Redsea Reefer vs Custom built

[arvind]

I am in the market for a new tank. To give a little bit of background, I have been in the hobby for over 10 years. I have a 180 gallon with all paraphernalia that you can imagine. I have a basement sump keeping the system going. Seen many ups and downs (ok, more downs than ups). Now looking to scratch everything and rebuild. First thing I want to do is downsize. 120g or thereabouts is what i am looking at. I also want to get rid of basement sump. I am looking for a system where everything fits under the tank within the cabinet.

So for all those reasons, Redsea Reefer (or Waterbox) appeals to me. However I find them expensive. Not that I cannot afford but wondering if I can build a similar system on the cheap.

Thoughts?

 

[JustAnt]

I have the redsea reefer 250 and love it. If you can afford a reefer I say go for it. Can u find/build something cheaper, I’m sure you can but it maybe at the cost of quality. I love the Red Sea bc it was turnkey quality tank, amount other things I liked.

Look at the RedSea reefer thread.(like 330 pages) It’s got tons of thoughts and ideas on setting up he sump, hard plumb, etc...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...ea-reefer-series.219309/page-370#post-5911046

 

[Jon Fishman]

Those reefers are beautiful man...... if the money isn’t an issue, then any other issue can easily be overlooked!

 

[Guttersnipe]

I have a reefer 250. I would go with custom if I could do it all over. I rather have a tank that I can configure the plumbing however I want to with readily available PVC parts from local hardware store. The sump could be a little bit bigger in the reefer series too.

 

[Butuz]

I bought a Reefer 250, but given the customizations I made, I should have gone with a custom build to start with. I didnt end up using any of their lines, plumbing etc and had to modify everything. While it was fun and a learning journey, I could have gotten “there” cheaper and faster. Build thread is in the signature field below if you are curious.

 

[jschultzbass]

I have the waterbox 170.4/5. Amazing tank. Probably the size you'd be looking for as well. You can cobble something together yourself but what's your time worth?

 

[Angrywalnut]

Matching the tank quality, stand, and sump is going to cost just as much as the pre packaged units if not more. The difference is in customization. External over flow, standard plumbing, custom sump, canopy, glass tops, star fire glass ETC. Plus your time researching what you want.

 

[Antics]

I think it would be very difficult to beat Red Sea quality for cheaper. Especially if you consider how much faster you'll have the Red Sea in hand compared to custom.

Obviously this is hyperbole but unless you have specific goals (tank size, filtration method, stand design etc) it's nearly impossible to beat Red Sea, Waterbox, or even Innovative Marine when it comes to tank and stand quality at the price point they are offered at.

 

[Jimmy Long]

If you want the match the quality of red sea, it'll be the same price if not more to be honest. Red Sea tanks are expensive at a first glance, but after you buy it you realize how gorgeous they really are. yes it's hard to toss up 1500+ for either the reefer 250 or 350 but they are worth the price in my opinion. If you plan on keeping the tank running for a long time, 1500-2k is nothing.

 

[SPSReeferMI]

So I just bought the Waterbox Reef Pro 170.4/5 (same as jschultzbass). I’m very happy with the build quality and it looks amazing! I wanted a plug and play reef and I am very satisfied with what they delivered.

Here are two points where I’m finding that if I would have gone custom, I might have been able to adjust:
- Refugium is built into the reef pros, but mine feels like it’s a bit small. If I went custom I would’ve left more space. It’s too early too say that this will be a long term problem once my corals are consuming PO4 and NO3. I can always swap out the sump some day.
- I can get my Waterbox to be whisper silent by running my return pump at 30%. If I went custom, I probably would’ve wanted a bean animal style overflow so that I could have more flexibility in return pump settings. I’m still fine tuning.

 

[arvind]

I have the redsea reefer 250 and love it. If you can afford a reefer I say go for it. Can u find/build something cheaper, I’m sure you can but it maybe at the cost of quality. I love the Red Sea bc it was turnkey quality tank, amount other things I liked.

Look at the RedSea reefer thread.(like 330 pages) It’s got tons of thoughts and ideas on setting up he sump, hard plumb, etc...

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...ea-reefer-series.219309/page-370#post-5911046

Man, this is one sick thread.

 

[arvind]

Good points everyone. Thanks for sharing. As I had pointed out earlier, one of my goals was to simplify reef keeping. It looks like even with the reefer system I will have to do a lot of customization to make it work for me. Interesting. Guess I will have to spend little more time mulling this.

 

[mtraylor]

I have a custom AGE 255 gallon rimless aquarium. I had it built because i was tired of all the limitations of premade aquariums. I took all my learning experiences over the years and had my tank and sump buit around that. Built sump with cad drawing and couldnt be happier. Its the only way to go if you have the cash and know what u want. When i had mine built, red sea and the new custom aquariums were not around.

