Why No Waterbox seam failures?

crabgrass · Nov 4, 2023

I was looking and Waterbox vs Red Sea tanks and the stock versions of both aren’t eurobraced and glass thickness is on the lower side. For example the WB 190 (60”, 190 gallon tank) has 3/5 inch glass compared to most others that size that are 3/4.

What was the fatal flaw with Sed Seas previous tanks that caused the failure. I am looking at WBs right now and curious if they are at risk for same problem.

jimfish98 · Nov 4, 2023

I think it boils down to Waterbox simply designed and built a better tank/stand from the start. Seam fails with Red Sea kicked in and they thought it was lack of support in the stand, fixed that, still had leaks. Tank wise it could be the seam material or the factory not doing a good job. You will also hear more about Red Sea as a lot of folks have noted getting their online comments deleted from their group page, lack of response from customer service, etc. The more upset people out there, the more you hear about it. Meanwhile most Waterbox owners can attest to the customer service at Waterbox if they needed something. Waterbox may have had a seam issue here and there, but based on what I have experienced and heard, they probably jumped right on it to make it right. Customers made whole tend not to make a lot of noise.

Long term I think Waterbox is a good choice. My 130.4 looks and runs great still after a few years and it ran well enough for me to pick up a 25g from them as well for a nano reef.

Kodock · Dec 4, 2023

The newer waterbox aquariums will have collapses in the coming years. They built a really faulty aluminum frame, it is uneven. They claim the leveling mat will compensate, because they don’t want to make things right. May take 5 years, but they’ll have made their money buy then. Like a car manufacturer not recalling airbags and dealing with the lawsuits later..

Cell · Dec 4, 2023

Kodock said:
The newer waterbox aquariums will have collapses in the coming years. They built a really faulty aluminum frame, it is uneven. They claim the leveling mat will compensate, because they don’t want to make things right. May take 5 years, but they’ll have made their money buy then. Like a car manufacturer not recalling airbags and dealing with the lawsuits later..

Got any stock tips for us to share?

exnisstech · Dec 4, 2023

Kodock said:
Like a car manufacturer not recalling airbags and dealing with the lawsuits later.

Actually the big airbag recalls are for Takata airbags. Not really the fault of the auto manufacturers, they just installed the airbags in the vehicles so they became the responsible party.
Its nothing like the old pinto cars with the exploding gas tanks. Those type of recalls are on the manufacturer and your right they did the math on that one and determined it was cheaper to pay the law suits than recall the cars. Too bad for them 60 minutes got ahold of an internal memo stating such.

AquaLogic · Dec 17, 2023

Kodock said:
The newer waterbox aquariums will have collapses in the coming years. They built a really faulty aluminum frame, it is uneven. They claim the leveling mat will compensate, because they don’t want to make things right. May take 5 years, but they’ll have made their money buy then. Like a car manufacturer not recalling airbags and dealing with the lawsuits later..

So is there any reliable manufacturer? I'm looking to return to the hobby and so far I see that RedSea is a no go, the stands from Waterbox and Innovative Marine are bad, and Innovative Marine has had leak problems and has customer service problems. I used to own an Elos... but they don't make a Nano size any longer. Are there any reliable brands left, or is it all a crap shoot?

gbroadbridge · Dec 17, 2023

Custom tank

AquaLogic · Dec 17, 2023

gbroadbridge said:
Custom tank

From who?

Raul-7 · Dec 17, 2023

pblogic said:
From who?

Aquarium Manufacturers

Aquarium Manufacturers Northwest Envision Acrylics- http://www.envisionacrylics.com/ Southwest Crystal Dynamic Aquarium- https://cdaquarium.com/ Advanced Acrylics- https://advancedacrylics.com/ SC Aquariums (SCA)- https://www.scaquariums.com/ Tenecor Aquariums-...

www.reef2reef.com

AquaLogic · Dec 17, 2023

Raul-7 said:
Aquarium Manufacturers

Aquarium Manufacturers Northwest Envision Acrylics- http://www.envisionacrylics.com/ Southwest Crystal Dynamic Aquarium- https://cdaquarium.com/ Advanced Acrylics- https://advancedacrylics.com/ SC Aquariums (SCA)- https://www.scaquariums.com/ Tenecor Aquariums-...

