Redsea vs. Waterbox

[Chris Van Daele]

I’m in the market for upgrading my aquarium and I’ve decided on either Redsea or Waterbox. On the surface they both appear very similar.....if anything Waterbox appears like it might have a few advantages but I know Redsea is far more popular.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience on the differences between these Aquariums?

 

[PDR]

I own a Redsea and cannot recommend it highly enough. No experience with waterbox, but I have read multiple issues about them in reguards to availability, customer service and quality control.

 

[CaptainOver]

+1 on the Reefer. The Waterbox systems look nice (very much like a reefer), but haven't heard enough about them to get a sense of quality. I've had my 350 for a bit over a year and it has been going strong since day one. No issues. The ATO container that's included was a bit of a joke, so I just turned that into a small fuge and put a 13G ATO container in the right compartment and that keeps me going for ~2 weeks.

 

[Rukk]

I have the Waterbox 100.3. Its been up for six months. Have never had a Red Sea so I can't speak of them other than to say they have been around for a while and seem fine, there are a lot of people using them and seem satisfied. My opinion of the Waterbox is that the Cabinet and Tank, sump and hardware are all high quality.
I believe Waterbox is a little newer onto the scene and recently have made more sales than they anticipated and are running short on stock. My experience with Waterbox support I would have to say has been excellent.
I researched both the RS and the WB and picked the WB because I felt is was just a little more of what I wanted. I'm sure either one is fine, I would just pick the one that seems to best support the goals you have in mind.

 

[Rukk]

eek, dbl post

 

[Duffer]

Own a waterbox 130.4 and love it. I was also debating between redsea and made a great decision on the waterbox. Plenty of room in the sump and nice to be able to work in a cabinet that has room..I never had a problem with customer service always been there for me..th stank is awesome. My lfs has redsea so I examined them a lot,and waterbox has its advantages.

 

[Devaji]

i"ll chime in as I was in the same boat between WB ans the RS...
they seem like the same tank to be honest might even be made in the same facility who knows?

I was between the WB230 and RS750 both 200 gal systems if i remember right. I like the ATO and 4 door of the WB better than the 3 door of the RS, however the sump is bigger on the RS so it's a trade off there.

end the end I went with red sea as I could get it in a week where WB it would be a few months. might not be that with there smaller systems tho.

WB is very active on FB and will get back to you with your questions. RS CS is top notch too I called them and talk to them for a while asking questions and what not.

so IMHO you will be fine with either both are amazing tanks.
I believe they both only do sales around BF/CM so dont wait around hopping one...

good luck I went back n forth for days...lol

 

[Waynerock]

My LFS is a rep for both companies and have checked them both out. They are more similar than different to my eye. I have a reefer and almost went with a water box but there was a two month wait and Red Sea shipped out the same week. I would think Red Sea would have better support being bigger. You can’t go wrong either way though both are stunning set ups. Check stock though cause you might have to wait forever for a WB because they are a vastly smaller company and they are struggling to keep up with orders due to there popularity right now.

 

[ingchr1]

I can comment on Waterbox customer service, and what I have received has been excellent. There were a couple of minor issues with my tank caused by the delivery company, which I didn't realize until I accepted delivery and uncrated the tank. Waterbox more than took care of me for it.

Also, any questions I have had have been promptly responded to.

My tank is an AIO 40.2.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

No waterbox but my lfs scrapped all his Redsea and replaced w waterbox tanks everywhere. He claims Redsea has horrible customer service and far more expensive for basically the same product. He insists waterbox is far better in about every aspect. W all that said I have 3 Redsea tanks, from the RSR 170 to the 750xxl. I absolutely love all of them. Especially the 750. Flawless setup in my opinion. Flawless.

 

[Duffer]

FYI,


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

 

[ontop27]

I was just in the same boat. I was going to go waterbox but i swear they jacked up their prices. I also wanted a 48" tank and waterboxes was too wide (didnt want that much water volumn) lastly my lfs had 15 perfect off red sea

 

[Sandbox]

I was also in the same boat. I really loved the peninsula style tanks and WB had the larger system for less. I love the glass overflow box, how I can open doors on both sides of the cabinet and the plumbing is great with 2 manifolds included. WB customer service via social media is excellent, but I've had issues of them not returning phone calls. If I have a question I ask on the FB page. The response is almost automatic. I love my tank, it's a beauty!

 

[Mikedawg]

I own a Redsea and cannot recommend it highly enough. No experience with waterbox, but I have read multiple issues about them in reguards to availability, customer service and quality control.

Yep, + 1

 

[Nfd552]

Went with a waterbox 70.2. Had a few hiccups, nothing that wasn’t taken care of immediately by waterbox. Customer service is awesome. Never had a redsea. I’m still in the process of building my waterbox, and it’s currently cycling so i don’t have any pro or cons on the longevity of the equipment, but the starfire glass tank and sump are crystal clear

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/jon’s-waterbox-70-2-build.515118/

 

[michael giordano]

Love my water box, it is whisper quiet and the glass overflow box is excellent. The build is top notch and I was able to set it up in 2 hours. It is my main display tank running mostly acros and I love it. I have never had Red Sea, but my buddy has one and he loves it. Honestly you won’t go wrong with either choice, both companies seem to have cult followings. It’s like chosing the best sub shop in Philly, good luck trying to get everyone to agree on one place they all are pretty awesome.

 

[PDR]

No waterbox but my lfs scrapped all his Redsea and replaced w waterbox tanks everywhere. He claims Redsea has horrible customer service and far more expensive for basically the same product. He insists waterbox is far better in about every aspect. W all that said I have 3 Redsea tanks, from the RSR 170 to the 750xxl. I absolutely love all of them. Especially the 750. Flawless setup in my opinion. Flawless.

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).

FYI,

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

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".

 

[TX_Punisher]

Flip a coin.

 

[Tureefik]

Love my waterbox 100.3
Customer service excellent
Quality is top notch
Love the all glass overflow
Nice size sump
Never owned a red sea but I can imagine they have a good product as well

 

[Coral Newbie]

I have a redsea biggest con is plumbing, if you want to custimize to a different sump etc it’s a pain in the butt on the metric side converting it to standard

I have see a bunch of articles on here about waterbox silicon being to thin and causing leaks. On reefer had 3 different tanks sent to him

I just got a innovative marine int-100 and love it. In the process of the BRS/WWC 4 month cycle