Back in the hobby after 25 years. My custom waterbox build thread

[mmorrison55]

The water was added Monday the 30th ~ 4 pm. At the time, my skimmer and filter roller were in the sump. Filter roller was on, but skimmer was powered off.

Tuesday morning, I pulled out the filter roller and skimmer, and added some Fritz’s ammonium chloride powder around noon. I added the recommended quantity based on 180 gallons.

Tuesday evening when I could get to my LFS, I picked up some Dr Tim’s One and Only and added to the tank around 8 pm.

Fast FWD 1.5 days, Attached are the side view shots taken this morning.

Only my return pumps are on.

I don’t have an amonia or nitrite test kit. I will pick one of each up as soon as I can get to my LFS later today.

I do have one of those seachem ammonia sticker deals that attach and remain on the inside of the tank.

But this thing has not changed since it was added Tuesday night.

Also, I should probably add that I have Carib sea Fiji Pink live sand in the bottom of the tank.

the saltwater they filled the tank with is Red Sea.

So is this normal @ this stage to still be cloudy? I’ve read it’s likely the nitrifying bacteria doing its thing.

But I was just curious what others experienced and if there was anything I maybe should be watching or doing differently.

 

[Featherweight]

I wonder if perhaps the sand is stirring up causing it to never clear? That's quite a bit of sand. Otherwise I'd think it would clear more by now

 

[mmorrison55]

I thought about taking some out. The guy at the LFS,kept adding bags.

Thought about taking some out, but that would just stir things up some more, so I might just leave it on the thicker side

 

[mmorrison55]

I wonder if perhaps the sand is stirring up causing it to never clear? That's quite a bit of sand. Otherwise I'd think it would clear more by now

I ended up taking some sand out tonight. The more and more I looked at the sand bed, the more I realized it was just too much, so I removed probably 30lbs of sand.

 

[Featherweight]

Fingers crossed things clear up. I am hoping to pick up the 6ft version of your tank second hand. I love your aquascape, really nicely done.
I think the mp40s on the back should work. Have you hooked them up to the apex yet? Im picking up an old tank breakdown today with the apex stuff. Gonna set it up on my little reef to learn it.

 

[mmorrison55]

Fingers crossed things clear up. I am hoping to pick up the 6ft version of your tank second hand. I love your aquascape, really nicely done.
I think the mp40s on the back should work. Have you hooked them up to the apex yet? Im picking up an old tank breakdown today with the apex stuff. Gonna set it up on my little reef to learn it.

Thanks,

When you do get yours, rinse your sand! I’ve learned that the hard way.

Re the mp40’s, I have not yet plugged them in or added to apex. Wanted to wait until my tank cleared up as I didn’t want to add any new flow churning up the sand.

I need to figure out IOTA. Right now, my ecotech Vectra return pumps are plugged in to the eb832, but I’m still controlling via the ecotech app. I need to get the fully changed over to apex, I just haven’t done so yet.

Good luck with your build.please share your progress.

 

[mmorrison55]

Well… my tank is almost crystal clear now. Still just a bit cloudy from the side view, but I expect it to be cleared up by tomorrow or the day after… I had added a bag of carbon and a few capsules seachem clear, and then added the filter roller back in. Not sure if it was one thing more than the other or a combination of the three, but it’s looking good.

I’ll be ready start adding my cleanup crew as soon as I get my heater in. I live in Tampa, and didn’t anticipate needing one just heat, but this could front that’s hitting the SE has dropped my ambient temp to 70 inside the house, so my tank has equalized with the room temp.

 

[mmorrison55]

And I also got my RODI making water, and completed the plumbing between the rodi bin and saltwater mixing bin.

I still need to run a line from my RODI output to my holding tank, but I needed to order more tubing to complete the run. As well as ordered a booster pump. I’m right on the edge, getting 45 psi, but wanted to increase the pressure to supposedly lengthen the di resin.

I didn’t really have a good space on the wall near the sink to hang the unit, so I built some brackets out of some pvcboard I had on hand and draped it over my slop sink.

 

[Featherweight]

Looks fantastic. Carbon is a clarity game changer.

 

[gregrock68]

As the title suggests, I had a 50 gallon saltwater aquarium about 25-27 years ago that I had purchased from my brother in law. Back then it was 99% fowlr. And you made saltwater from your garden hose and throwing a bunch of chemicals In it to get ready for fish. It was going good for about a year then the tank crashed and like many, that was my queue to get out of the hobby.

Fast forward to early in 2024, and a coworker started talking about saltwater tanks and how much he wanted to get one someday. It rekindled my interest and after visiting a few LFS in the area and seeing how far the hobby has come and how vibrant to corals are, I knew I’d be getting a tank sometime this year. After driving to Orlando to visit WWC and Top Shelf aquatics in early summer, I took the plunge and contacted Jess at waterbox and put in an order for a waterbox custom while they were offering a special at the time.

