Kristen's Dream Peninsula Build -- 18 Yrs in the Making

[RJT]

This is a great build. Where are you in MD?

 

[InTentsReef]

This is a great build. Where are you in MD?

The Silver Spring area — are you local?

 

[RJT]

The Silver Spring area — are you local?

I am in the Upper Marlboro area. Do you go to Tropical Lagoon? I haven't been there in years, the owner was always helpful and honest.

 

[rogueshrimp88]

Definitely following! This is basically my dream tank, although I want the WB 7225, just don't have the space or budget yet lol

 

[Janci]

Looking great. Love the specifics and neat solutions.
If the tank is over the garage/storage room, any particular reason why not running the sump there below?

 

[InTentsReef]

I am in the Upper Marlboro area. Do you go to Tropical Lagoon? I haven't been there in years, the owner was always helpful and honest.

I haven’t been there. Just moved from the VA side so mostly familiar with shops on that side of town

If the tank is over the garage/storage room, any particular reason why not running the sump there below?

Just the added challenge of plumbing. Don’t want to run pipes through floors and that’s an exterior wall, so best to avoid running lines through it. A remote sump is something I’d love to do, but not on this build.

Definitely following! This is basically my dream tank, although I want the WB 7225, just don't have the space or budget yet lol

Thank you! I’d always love bigger, but space becomes such an issue….

 

[Fishy Guy]

Awesome build so far! I look forward to seeing it progress.

I’ve got a similar peninsula build but it’s freshwater. It’s great in person but I always get annoyed it doesn’t show as well in pictures being able to see the other room behind it. 1st world problems ha.

 

[InTentsReef]

Awesome build so far! I look forward to seeing it progress.

I’ve got a similar peninsula build but it’s freshwater. It’s great in person but I always get annoyed it doesn’t show as well in pictures being able to see the other room behind it. 1st world problems ha.

Yeah, I am discovering that problem! Hoping when the tank is lit and the lights around it are off that I can overcome that issue

 

[Fishy Guy]

Yeah, I am discovering that problem! Hoping when the tank is lit and the lights around it are off that I can overcome that issue

Having everything else dark helps and it’s definitely worth it for the in person experience IMO. It’s just something I didn’t think about before setting it up.

 

[kevgib67]

Stellar build, I’ll be following this until the end!

 

[1112-425XL]

Great Build! Following...

Awesome build so far! I look forward to seeing it progress.

I’ve got a similar peninsula build but it’s freshwater. It’s great in person but I always get annoyed it doesn’t show as well in pictures being able to see the other room behind it. 1st world problems ha.

The in-person experience is all that really matters!!

 

[ScottD]

Nice build, following along. I really like what you've done with this tank so far and really fits the room well.

In the next updates I'll share how I did the aquascape, the DIY light pendant that houses my Kessil A360X pucks, and hopefully some water will be going in soon. Thanks for following along.

So what happened to the aquascaping update?

 

[Deignan14]

Hello R2R -

At long last, it's happening. After 18 years in this hobby I'm jumping in to build the tank I've always wanted: a peninsula reef room divider.

Background: I first started keeping marine fish when I was a poor college student working at a small aquarium shop in Blacksburg, Virginia. I was a student at Virginia Tech and had a 10 gallon nano reef that I kept in my dorm room. Every Christmas and summer break, I'd load the tank into the back of my car and drive it 6 hours to Atlanta, which was home. My dad had kept marine tanks during my childhood, and I remember flipping through J. Sprung's texts for "light reading" on the topic of reef keeping. At the pet shop I started as the freshwater manager, but quickly evolved into overseeing the marine section. I remember telling customers things like "you need 10 watts of compact florescent bulb per gallon of water"... boy how far we've come. In the years since I have kept dozens of marine tanks and have experimented with the gambit of methods for reef keeping, ranging from elaborate algae reactors to full ZeoVit on a nano reef. I'd like to think I've learned some valuable lessons along the way -- though this hobby likes to humble us (see my thread from a year ago where I couldn't figure out what was going on with my salt mix.... sigh). Anyway, this build will be the culmination of my experiences thus far --- all in a tank format I've long lusted to employ --- the peninsula room divider.

The Tank: We spent the last year renovating a new house in Maryland, and I spent many hours of that renovation thinking about the future fish tank. To the point that I even had our electrical contractor install a separate GFCI circuit independent of our other outlets to power this tank! The ideal aquarium was going to slide in between the living room and dining area, right below a drop down in the ceiling that holds our HVAC ducts and directly above a steel structural beam. After extensive research, comparing Red Sea, Waterbox and Cade's offerings in the ~100 gallon peninsula lineup, I opted for the Waterbox 4820. My rationale for selecting this tank was based on the overall dimensions, the aluminum frame stand, and the price point. While Cade was arguably the better built tank, the dimensions were a touch large for the space. Waterbox customer service also was a major contributor -- I dealt with their agents several times for inventory information, tank specs, and a simple warranty claim, and they were prompt and professional each time.

