I cannot decide between Waterbox 35.2 or Innovative Marine Nuvo 40

Clo

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Hello,

I am someone who finally decided to jump into keeping a reef tank. For the record. I've kept fresh water fish before, but my largest fresh water tank was only a 17g.
I've decided for a reef tank I wanted something larger that would give me a bigger margin for error and a wider variety of stocking options.

However, I cannot seem to decide between the Waterbox 35.2 or the Innovative Marine Nuvo 40.
I'm not willing to go up to an even larger tank as we already live on a second floor apartment, AND I may potentially moving in a year/year half due to my husband's work.

That said, our space lends itself to the space of a cube style better than a long horizontal one.
From what I can tell, if I get the Waterbox, I will still need to purchase a pump but I believe the IM will come with a pump. But, that's such a minor detail.

With the cost of stands included for both, they're in the same ballpark. And, at minimum I would still need to purchase a heater, wave maker (I can probably wait on this until after the tank is cycled), and lights (probably wait on this one too?).

From what I can tell, Waterbox quality is supposedly a higher than IM. But, I'm not very impressed with the fact that the Waterbox stand is made from "laminated plywood" whereas the IM is anodized aluminum. Based on the measurements of the two tanks though, I could also just order the APS stand and set the Waterbox on it as well. My husband is telling me plywood is strong and won't be a problem, I have no experience and can only trust his word on plywood vs aluminum.

An additional benefit to the Waterbox is that my LFS sells them, and I could pick it up in person and make sure it is not damaged during transit. But, I would need to double check the markup on them through my LFS :'(

Any suggestions or thoughts from people who have owned one, or the other or both?

I can't believe I'm already hung up on which aquarium & stand to order. Thanks everyone.

Additionally, I'm hoping to stock this with maybe a couple clowns, some inverts, and hopefully, some corals & macroalgae.
 
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Operator Wrasse

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I can attest to IM's quality. My wife has a 20G drop off tank and I feel like she got a high quality build for a fraction of the price. I've watched a lot of WB's videos and read through their website, and to me it seems like they cut corners on some minor details for a hefty price. I'm not a fan of how their sumps are designed and the fact that you HAVE to buy their sump with the tank? Meh. Oh, and then sell by system volume, not display size
 

melanotaenia

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Between those there is probably little quality difference, but if I were you I would go for a tank of this size that has the ability to hook up a sump rather than having everything shoved in that back area.
 

revheat21

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Hello,

I am someone who finally decided to jump into keeping a reef tank. For the record. I've kept fresh water fish before, but my largest fresh water tank was only a 17g.
I've decided for a reef tank I wanted something larger that would give me a bigger margin for error and a wider variety of stocking options.

However, I cannot seem to decide between the Waterbox 35.2 or the Innovative Marine Nuvo 40.
I'm not willing to go up to an even larger tank as we already live on a second floor apartment, AND I may potentially moving in a year/year half due to my husband's work.

That said, our space lends itself to the space of a cube style better than a long horizontal one.
From what I can tell, if I get the Waterbox, I will still need to purchase a pump but I believe the IM will come with a pump. But, that's such a minor detail.

With the cost of stands included for both, they're in the same ballpark. And, at minimum I would still need to purchase a heater, wave maker (I can probably wait on this until after the tank is cycled), and lights (probably wait on this one too?).

From what I can tell, Waterbox quality is supposedly a higher than IM. But, I'm not very impressed with the fact that the Waterbox stand is made from "laminated plywood" whereas the IM is anodized aluminum. Based on the measurements of the two tanks though, I could also just order the APS stand and set the Waterbox on it as well. My husband is telling me plywood is strong and won't be a problem, I have no experience and can only trust his word on plywood vs aluminum.

An additional benefit to the Waterbox is that my LFS sells them, and I could pick it up in person and make sure it is not damaged during transit. But, I would need to double check the markup on them through my LFS :'(

Any suggestions or thoughts from people who have owned one, or the other or both?

I can't believe I'm already hung up on which aquarium & stand to order. Thanks everyone.

Additionally, I'm hoping to stock this with maybe a couple clowns, some inverts, and hopefully, some corals & macroalgae.
Following! I’m pretty much in the same boat!!
 

Reef.

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Go for the tank you prefer, maybe the bigger one if you can’t decide would be a good choice, both are good choices, don’t let laminate put you off, it’s much stronger than ordinary wood.

Heat will be needed for the cycle, power head too will be good but not essential if you have a return pump, the light can definitely wait until you put corals in.
 
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I can attest to IM's quality. My wife has a 20G drop off tank and I feel like she got a high quality build for a fraction of the price. I've watched a lot of WB's videos and read through their website, and to me it seems like they cut corners on some minor details for a hefty price. I'm not a fan of how their sumps are designed and the fact that you HAVE to buy their sump with the tank? Meh. Oh, and then sell by system volume, not display size

What are some the minor details that you felt they cut out? I'm not familiar with reef tanks, and with my old FW tanks I only had experiences with HOB & cannister.

I'm looking at the AIO because it would be less for me to overthink compared to a sump.

And I understand WB sells by system volume rather than display size, but even JBJ and Coralite do that as well in their AIO builds.

I have a WB 35.2 AIO that I’m very happy with.

Have you had to DIY any things that bothered you? Or make any similar adjustments to the tank?

Go for the tank you prefer, maybe the bigger one if you can’t decide would be a good choice, both are good choices, don’t let laminate put you off, it’s much stronger than ordinary wood.

Heat will be needed for the cycle, power head too will be good but not essential if you have a return pump, the light can definitely wait until you put corals in.

