Red Sea 525 G2+ Vs Waterbox 190 Upgrade?

[JFinlay]

I'm debating so much on which tank to get. I've done tons of research, there has not been many posts of people with Waterbox 190s on here I feel like, so not much of me to gauge off of, and 525 are plagued with seamgate. Innovate Marine WOULD be my hands down choice due to quality, however I have 0 interest in a 30 inch wide tank. Sounds horrible, wouldn't fit my office room right. I wish one of the other brands just Euro Braced their tanks or offered a rimmed version or something.

My gripes with Waterbox - have read some posts of quality concern, mainly with stand/cabinets, they just seem cheaply made, I don't find the giant sump necessary, and it's the most expensive. The dimensions of the tank are great

Red Sea - concern with seamgate, that floating glass design is really stupid. I'd rather have the extra support. Why would they do this? Sump seems better, quality seems overall better, the bigger company for sure.

I've been into reefing for a little over a year now with my 40 breeder cheapy HOB filter setup. Ready to upgrade to something with a sump and 100g+ that I can be happy with for many years.

If you could pick one of the two, which would it be? Or any other suggestions that are similar in price range and size to these two.

 

[exnisstech]

I have a redsea reefer 170 g2 and a reefer 300 g2. I've been happy with both. I'm filling a WB 330.7 now. My redSea tanks are small and only have wood stands. The WB is made out of 30mm t slot with wood (particle board ?) skin and doors. I bought a smaller WB stand that is all wood for storage to match the tank stand. It's very similar to the redsea non aluminum stands. I have not seen a larger redsea tank with aluminum stand. I have no complaints on the WB. Customer services has be very responsive to any an all questions I have asked via email. My main reason for going with WB was because I wanted an 84x30" foot print and couldn't get that from redsea. IM was crossed off the list immediately because of the ato built in the back. I wanted 30" of swim room not a built-in ato container.

 

[Dfost]

I have the 190.5 I’m really liking it I wish there was more room in the cabinet sump takes up a lot of space playing on removing the ato container and using a remote container just have got around to it my only complaint is it take some time to get it silent but with tons of flow it never will be great quality great customer service

 

[JFinlay]

I have the 190.5 I’m really liking it I wish there was more room in the cabinet sump takes up a lot of space playing on removing the ato container and using a remote container just have got around to it my only complaint is it take some time to get it silent but with tons of flow it never will be great quality great customer service

Wow that cabinet really has zero space under it! Thanks for the video, why no build thread?! Can you take another pic of your cable setup.

Another thing that scares me is electricity draw. Do you just have 2 power cords hooked up to two outlets?

 

[JFinlay]

I have a redsea reefer 170 g2 and a reefer 300 g2. I've been happy with both. I'm filling a WB 330.7 now. My redSea tanks are small and only have wood stands. The WB is made out of 30mm t slot with wood (particle board ?) skin and doors. I bought a smaller WB stand that is all wood for storage to match the tank stand. It's very similar to the redsea non aluminum stands. I have not seen a larger redsea tank with aluminum stand. I have no complaints on the WB. Customer services has be very responsive to any an all questions I have asked via email. My main reason for going with WB was because I wanted an 84x30" foot print and couldn't get that from redsea. IM was crossed off the list immediately because of the ato built in the back. I wanted 30" of swim room not a built-in ato container.

I would do IM in a heartbeat but I don’t want a 60 x 30 tank, way too wide

So WB is a mix of that plywood/particle board with an aluminum frame correct? Does it still overhang the front doors like Red Sea

 

[exnisstech]

So WB is a mix of that plywood/particle board with an aluminum frame correct? Does it still overhang the front doors like Red Sea

The front panel does hang over. Yes on the stand material. I have some picks of the stand open and covered in my build thread.

 

[JFinlay]

The front panel does hang over. Yes on the stand material. I have some picks of the stand open and covered in my build thread.

Thanks for the replies! Sorry for so many questions, does it also come with that leveling mat standard? I'm going to checkout your build thread now, interested to see how you dealt with the limited space

 

[Dfost]

Wow that cabinet really has zero space under it! Thanks for the video, why no build thread?! Can you take another pic of your cable setup.

Another thing that scares me is electricity draw. Do you just have 2 power cords hooked up to two outlets?

It’s running off of a 20amp outlet on a dedicated circuit I ran into my panel

 

[Dfost]

I would do IM in a heartbeat but I don’t want a 60 x 30 tank, way too wide

So WB is a mix of that plywood/particle board with an aluminum frame correct? Does it still overhang the front doors like Red Sea

The new reef 190.5 is extruded aluminum frame with coated plywood front doors and aluminum panels on the sides

 

[slingfox]

I have the Red Sea 525 G2. Have had zero issues with the tank and stand but it has only been 7 months. I also liked the 5 ft width and only 2 ft depth since I wanted the length for fish to swim but I didn't want to go over 2 ft depth since the tank needs to fit in a hallway while also providing a few inches of room behind the tank to run wires and grab things if they fall there. The G2 supposedly have improved design which should hopefully ameliorate the seem busy issues of the G1. Only time will tell.

 

[exnisstech]

Thanks for the replies! Sorry for so many questions, does it also come with that leveling mat standard? I'm going to checkout your build thread now, interested to see how you dealt with the limited space

No problem that's why we're all here. Mine came with a leveling mat attached to the bottom.

I don't have limited space.

 

[FernBluffReef]

Really happy with my 525G2. I'm not concerned with the issues the prior generation of tanks had.

 

[JFinlay]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on the WB 190.5.... Debating if I try and hold myself off for their black friday sale lol