Build Philosophy: Like anyone who has been in this hobby for more than 5 minutes, I've had my share of painful lessons. Failed return pumps. Cracked heaters. Disease outbreaks that wipe out the entire tank. Every pest known to mankind. Gear that leaks, floods, breaks, etc. While I cannot hope to avoid every possible failure in this build, I will be taking precautions to minimize the risk of problems. To that end, my philosophy is simple enough: Trust what works. I have had a long history of success with powerful protein skimming, and so heavy skimming will be a core feature of this build. Likewise, I have had success with algae refugiums as a means of nutrient control. Finally, my dosing and additives will be targeted and focused -- no more "mystery juice" (*cough* Vibrant). With one exception, everything I'm doing in this tank is something I've done before, that I feel comfortable employing for a successful tank, and that straight up makes biological sense. That one exception? This tank will be my first time dabbling with ozone.... eventually.

Equipment List:

• Waterbox 4820 Peninsula tank
• Abyzz A100 return pump
• Kessil A360X Tuna Blue light fixtures in custom DIY pendant
• Royal Exclusiv protein skimmer
• EcoTech MP-40QD pumps
• Neptune Apex
• Neptune Trident
• Neptune DOS and DDR
• Neptune GRO refugium light
• Ozotech ozone generator
• BRS bulk 2 part

Current FTS (1 December 2023):

Table of Contents:

• Chapter I: Tank Delivery and Stand Construction
• Chapter II: Electronics and Life Support Systems
• Chapter III: DIY Light Pendant Build
• Chapter IV: Thoughts on a Return Pump
• Chapter V: Water, Water Everywhere

Thanks for posting! This work youre doing with the tslot was exactly what I had in mind so seeing how its working out for you is exciting. My vision is to setup smaller frag tanks above my sump. Do you have any idea what kind of weight your shelving can support?

 

[InTentsReef]

Having everything else dark helps and it’s definitely worth it for the in person experience IMO. It’s just something I didn’t think about before setting it up.

Yeah it looks great in person, but haven’t gotten the knack of photographing it yet. But there isn’t much to photograph yet, so when that changes, I’ll be more motivated!

Stellar build, I’ll be following this until the end!

Thank you! Appreciate everyone who has dropped in so far and is along for the ride

Nice build, following along. I really like what you've done with this tank so far and really fits the room well.


So what happened to the aquascaping update?

It’s still coming —- I was hoping to get better pics of the aquascape in the tank before I share it. Maybe tomorrow….

Thanks for posting! This work youre doing with the tslot was exactly what I had in mind so seeing how its working out for you is exciting. My vision is to setup smaller frag tanks above my sump. Do you have any idea what kind of weight your shelving can support?

I don’t know exactly, but there are 4 points of contact between the load bearing frame and the shelf supports, so probably more weight then I’ll ever put on it. I wouldn’t put my ATO reservoir up there for practical reasons, but I am sure it’d handle the weight. I’ve jostled and shook the shelves as I was building them and they are quite sturdy. Unless you were planning to attach something particularly heavy, I don’t think you’d have any issues.

——-

I was out of town for a week, which gave the tank lots of time to sit and cycle. I had added some AquaForest media and mud, PNS Substrate Sauce, and some Microbacter before we left, so good opportunity for bacteria to colonize and hopefully do most of the nitrogen cycle. I’ll do some water tests tomorrow and see how it’s looking, but assuming we have made headway, I’ll try and add some clownfish this weekend.

The other nice thing about being away was I got to test my automation and remote monitoring. Right now that’s done via the apex and a ring camera pointed at the tank. It’s not a great view, but you can tell if something really bad has happened…

I do want to setup some more Apex programming, and I have a few automation elements to add. For instance, a float switch that turns off the skimmer when the cup fills. This is critical since I’ll be using the skimmer to introduce ozone, and the ozone needs to not run if the skimmer is off. I also want to automate virtual outlets for water changes, etc.

Lastly, I finalized the design for the lid we are adding with Top Lids. It’ll be 6-8 weeks for delivery, but excited for the setup.

 

[InTentsReef]

I was working on some of my Apex programming this afternoon and found a great thread on Humblefish that walks through re-programming the Trident so that you don't have to run the 4x daily tests that Neptune dictates. The noon and 6pm tests in particular are kinda noisy and annoying in the middle of our living space. The updated schedule now runs the combined test only at 6am and the alk only at 6pm.

If anyone wants the instructions for doing this: https://humble.fish/community/index.php?threads/fully-customize-neptune-tridents-test-schedule.5606/

 

[InTentsReef]

Chapter VI: Aquascaping

If this update feels out of sequence, you're not wrong. I meant to write about my aquascape process several posts ago, but have found that photographing the tank when it isn't top lit is more challenging then I'd like. As a result, it's hard to see (or appreciate) the aquascape that I built. But I'll write it up now and offer many future photos for you to see the design.

