jpmazzone
Community Member
Hi Everyone!
I am new to the hobby and after a lot of lurking in the forums, reading articles and watching hours worth of BRS YouTube clips, I decided to start a nano reef. The reason why I chose a nano reef was for ease of maintenance and the small footprint it would take in my house. Another consideration was that I would not have make compromising cost decisions. I settled on the Waterbox Cube 20 with the stand. It cost around $950 from Bulk Reef Supply (where I purchased all equipment for this build). I liked the Waterbox for the simplicity of design, the all in one feature and the quality of build for the money. The quality of both the tank and the stand is worth the money in my opinion. Everything is sleek, clean and sturdy. Even the hinges in the stand are as good as my custom kitchen cabinets.
I did upgrade the return pump to a Sicce Syncra 0.5 silent pump. I have one powerhead, an AI Nero 3. Both of these pumps are so quiet that I don’t even hear a base line noise coming from the setup. The return nozzle along with the Nero 3 broadcasts flow and turbulence brilliantly all over the tank. The Nero 3 has ample settings that I have no worry about flow when it comes time to introduce corals.
I used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals for the saltwater. I purchased and set up a BRS 6 stage RO/DI filter for the water. The RO/DI system was incredibly easy to set up. I must admit, I kind of ghetto’d it. I attached the RO/DI to a wood sawhorse and my reservoir is a 50 gallon Brute trashcan. I have 2 100 watt heaters and a Koralia pump in the trashcan to aid in the mixing. I am very happy with the set up. Water is transferred via a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe’s. I have SG at 1.025. I have a Milwaukee refractometer that is a must have in my opinion
I purchased live sand and rock (20 lbs each) from Tampa Bay Saltwater. This product exceeded my expectations. I had to pick it up from the cargo area at Boston Logan. It was shipped in two boxes. TBS sets the shipping up but, you have to pay separately for it. Not a big deal, it was around $90 and came up from Florida on a Delta flight. The rock and sand are teeming with life. I received some great hitchhikers on the rock: a peppermint shrimp, a blue porcelain crab, and a troop of limpets. The rock is encrusted with coralline algae, small sponges and macro algae. I can also see lots of small creatures scurrying about. You’ll see that the sand is great because you get a more natural looking aquascape than the white sand that everyone seems to be in love with. The sand is also very coarse, which allows you to crank the flow from the pumps if you wish. Excuse the lighting in the pictures, I am a total noob a reef pics!
The light is an AI Prime 16HD. I have already set it up even though I don’t have corals yet. I used the settings described in a BRS video that explains optimal settings for soft corals (which I plan to stock at some point). The setup was incredible easy and very intuitive. You can even download presets from AI’s website in the signature section.
I haven’t set up the ATO yet as I cannot figure out if I need to buy a controller for the Osmolator nano 3152. I looked at a few YouTube videos on the setup but, they are introducing parts that didn’t come in the box. I will post more when I figure that out.
As you will see in the pictures, I stocked the tank with 1 occelaris clownfish. $19 bucks at Petco. He is doing great and I do not plan to have any other fish. If I start getting undesirable critters (which is likely at some point) I will introduce a possum wrasse. There are a few astrea snails and blue legged hermits in the tank as well.
With regard to corals, I will begin stocking in a couple of months or so. The plan is on toadstool coral and a handful of zoanthids and that is it. I am going for simplicity.
Wish me luck!!!!
I am new to the hobby and after a lot of lurking in the forums, reading articles and watching hours worth of BRS YouTube clips, I decided to start a nano reef. The reason why I chose a nano reef was for ease of maintenance and the small footprint it would take in my house. Another consideration was that I would not have make compromising cost decisions. I settled on the Waterbox Cube 20 with the stand. It cost around $950 from Bulk Reef Supply (where I purchased all equipment for this build). I liked the Waterbox for the simplicity of design, the all in one feature and the quality of build for the money. The quality of both the tank and the stand is worth the money in my opinion. Everything is sleek, clean and sturdy. Even the hinges in the stand are as good as my custom kitchen cabinets.
I did upgrade the return pump to a Sicce Syncra 0.5 silent pump. I have one powerhead, an AI Nero 3. Both of these pumps are so quiet that I don’t even hear a base line noise coming from the setup. The return nozzle along with the Nero 3 broadcasts flow and turbulence brilliantly all over the tank. The Nero 3 has ample settings that I have no worry about flow when it comes time to introduce corals.
I used Instant Ocean Reef Crystals for the saltwater. I purchased and set up a BRS 6 stage RO/DI filter for the water. The RO/DI system was incredibly easy to set up. I must admit, I kind of ghetto’d it. I attached the RO/DI to a wood sawhorse and my reservoir is a 50 gallon Brute trashcan. I have 2 100 watt heaters and a Koralia pump in the trashcan to aid in the mixing. I am very happy with the set up. Water is transferred via a 5 gallon bucket from Lowe’s. I have SG at 1.025. I have a Milwaukee refractometer that is a must have in my opinion
I purchased live sand and rock (20 lbs each) from Tampa Bay Saltwater. This product exceeded my expectations. I had to pick it up from the cargo area at Boston Logan. It was shipped in two boxes. TBS sets the shipping up but, you have to pay separately for it. Not a big deal, it was around $90 and came up from Florida on a Delta flight. The rock and sand are teeming with life. I received some great hitchhikers on the rock: a peppermint shrimp, a blue porcelain crab, and a troop of limpets. The rock is encrusted with coralline algae, small sponges and macro algae. I can also see lots of small creatures scurrying about. You’ll see that the sand is great because you get a more natural looking aquascape than the white sand that everyone seems to be in love with. The sand is also very coarse, which allows you to crank the flow from the pumps if you wish. Excuse the lighting in the pictures, I am a total noob a reef pics!
The light is an AI Prime 16HD. I have already set it up even though I don’t have corals yet. I used the settings described in a BRS video that explains optimal settings for soft corals (which I plan to stock at some point). The setup was incredible easy and very intuitive. You can even download presets from AI’s website in the signature section.
I haven’t set up the ATO yet as I cannot figure out if I need to buy a controller for the Osmolator nano 3152. I looked at a few YouTube videos on the setup but, they are introducing parts that didn’t come in the box. I will post more when I figure that out.
As you will see in the pictures, I stocked the tank with 1 occelaris clownfish. $19 bucks at Petco. He is doing great and I do not plan to have any other fish. If I start getting undesirable critters (which is likely at some point) I will introduce a possum wrasse. There are a few astrea snails and blue legged hermits in the tank as well.
With regard to corals, I will begin stocking in a couple of months or so. The plan is on toadstool coral and a handful of zoanthids and that is it. I am going for simplicity.
Wish me luck!!!!
