Building the Waterbox Clear Pro Stand

We found the perfect spot for the new Waterbox Clear Pro aquarium, so now it’s time to build the stand! The stand is from Waterbox and it’s designed to fit the new Waterbox Clear Pro 6025 tank perfectly.

Gathering the pieces:

Here is the hardware as supplied from Waterbox Aquariums.

Next we had to bring all the pieces in from the garage. And there was a lot!

Let’s build!

You start with the base. There are A LOT of leveling feet.
The instructions are bit lacking. They are illustrated steps, nice and clear but almost zero mention of any of the hardware.
If you’ve put IKEA together before, it shouldn’t be a problem and it was pretty straight forward. Still, it would have been nice to have more details in the printed instructions.
There are some good videos for reference, even if it’s not this specific stand.
https://www.waterboxaquariums.com/manuals/

Next was the walls and top of the stand…

Finally, it was time to add the doors, complete with soft close hinges.

Final Thoughts:

There are just two things I’m a little disappointed with. Disappointed may even be a little strong… more like “not as impressed with”.

1. Stand Designed for Reef

It’s obviously a stand designed for their reef-ready tanks. A cutout in the top panel and huge opening on the rear wall for all the plumbing coming down from an overflow. You’re selling a new line of NON-DRILLED tanks, specifically marketed for freshwater. There should be a stand specifically for that. I sent an email into support just to confirm it wasn’t an oversight. Their reply was that this stand was designed specifically for this line of tanks. The size of the tank is slightly different than their reef tanks. The hole in the top was left in case you wanted to convert this tank to a reef tank or run an overflow in your freshwater tank. Hmmm…

2. Paint Finish

The white exterior panels are pretty decent. They are glossy, but from what I can tell they are powder coated or lacquered or something. Comparing them to my previous Elos stand, the finish is not going to be as durable. The Elos had a strong laminate that was glossier and could really take a beating. I’ve drilled through it, it’s thick. The interior was some sort of man-made pressed wood, but overall it was impervious to water and wear, and very strong. I’m worried about how the finish on the Waterbox stand is going to hold up over time. The interior plywood construction is nice from a water damage standpoint, but I can tell by the edges and corners that the outer layer is not nearly as strong. It’s definitely MUCH nicer than the new Planet Aquariums stands. Those things look like a home spray job. On a scale of 1-10, with Elos being a 10, I’d rate the finish of the white panels around 8.5, and the Planet tanks a 4-5 at best.

The Positives:

That said, the stand seems very sturdy. I like the finish of the black panels which has a bit of a texture to it and feels more durable than the white panels. I also like that it actually has a floor.The Elos is designed without a floor, so vibration from equipment is not transmitted/reverberated through the stand. The floor is raised which is kind of nice, even though it technically does eat up a little interior space. As I mentioned earlier, there are tons of leveling feet. There are some good cutouts, plenty of room for cables and hoses. Although in my case, I do kind of wish there were cutouts on the right like there are on the left. Again, this is an issue that it’s a reef stand, not freshwater. ADG makes some custom stands that have hose cutouts on the side panels. I waiver back and forth on that vs the rear placement, but at least there are provisions for multiple canister filters or a choice of placement if just running one.

Final Thoughts

Final verdict so far is that I would definitely recommend Waterbox Aquariums. Great quality and design overall. My fingers are crossed that I still feel this way once the tank is filled and running long term.