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks. I actually used Advanced Acrylics about 12 years or so ago when they were just starting up. Did a good job. I may just go back to them. It looks like no one is really making a reliable glass aquarium.

ErikVR · Dec 17, 2023

Any tank can fail. Sometimes due to improper placement. Sometimes due to lack of or incorrect maintenance. Sometimes due to manufacturing errors. Sometime due to improper handling/moving or simply due to age. I've been in the hobby for 17 years. The only tank that failed on me was one I bought used. Will never do that again because you never know how the first owner handled it.

In short, the risk is part of the hobby but it blows when it happens to you.

AquaLogic · Dec 17, 2023

ErikVR said:
Any tank can fail. Sometimes due to improper placement. Sometimes due to lack of or incorrect maintenance. Sometimes due to manufacturing errors. Sometime due to improper handling/moving or simply due to age. I've been in the hobby for 17 years. The only tank that failed on me was one I bought used. Will never do that again because you never know how the first owner handled it.

In short, the risk is part of the hobby but it blows when it happens to you.

That's fair, but it looks like some fail more than others. Redsea seems to be pretty unreliable. Regardless, I'll likely go back to Acrylic. Much lower chance of failure.

VintageReefer · Dec 17, 2023

I’ve had acrylic and they scratch very easily. Personally I wouldn’t buy acrylic again, I’d be paranoid everytime I clean the walls.

I have a Waterbox nano (peninsula 15) and I feel the build quality is excellent and I would recommend them

GlassMunky · Dec 17, 2023

Just stay away from the mass produced rimless tanks.
Get a normal tank that has braces or get a custom built tank from a reputable builder who knows what they are doing.

Cell · Dec 17, 2023

I believe only one current major tank manufacturer has developed a reputation for failed seams and that is Red Sea. All other brands may have isolated incidents, but nothing like the serial failures we have seen with G1 Red Sea builds.

ErikVR · Dec 17, 2023

Cell said:
I believe only one current major tank manufacturer has developed a reputation for failed seams and that is Red Sea. All other brands may have isolated incidents, but nothing like the serial failures we have seen with G1 Red Sea builds.

When I look at the amazing build quality of my Red Sea 625. I really doubt it will ever fail. Unless maybe you set it up completely wrong and scrape away at the seems. They seem bulletproof to me.

We’ll see in time but I seriously doubt I’ll be proven wrong.

AydenLincoln · Dec 17, 2023

Because Waterbox is better quality and has better quality control.

AquaLogic · Dec 17, 2023

GlassMunky said:
Just stay away from the mass produced rimless tanks.
Get a normal tank that has braces or get a custom built tank from a reputable builder who knows what they are doing.

Which builders do you recommend? Does Waterbox fall into the masses produced category? I can’t do normal braces, too ugly. I would go acrylic before normal braces.

DIYreefer · Dec 17, 2023

You mentioned you have had an elos in the past but can't get another one because they don't build small tanks anymore. That said, I believe the main issues with RedSea happens to be with their larger tanks. From what I've read, their smaller tanks seem to last.

Don't quote me on that, I'm definitely not an expert on the subject. This just seems to be what I recall from when I did a little research into a new tank for myself.

AquaLogic · Dec 18, 2023

DIYreefer said:
You mentioned you have had an elos in the past but can't get another one because they don't build small tanks anymore. That said, I believe the main issues with RedSea happens to be with their larger tanks. From what I've read, their smaller tanks seem to last.

Don't quote me on that, I'm definitely not an expert on the subject. This just seems to be what I recall from when I did a little research into a new tank for myself.

Thanks. I loved that Elos. I also once owned a 75g from advanced acrylic and I’m thinking about just having them build another smaller tank for me. Have to deal with it scratching more easily, but I honestly didn’t have big scratch problems in the past and the piece of mind knowing it won’t leak might be worth the trade off….