I don't really want to use dry rock -- I much prefer the life and diversity that comes on either imported Aussie rock or Florida harvested rock. The problem with both of those is that you cannot shape it as easily because it needs to remain wet for all the goodness to survive. So I'm biting the bullet and acknowledging that some things will be a little more painful with only dry rock in the beginning. That said, I do plan to buy a small amount of Florida rock to help seed the tank and build that delicious diversity... but that'll come after the Christmas shipping insanity has died down.

I spent a loooonnnnnngggggggg time looking at other peoples' aquascapes for inspiration. I'm also an avid SCUBA diver / former instructor, so I have a good sense of what natural reef can look like, and I wanted an aquascape that was grounded in realism. In my opinion, there are too many aquascapes out there that are weird gimmick islands or bonsai looking things that don't represent reality for the ocean reefs.

In my research I came across this build thread, along with accompanying photos of the aquascape. I decided to model my design off of his.

Aussie66's Slice of the Ocean

To start, I grabbed a space in the basement where I could mask out an area that mirrored the interior dimensions of the tank. A fatal flaw is building the rock scape too tall initially (a mistake I've done so many times!), so I marked off a max height line about 2/3rd of the overall height of the tank. From there, I went to work trying to create one main structure that had several swim throughs and cave/ arch structure, and then two smaller structures that would offset. The idea being that I can use these structures to also contain corals that might be more invasive/ aggressive against each other.

The aquascape was built using Marco Rock that I broke up into pieces and re-glued back together. I used a mix of super glue, JB Weld, and Marco Mortar to build the structure, which is one solid block.

One other thing I found in my research of aquascapes was the idea of a sloped sand bed. This affords the benefits of a DSB at the deep end of the tank, while offering a sense of depth and perspective when you look down the length of the tank. So I added roughly #30 of Ocean Direct sand and sloped it towards the back of the tank, so as you look down it you have the illusion of looking towards a shallower end of the reef. I haven't taken a good photo of that perspective yet, but I will add one once I do. For now, you can see the effect in the below picture.

 

[InTentsReef]

I tested the water this evening and we look to have mostly completed the nitrogen cycle. Virtually undetectable amounts of nitrite and nitrate. So I plan to add some clowns this weekend and use them to help "finish" the cycle.

I also got some 3D printed deflectors to attach to the MP40s. I love the amount of water these pumps can move, but they are kicking up my deep sand bed in that corner. I am hoping the deflectors will allow me to push more water the length of the tank without moving the sand quite as violently (I am using the MP40s in gyre mode, with one serving as the master and running for 10 minutes, while the other does a reverse mirror of it, then they switch). I'd like to get a nice current through the tank! I have simultaneously been tinkering with the flow through the main pump and sump; I only need 5-10x turnover an hour (400-600 gallons) in order to hit the sweet spot of my skimmer, so it feels like water coming out the returns is little more than a trickle.

I mentioned automation in an earlier post and also made headway there, with a new float switch installed in the skimmer lid that will turn off the skimmer when the cup gets full. This was a kit I found online that was plug-and-play installation into the Neptune breakout box. It also has a quick disconnect so that I can remove the lid easily when I need to take it to the sink for deep cleaning.

Finally, for a quick laugh --- I was visiting my parents this last week and my dad had an old reefkeeping magazine from 1996. This was one of the advertisements in the magazine....

 

[MoparMike97]

Looking awesome!

The sandbed will definitely give a neat perspective looking in from the front. Can't wait to see that scape with some coral on it!

 

[braaap]

I tested the water this evening and we look to have mostly completed the nitrogen cycle. Virtually undetectable amounts of nitrite and nitrate. So I plan to add some clowns this weekend and use them to help "finish" the cycle.

I also got some 3D printed deflectors to attach to the MP40s. I love the amount of water these pumps can move, but they are kicking up my deep sand bed in that corner. I am hoping the deflectors will allow me to push more water the length of the tank without moving the sand quite as violently (I am using the MP40s in gyre mode, with one serving as the master and running for 10 minutes, while the other does a reverse mirror of it, then they switch). I'd like to get a nice current through the tank! I have simultaneously been tinkering with the flow through the main pump and sump; I only need 5-10x turnover an hour (400-600 gallons) in order to hit the sweet spot of my skimmer, so it feels like water coming out the returns is little more than a trickle.

I mentioned automation in an earlier post and also made headway there, with a new float switch installed in the skimmer lid that will turn off the skimmer when the cup gets full. This was a kit I found online that was plug-and-play installation into the Neptune breakout box. It also has a quick disconnect so that I can remove the lid easily when I need to take it to the sink for deep cleaning.

Finally, for a quick laugh --- I was visiting my parents this last week and my dad had an old reefkeeping magazine from 1996. This was one of the advertisements in the magazine....

Albert Thiel was a reefing pioneer. He died in 2017

 

[InTentsReef]

Albert Thiel was a reefing pioneer. He died in 2017

Yeah, I’m familiar with Albert—- I was incredibly amused by the advertisement and the history of it. There were some other good ads in the magazine, like this one: