Waterbox 40.2 or IM fusion 40

[Daniel87]

The wife has gotten bitten by the bug. She is already wanting a bigger tank. Something that is a little easier to work on. She doesn't like our current set up with all the HOB equipment. She didnt realize it at the time we got our aquarium that there are better aquariums for saltwater vs making a fresh water aquarium work.

So she's been researching and researching different aquariums. We do have a limited space in which we can place it and she definitely does not want us to have a sump and I'm not sure why. But happy wife happy life.

So the 2 she's narrowed it down to are the Waterbox 40.2 and the Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 40. So I thought I would ask here for which one you all would reccomend. The waterbox is about a $150 more than the IM.

Thanks guys.

 

[PDR]

I really liked my innovative marine tanks. That being said, I like my Red Sea Reefer much more. Having a sump makes maintenance MUCH easier and with a tank like the RSR or Waterbox (the ones with a sump), they come with everything but the return pump and are super easy to set up.

 

[Daniel87]

I really liked my innovative marine tanks. That being said, I like my Red Sea Reefer much more. Having a sump makes maintenance MUCH easier and with a tank like the RSR or Waterbox (the ones with a sump), they come with everything but the return pump and are super easy to set up.

Only thing I'm not liking about the red seas is how limited the cabinet inside size is. If I wanted to add a 5 gal ato reservoir inside it looks like itd be extremely difficult.

What the wife has told me she really wants is the ability to have an ato reservoir with ro/di in the cabinet for top offs appx 5 gallons and then a 5 gallon saltwater container for doing auto water changes. I just dont see all that getting inside of the red seas cabinet with sump. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[Daniel87]

Oh yea I know I can build shelves to hold the dosing containers and pumps and controllers so I'm not worried about that. Just trying to find something that makes her happy but gives me the best bang for the buck

 

[PDR]

Only thing I'm not liking about the red seas is how limited the cabinet inside size is. If I wanted to add a 5 gal ato reservoir inside it looks like itd be extremely difficult.

What the wife has told me she really wants is the ability to have an ato reservoir with ro/di in the cabinet for top offs appx 5 gallons and then a 5 gallon saltwater container for doing auto water changes. I just dont see all that getting inside of the red seas cabinet with sump. Maybe I'm wrong?

Well, they have an ATO reservoir built in, albeit not 5 gallons. Usually lasts 2-3 days without needing to be refilled. IMO I prefer a smaller ato container just in case something were to fail, it wouldn't kill my tank.

Auto water changes can be beneficial, but with such a small container you would have to be mixing new saltwater every week or so. At that point, you might as well save the money you would have spent on a AWC system and just do a normal weekly water change.

 

[ingchr1]

I just went through comparing several tanks, including these two. Here are the differences that I see outside of the cost:

• By dimensions the Waterbox volume is a little larger, Waterbox 43 gallons, IM 40 gallons
• The back chambers on the IM (besides the middle one) do not go completely to the bottom of the tank. This could be an issue for equipment selection and a place for unwanted build up (could be hard to get to). The IM manual shows this to see what I'm talking about. The chambers on the Waterbox go to the bottom.
• The back wall on the Waterbox is not completely dark, you can see into the rear chambers. I don't know about the IM.
  
• IM has dual return nozzels, Waterbox has one. If you want to run dual pumps it would be easier to do on the IM.
• IM comes with a mesh lid, Waterbox does not.

I ended up going with the Waterbox during their Blue Monday sale. The drivers for me were the dimensions (a little more water volume) and the difference in the back chambers between the two tanks (I like the Waterbox design better).

With my build I realized the rear chamber wall not being completely dark and the single return made my conversion to dual pumps a bit of work. I used white PVC to go to dual pumps, but I don't like how visible it is through the rear wall. I have black loc-line on order, which will make it a lot less noticeable. Hopefully the rear wall will cover in coralline so you can't see through it at all. My sig has a link to build thread.

Even with that I'm still really happy with the tank, quality and the customer service I've received. There was an issue with the tank caused by the delivery company and Waterbox more than took care of me. They've also been good with response to questions I have had.

During my research I had a question for IM (don't remember what it was) and they got back to me quickly as well.

The other tanks I considered were:

IM Fusion Lagoon 50: a little too big for the space I had, would have taken up the whole space. If I had a little more room I probably would have went with this tank. All though, I don't know why there is such a large price jump in tank and stand from the 40.

Red Sea E-170: the rear chambers didn't seam like they allow for much if any changes. I enjoyed selecting out my equipment. The power center seamed like a nice included item.

JBJ Flat Panel 45: the gloss black stand kept me from getting this tank, wife did not like the stand either. I looked for other options for a stand including custom, but could not find any (within price reason). I liked the dimensions on this for my space.

C-Vue 45: was also on the list, but not really in contention. No specific reasons.

 

[Daniel87]

I just went through comparing several tanks, including these two. Here are the differences that I see outside of the cost:

• By dimensions the Waterbox volume is a little larger, Waterbox 43 gallons, IM 40 gallons
• The back chambers on the IM (besides the middle one) do not go completely to the bottom of the tank. This could be an issue for equipment selection and a place for unwanted build up (could be hard to get to). The IM manual shows this to see what I'm talking about. The chambers on the Waterbox go to the bottom.
• The back wall on the Waterbox is not completely dark, you can see into the rear chambers. I don't know about the IM.
  
• IM has dual return nozzels, Waterbox has one. If you want to run dual pumps it would be easier to do on the IM.
• IM comes with a mesh lid, Waterbox does not.

I ended up going with the Waterbox during their Blue Monday sale. The drivers for me were the dimensions (a little more water volume) and the difference in the back chambers between the two tanks (I like the Waterbox design better).

With my build I realized the rear chamber wall not being completely dark and the single return made my conversion to dual pumps a bit of work. I used white PVC to go to dual pumps, but I don't like how visible it is through the rear wall. I have black loc-line on order, which will make it a lot less noticeable. Hopefully the rear wall will cover in coralline so you can't see through it at all. My sig has a link to build thread.

Even with that I'm still really happy with the tank, quality and the customer service I've received. There was an issue with the tank caused by the delivery company and Waterbox more than took care of me. They've also been good with response to questions I have had.

During my research I had a question for IM (don't remember what it was) and they got back to me quickly as well.

The other tanks I considered were:

IM Fusion Lagoon 50: a little too big for the space I had, would have taken up the whole space. If I had a little more room I probably would have went with this tank. All though, I don't know why there is such a large price jump in tank and stand from the 40.

Red Sea E-170: the rear chambers didn't seam like they allow for much if any changes. I enjoyed selecting out my equipment. The power center seamed like a nice included item.

JBJ Flat Panel 45: the gloss black stand kept me from getting this tank, wife did not like the stand either. I looked for other options for a stand including custom, but could not find any (within price reason). I liked the dimensions on this for my space.

C-Vue 45: was also on the list, but not really in contention. No specific reasons.

Thank you. I've think what all you have said had made my mind up. Also do you have picture of the stand and inside the stand.

 

[ingchr1]

Thank you. I've think what all you have said had made my mind up. Also do you have picture of the stand and inside the stand.

Here's some photos of the stand. I made the braces for the GHL Flex Mount. Disregard the bit of a mess inside. I had a couple of slide out drawers made that I'm waiting on, they should be here tomorrow.