Seeking 4 ft tank opinions

[chrisriker]

Trying to make a decision in the next couple of days on a 4ft tank with all of the sales going on. I have gone back and forth a few times... originally was going to go RedSea REEFER 350 G2, then read all the horror stories about busted seams on the older models and it kind of scared me away. I currently have 2 Waterbox Cubes (10 and 25 Peninsula) and I like them, the glass and silicone work is incredibly good. Now I'm between 3 tanks basically:

Innovative Marine INT100 w/ APS Stand & sump

• Price on these is pretty good, like that the APS stand is aluminum
• Not sure if it's just IM having bad pictures, but the black borders on all of the panels on these things look insanely ugly on the product page. Almost looks like the silicone work is just messy. Sounds vapid, but whatever. It's important to me.

Waterbox REEF 130.4

• Not a huge fan of the cabinets not being aluminum, but honestly I am not sure if it even really matters or if I'm just being ridiculous

Waterbox Infinia 165

• Love the stand upgrade both in design and materials. Feels worth it to me and the sump looks a bit nicer than the REEF.

CADE REEF 1200 S2

• Same price as the Infinia 165 right now... I know people are head over heels for these things but having never seen one in person I just don't know

Would love to hear yalls thoughts/experiences with any of these tanks. I think either way I'm going to be happy with what I get because it'll expand reefing for me, but opinions always help.

Thanks!

 

[davidcalgary29]

Trying to make a decision in the next couple of days on a 4ft tank with all of the sales going on. I have gone back and forth a few times... originally was going to go RedSea REEFER 350 G2, then read all the horror stories about busted seams on the older models and it kind of scared me away. I currently have 2 Waterbox Cubes (10 and 25 Peninsula) and I like them, the glass and silicone work is incredibly good. Now I'm between 3 tanks basically:

Innovative Marine INT100 w/ APS Stand & sump

• Price on these is pretty good, like that the APS stand is aluminum
• Not sure if it's just IM having bad pictures, but the black borders on all of the panels on these things look insanely ugly on the product page. Almost looks like the silicone work is just messy. Sounds vapid, but whatever. It's important to me.

Waterbox REEF 130.4

• Not a huge fan of the cabinets not being aluminum, but honestly I am not sure if it even really matters or if I'm just being ridiculous

Waterbox Infinia 165

• Love the stand upgrade both in design and materials. Feels worth it to me and the sump looks a bit nicer than the REEF.

CADE REEF 1200 S2

• Same price as the Infinia 165 right now... I know people are head over heels for these things but having never seen one in person I just don't know

Would love to hear yalls thoughts/experiences with any of these tanks. I think either way I'm going to be happy with what I get because it'll expand reefing for me, but opinions always help.

Thanks!

I haven't had any problems with my G1 Reefer 350.

I only suggest that you take a look at the used market before spending 2-3K on a new system. You can often get a really decent build for a third of the retail cost (new).

 

[chrisriker]

I haven't had any problems with my G1 Reefer 350.

I only suggest that you take a look at the used market before spending 2-3K on a new system. You can often get a really decent build for a third of the retail cost (new).

I did look into that a bit, my area seems to not be a super popular region for reef keeping, so not a lot available. Any ideas of where else I can look besides R2R and FB Marketplace?

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I did look into that a bit, my area seems to not be a super popular region for reef keeping, so not a lot available. Any ideas of where else I can look besides R2R and FB Marketplace?

If you have a local reef club you can check there, or you could ask your LFS to notify you of trade ins/teardowns in your size range. Local club is the best bet IMO.

 

[mtraylor]

I have a waterbox frag tank and really like it. I also bought an additional waterbox cabinet for storage. The 18" one. It's not built out of same material as my frag tank for some reason. It has a plastic like coating on mdf, instead of the water resistant coating on plywood like the frag tank.

That being said. This setup is nice on the frag tank. I like it.

But for your aquarium choices. It's hands down innovative marine. Just for the aluminum stand it's worth it. Never a worry of spilled water or rust or wood absorbing water.

I really like there setups. I personally would go with 100EXT to get clean inside for no flow obstruction inside and better rock work layout. It's the best way to avoid dead spots around an overflow.

Good luck in your decision

 

[chrisriker]

I spoke to WB directly and they gave me some differences between the cabinets on the Reef and Marine lines: "The REEF has a UV coated cabinet vs. the Marine X that uses a laminated plywood cabinet.", so your experience tracks.

Totally agree on the aluminum stand - that's primarily why I landed on the Infinia from Waterbox as opposed to the Reef or Marine. I have been watching videos on the IM tanks lately; the 150 Lagoon is an awesome looking profile and the 100 is a gorgeous looking tank despite what the product page seems to indicate. Borders appear to have been removed at some point in the last couple of years. One worry I do have is that the APS stands evidently don't have leveling feet as far as I've been able to find. Haven't checked how level the floor is yet but my guess is it's probably not perfect considering the quality of the rest of the basement finishing... Shimming is an option but no idea how structurally sound that is on tanks of these sizes.

 

[RedoubtReef]

If you got that kind of money, I'd go with the one that is widest from front to back. It will make aquascaping much easier. Personally, at those prices, I'd have a custom acrylic built and build my own stand. But that's just me. They all look pretty sharp.

 

[mtraylor]

Oh. I didn't know waterbox had aluminum stand. Just looked it up. It's nice. So as long as you go with aluminum stand that is way to go. Which ever you like asthetics and such is your best bet. I do agree with more front to back if you have space. It makes better scape.

 

[chrisriker]

I think the Infinia's got the most front to back space on this list, but I've also added the IM 150 Lagoon to the pool as well. That thing's footprint looks insanely awesome.

 

[chrisriker]

I pulled the trigger on the Infinia 165 last night. I saw a couple of REEF 100.3s in person at my LFS they were nice and deep but the extra depth on the Infinia enticed me, plus the stand is an awesome piece of kit. Should ship to me in 6-8 weeks!

 

[Knyx]

I pulled the trigger on the Infinia 165 last night. I saw a couple of REEF 100.3s in person at my LFS they were nice and deep but the extra depth on the Infinia enticed me, plus the stand is an awesome piece of kit. Should ship to me in 6-8 weeks!

How’s the new infinity tank. Get any pictures and such?

 

[Knyx]

I pulled the trigger on the Infinia 165 last night. I saw a couple of REEF 100.3s in person at my LFS they were nice and deep but the extra depth on the Infinia enticed me, plus the stand is an awesome piece of kit. Should ship to me in 6-8 weeks!

How’s the new infinity tank. Get any pictures and such?

 

[chrisriker]

How’s the new infinity tank. Get any pictures and such?

WB opened all of their tanks up for back order during their blue November sale so I’m still waiting on the tank. I reached out to them today and the tank is currently slated to ship mid February. Once it gets here I’ll add pics to my build thread.