I’m glad with age, I’ve developed some patience as it has been a long 6 months until my tank was delivered last week. It’s still dry, but I hope to have water in it next week. I’m debating whether I will complete the plumbing myself or have my LFS, the coral corral, in Tampa do the plumbing.

They came out and unboxed the tank and carried it inside and placed it on the stand for me as this thing is way heavier than the 55 gallon I had in my 20’s. Originally they were going to do the plumbing, but I had an issue with the emergency drain thread and it could not be used, so I had to reach out to Jess who was able to overnight me a part that I could coddle together a new emergency overflow with the metric to us standard plumbing that I needed. So coral corral had to stop until the new part arrived.

They will be back the 1st part of next week with the saltwater and depending on how much plumbing I do myself between now and then, they will either fill it up and test for leaks or finish the plumbing, fill, and test.

Side note and hint re buying saltwater from a LFS @ 1.80 a gallon. I reached out to the fine folks at the coral coral and asked them if I were to purchase a sizable gift certificate to use in their store, would they supply the saltwater for free. And to my surprise, they were more than willing to strike that bargain. It’s that kind of interaction that makes it invaluable to find and support your LFS whenever you can. I saved a few hundred $$$ in saltwater, and they made a new loyal customer who will be spending a lot of time and money in their store in the coming years.

Ok so on to the pics…

I went with a euro braced, 5 ft X 2ft x2ft display and corresponding sump. Honestly I’m not sure how many gallons this ends up being, I think it’s in the 180 range, give or take.


Thanks for checking out my build thread. I’ll try and post more photos as I get into the set up.

I was extremely lucky and found a great deal on a lot of apex, ecotech pumps, etc from a nice guy, Alan/AKL1950 here on R2R. He was just north of me and was getting out of the hobby, so I was extremely lucky on picking up a lot of great gear at a can’t pass on price.

Thanks for visiting. Enjoy.

Mike

Welcome back to the hobby. You and I are on the same time frame as I was in The Hobby for 7 to 8 years and my younger days before I got married and moved and broke everything down. Fast forward 27 years and now at 57 years old I have started back up, like you with a lot more patience and pleased to find how much knowledge has been gained and how much technology has improved so many areas of this Hobby, not to mention wonderful website forums where you can learn from others so easily.

I imagine we're similar in age so the experiences entirely Now versus then are quite different and our disposable income greatly AIDS in our ability to be able to play in The Hobby a little bit more then many years ago.

Keep posting your build thread, I love to see how things develop. I started off with a 40 gallon mixed Reef tank from Innovative Marine I'm having a blast with it. Enjoy the wonderful friendships and experiences from the hobby that greatly enhance it from where we used to be prior to the internet! Best wishes, Greg

 

[mmorrison55]

Welcome back to the hobby. You and I are on the same time frame as I was in The Hobby for 7 to 8 years and my younger days before I got married and moved and broke everything down. Fast forward 27 years and now at 57 years old I have started back up, like you with a lot more patience and pleased to find how much knowledge has been gained and how much technology has improved so many areas of this Hobby, not to mention wonderful website forums where you can learn from others so easily.

I imagine we're similar in age so the experiences entirely Now versus then are quite different and our disposable income greatly AIDS in our ability to be able to play in The Hobby a little bit more then many years ago.

Keep posting your build thread, I love to see how things develop. I started off with a 40 gallon mixed Reef tank from Innovative Marine I'm having a blast with it. Enjoy the wonderful friendships and experiences from the hobby that greatly enhance it from where we used to be prior to the internet! Best wishes, Greg

Looks great Greg. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, we are pretty close in age. I turned 55 earlier this year.

I’ve started making water tonight. Will make saltwater in a few days then as soon as my heater comes in, ill add a cleanup crew and a fish soon thereafter and a coral.

Although unless I I order my fish from a place that guarantees quarantine, I’ll likely set up my own quarantine tank and then add the fish in a few weeks. I’m trying not to rush the process.

 

[mmorrison55]

Looks fantastic. Carbon is a clarity game changer.

Seems to be. Think I’ll set up a carbon reactor in the near future.

I’ll be turning on my UV soon as well, and supposedly that will also help with water clarity.

 

[Battlecorals]

I love these kinds of posts! Welcome back!

 

[gregrock68]

Looks great Greg. Thanks for sharing.

Yes, we are pretty close in age. I turned 55 earlier this year.

I’ve started making water tonight. Will make saltwater in a few days then as soon as my heater comes in, ill add a cleanup crew and a fish soon thereafter and a coral.

Although unless I I order my fish from a place that guarantees quarantine, I’ll likely set up my own quarantine tank and then add the fish in a few weeks. I’m trying not to rush the process.

