Waterbox vs Red Sea

[@eegernades]

Honestly, despite the positives red sea has, it all goes to waterbox as being better. The reason? Unlike red sea, waterbox doesnt use proprietary parts where your forced to buy only redsea stuff. Waterbox allows more flexibility which is always better.

[@Hakanozdemiruk]

Allowing proprietary parts and using quality parts are two different things. Waterbox are no way near as quality as dd or redsea tanks. Everyone knows the two companies that spend the most R&D are ecotech and redsea. Even the way the glass is cut and put together by waterbox is not the same

[@eegernades]

@@Hakanozdemiruk I'd argue against those points. Water box quality is top notch from what I've seen. Used to work at a fish shop and we carried red sea and waterbox. And from working with both systems from different sizes too, waterbox wins I quality every time.

[@joelsalazar5066]

Thank you I just bought a waterbox I was second guessing if I should have bought the Red Sea this helps reassure me.

[@TreasureCorals]

Great, both are good products. I do like the glass overflow better on Waterbox.

[@johnsteitz6310]

He is comparing an old Red Sea to a new Waterbox. I just setup a new Red Sea 425xl and do not agree with his assessment here. The only thing the waterbox has on Red Sea is dual returns. Leveling was no problem, and Everything else is top notch and better with respect to the sump, removable skimmer plates, and near silent overall operation. They are both wonderful though and I think people will be happy with their choice either way.

[@TreasureCorals]

Yes, Red Sea has stepped up their game since the last time I've used them, especially on their XL line. Good luck with your setup, you can't go wrong with either.

[@delsere7095]

+1 I have a Red Sea Reefer 250 and the overflow box is glass.

[@TreasureCorals]

@@delsere7095 I'm glad they've changed it, glass is a lot more practical

[@Guacamole44479]

Red Sea still needs to put a high quality ball valve in there. That they don't is beyond me.

[@ronniekregar3482]

Waterbox has a better stand, better plumbing, and it's crazy how red sea still use a plastic overflow. That glass back is top notch

[@-Wreckanize-]

Love the glass overflow on the waterbox over the red sea systems plastic overflow. This allows you to use a glass scraper on it, which would otherwise scratch the red sea.

[@TreasureCorals]

You are right, makes all the difference

[@8TamaZ]

Thank you for making this review/comparison. This is super helpful and gives me more food for thought before making my purchase (leaning back towards Waterbox now)

[@Jel0XD]

So basically waterbox.

[@lauraholmes9353]

Great review but i wanted more!! Would've stayed for at least a 30 minute review! Show us the tank, the sump, the livestock (just cuz). But thanks! I'm in Canada so I hope I can get the waterbox. Seems like a smaller company which puts more care into the quality versus mass production.

[@ReefingwithO]

I agree with everything except the quality of the stand. I can tell that the red sea stand is better - I found the Red Sea heavier, when you drill into it you see the difference when viewing a cross-section. The red sea has rounded corners and edges on the stand while the Waterbox does not. Leveling, sump options and plumbing go to the Waterbox though. Keep up the good work Dmitry - I hope this tank looks like the first one in no time.

[@TreasureCorals]

Interesting, I will take another look at a Red Sea when I'm at a local store. I think the Red Sea felt more IKEA like to me, especially the way it was held together.

[@Josemm-gn5jf]

Its heavier because the RedSea is MDF board. Compressed fiber material and is susceptible to expand when moisture penetrates the paint finish. The brand new 300xl is composed of cabinet grade plywood and has adjustable feet.

[@nemofish9685]

Thanks for this comment, great info here!

[@jimmy2cliff336]

If anyone living in Toronto has recently purchase a waterbox please let me know the best way to purchase one I'm looking to get the reef lx 270.6 I like the control center that's now available

[@roni3425]

Thanks for your honest review Dmitry, nice reef setup !

[@TreasureCorals]

Thank you Roni, check out some of my later videos - I've been working hard on improving while sharing my experience with others.