So the reason why I'm on the fence is the IM 40 NUVO seems a little big for me. My largest tank was a 17g before, and the idea of a 40 is already intimidating me.

But the difference between like 32-33g of water vs 40g seems so small for me to fuss over it as well. It's definitely a weird conundrum for me.

And definitely will be buying a heater and thermometer. Is Jager still good for saltwater or should I look into another brand?
 

Reef.

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Yes to the heater.

Tank size would be a good way to decide, don’t let the bigger size out you off, you will soon wish the tank was bigger, the most important thing is, as you say in reality they are not that different, go for the one you prefer if you have a strong preference for one over the other, if not go for the bigger one, you’ll thank yourself within a few weeks.

Not many Reefers wish they bought the size down from the one they got!
 
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Clo

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Yes to the heater.

Tank size would be a good way to decide, don’t let the bigger size out you off, you will soon wish the tank was bigger, the most important thing is, as you say in reality they are not that different, go for the one you prefer if you have a strong preference for one over the other, if not go for the bigger one, you’ll thank yourself within a few weeks.
Yea I guess I'll have to wait and see which one comes back in stock first then. And since I learned some LFS can be paid to move your fish & stuff when you move, I may look into that for if and when I have to move in the city. And it might be the push I needed for the 40 lol
 

Operator Wrasse

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What are some the minor details that you felt they cut out? I'm not familiar with reef tanks, and with my old FW tanks I only had experiences with HOB & cannister.

I'm looking at the AIO because it would be less for me to overthink compared to a sump.

And I understand WB sells by system volume rather than display size, but even JBJ and Coralite do that as well in their AIO builds.



Have you had to DIY any things that bothered you? Or make any similar adjustments to the tank?



So the reason why I'm on the fence is the IM 40 NUVO seems a little big for me. My largest tank was a 17g before, and the idea of a 40 is already intimidating me.

But the difference between like 32-33g of water vs 40g seems so small for me to fuss over it as well. It's definitely a weird conundrum for me.

And definitely will be buying a heater and thermometer. Is Jager still good for saltwater or should I look into another brand?
In my opinion, any modern reef-ready tank should run a bean-animal drain. As far as I could tell, most WBs were drilled to only have two drains, not three that is required of a bean-animal. It is a no brainer to make the overflow box 2" wider to incorporate this. Plus a few other things like no leveling mat and sub-par stands that are usually only noticeable to experts or those with OCD like me. Personally, I would go the cheaper route of IM or upgrade past the WB. For only a few more dollars, you could get something of much higher quality and customized. Since you're interested in going sumpless, I especially recommend the AIOs from IM, just make sure to measure your equipment thoroughly as to make sure it fits. IM tanks usually come with a net top, too, which is a plus.
 

Reef.

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Yea I guess I'll have to wait and see which one comes back in stock first then. And since I learned some LFS can be paid to move your fish & stuff when you move, I may look into that for if and when I have to move in the city. And it might be the push I needed for the 40 lol

Lol

Either way you will be emptying the tanks to move them, another 5g not going to make much difference, a few tubs, with the rocks and water and fish in them.

Just watched this video, changing over to a 230g tank in a day!

 

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gene hackman flip a coin GIF
 

LetItReef

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Hello - had the IM40 for couple years with the original wood stand that I bought both used, the glass clarity and built are well made. Not sure if you are set with the 40 and the 35.2 but check out 25 lagoon and 50 lagoon, both made by IM. Now that I currently have the 25 lagoon, I prefer the shallow dimension.
Good luck!
 

DED65

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The SR 120 is a really nice long shallow tank. It's really unfortunate that they stopped making this design. I don't know if they make anything similar, they do still make the SR 80 though.
 
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Clo

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Ive got an IM 30 long and an IM 50 lagoon. Looking to upgrade and will stick with them. They are great tanks!
I don't have enough space for the long! I know usually length is preferred of height for tanks. And you can do so many cool arrangements with the hardscape for a long tank.
Cheeky :)
I have a tendency to overthink things.
I love my IM nuvo 40
I'm glad to hear! Do you happen to have a photo of it?
And, do you find the arrangement in the back is ok for cleaning and such? Have you done any mods? I've heard the inTank baskets are pretty popular for the NUVO.
I have a Nuvo 40 and an SR 120 from IM. I have had them for at least 5 years and no issues to report, very nice tanks.
Any pics of your 40? :)
Good to hear that you've had it for 5 years without any problems. Did you do any mods to your 40 in the back space?
 

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What are some the minor details that you felt they cut out? I'm not familiar with reef tanks, and with my old FW tanks I only had experiences with HOB & cannister.

I'm looking at the AIO because it would be less for me to overthink compared to a sump.

And I understand WB sells by system volume rather than display size, but even JBJ and Coralite do that as well in their AIO builds.



Have you had to DIY any things that bothered you? Or make any similar adjustments to the tank?



So the reason why I'm on the fence is the IM 40 NUVO seems a little big for me. My largest tank was a 17g before, and the idea of a 40 is already intimidating me.

But the difference between like 32-33g of water vs 40g seems so small for me to fuss over it as well. It's definitely a weird conundrum for me.

And definitely will be buying a heater and thermometer. Is Jager still good for saltwater or should I look into another brand?
I haven't had to make any custom modifications to the AIO. I made sure to pick equipment that I knew would fit well and function just as well also. I purchased a Kraken Reef lid that is by far one of my best purchases.

I wasn't initially planning on purchasing a stand with the tank but my wife preferred the look of the WB stand. The stand wasn't terribly difficult to put together and I can not complain at all about the materials that WB selected.

One AI Prime lights it very well and I can care for most corals.

At the end of the day I would have preferred something larger but this tank fit very well for the space my wife allowed.
 
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