Waterbox aquarium price increase.

Nelve · Mar 3, 2020

I have had the usual battle between purchasing a Red Sea Reefer 750 or Waterbox 220.6. I finally decided on the Waterbox a few weeks ago due to it being cheaper and a lot of good reviews I have read. To my surprise I noticed today that the pricing has changed. It was going for $3,444, but I can only find it for $3,898. I thought maybe I was going crazy and I remembered the price wrong, but I have also seen a few others post about the price increase in the last week. I am not sure if its worth spending $200 more when the Red Sea 750 is $3699. Thoughts on the price increase or if it is worth it to spend the extra $200 on the Waterbox anyway?

infinite0180 · Mar 3, 2020

Ya im closing on a house this month and have been eyeballing a waterbox as well. I saw the increase and now ive been exploring other options... ill still probably go for the waterbox in the end but i was not expecting the price jump! I currently have a red sea reefer, id prefer to go waterbox this time around. Honestly, i wasnt impressed with my red sea...

Nelve · Mar 3, 2020

infinite0180 said:
Ya im closing on a house this month and have been eyeballing a waterbox as well. I saw the increase and now ive been exploring other options... ill still probably go for the waterbox in the end but i was not expecting the price jump! I currently have a red sea reefer, id prefer to go waterbox this time around. Honestly, i wasnt impressed with my red sea...

That's where I am at as well. Recently closed/moved into my house and I am eager to get into a larger aquarium haha. I will probably go with the Waterbox as well still. I am ordering a tank on the 20th so it just sucks with the timing of the price increase. Which Red Sea tank do you currently have?

zapbap99 · Mar 3, 2020

both are great tanks but red seas are very nice.

Devaji · Mar 3, 2020

maybe its has something to do with the cornia virus? more inspection frear of not getting tanks in time etc. not sure?

look in to the pro clear tanks a ton cheaper. not a ton of reviews tho. pretty new to the market.

I had a RS750 beautiful tank then we bought a house and guess what...a perfect place for a peninsula so I sold it for the 650P
I do like the manifold on the WB tho. + there CS is top notice form what I have delt with.

infinite0180 · Mar 3, 2020

Nelve said:
That's where I am at as well. Recently closed/moved into my house and I am eager to get into a larger aquarium haha. I will probably go with the Waterbox as well still. I am ordering a tank on the 20th so it just sucks with the timing of the price increase. Which Red Sea tank do you currently have?

The past two years ive lived in an upper level apartment so i got the smallest reefer they make when i moved in. I was scared to go any bigger! Its the reefer nano. 18 inch cube with a little sump. Its a decent little tank but there are some upgrades on the waterbox which i think i would like. Recently ive been considering the Planet Aquariums Crystalline tanks as well. Saltwateraquarium.com has them listed. I hear good things about them...

Potatohead · Mar 3, 2020

Pretty soon I am going to be able to blame my dogs flatulence on coronavirus.

The actual price increase most likely has more to do with increased tariffs.

homer1475 · Mar 3, 2020

Potatohead said:
The actual price increase most likely has more to do with increased tariffs.

Or the fact they have recently become VERY popular. Supply and demand, plain and simple.

Devaji · Mar 3, 2020

Potatohead said:
Pretty soon I am going to be able to blame my dogs flatulence on coronavirus.

The actual price increase most likely has more to do with increased tariffs.

lol I guess that is what I was trying to say. in a not so good way.

jschultzbass · Mar 3, 2020

I have a waterbox reef pro 170.4/5 (stopped making this size) and like it a lot. You're right though the new price increases make them more expensive than the comparable RS. I would probably still go WB even if they were a couple hundred more. I like the 7" filter socks over 4". I like the glass overflows and the included manifold. I have 0 complaints.

jschultzbass · Mar 3, 2020

Were you thinking black or white? The white RS is $3800 and white WB is $3900.

Bryan68 · Mar 3, 2020

I currently own both, but drastically different in size. I love the glass overflow of the waterbox. The stand I believe is slightly better on the waterbox. The plumbing and sump are very nice on the waterbox also. All in all, I like the waterbox better than the red Sea. But you won't go wrong with either of them.

good.reef · Mar 3, 2020

Thankfully I ordered my Waterbox a few weeks ago so got it at the lower price. It's actually the right business move on their part. They can't keep up with current demand, as the lead time is generally 6-8 weeks right now. So if they increase the price they will be making more and still be at the current rate of production. If they start catching up with production they can always run more sales which will bring the price back down to what they were charging last week but still seem like a deal to new customers. As a consumer it stinks, but as a business owner it was the right move.

jimc40 · Mar 3, 2020

jschultzbass said:
I have a waterbox reef pro 170.4/5 (stopped making this size) and like it a lot. You're right though the new price increases make them more expensive than the comparable RS. I would probably still go WB even if they were a couple hundred more. I like the 7" filter socks over 4". I like the glass overflows and the included manifold. I have 0 complaints.

I agree I have a Waterbox 190 its a great easy to operate tank out of the crate. I would have no interest in 4 inch filter socks in tank this size. I use mesh on the first as a pre screen felt on second in line.

LDog74 · Mar 3, 2020

I am also in the same position. I have been looking at the Red Sea XXL 750 & XXL 900 vs the Waterbox 220.6. I narrowed it down to the XXL900 vs the Waterbox (I know the WB is smaller).
Now with the price increase of the WB i am really leaning towards the XXL900. Larger tank and the price difference for the package is really not a substantial difference IMO.

Anyone else have an input?

Thanks

jschultzbass · Mar 5, 2020

LDog74 said:
I am also in the same position. I have been looking at the Red Sea XXL 750 & XXL 900 vs the Waterbox 220.6. I narrowed it down to the XXL900 vs the Waterbox (I know the WB is smaller).
Now with the price increase of the WB i am really leaning towards the XXL900. Larger tank and the price difference for the package is really not a substantial difference IMO.

Anyone else have an input?

Thanks

IMO always go bigger! If you have the room and the budget they are close enough in quality that I'd get the RS 900 (even though I love my WB)