Waterbox 130.4 or Red Sea 525xl

[Peach02]

I’ve been thinking of upgrading my 33 gallon to a much larger tank and I’ve come down to the waterbox 130.4 or the Red Sea reefer 525
All I’ve got so far is the weir on the waterbox is glass instead of acrylic and is potentially $1000 aud cheaper

But nether have a large enough refugium imo and waterbox dosnt have one at all but a lot of people convert the ato to refugiums

What are your thoughts?

 

[T_BONE]

I know a few people that have nothing but good things to say about the Red Sea. The waterbox does have a little more volume tho. I think you couldn’t go wrong with either of them. When you decide be sure to do a build thread so we can all follow along.

 

[ScottW]

I have owned a RS 250, it was a great little tank. With that being said, do a search on the issues the larger RS's are having. There have been many fail over the last couple months on the bigger ones. I would go with the Waterbox if you can put up with the longer wait time to get one. That is just my .02.

 

[ScottB]

I am searching threads right now to gather real life feedback on WB. Here is what I just posted to one of those threads as a bump. As a more direct answer to your question though, I've had the 525 reefer for 2 years. It is great and you will not be dissapointed. That said, here is what I wrote:

"I am also looking to hear about folks experiences with WB, preferably independent of the company. I will say I spent an hour at MACNA crawling all over the 190.5 they had on display and it was pretty sweet. This coming from a Red Sea fan.

I was particularly impressed with:
- 4 side starfire glass
- glass overflow
- marine plywood (versus particle board)
- better quality plumbing & added manifold
- better hinges and better soft close mechanicals
- added load bearing panel on right (long) side
- I favord a few things about the sump too, but sumps are very personal

I do Red Sea builds for my LFS customers, but after seeing this thing up close I find it a compelling alternative. I look forward to reading a few more build threads with real life experiences to share. "

 

[Aneasytarget]

I have a 130.4
Marine Ply rather than particle board cabinet.
Dual return nozzles.
Glass overflow.
Pretty sure the sump is bigger once converted the ATO reservoir.
Can’t go wrong with either but I can say you won’t have any issues with customer service in Aus as their distributor Ravi is a gem. I had an issue with my tank and he personally delivered the replacement and made sure I was happy.

Running Reefled 90’s on mine and love them, don’t have anything against Redsea just a few small things that swayed me in tank selection.

Let me know if you want to know anything else regarding the 130.4

Yes I’m currently in the middle of an ongoing feud with my green hair algae.

 

[ScottB]

I have a 130.4
Marine Ply rather than particle board cabinet.
Dual return nozzles.
Glass overflow.
Pretty sure the sump is bigger once converted the ATO reservoir.
Can’t go wrong with either but I can say you won’t have any issues with customer service in Aus as their distributor Ravi is a gem. I had an issue with my tank and he personally delivered the replacement and made sure I was happy.

Running Reefled 90’s on mine and love them, don’t have anything against Redsea just a few small things that swayed me in tank selection.

Let me know if you want to know anything else regarding the 130.4

Yes I’m currently in the middle of an ongoing feud with my green hair algae.

Good to hear you are pleased. I forgot about the dual return nozzles; that is a good feature. I bought an aftermarket splitter for my RS525.

The 130 comes with leveling feet too, correct?

 

[AZMSGT]

The 130 comes with leveling feet too, correct?

yes.

And for the record, Red Sea has only had issues with the 750 tank. The 525 has been fine.

I voted waterbox however just to see something different get built I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[Bigwrasse]

I have the Waterbox 130 and it is a very nicely built tank. The only change I would like is a gate valve on the return pump side to allow back pressure for the manilfold

 

[Aneasytarget]

Good to hear you are pleased. I forgot about the dual return nozzles; that is a good feature. I bought an aftermarket splitter for my RS525.

The 130 comes with leveling feet too, correct?

Yes, the levelling feet did help.

 

[GoTakeANap]

Waterbox all day.

 

[NPD_289]

I chose Waterbox because I wanted as much water volume I could get in a 3ft long tank. Wish I could have gone to a 4ft tank but it would not fit where I needed the tank to be. The glass overflow, dual returns and plumbing design were all bonuses. I also prefer the Waterbox sump over the Red Sea's.

 

[ScottB]

yes.

And for the record, Red Sea has only had issues with the 750 tank. The 525 has been fine.

I voted waterbox however just to see something different get built I don't think you can go wrong with either.

We just set up a 750 last Monday, making sure the levelers under the middle section were in solid contact with a concrete floor. It has been holding water for a week now. We service it, so the they will be able to keep an eye on the front bottom seam.

 

[AZMSGT]

We just set up a 750 last Monday, making sure the levelers under the middle section were in solid contact with a concrete floor. It has been holding water for a week now. We service it, so the they will be able to keep an eye on the front bottom seam.

ok? So?... not sure why your comment was replied to me.

There have been many fail over the last couple months on the bigger ones.

my 750 comment was in reference to this persons comment... that the problems only pertain to the 750.

 

[Westside Guy]

My neighbor has a WB Peninsula 5526 and the hinges have gotten rusty after just a few months. Also the doors were extremely difficult to install and are still not perfectly aligned.

 

[Aneasytarget]

My neighbor has a WB Peninsula 5526 and the hinges have gotten rusty after just a few months. Also the doors were extremely difficult to install and are still not perfectly aligned.

My hinges are stainless steel.
Doors are a little tricky, small adjustments needed but you can align.

 

[lpsouth1978]

My experience with the hinges on both RS and Waterbox showed that they are virtually identical hinges. Both require some adjustment and is easily done using a screwdriver and a little help from YouTube. There are videos on properly adjusting the hinges.

 

[Westside Guy]

My hinges are stainless steel.
Doors are a little tricky, small adjustments needed but you can align.

Well I saw her WB hinges and they were rusty and WB has already sent her replacements without any argument.

In addition, her LFS (which also installed my Red Sea Reefer and my doors are perfectly aligned) has visited her home several times to adjust the WB doors and they still aren't correctly aligned which leads me to the conclusion that their manufacturing team in China is not doing the proper GC before shipping these Peninsula cabinets.

 

[TheHarold]

Looks like the poll results were relatively conclusive

 

[Aneasytarget]

No

Well I saw her WB hinges and they were rusty and WB has already sent her replacements without any argument.

In addition, her LFS (which also installed my Red Sea Reefer and my doors are perfectly aligned) has visited her home several times to adjust the WB doors and they still aren't correctly aligned which leads me to the conclusion that their manufacturing team in China is not doing the proper GC before shipping these Peninsula cabinets.

LFS May have stocked an older model, hinges were recently upgraded to SS (2018 I think). Maybe ask for the SS upgraded hinges. Contact Waterbox direct.
I will adjust the doors for you. One return ticket from Australia please

 

[Westside Guy]

No

LFS May have stocked an older model, hinges were recently upgraded to SS (2018 I think). Maybe ask for the SS upgraded hinges. Contact Waterbox direct.
I will adjust the doors for you. One return ticket from Australia please

It was a new build shipped from the distributer and delivered to her only a few months ago, I recall seeing a 2019 date on the box.