bash all Red Sea tanks, I seem to recall that it was one particular extra large Red Sea that was not sufficiently braced in the center. I seen to recall this was corrected with stands currently being produced.
Can someone provide more details? (I have not looked into this closely)

You may be right about that specific incident, I don’t know, but there have been many more incidents than that. I was never saying any of this to “bash Red Sea”. If you like their products, cool! But I won’t recommend a tank I see failing at an alarming rate until the manufacturer at least acknowledges the problem.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

i have the red sea 350 g2 and its pretty awesome. PRetty sweet all in one package tank cabinet and sump

I would brace it now while you still can.

 

[billyocean]

I would avoid red sea for the time being...countless tanks are fine and they are a great company...but for now. The others you listed are nice setups also. Putting one together is the best option but can be intimidating for newer reefers. Do you have a local reef club?

 

[edd59]

I would not buy any red sea at all, for this reason:

What's up with the recent Red Sea Tank failures? 750XXL ? *UPDATE* Design Flaw CONFIRMED by Red Sea !!!

Planet Aquariums (maybe that's the one in Dallas you are talking about?) Glass Cages used to be not the best quality. But they are under new management as of a couple years ago, and people seem to be really happy with their tanks now. I agree. Rimless tanks are inherently flawed. Personally...

www.reef2reef.com

that's sixty pages of warning not to buy one. it doesn't matter if six people on the forum here are doing fine, that's sixty pages of discussions of not doing fine

go for the planet and sleep well. pay a little more now or a lot more later if it leaks.
personally i wouldnt take one for free with that track record.

 

[brandon429]

truly if there was a fifty page break thread on any other brand I’d be weary just the same. Am aware/have been shown/ seam breaks for most major brands


heck I don’t even know of a ten page example set for marine land breaks much less fifty pages, something is statistically up with Red Sea

 

[Shibaken3]

Petco tank for the budget build.

 

[sidpost]

Before we bash all Red Sea tanks, I seem to recall that it was one particular extra large Red Sea that was not sufficiently braced in the center. I seen to recall this was corrected with stands currently being produced.
Can someone provide more details? (I have not looked into this closely)

Their literature say the stands for the larger ones are metal, not wood today on the G2+ stuff I have seen

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

My ProStar 90 has worked well for me. No refugium, but a very nice system otherwise.

 

[sidpost]

I would avoid red sea for the time being...countless tanks are fine and they are a great company...but for now. The others you listed are nice setups also. Putting one together is the best option but can be intimidating for newer reefers. Do you have a local reef club?

No, not even any Freshwater fish without driving ~50 miles away to a Petco/Petsmart.

Dallas is ~3 hours or more away depending on traffic along the way and is miserable on the way home as it normally is "rush hour" by the time I leave.

 

[RoninNV]

I just got back into aquariums last year after not having any for 20+ yrs. I started again with freshwater aquascaped aquariums. I'm just in the process of getting everything together for a nano macroalgae tank. As far as tanks go, look for UNS aquariums. Their quality is top-notch. They now will make you a custom tank if you want. Once I'm comfortable again with saltwater, I'm planning on having them build be a large custom one.

 

[sidpost]

Saw the Cade's on a thread here and did a little research. They sure look nice. A bit more expensive but, their aluminum and glass stands appear to have a lot of features for people that use a lot of hardware to support corals and other things.

Not sure how they compare the Ultum Nature Systems.