Red Sea vs Waterbox

[Haggisman14]

Hello everyone. Now that I see BRS carries both lines of tanks, and they are very similar (obviously some differences in material etc), I was curious if anyone has had both a Waterbox, AND a Red Sea tank, and how you can compare the two.

I LOVE Red Sea tanks, but I could get into a similar tank for considerably less money.

Just curious if anyone has both, and can compare per their actual experiences.

Thanks!

 

[HolisticBear]

Hello everyone. Now that I see BRS carries both lines of tanks, and they are very similar (obviously some differences in material etc), I was curious if anyone has had both a Waterbox, AND a Red Sea tank, and how you can compare the two.

I LOVE Red Sea tanks, but I could get into a similar tank for considerably less money.

Just curious if anyone has both, and can compare per their actual experiences.

Thanks!

BRS is carrying the old (deprecated) models of Waterbox, so while the comparisons are valid, the interesting question is how the newly launched models compare. Besides the sizing differences, the plywood stand + better sump design + US plumbing sizes are the wins for WaterBox on paper while Red Sea's solid reputation and proven track record hold.

EDIT: The original waterbox naming scheme was pretty disingenuous. They quoted much higher water volumes to make it appear larger than Red Sea, but it was a lie. Waterbox assumed the water level was to the rim of the tank + the sump and didn't account for glass thickness. So look at the dimensions of the tank, not the quoted volumes.

 

[dimo]

Following this thread.

 

[Makomek]

Red Sea have a very good track record and a great CS while Waterbox is a new kid on the block and price on their system is close or higher than redsea with virtually no back track. They need to bring the price down or bite the dusk soon. As of now redsea is the way to go.

It annoying to see a 40.1 gallons systen that actually a 24g .

 

[JoshH]

I LOVE Red Sea tanks, but I could get into a similar tank for considerably less money.

Gallon for gallon Water box is actually more expensive than Red Sea when not on sale and even on sale they aren't much cheaper. Nothing against them but as stated above there marketing techniques have been questioned numerous times and there posted water volumes don't add up to the actual size of the tanks. Nothing against waterbox as they seem to be a company that's trying to pull out ahead which is hard in this industry. But Red Sea has the history to back up there prices and I feel waterbox has a little ways to go before they get to that point.

 

[Haggisman14]

I appreciate everyone's input on this!

Thanks guys!

 

[pugcrush]

I have a reefer 170 (almost 1.5 yrs). I like it alot. But the waterbox is intriguing also. I plan on getting on of their new cube tanks. Saw them at reefapalooza and they look great.

 

[The Flying Turkey]

Hello everyone. Now that I see BRS carries both lines of tanks, and they are very similar (obviously some differences in material etc), I was curious if anyone has had both a Waterbox, AND a Red Sea tank, and how you can compare the two.

I LOVE Red Sea tanks, but I could get into a similar tank for considerably less money.

Just curious if anyone has both, and can compare per their actual experiences.

Thanks!

What did you choose?

I’m looking at either a Red a Sea Reefer 350 or a Waterbox 135.4 and can’t decide!

 

[Haggisman14]

Nothing just yet. No new tank for me for probably at least 2-3 years, as I'm going to let my biocube grow out for the time being. Just like being well informed and getting my ducks in a row...

It's like how I'm already looking at aftermarket parts for the new Jeep I'm going to get next year

 

[Mike Arnold]

I'm glad I found this thread. I've been salivating over the RedSea Reefer 450 for a year now, and I was getting ready to pull the trigger on the purchase; however, the Waterbox 135.4 has piqued my interest. My decision will defiantly come down to cost at this point; it looks like WaterBox is racking up some good reviews. I don't know, maybe it is just me, but I'm having issues with the sump on both options; am I missing something, or do these sumps leave a little to be desired. I'm running a Trigger Systems Ruby 36 on my 75 gallon tank right now and I love it. I'm running the triton method that requires a refugium at least 10% of the water volume. Do we have anyone here that is running one of these systems using the triton method? How did you overcome this issue? Can I run a successful system without the skimmer? It looks like I have to choose between a skimmer or a refugium. I've seen some people convert the built-in ATO to a refugium, but it just doesn't look adequate. Thoughts??? Thanks

 

[Caravanshaka]

I have not owned a Red Sea tank, but I do have a Waterbox 135.4 right now.

Initial opinions were very positive when I set it up. I got a little frustrated finding metric plumbing to add a manifold on the return line, as well as tightening the weird bulkheads they have, but other than that I really liked how everything turned out. Fast forward 7 months, and I am already building a new setup. The upgrade isn't entirely due to the Waterbox, but some issues definitely came up when considering the upgrade. Ultimately, I needed more space, just a bit more in the display, and a LOT more underneath. New setup will be a 54x30x24 with a 48x30 sump.

Waterbox Pros
- Good price for an all in one...I got mine for $1,650 shipped to my door, which is just barely more than my new tank by itself cost
- Great exterior design, cabinet looks sharp and modern, clear glass, small logos that don't detract from the tank but add a little class
- Included ATO has been rock solid

Cons
- Silicon isn't perfect....a few minor issues that I could see that may bother a perfectionist
- Small sump, poor sock design (the drain section will just get a film of junk on the top that never goes into the sock area due to the baffle between them)
- Metric plumbing...oh what a pain this is to modify...and a ball valve on the drain is so difficult to adjust
- weird acrylic overflow box that covers the top few inches...it is an interesting design, but allows the water level on a power outage to drop way too far in the tank...I let it drain completely once, and had 1/2" to spare left in the sump when it finally stopped....that's cutting it really close
- worthless ATO section....it is less than 5g for a tank with over 100g water volume....running metal halides I would run through 5g in 2-3 days. I re-purposed that into a refugium and have an external 10g ato reservoir
- The Stand design....OMG the humidity. I can't stress this enough, but this stand needs airflow. There is one small gap in the panels going to the electronics section from the sump section, so it gets HOT in there. There is an opening in the back that is mostly covered by the sump and plumbing, so there is hardly any air exchange happening there. The sump section gets so humid that I have water dripping off of every surface. Yes, that means my fuge light has condensation on it, my hinges are rusting, and my water temps just rise and rise. The only solution for me has been to add a 10" diameter fan into the sump area, and I have to leave the doors open for it to properly ventilate. With the doors closed, my tank temps will rise from 77 to 81 during the day with halides....with them open, it goes from 77 to 78.5.

Some of these issues have been addressed with their new series...and I don't know how many of these issues are shared with Red Sea, so they may stack up quite well with each other. What I do know is that I am much happier building something on my own where I control the design.

 

[Mike Arnold]

I have not owned a Red Sea tank, but I do have a Waterbox 135.4 right now.

Initial opinions were very positive when I set it up. I got a little frustrated finding metric plumbing to add a manifold on the return line, as well as tightening the weird bulkheads they have, but other than that I really liked how everything turned out. Fast forward 7 months, and I am already building a new setup. The upgrade isn't entirely due to the Waterbox, but some issues definitely came up when considering the upgrade. Ultimately, I needed more space, just a bit more in the display, and a LOT more underneath. New setup will be a 54x30x24 with a 48x30 sump.

Waterbox Pros
- Good price for an all in one...I got mine for $1,650 shipped to my door, which is just barely more than my new tank by itself cost
- Great exterior design, cabinet looks sharp and modern, clear glass, small logos that don't detract from the tank but add a little class
-

Cons
- Silicon isn't perfect....a few minor issues that I could see that may bother a perfectionist
- Small sump, poor sock design (the drain section will just get a film of junk on the top that never goes into the sock area due to the baffle between them)
- Metric plumbing...oh what a pain this is to modify...and a ball valve on the drain is so difficult to adjust
- weird acrylic overflow box that covers the top few inches...it is an interesting design, but allows the water level on a power outage to drop way too far in the tank...I let it drain completely once, and had 1/2" to spare left in the sump when it finally stopped....that's cutting it really close
- worthless ATO section....it is less than 5g for a tank with over 100g water volume....running metal halides I would run through 5g in 2-3 days. I re-purposed that into a refugium and have an external 10g ato reservoir
- The Stand design....OMG the humidity. I can't stress this enough, but this stand needs airflow. There is one small gap in the panels going to the electronics section from the sump section, so it gets HOT in there. There is an opening in the back that is mostly covered by the sump and plumbing, so there is hardly any air exchange happening there. The sump section gets so humid that I have water dripping off of every surface. Yes, that means my fuge light has condensation on it, my hinges are rusting, and my water temps just rise and rise. The only solution for me has been to add a 10" diameter fan into the sump area, and I have to leave the doors open for it to properly ventilate. With the doors closed, my tank temps will rise from 77 to 81 during the day with halides....with them open, it goes from 77 to 78.5.