That being said, im in the process of setting up a waterbox 60.3 frag tank. Its well built and the fit and finish is great. But its still a prefab tank with limitations and room for lots of improvements or changes if you k kw what you like or want.

The stand is made of plywood with some sort of coating on it which is super nice and water resistant. Wayyyyyy better than the mdf tanks i was buying in the past. As nice as that is, it does not compare to a custom made iron or aluminum stand with custom made acrylic panels, drip pan, etc. Or whatever you want built.

As far as aquarium goes, the fit and finish is also great, but does not compare to custom star fire glass that is thicker with external overflow or whatever else you want.

The plumbing and sump are nice but, if you want to place all your filter equipment under tank you will need to change the plumbing most likely which i will on my frag tank and possibly sump if you want something different than whats provided.

When i did my research. The prefabs were cheaper than custom. Thats why i went that route as im only doing a frag tank. Very happy with the purchase. If you are doing a dream tank, then make sure your choice is well thought out. If you want all equipment under stand, be sure you know what all equipment is needed for your reef and ensure it will fit under stand if you get a prefab tank. You may learn that you need to make some mods under there to make room.

Good luck.

 

[AZMSGT]

Don’t waste your money if you are going to be rebuilding any parts of the reefer system.
1. All the pipe is metric and a pain in the butt to modify. Adding a simple flow sensor to the return line is a real pain. Also the drain line valve could be better, so most people modify the line with a gate valve.
2. The sump design is ok but could be better. A pain to modify. I want to add a roller filter and it just doesn’t fit so I need to break out the sump glass.
3. You will inevitably exceed the cabinet size for some accessory. My 625 reefer has the UV and ATO on the outside of the cabinet in my design. For me the standard ATO is just to small and using a 40w UV on this tank it won’t fit in the cabinet.
4. Forget any major modifications to the cabinet. The cabinet is engineered to hold the weight of the tank. No cutting big holes for bigger pipe. I am running flex line through the side for the UV, 2 1” holes. I wouldn’t go any larger.

Looking back, would I still go Red Sea.. I like the tank it self. The glass is excellent quality and THICK. But if doing it over.. I might go with my own custom stand and sump.

Just so you know, I still have no water in my system still modifying things to suit my desires. It’s slow going as I order some things and have to wait till those things get here.

Good luck with what ever you choose. Just my thoughts, I would work toward simplifying what you have now. Automation on everything.

 

[JustAnt]

Good points everyone. Thanks for sharing. As I had pointed out earlier, one of my goals was to simplify reef keeping. It looks like even with the reefer system I will have to do a lot of customization to make it work for me. Interesting. Guess I will have to spend little more time mulling this.

To me if u are looking to simplify the way to go is the reefer bc everything was thought out and set up by RedSea. On the other hand you mention you would need customizations to the reefer?That doesn’t sound like simplifying things. It makes me feel your true priority is to set up a new system the way you want it. If you want to add a bunch of reactors, ozone, uv, etc then it sounds like you should go with a custom tank/sump. It will take longer to get and cost as much but probably more than a reefer depending on your customizations. Either way get something that makes you happy and good luck.

 

[Westside Guy]

In my opinion when it comes to overall quality you can't beat Red Sea. The only thing I would have done differently was to install a good Spears valve as the Red Sea valve is super sensitive. Both Waterbox and Innovative Marine are also good choices. Waterbox gives you a larger reservoir tank than Red Sea but eventually I will be purchasing a larger one anyway.

 

[arvind]

To me if u are looking to simplify the way to go is the reefer bc everything was thought out and set up by RedSea. On the other hand you mention you would need customizations to the reefer?That doesn’t sound like simplifying things. It makes me feel your true priority is to set up a new system the way you want it. If you want to add a bunch of reactors, ozone, uv, etc then it sounds like you should go with a custom tank/sump. It will take longer to get and cost as much but probably more than a reefer depending on your customizations. Either way get something that makes you happy and good luck.

Let my qualify simplify. The current system i have is a 180g display tank, 75g fuge, 70g sump both fuge and sump in the basement and DT is in the first floor. One external pump pushes water up and another external pump circulates various other components in the basement. Plus uv, plus chiller, plus water change stations you name it. Now I want to drastically reduce that footprint but still be able to build a fully thriving system. But your point is well taken. thanks.

 

[becks]

having had both, I would always go with a reefer, D-D or other turnkey manufacture. My biggest issue with custom built tanks (in the uk) is the quality of the stands or the design is out of date.