Redsea vs. Waterbox

[Duffer]

This is something that has baffled me. I have read so many times how much cheaper the WB is, but whenever I have looked them up, they are priced right between the comparable RSR models. So RSR is actually cheaper if you go with the black stand (my preference).



I saw this, and while I really feel bad for the guy, I can't imagine WB would have handled it any differently.


The way I see it is Red Sea has been around for over 25 years. They created the Reefer series and a couple of years later WB comes along with basically a carbon copy with some minor improvements. If I'm going to drop some serious $$ on a tank, I'm going to go with the company that's been around awhile and has a proven track record, but that's just me.

I did not mean to imply that WB is a bad product, I just see no reason to not go with the "original".

i totally agree with you on this...

 

[Burrito]

ive seen both and both are top notch, that said i went with innovative marine for my 100g and love it. dont overlook their lineup, not a plug and play but you get a top notch tank, the APS stands are really nice. just need to plumb it yourself

 

[Sparkymarc]

Love my reefer. Never had a waterbox but I have no complaints with Red Sea

 

[Tylutki’s Reef]

I have seen multiple series of the red seas and wanted to buy one because my lfs has the RS in stock. I wanted a RS badly and finally saved up enough money. When I went into my lfs to buy the reefer 350, I saw the Waterbox 130.4. After comparing the two I went with the WB and I’m glad I did. The sumps are bigger, better plumbing in my opinion, starfire glass (even the sump), glass overflow, cabinets are way nicer, and tank dimensions are better. I actually spent a little more for the WB. Customer service has been amazing. No complaints.

 

[Sandbox]

Also, with the WB the cabinet is packaged on top of the tank. If you have to hired professionals due to the weight and being by yourself to move the tank, you can have the stand assembled. On the RS, the tank has to be moved, the cabinet assembled and then placed on the stand. Idk, I’d hate to call the movers out twice to get that done.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

FYI - I've been helping someone on Reef Central that purchased a Red Sea where it seems clear that the bottom of the tank is bowed. He was asking if it was safe to fill, as Red Sea told him it was perfectly fine. Rather obviously, I told him not to fill it. It would seem that Red Sea has a lower-level manager that simply doesn't understand the impact to the company of refusing to cover what is rather obviously a manufacturing defect.

 

[Westside Guy]

In my opinion both RS and WB are making beautiful tanks with WB offering larger sumps. One of my neighbors recently had the WB Peninsula 5526 installed and it took her LFS over a day to assemble the cabinet. They had 3 people working on the installation and I know that they are an experienced team having done my RS Reefer 250 installation in only a few hours. They told me that the WB cabinets for their Peninsula models were a nightmare to assemble and dreaded working on them.

That being said RS isn’t perfect either as you constantly read posts complaining about their valve and how sensitive it is. Many have replaced it with a good quality Spears valve and have lived happily ever after. ;)

I have spoken and emailed RS’s customer service and they have always been helpful and gotten back to me in a timely fashion. :)

 

[TX_Punisher]

I have one of the first 750xxl. Two year anniversary coming up in June. It’s been a good tank. I swapped out for a better ato setup quickly.

Only thing I’d change is ventilation holes behind the sump.

 

[a4edwin]

I’ve read a couple of threads where there’s been defects in the tanks and the cabinets for the water box. But not as many with the Red Sea reefers.

 

[martinelias1983]

I was on the same boat and was going with red sea but my wife then decided if I wad spending so much money and it was going to be so big she was going to have it near the front door entrance so I searched and found they both made peninsula tanks and she agreed it would look cool as a living room divider to close off or white sectional couch to make kind of like a U shape.
In the end I went with waterbox because it was readily available and the red sea one was oos most places I checked.
Haven't set it up yet as I'm moving next weekend but it looks nice.
You can see the expression of joy on my wife's face when she sees how monstrous this thing is for the first time lol.
It's a crystal peninsula 7226.

 

[Westside Guy]

I am sure that the tank will look beautiful and she will replace that frown with a smile once you have it assembled! ;)

 

[martinelias1983]

I am sure that the tank will look beautiful and she will replace that frown with a smile once you have it assembled! ;)

Haha yes she says she wad making thay face because the sun was coming down hard that day I just like messing with her, she's cool with the whole situation except maybe that I've spent close to 8k already and I'm still missing rocks and a rodi system to set it all up this is also our first aquarium so there's also the whole "why'd you have to start so big" but I figured if I got something small I'd eventually want something larger so might as well now right?
Part of the deal is she wants clowns in there which weren't in my original plans but now I must include them.

 

[Guttersnipe]

I have a Red Sea reefer tank. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of it due to the fact that I have to use their plumbing. I can’t just go to the local hardware store and make my own configuration.
The sump is also too small.

 

[Westside Guy]

Part of the deal is she wants clowns in there which weren't in my original plans but now I must include them.

If possible get your clowns from ORA, they are highly respected and I just had 2 Gladiators delivered to my LFS from them on Friday.
https://www.orafarm.com/products/fish/clownfish/

 

[doughboy]

FYI,


https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cracked-reefer-peninsula-650-red-sea-not-honoring-warranty.536484/

If you read the whole thread, the issue was resolved.

both being equal, you may want to consider resale in the event you want to sell the tank.
Red Sea tanks sell fast and commands a high resale value.
I don't know about WB.
just something to consider...

 

[martinelias1983]

If possible get your clowns from ORA, they are highly respected and I just had 2 Gladiators delivered to my LFS from them on Friday.
https://www.orafarm.com/products/fish/clownfish/

Only thing I'm kinda worried about with clowns it's their reputation to be aggressive

 

[martinelias1983]

If you read the whole thread, the issue was resolved.

both being equal, you may want to consider resale in the event you want to sell the tank.
Red Sea tanks sell fast and commands a high resale value.
I don't know about WB.
just something to consider...

I don't see why resale of a WB would be significantly less considering its not cheap to begin with and materials used are very similar if not the same to red sea.

 

[Reefer_Rob]

Im still in the browsing stages but one thing that bugs me is that im in Los Angeles and the nearest WB dealer is like 150 miles away. Ive seen alot of Red Seas over the past few months but I really want to look over a Waterbox in person.

 

[Westside Guy]

I don't see why resale of a WB would be significantly less considering its not cheap to begin with and materials used are very similar if not the same to red sea.

Perhaps because Red Sea has been in business for a long time and Waterbox is the new guy on the block. ;)

 

[ibondy]

Only thing I'm kinda worried about with clowns it's their reputation to be aggressive

If you get a pair of clowns, they will be fine with other fish breads, maybe OK with other male clowns, but will fight with any other clown female. Just went through it in my tank with 3 clown pairs. I have just a single pair of clowns now and all is peaceful in the tank.