I have a Waterbox Infinia 150.4 on order through LFS including delivery and dry setup (I don't trust myself and friends and family picking up a 300 lb tank). First reef aquarium in 15 years.
This will be a mixed reef (no softies except maybe some zoas on a separate rock (having suffered from GSP + Xenia overgrowth) with Marco aquascape. I built the aquascape using E-Marco 400 cement (worked well, see video below). I wasn't going for NSA, but wanted a stable structure with lots of places for corals, swimming paths, and hiding places (see video). I may skip the tall pillar structure, though it may be interesting in the back.
I'm impatient (but I am using this time to force myself to be patient), so I am cycling in borrowed 75g tank with powerhead and heater only - Microbacter7 and some Fritz ammonium chloride in Instant Ocean, to be supplemented as needed once larger tank is set up. I have other bottle bacteria/algae to be delivered including PNS Substrate Sauce and ARC coralline in a bottle (we'll see on both accounts, and I need to do SOMETHING to keep this moving forward). Keeping tank in bright room with no external light for now. Will add special grade aragonite soon (wrasse in future, and wife and I prefer the sand bed over bare), and I will dose some Copes and phyto, and may also add in next week or two an Indo-Pacific Sea Farms package and/or some TBS rubble for biodiversity. The idea is to create biome before lights and fish. I plan to have a refugium once I have a sump, with likely an AI Blade refugium light, but that will have to wait until I have the tank. Will drip some kalk as needed for now to maintain pH and increase kH a little (How do you turn of autocorrect?? I had to type "kalk" three times before it stopped typing "kale").
Equipment list:
This will be a mixed reef (no softies except maybe some zoas on a separate rock (having suffered from GSP + Xenia overgrowth) with Marco aquascape. I built the aquascape using E-Marco 400 cement (worked well, see video below). I wasn't going for NSA, but wanted a stable structure with lots of places for corals, swimming paths, and hiding places (see video). I may skip the tall pillar structure, though it may be interesting in the back.
I'm impatient (but I am using this time to force myself to be patient), so I am cycling in borrowed 75g tank with powerhead and heater only - Microbacter7 and some Fritz ammonium chloride in Instant Ocean, to be supplemented as needed once larger tank is set up. I have other bottle bacteria/algae to be delivered including PNS Substrate Sauce and ARC coralline in a bottle (we'll see on both accounts, and I need to do SOMETHING to keep this moving forward). Keeping tank in bright room with no external light for now. Will add special grade aragonite soon (wrasse in future, and wife and I prefer the sand bed over bare), and I will dose some Copes and phyto, and may also add in next week or two an Indo-Pacific Sea Farms package and/or some TBS rubble for biodiversity. The idea is to create biome before lights and fish. I plan to have a refugium once I have a sump, with likely an AI Blade refugium light, but that will have to wait until I have the tank. Will drip some kalk as needed for now to maintain pH and increase kH a little (How do you turn of autocorrect?? I had to type "kalk" three times before it stopped typing "kale").
Equipment list:
- Waterbox Infinia 150.4 (delivery TBD. Supposed to have been delivered already, but "another 6 weeks" per LFS at end of May)
- Orphek Atlantik Icon (should be enough for LPS on bottom and some SPS on top, but might supplement with 1 or 2 light bars (quanta or OR3), if needed later on, as I like stony corals and had fun with SPS in my last tank.
- SICCE SDC 9.0 return
- BRS GFO/carbon "reactor" with carbon and since pump
- SICCE Stream SDC (awesome pump with easy app, so far. Love the temperature sensor), plan to get another once I am sure it'll hold well with 12mm glass
- IM Helio 500W (working great), will do redundant once tank is established.
- RO regal 150INT
- eventual A3 Apex Pro system (TBD) possibly with Triton, but that (expense) can wait a few months.
- need to figure out power outage equipment failure strategy/equipment, as pump failure killed foxface and yellow tang in former aquarium