Waterbox Silver 35.1 VS Red Sea Reefer NANO

[TheKoolAidMan]

Looking to get thoughts on the two setups.  I currently have a Red Sea Reefer 450 and generally quite like it with a couple of caveats.  First, the diaphram valve for the overflow regulation is horrible and goes out of calibration every couple of days.  Second, the ATO reservoir is too small, awkward to fill, and is only gravity fed with a cheap float valve.

 

I'm looking to get a nano reef started (softies like zoas and shrooms with a centerpiece big RTBA with a Cinnamon Clownfish.  I thought about an AIO like the Red Sea Max 20, but really liked having the sump for the extra water volume and display space.   I should add that in addition to having reefing experience with a larger tank, I also have nano experience witha 30g and 10g in the past.  I also am currently keeping a healthy an happy RTBA so I'm not too worried about the learning curve for nems.

 

I've settled on either the Waterbox 35.1 and the Reefer Nano.  The pros and cons of each as best I can see are below:

 

Red Sea Reefer Nano

 

PROS

- Trustworthy name and good build quality

- Comes not just with an ATO Reservoir but also way to actually top off.  It might not be a great system, but at least it's something out of the box.

- Have personal experience with the Reefer line

- Local LFS is a dealer and I may be able to get a better price than on the Waterbox

 

CONS

- ATO is gravity fed and uses a crappy float valve

- ATO reservoir is rather small

- Don't like the diaphram valve used to control the overflow

 

Waterbox 35.1

 

PROS

-Sump and ATO reservoir are larger than the Reefer.  The ATO is about 0.8 gallons larger and the sump is almost 4 gallons larger

-List price for the white is about $50 cheaper

-Uses gate valve for overflow regulation

 

CONS

-New brand with a good, but not great track record, and an unknown for me

-Larger sump means less cabinet space for storage or for the BRS GFO and Carbon reactors I like

-Has larger ATO reservoir, but does NOT come with an actual ATO system, adding $130-$200 to the cost for an optical ATO.

 

What are all of your thoughts on each platform?