[@user-bv4im3vr8m]

The waterbox I used was better than the Red Sea

[@gofuckyourself7178]

Are there any preformance drawbacks to to having the overflow turned down to silent? I'm very concerned with the noise level due to where I'm going to place the tank.

[@michaelsimi2397]

No problems I am aware of. I use the Bean Animal style drain and it is great. There is a wide open emergency overflow if ever needed.

[@itme2451]

Which one got better glass clarity?

[@TreasureCorals]

Very hard to say since nowadays there are new models. I love the clarity on all of my water boxes

[@Langenbergh]

It's more a Waterbox review than comparing...

[@novastar5403]

this is basically get waterbox and leave red sea

[@max1188]

Great video!!! And very helpfull👍🏻 But why isin’t there any video on youtube or somwhere else on the waterbox all in one 65.4 ?

[@JimRichardHartmann]

I bought waterbox, but uses red sea lighting and circulatiin ans stuff, Octo skimmer though.. Best of old and new world..

[@yourfavoritegarcon]

Recently discovered your channel and Love the content. I'd love to hear your opinion on shallow (16" height) vs standard tanks (22-24" height). I'm a new reefer and these are two style of tanks I am seeing and debating which to choose is hard. Hoping an experienced hobbyist such as yourself can advise.

[@TreasureCorals]

Welcome to the hobby. Both aquariums are great, but for someone who is new to the hobby I'd go with the "standard" height as it would make flow and aqua scaping easier. Shallow tanks have their place and some look phenomenal, but I would not start with them. Also - depends on the width/size of the tank, if the tank is only 24'' wide, 16'' is good height for it, but for a 48'' tank 16'' would make it shallow. Hope that helps.

[@yourfavoritegarcon]

@@TreasureCorals hey thank u for taking the time to respond. I went ahead and ordered my first reef tank. Went with your advice and got the standard height. Dimensions are 48" x 25" x 21.7". This should be my forever tank...went biggest I could from the start so no urge to upgrade.

[@jimmy2cliff336]

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE WATERBOX AQUARIUMS IN TORONTO

[@TreasureCorals]

You can write to the head office of Waterbox - I believe they now have a distributor in Canada, so things are a lot better now than where they were a 2 years ago when it comes to getting their tank.

[@delsere7095]

I appreciate the objective review. I have two Red Sea systems and I've heard great things about Waterbox but the debate of quality comparison hasn't been healthy or useful.

[@TreasureCorals]

Very true, plus both companies keep releasing newer models, this is a good time for us reefer as competition drives innovation forward.

[@raymondperrelli2539]

which aquarium is the quietest

[@TreasureCorals]

I think they are both very quiet - it is a durso overflow, so you can make it virtually silent with some tweaking.

[@mybeachshack]

THANK YOU, SIR ! Very enlightening. 😁✔️

[@TreasureCorals]

You are very welcome

[@lucasszymanski114]

Thanks for the information! I'm looking at the Red Sea Reefer 170 or the Waterbox Marine X 60 and am wondering if the Starfire glass on the WB scratches easily compared to the RS? Cheers!

[@TreasureCorals]

I have had scratches on both and I have no idea how I got those.

[@lucasszymanski114]

@@TreasureCorals Thank you for the quick reply and input! Do you use a razor or plastic card? Both look like great tanks, and considering WB has their sale right now, it might be time to dive into one. Keep up the great work! Cheers from Vancouver.

[@_jeevesee_]

Which is cheaper

[@ALECXANDER.]

I would say waterbox I’ve seen some really affordable tanks

[@DMusique]

Do all water box models come with a sump as well? I feel like I saw some that don’t. I am really hoping to upgrade from my nano tank. Thanks !

[@TreasureCorals]

They do, yes.

