Why the HUGE resistance by Waterbox to update their sumps/plumbing to accommodate the fleece roller...?!

[salty150]

I seriously don't get it...

Talk about not listening to your customer/prospective customers...

People have been asking Waterbox for quite awhile now to update their dated sump/plumbing design to accommodate a fleece roller.

However, after the repeated requests, Waterbox just continues to refuse.

They just continue to dismiss it, and act annoyed when asked about it - they even started to get snarky about it on their YouTube channel when asked again a few weeks ago.

The #1, and best, fleece roller out there for the last year now is the Red Sea RollerMat.

Why not give the people what they want?

Do they have any idea how much money they are losing because the continue to not listen to their consumers?

It's 2023 - if Red Sea can update their sumps - so can Waterbox!

 

[collins.jason.k]

Maybe they are working on their own version and don't want let it out the bag yet... Trying to give them a little credit here.

But it was funny watching them dodging the question over and over and over again. Was waiting on someone this past week to ask about it again. Maybe this Thursday

 

[c_healy]

If I had to guess, they probably have a lot of stock of old sumps.

 

[infinite0180]

Just cut out the filter sock holders and add whatever you want… thats basically what Red Sea did anyways.

 

[salty150]

Maybe they are working on their own version and don't want let it out the bag yet... Trying to give them a little credit here.

But it was funny watching them dodging the question over and over and over again. Was waiting on someone this past week to ask about it again. Maybe this Thursday

I don't believe Waterbox makes any of its own equipment...

They just sell others - like EcoTech, Nyos, Sicce, etc...

 

[salty150]

If I had to guess, they probably have a lot of stock of old sumps.

Just cut out the filter sock holders and add whatever you want… thats basically what Red Sea did anyways.

lol, yeah, that is the exact Waterbox response...

So you should pay $8,500 for a tank, stand, and sump that you have to DIY modify...

Kind of defeats the entire purpose of buying these already put together systems.

If it were only that easy - more people might do it - even after spending that kind of money on an already put together.

But that alone won't work - the size of the filter sock compartment is too small - and the two drain system doesn't work with the roller mat that requires only one.

 

[Harold999]

If I had to guess, they probably have a lot of stock of old sumps.

Last year they accepted an offer from their filtersock manufacturer: order 500.000 socks and get an extra 500.000 for free.

 

[haitian_reefer]

Modifying your sump is not an easy task, ask me how I know . If you screw it up, you’re SOL. I bought mine tank prior to the ReefMat.

 

[InactionJackson]

Don’t they have roller mats that fit into the sock area? I’ve seen them on bulk reef, Why doesn’t Red Sea make those sizes?

 

[leventis72]

Tell me about I can't comprehend this can't make it up. Another head scratcher, on the WB 20 they took out stock sicce return pump and replaced then with crap Chinese junk its louder than a buzzard smh I won't be buying a WATERBOX again that's for sure.

 

[leventis72]

#WaterBox

 

[Ryebreadiest]

I have a feeling waterbox is working on next gen designs. Their reef, frag and infinia models are almost all sold out and the only tank line in full stock is the refreshed marine line with the new aluminum frame stands. Hopefully the reef models include an updated sump design with filter roller.

 

[salty150]

I would hope so - people have been asking for quite some time...

Hopefully they do exactly what Red Sea did - and make it interchangeable - if you want filter socks, keep the filter socks - if you want to put in a filter roller - just take the removable filter socks holder out and put a filter roller in there...

Easy...

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Why would you as a manufacturer mod a sump to use a direct competitors product? Makes NO sense.

Also there are several roller manufacturers besides red sea... Many of them do just fine, cheaper and without the marketing hype. I lol at the red sea roller users, they got yall hook, line and sinker, for a product outside of phone connectivity, does the same as every other roller for 1/2 the price and without the large as hell footprint.

 

[salty150]

Why would you as a manufacturer mod a sump to use a direct competitors product? Makes NO sense.

Also there are several roller manufacturers besides red sea... Many of them do just fine, cheaper and without the marketing hype. I lol at the red sea roller users, they got yall hook, line and sinker, for a product outside of phone connectivity, does the same as every other roller for 1/2 the price and without the large as hell footprint.

Because people want fleece rollers and have been asking Waterbox A LOT to be able to use them in their systems for quite some time...?

Why would a manufacturer NOT give its consumers what they want?

I know of many people who are sick of changing out and cleaning their filter socks every 3 days (as recommended by BRS Investigates) that have gone with a Red Sea Reefer because they allow for a fleece roller when they would have liked to have gone with a Waterbox because of the stand instead.