Some of these issues have been addressed with their new series...and I don't know how many of these issues are shared with Red Sea, so they may stack up quite well with each other. What I do know is that I am much happier building something on my own where I control the design.

Great feed back. Yes, I can see that stand design having those issues. I did build my current stand and it has plenty of room and circulation and I love my Tunze Osmolater ATO, so I won't be using the all-in-one ATO; I know there is going to be some trade-offs, but that list of Cons has me concerned.

 

[Tripptastic]

I have not owned a Red Sea tank, but I do have a Waterbox 135.4 right now.
Cons
- Silicon isn't perfect....a few minor issues that I could see that may bother a perfectionist
- Small sump, poor sock design (the drain section will just get a film of junk on the top that never goes into the sock area due to the baffle between them)
- Metric plumbing...oh what a pain this is to modify...and a ball valve on the drain is so difficult to adjust
- weird acrylic overflow box that covers the top few inches...it is an interesting design, but allows the water level on a power outage to drop way too far in the tank...I let it drain completely once, and had 1/2" to spare left in the sump when it finally stopped....that's cutting it really close
- worthless ATO section....it is less than 5g for a tank with over 100g water volume....running metal halides I would run through 5g in 2-3 days. I re-purposed that into a refugium and have an external 10g ato reservoir
- The Stand design....OMG the humidity. I can't stress this enough, but this stand needs airflow. There is one small gap in the panels going to the electronics section from the sump section, so it gets HOT in there. There is an opening in the back that is mostly covered by the sump and plumbing, so there is hardly any air exchange happening there. The sump section gets so humid that I have water dripping off of every surface. Yes, that means my fuge light has condensation on it, my hinges are rusting, and my water temps just rise and rise. The only solution for me has been to add a 10" diameter fan into the sump area, and I have to leave the doors open for it to properly ventilate. With the doors closed, my tank temps will rise from 77 to 81 during the day with halides....with them open, it goes from 77 to 78.5.

I'm glad I just ran across this as I just ordered the new 70.2 the other night. I saw that they did change the filter sock layout, so hopefully that helps. After reading your post, I am already thinking about cutting some small holes on the back panel with some small fans to allow more airflow. As far as the sump, I didn't like RS's sump at all, and you have to buy their socks instead of universal ones. I already have my eye on a 18x18 cube sump from Modular Marine just incase the Waterbox Sump doesn't please me. Overall, I am very excited.

For me, I decided to buy a Waterbox for just a few simple reasons. I like that the new stands are 36" tall. I loved the cube dimensions of the 70.2 (24x24 footprint), and after watching a few videos about discoloration to RS's weir, I fell in love with the all glass overflow.

I'll update this and possible start a build thread for my new 70.2

 

[jimmyzhou]

One of my friend just pick up the water box. I don’t have much of pic but. If this will help. Soo far my friend ready like it

 

[Tripptastic]

One of my friend just pick up the water box. I don’t have much of pic but. If this will help. Soo far my friend ready like it

I love how it's open in the back. So no cutting needed. Just install some fans for circulation in there. Thanks!

 

[Bos]

Surprised no one has made a comment regarding these two brands.
WB came out with a new line to replace the older models.

I'm looking at Waterbox 130. 4 and 170.4/5 vs Reefer 425xl and 525xl, basically 4ft and 5ft tanks.

I thought $/litres or gallons, WB comes out to be less cost. Their volume is more based on their website, not sure whether it takes into account of glass thickness etc

The ball valve issue seems to have been fixed with introduction of a Gate Valve, whether it's a "Spears" quality gate valve or not, we'll have to wait for reviews.
The humidity in sump/cabinet also seems to have been acknowledged, kudos to WB for listening I guess. There seems to be more "holes" in the new cabinet from photos online.

Wish I could see one in real life, Reefer I've only seen 350, WB only a Nano version.

 

[Patrick M Bodega Aquatics]

Has anyone had either and does anyone like the other better than the other? Waterbox AIO 50.3 or 65.4 vs Red sea Max E-170? Thanks!