Waterbox vs Red Sea 48” build

[Letterkenny]

I am saving up and working on getting wife permission on getting a new tank. The space I have can really fit a max 48” tank so I have mainly been looking at the Red Sea Reefer 450 XL and Waterbox 130.4. I know they aren’t quite comparable as the Waterbox has ~ 15 gallons more of volume but I’m mainly concerned with length as I would like to have a couple smaller tangs in the tank. That said, I have priced two builds below with the Waterbox being ~$700 more expensive. Granted they are using some different parts but I would think one benefit of going Red Sea is using their own products and getting the related discount.

TLDR, which of the builds would you do an why (or why should I change parts on one or the other to make them more comparable)?


Red Sea - lights, skimmer Powerheads
Reefer 425 112g 47” = 3,996- 5,583
2x reefled 90
2x reefwave 45
1x reefer skimmer 600


Waterbox - $4,723 - 6,310
130 bundle - $3,490
Mp40 - $367*2 = $734
Quantum nyos 160 skimmer = $499

Universal extras -$1,587
300w Heater - $140
Vectra M2 - $349
Apex - $499
Neptune - $599

 

[lpsouth1978]

I LOVE my Waterbox and am very glad I got it instead of the Red Sea (in relation to the recent issues with the 750 XXL). I'm not sure what your space will allow, but the IM 150INT has an amazing foot print of 48"x36". The 36" depth would allow some incredible aquascaping options.

The tank and stand combo is $2500 and then you can do whatever you like for the other equipment. I prefer this over packages since you can build it however you like instead of how someone else thought it should be. One other advantage is that it already comes set up for a bean animal overflow, whereas both the Waterbox and Red Sea are only Herbies

 

[mtraylor]

I have a red sea frag tank and i really like it. I dont think you could go wrong with either build. If you do the redsea i would change the lights out to something else besides redsea.

 

[Tamberav]

Waterbox... Too many complaints about red sea lately.

 

[Reefer Optima]

Idk about the quality of Red Sea's tank systems but I agree with Mtraylor about skipping the Red Sea lights. I have had nothing but issues with my Red Sea reefled light. It's near impossible to connect to it by wifi to make any adjustments without having to delete the light & start all over, doing a hard reset or worst disassembling the light & taking the battery out. Sometimes the light will go rogue & stay on or not come on. I've also had issues with the light mount bubbling & corroding & they replaced it but it's less than 6 months. I've talked to their customer service & they basically blamed my wifi for all the connectivity problems.

I have Comcast high speed internet & my wifi router/modem is literally 6 feet from my light. I'm in the process of going to a bigger tank & have got 2 AI Primes instead of the reefled 50 & they sync to my wifi & each other & work everytime I open the app so I'm inclined to believe the issue is with the red sea lights. I personally would not buy the red Sea wave makers because I'd be worried about their connectivity. The App is rated 2.1 stars in Play store for Android so they should tell you something.

 

[Letterkenny]

I’m getting pretty close to pulling the trigger in the tank. I wish they had the 425 XL in stock when the stores were doing 10% off sale. That said, my LFS has the Waterbox and Red Sea at the same price (hopefully that holds true) so any further input of the Waterbox 130 vs Red Sea 425 XL would be appreciated!

Regardless of the tank, I believe I will go with the XR15 Blues, Nyos 160 or RO Regal 150SSS, COR 20 pump, and 2x MP40s.

 

[Plecosam]

Personally I think either would be fine, its apples vs oranges, I went Redsea because I prefer the sump layout.

 

[Letterkenny]

Personally I think either would be fine, its apples vs oranges, I went Redsea because I prefer the sump layout.

That’s been my take as well. Currently waiting to see what the best deal I can get and the wait time. In the interim, I was able to snag a trident and bought a Tunze algae reactor that was on sale so starting to collect parts for the build.