There are several reason why the Red Sea roller is number one - it's connectivity, monitoring, notification of how many days are left on the roll so you can order or go get another one before it runs out, notification if the fleece is torn or not moving, ease of changing the fleece roll, solid-state internal and external water level sensors, comes already fully assembled, etc., etc., etc.

 

[Oldreefer44]

If I were them I would want to know just what percentage of reefers use a roller mat and then estimate how long they will be popular. Only then would they be able to judge whether or not the ROI is worth it. Unless they become a must have which, having owned one, I seriously doubt, they will likely be something that will be replaced by the "next big thing" and therefore not worth the cost.

 

[Ryebreadiest]

If they do redesign the sump to accommodate a filter roller without messy DIY, I wouldn’t be surprise if it’s in partnership with new roller.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

If I were them I would want to know just what percentage of reefers use a roller mat and then estimate how long they will be popular. Only then would they be able to judge whether or not the ROI is worth it. Unless they become a must have which, having owned one, I seriously doubt, they will likely be something that will be replaced by the "next big thing" and therefore not worth the cost.

Exactly. One manufacture isn't going to mod their equipment for one brand's roller ( especially the competitors). If you look at this forum alone, you see a ton of posts with users griping about the red sea roller setup. Good marketing made it come out as the 'silver bullet' for filter socks and frankly it's not.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Because people want fleece rollers and have been asking Waterbox A LOT to be able to use them in their systems for quite some time...?

Why would a manufacturer NOT give its consumers what they want?

I know of many people who are sick of changing out and cleaning their filter socks every 3 days (as recommended by BRS Investigates) that have gone with a Red Sea Reefer because they allow for a fleece roller when they would have liked to have gone with a Waterbox because of the stand instead.

There are several reason why the Red Sea roller is number one - it's connectivity, monitoring, notification of how many days are left on the roll so you can order or go get another one before it runs out, notification if the fleece is torn or not moving, ease of changing the fleece roll, solid-state internal and external water level sensors, comes already fully assembled, etc., etc., etc.

You do realize that a vast majority of sumps need to be modded or made to support a filter roller, right? Including older red sea models, this isn't just a waterbox issue. I had to slightly mod a trigger sump for one and have another built from scratch for the other roller. I didn't complain, I just adapted and moved on. The closest non mod roller is a klir which can drop in to a 4" or 7" sock holder. BTDT with a 1st gen klir, it was trash, until it was updated to a gen 2.

In terms of connectivity, that's about all they offer outside the other brands. You should typically keep spare fleece around, not wait for it to run out to buy more (you never know about availability). In terms of tearing and the like, if that's happening you need to be in your sump anyway as you either have critters in the drain chamber (not a good idea with a roller) or something went down the drain that shouldn't of.

Assembly... If you seriously can't put together a roller, the customer frankly shouldn't be using it. The concept of reading simple instructions has come and gone but seriously it's not rocket science.

Ease of changing the roller, meh most have caught up with that now. Solid state switches, lol. Float switches or prism style water sensors all have their positive & negatives, nothing revolutionary there.

Again outside of online status communication from the red sea roller, the other brands I own do the same, for 200+ dollars less. Also I can use other brands fleece (if needed) as the roller width is more standardized with the non red sea brands.

 

[salty150]

You do realize that a vast majority of sumps need to be modded or made to support a filter roller, right? Including older red sea models, this isn't just a waterbox issue. I had to slightly mod a trigger sump for one and have another built from scratch for the other roller. I didn't complain, I just adapted and moved on. The closest non mod roller is a klir which can drop in to a 4" or 7" sock holder. BTDT with a 1st gen klir, it was trash, until it was updated to a gen 2.

In terms of connectivity, that's about all they offer outside the other brands. You should typically keep spare fleece around, not wait for it to run out to buy more (you never know about availability). In terms of tearing and the like, if that's happening you need to be in your sump anyway as you either have critters in the drain chamber (not a good idea with a roller) or something went down the drain that shouldn't of.

Assembly... If you seriously can't put together a roller, the customer frankly shouldn't be using it. The concept of reading simple instructions has come and gone but seriously it's not rocket science.

Ease of changing the roller, meh most have caught up with that now. Solid state switches, lol. Float switches or prism style water sensors all have their positive & negatives, nothing revolutionary there.

Again outside of online status communication from the red sea roller, the other brands I own do the same, for 200+ dollars less. Also I can use other brands fleece (if needed) as the roller width is more standardized with the non red sea brands.

No one is asking Waterbox to start producing their new sumps so that just the Red Sea roller mats will fit - they are asking Waterbox to start producing their new sumps with removable filter sock holders (very easy) so that the buyer can either choose to use the filter socks or install ANY roller mat (ClariSea, Klir, Red Sea, etc.) if they choose to.

This isn't hard to understand - or for them to do.