Love your patience. It's hard even if 57 to utilize the gifts to patience in this hobby! For what it's worth, I also followed your path but added doses about every two weeks of copepods of varied types too help the ugly phase that's coming. I also added quite a bit of microbacter7 and Dr Tim's to help establish the good bacteria.

Also, after it is cycled make sure to test the Big Four (dkh, phos, nitrate, salinity) and manage the stability as the tank settles in. We didn't have this capability 25 years ago but now there are Management systems and testing equipment that make it super easy to control the parameters which help the tank mature more quickly and efficiently.

My fish I tend to source through local vendors close to me in Northern Virginia and they quarantine everything before it goes to Market. Most of the corals I'm sourcing over the internet that are shipped directly to me as Frags. The frag Market is incredible out out there with the internet. I have been able to choose some very unique pieces which is lots of fun. I'm building a multicolored mushroom Garden as well as a zoa Garden and mixtures of other Corals in the one tank. I've also setting up another 40 gallon at cycling right now that's going to be primarily a torch, but also with Zoas , blasto's and acans.

My wife fortunately enjoys it enough to allow me to set up a second tank. I'm a blessed man!

 

[keelo]

Part of my 2nd hand equipment find, I picked up a 57 watt ultra Uv. I’m assuming it is not directional. Not so much horizontal vs vertical as I plan to plumb it horizontal with the pipes facing up, but I’m more asking directional as far as what side the water enters and leaves?

I can’t imagine it would matter, but wanted to ask more from a power cable routing standpoint.

Nice build man! Quick question for you on the UV light, did you decide how to orient the water through it ? I’m also wondering how to go about it, I think it doesn’t really matter

 

[mmorrison55]

Nice build man! Quick question for you on the UV light, did you decide how to orient the water through it ? I’m also wondering how to go about it, I think it doesn’t really matter

Horizontally, but I think you can get away vertically as long as you have it entering the bottom and coming out of the top. The guy at the LFS who helped me with the plumbing and he knows I’m a bit OCD and like things to line up just right. He made a point to let me know that it’s off kilter just a bit so the exit is at a slight angle above the opening. This is to ensure water fills the Uv chamber and there are no dry/ hot spots inside the UV chamber.

Kind of makes sense to me, but probably just as many theories out there why mine is wrong, so take it all with a grain of salt and go by whatever your mfg recommends if in doubt.

FYI Keelo. You can see the Uv in the photo a few posts down.

 

[mmorrison55]

Love your patience. It's hard even if 57 to utilize the gifts to patience in this hobby! For what it's worth, I also followed your path but added doses about every two weeks of copepods of varied types too help the ugly phase that's coming. I also added quite a bit of microbacter7 and Dr Tim's to help establish the good bacteria.

Also, after it is cycled make sure to test the Big Four (dkh, phos, nitrate, salinity) and manage the stability as the tank settles in. We didn't have this capability 25 years ago but now there are Management systems and testing equipment that make it super easy to control the parameters which help the tank mature more quickly and efficiently.

My fish I tend to source through local vendors close to me in Northern Virginia and they quarantine everything before it goes to Market. Most of the corals I'm sourcing over the internet that are shipped directly to me as Frags. The frag Market is incredible out out there with the internet. I have been able to choose some very unique pieces which is lots of fun. I'm building a multicolored mushroom Garden as well as a zoa Garden and mixtures of other Corals in the one tank. I've also setting up another 40 gallon at cycling right now that's going to be primarily a torch, but also with Zoas , blasto's and acans.

My wife fortunately enjoys it enough to allow me to set up a second tank. I'm a blessed man!

Thanks for the tips. A Neptune trident was part of the apex gear I picked up in my used gear haul. I just need to clean it to make sure it’s ready for prime time. So I should have the dkh covered. I think I also have some Hannah test kits for the nitrate and phosphate. And he also included a handheld salinity checkers. I just need to start regular logging of my parameters.

 

[gregrock68]

Thanks for the tips. A Neptune trident was part of the apex gear I picked up in my used gear haul. I just need to clean it to make sure it’s ready for prime time. So I should have the dkh covered. I think I also have some Hannah test kits for the nitrate and phosphate. And he also included a handheld salinity checkers. I just need to start regular logging of my parameters.

Sounds like you're properly set up. This will make your life so much easier whether you are at home or away. I am looking forward to the Maven testing unit soon. Should be out in the next few months

 

[mmorrison55]

Most recent addition. LED strip lights under the sump and display

 

[mmorrison55]

Cycle is slowly progressing. Was able to finally test my ammonia Saturday and it was too high for my Hannah checker to read, so I added some more nitrifying bacteria and checked again this am. Nitrogen was finally readable by the Hannah but was reported just over 2 ppm. Will check again in a few days.


In the mean time, I worked on building and installing a control board on the side of my display to keep the MP40 controllers and probably some other controllers I will add in the future.

I like working with this pvc board though. Its lite, cuts easy and can screw into like wood.