[@Backs4more]

Depends on the model. They do AIO tanks too and the Peninsula range (Section at the back of the aquarium for filtration). waterboxaquariums.co.uk/products/aio

[@00ninja00]

I don’t know about waterbox because I’ve never seen one in person. But I’ve owned redsea and I’ve owned custom tanks made by visio, leemar, a local guy, AGE, cadlights and seen a reef savvy in person. I’ve also owned multiple Elos tanks (5). All the custom tanks were starphire brand glass. The redsea used their own low iron glass (or whoever makes it for them.) And Elos uses their own glass as well. And I can definitely say that “low iron” glass comes in very different quality (clarity). Of all the glass, Elos has the most clear glass (only newest models), and I’m comparing 1/2”-3/4” glass only, as those were only the thickness I’ve owned or seen/compared. Then next is the branded “starphire” low iron glass. And lastly it’s the claimed “low iron” clear glass. The older or first production Red Sea glass is definitely not as clear as the branded starphire. The current and newest Red Sea glass is equivalent to starphire brand glass. Overall, the newest Elos has the clearest glass, it has no hint of green at all, and almost no blue either. Starphire is quite blue, no green. And older Red Sea and the lower end stuff like Cadlights has a hint of green when looking down the long way. In all honesty, I think a normal person would be happy with any of the current model tanks, wether it’s Red Sea, waterbox/custom starphire glass tanks, or Elos. And I believe that no one would notice a difference between the clarity of these three companies if they didn’t have them side by side to compare. Red Sea and starphire glass would be hard to tell even if side by side. Elos, If side by side with starphire, I believe a person can tell if looking down the long way, but not if just looking at the glass straight on. Lastly, imo, the extra cost of Elos isn’t worth the extra clarity. Unless you just like the brand Elos, or like the dimensions, you’d be happy and perfectly fine with Red Sea or waterbox. I like Elos because of the width of the xl models, but at almost double the cost of the redsea or waterbox, I opted for redsea or one of the other custom tank makers for some of my builds. I’ve been happy with my Red Sea tanks thus far.

[@ultiblue9]

I’m in Canada also..southern Ontario, how did you go about getting one shipped? Did you have to find your own broker?

[@TreasureCorals]

Yeah, it was a problem. I worked with them directly, but that might've been a one off for them.

[@TreasureCorals]

I am now ready to ship across Canada.

[@socitysav09]

I did check out Red Sea tanks at a few different LFS in my area of Northern California. After some research and luck I decided to go with a WaterBox 100.3 and I’m glad I did. The stand is really nice and the Tank is great along with the sump super clear glass. It came boxed really nicely and setup was not so bad. Make sure you have a strong friend or 2 to help get it in the house or garage “ it weighs a ton “. Shipping companies drop it at the sidewalk and you are on your own after that. But we are very happy with it.

[@TreasureCorals]

I'm glad it had worked out for you, getting the tank in can be nerve wrecking.

[@michaelsimi2397]

Where in Norcal has these on display? Seems like all I see are PetCo type stuff here in Santa Rosa.

[@alexisramos9064]

The plumbing on my waterbox 60.2 is metric are you sure on that statement?

[@TreasureCorals]

Strange, when I was doing my research a few years ago that was the case - people mod their water boxes with imperial parts with no issues. But maybe they have multiple model lines?

[@alexisramos9064]

@@TreasureCorals oh okay yea people switch from metric to standard I thought you were saying they came from waterbox with standard size plumbing already lol

[@hostilehostile803]

hi which glass is the clearest ? ty

[@TreasureCorals]

Great question - I don't think I notice or ever noticed any difference.

[@kare6878]

Great video, because I was comparing the two. I’m in Canada and it seems now we can get free shipping on Waterbox (before it was nearly $1000 I swear). I was looking at the RSR 900 XXL, but maybe should go with the Waterbox 220.6. I just wish Waterbox did a 200 gallon display, not including sump volume.

[@TreasureCorals]

Take a look at their latest PRO MAX series, this hits the spot for me.

[@kiddt1999]

Ordered the reef lx 320.7 in January. Tank is 232 gallons and is 86.6” long! They are supposed to start shipping them this month.

[@DS-jv2vb]

This didn't really seem like much of a review more so me listening to your opinion. I did appreciate it though so thank you.

[@TreasureCorals]

Fair point

[@pinkroofing9214]

The answer is CADE

[@TreasureCorals]

Cade is awesome!

