WaterBox Platinum 135.4 vs. Red Sea Reefer XL 525
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OP
OP
Waterbox Aquariums
Active Member
Our back up drain is the same size as the main drain. No issues handling all the tanks flow through it
mckinney0171
Well-Known Member
Why is that?
But obviously it’s still safer but yes it’s not incredibly importantThe secondary drain being slightly smaller is only an issue if your maxing out the flow of the larger main drain. Most people don't run there main siphon maxed out as it's adjusted much lower. Unless your considering maxing out the flow of the main drain the difference between the two sizes doesn't really matter
I know a bunch of people jumped on Waterbox for "false advertising", and comparable systems were about the same price but I am getting a system and am looking at Red Sea vs Waterbox and am comparing the RS 625 xxl vs the Platinum Pro 190.5. They have almost identical specs but waterbox is almost $300 cheaper for the white....not to mention no tax for me. After looking across the board at waterbox systems vs red sea it seems all the bigger ones run about $300 cheaper. That may have not been the case earlier, but is now!
Fair enough but to me I don't see it as false info per se, might all be small details that might not even mean anything to people but I've seen worse on comparisons. Overall to me I'd say they have a few things better, maybe a couple things worse. I really don't think they were trying to mislead people. I'm not too worried about it. I plan on getting a bigger sump anyway, either one I get, and replumbing.
mckinney0171
Well-Known Member
to me it comes down to reputation. i think of the purchase of a fish tank as how likely is it that this thing is going to dump saltwater onto the floor of my house? I see a lot of red sea tanks out there and not a whole lot of waterbox tanks out there. to me it is a pretty obvious choice.
Mako61
Community Member
Definitely have gone cheaper on there larger models which is good. They still post false information about there systems and products to this day which rubs some people the wrong way, myself included. For me, I'll pay the extra $300 for a company I can take at face value and has a solid reputation with years upon years of excellent customer service to back it up. But once again I'm not saying Waterbox produces a bad product and the only REAL issue I see with the design of the 190.5 is the manifold off the return. There design is missing a key piece in order to make the manifold work properly and that is a valve, ideally a gate valve, plumbed after the T to the manifold. This produces enough back pressure to send flow towards the manifold. It's a pretty important piece that should not have been over looked. Now in order to make there manifold work properly you have to go out and purchase and plumb another valve in. Not a huge deal but something you need to know in advance
I built my own manifold for a redsea 525xl. I dont have a valve on the main line after the Ts. I had the same debate when I made mine and decided not to add it. Like you said it can be added later if needed. I do have a DC pump that can be changed, but I run it wide open.
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I like the fact that the Waterbox has the marine spec UV coated paint on all sides of the cabinet instead of just the doors as is the case for Rea Sea. I was planning to buy the Red Sea 650 Peninsula, but I am seriously considering the Waterbox now in order to get the extra 9" length on the 72" model, plus the higher grade paint on all sides and the benefit of the dual return nozzles. Does anyone have experience with both tanks to give me feedback on the quality of the paint finish between the two?
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Coral Newbie
Active Member
While the miss leading comments are one thing that people have pointed out I think all companies bend the rules to their side at some point. I have been looking to upgrade my RedSea Max 170 and the only thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger on a RedSea reefer is the dame metric plumbing. I upgraded my max 170 to have a trigger sump with the RedSea piping I had to spend a extra $100 in plumbing parts just to go from metric to standard. At the time BRS wasn’t selling the metric to standard adaptors only coralvue was. Parts were like $5 but shipping was $25. Also the metric to standard that both BRS and coralvue are selling are deceiving, while the metric side is a slip the standard side is not. Example the 25mm metric side is a female that goes into the RedSea plumbing however the 3/4” is not a slip. It is 3/4” in size that means you need a additional male coupling to extend over the 3/4” side of the conversion pipe to a another pipe. Its a dam hassle. I would look at waterbox just for this alone.
However with both of these companies I would prefer a option that doesn’t have a sump that I don’t want. Just get me piping into the stand and let me take it from there. That gives me the flexibility to purchase the sump I want and pipe water ever extras I want.
However with both of these companies I would prefer a option that doesn’t have a sump that I don’t want. Just get me piping into the stand and let me take it from there. That gives me the flexibility to purchase the sump I want and pipe water ever extras I want.
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Amen brother. Preach it!
Raindog3030
Active Member
I have dealt with Waterbox personally, albeit for the nano series, not the big boys, but I can tell you that they worked diligently to fix the issue and were very nice to deal with!
If/when we consider going to a large system, I'll be going with Waterbox over Red Sea.
If/when we consider going to a large system, I'll be going with Waterbox over Red Sea.
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