Whats newer about the Red Sea xl 425

JJSins

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I Noticed that the 425 XL, and the 525 XL are fairly newer and seemed to have bettered there quality with them. My main concern with Red Sea from hearing from others is that you have to use Red Sea only products but then I heard that they changed that with these newer tanks. Also that aftermarket sumps are hard to fit with the Red Sea's plumbing. If anyone knows about the newer tanks please let me know.

After back and forth with tanks my final options are:
Waterbox 130.4
Red Sea Reefer 425 Xl

Still trying to find what the best option is between these 2 tanks. Mostly looking for compatibility and overall long term tanks.
 

Reef man 89

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The Red Sea sumps will only take Red Sea filter socks. The standard 4in filter socks won’t work unless you modify the the 4in sock it self. The plumbing is metric so it’s a pain to modify it to standard pvc.
 

blaxsun

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I think the 425XL and 525XL have some minor improvements in the sump (v3). The metric plumbing that comes standard with the Red Sea kits is fine unless you plan to re-plumb for a manifold, etc.

The proprietary sock filters are fine. It’s not a huge issue as you can find them anywhere.

I have not heard good things about Waterbox of late, but I’ve also never owned one (so take that for what it’s worth). I do have a Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL and am very happy with it.
 

ss30

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The Red Sea sumps will only take Red Sea filter socks. The standard 4in filter socks won’t work unless you modify the the 4in sock it self. The plumbing is metric so it’s a pain to modify it to standard pvc.
bought standard 4" socks from ebay and they fit my 2 year old 425xl with a V3 sump.
 
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JJSins

JJSins

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I think the 425XL and 525XL have some minor improvements in the sump (v3). The metric plumbing that comes standard with the Red Sea kits is fine unless you plan to re-plumb for a manifold, etc.

The proprietary sock filters are fine. It’s not a huge issue as you can find them anywhere.

I have not heard good things about Waterbox of late, but I’ve also never owned one (so take that for what it’s worth). I do have a Red Sea Reefer 750 XXL and am very happy with it.
as for a aftermarket sump, is it possible to add one ?
 
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JJSins

JJSins

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yeah you just need it made to fit the space and designed to use existing plumbing or redo the plumbing.
other than being a fan to red sea, do you think with waterbox, it is easier to do aftermarket stuff or are they honestly both the same from what you heard ?
 

ss30

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I wouldn't say I was a Redsea fan it's just what I own, I know nothing about the Waterbox aquariums so can't say. When I bought the 425xl I dont think we could get Waterbox aquariums in the UK. I just looked at what was available and bought a 425xl.
 

PeterC99

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Don’t understand why you would want to buy a Red Sea and change out the sump? You are paying for the RSR sump when you are buying the setup.

If you want a different sump, then get a different system or build your own.
 

dank reefer

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There’s a recent R2R thread on some Waterbox issues (flaws) on a customer’s tank, and Waterbox initially hung him out to dry and wasn’t going to fix it.
I found the thread that you mentioned and that does suck. But I will say that out of 1 unhappy WB customer, there are 50 unhappy RS customers.
 
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JJSins

JJSins

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Don’t understand why you would want to buy a Red Sea and change out the sump? You are paying for the RSR sump when you are buying the setup.

If you want a different sump, then get a different system or build your own.
yeah i was gonna keep it for a long time just if something does go wrong i want to know the availability on switching things out.
 

blaxsun

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I found the thread that you mentioned and that does suck. But I will say that out of 1 unhappy WB customer, there are 50 unhappy RS customers.
Oh, I wouldn’t say that’s the case... Red Sea has really stepped up their game and made a lot of minor improvements to all their tanks, sumps and stands. I’ve also read (from just about everyone) that the Waterbox stands are basically IKEA quality.

I had a ReefWave 45 fail over the past week and they’re FedEx’ing me out a replacement. Manufacturing mistakes happen. But you can tell a lot about a company when they stand behind their products.

If you really want a Waterbox tank then you should get one. There are many happy Waterbox customers out there, just are there are many happy Red Sea customers out there as well.
 

rockdiver

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Waterbox plumbing is also metric and the 4 inch socks also need to be modified slightly
I have the 110.5
I was not happy with the customer service with waterbox, didn't have issues once I got the tank but pushing them for a delivery date or even month was not easy just a quick " you will receive an email when it ships" response. Love the tank the stand is just a presswood stand nothing special but I never had a redsea so I can't compare them.
Did you look at the place out of Texas I forget the name ? I have been looking at their tanks for my next one.
 
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blaxsun

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Love the tank the stand is just a presswood stand nothing special but I never had a redsea so I can't compare them.
That's my take on them as well, but I've only owned Red Sea. The Red Sea stands are marine laminated plywood and built like a tank.
 

Reef man 89

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I found the thread that you mentioned and that does suck. But I will say that out of 1 unhappy WB customer, there are 50 unhappy RS customers.
Well when a company has way more tanks out there then the other then of course you will hear more problems. Thats like saying one company sell 50,000 tanks and the other only sells 10,000 ( hypothetical numbers) of course you going to see more problems from the company that’s 40,000 more units then the other.
 

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