[@tonylong6265]

I’d better get a ultum

[@kevencornett939]

Metric more European? Only 3 places in the world use imperial 😂 States,Liberia, and Mayanmar

[@TreasureCorals]

I hear you! might me my North-American mindset. :)

[@dudepros]

Isn't the waterbox also starphire glass and red sea isn't? Because my waterbox 20 is starphire.

[@TreasureCorals]

I believe that both of them are - I can't say I noticed any difference in glass quality. Red Sea glass scratched easily, so I'd guess it was starphire as well.

[@dudepros]

@@TreasureCorals red sea uses ultra clear, where as my waterbox cube uses starphire, which has nothing to do with scratching but better clarity I do believe.

[@ReefingwithO]

@@dudepros ultraclear and starphire same thing, simply low iron glass - Starphire is just a brand name of low iron glass. It's like Hoover being one brand of vacuum cleaners.

[@TreasureCorals]

​@@ReefingwithO yeah, Kleenex

[@Jel0XD]

@@ReefingwithO it is a brand but they can differ. Aquamaxx uses low iron but they are a bit more green that a waterbox

[@michaelsimi2397]

The dual returns will allow 2 smaller pumps for redundancy. The manifold outlets are a plus as well and in the penninsula tanks WB doors open on both sides

[@TreasureCorals]

Good points, I'm not sure you can run two separate pumps for returns as the plumbing underneath is only one tube, but I might be wrong.

[@maceysdaddy5150]

Love this, like a driver comparing his new Mercedes to his old BMW.

[@sodiumalignate9835]

Well the new reefer with the v3 sump are hot looking tanks haha. I have just a reefer 170 and i love it. But the only thing i have is filling the ato water so frequently. I am think to fill part of the sump with floating balls to reduce a bit evaporation but its also a smaller sump. You have a nice sps coral growing there and good loaded life stock.

[@Hakanozdemiruk]

Redsea compared to waterbox is like ferrari and skoda. The redsea tank and silicone are far superior. The cabinate of v3 redsea is second to non in build quality. Sorry but waterbox is junk in comparison

[@TreasureCorals]

Not sure I'm with you on this one. They all have multiple generations and if we compare apples to apples I'd love to do it with their top of the lines latest models. Maybe that's something I should try and do :)

[@samin2012]

Search for red sea paper test. There's a video on that for rs 625 XXL. What do you say about that. I have a RS myself but concerned of that with rs.

[@TreasureCorals]

@@samin2012 yikes!

[@Hakanozdemiruk]

@@samin2012 from what redsea told me. They had a customer that had tank issues due to uneven floor so they over engineered the new tanks with a brace just to idiot proof the install. To be honest you can't beat alloy frame. I'm going the the new dd 1800 reef pro which comes pre built with alloy frame

[@samin2012]

@@Hakanozdemiruk agree with you on alloy frame. But red sea cabinets are known to be structurally poor and not sure how being on an slightly out of level floor could cause a warp in the middle for the paper test to fail. I wonder if they have fixed that in the v3 version.

[@JimmySchofieldx]

What’s with the umms and errs

[@TreasureCorals]

working on it, my latest videos are better.

[@JimmySchofieldx]

@@TreasureCorals thank you because I love how structured this video is it’s just the speech!

[@georgiifedorov729]

Ого 28 000 ты спросмотров!!! Как у Маргерштерна почти!!!!

[@Keepingitreal123]

Water box is a knock off of Red Sea, and Red Sea copied Elos. Simple

[@TreasureCorals]

I think it is different enough not to be called a knock off.

[@Keepingitreal123]

@@TreasureCorals nope. Just like Samsung copies apple same stuff.

[@username-kn3oh]

@@Keepingitreal123 samsung copying Apple? 😂😂 Apple is always playing catchup tf

[@djmikefury1]

Red Sea doesn't hold a candle to Waterbox - just looking at plumbing and stand alone...its not even close...and keep in mind I'm a Red Sea owner as well..like your name...have to keep it real...thats why my next tank is a Waterbox

[@ronniekregar3482]

@@username-kn3oh lol, exactly. This guy has no idea what he's talking about.