Bcarl's Waterbox 135.4 Custom Build

[bcarl77]

The tank is up and cycling now. I can post a more detailed update on everything in a bit.

 

[bcarl77]

First things first. The equipment list:
3 Radion XR15Pros
2MP40wQD
Clarisea Gen2 filter roller
Nyos 160 skimmer
BRS media reactor
AquaUV 25W sterilizer
UFO Gro light
Sicce 5.0 return pump
Heater
Tunze ATO
Neptune Apex

 

[bcarl77]

I will slowly get this thread caught up over today. First major project was to support the floor. We live in an old house with crawl space underneath. Luckily have some connections with structural engineers whom helped us identify what to do with the floor. We had to double up 4 support joists. After one hot day and less than $100 we got the floor supported.

 

[S.Pepper]

I will slowly get this thread caught up over today. First major project was to support the floor. We live in an old house with crawl space underneath. Luckily have some connections with structural engineers whom helped us identify what to do with the floor. We had to double up 4 support joists. After one hot day and less than $100 we got the floor supported.

I have a crawl space too... however it is a fairly new home with microlam floor joists. I figure with the tank and water the weight is about 700lbs. With the tank being against the wall, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[bcarl77]

I have a crawl space too... however it is a fairly new home with microlam floor joists. I figure with the tank and water the weight is about 700lbs. With the tank being against the wall, it shouldn't be a problem.

I would agree, this was against a load bearing wall as well. Out of an abundance of caution we decided to double the joists since it wouldn't be that expensive or difficult.

 

[bcarl77]

Alright so next step was perfecting the rockscape. I moved the cabinet inside to get it out of the garage and used it as my template. After a lot of chiseling, stacking, chiseling and repeating got something I was pretty happy with. There was a few more tweaks to this but you get the idea.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking good!

 

[bcarl77]

Welp forgot about this build thread.... I guess I will post an update pic and we can all go from there...

 

[bcarl77]

 

[puckett26]

What were the pieces you used to convert this to standard PVC?

 

[revhtree]

How's the tank looking?

 

[bcarl77]

Not too bad...

 

[brandon429]

Pls can you contrast this setup vs the prior one that was an invasion challenge, readers really want to know alignments/changes/readiness here to prevent issues

Your other system was in the top three toughest reef tank invasions I have ever seen online. Had mentioned it just the other day, about 4 days ago in fact. amazing reef above. how is this tank aligned for never seeing that level of challenge again/we really want to learn from this system.

 

[bcarl77]

Pls can you contrast this setup vs the prior one that was an invasion challenge, readers really want to know alignments/changes/readiness here to prevent issues

Your other system was in the top three toughest reef tank invasions I have ever seen online. Had mentioned it just the other day, about 4 days ago in fact. amazing reef above. how is this tank aligned for never seeing that level of challenge again/we really want to learn from this system.

Oh gosh! That tank had some pros and cons but the Cyano battle was a huge con. There are so many differences between this system and that. I did fight some cyano early on in the 135.4 which ended by month 3. I will highlight a few things I intentionally did different on this system which in my opinion helped, this is all based on anecdotal evidence, based on my observations and experiences. Here is what I think made the biggest difference:
1) Carbon Source: I used to use Red Sea Coral Pro salt after the 3 month mark, and seeing cyano here I decided to switch to TM Pro, now I use Bio-Actif. I think the carbon source in the Red Sea was way higher and combined with aminos and other feeding the cyano had AMPLE carbon.
2) Light Spectrum: This system is running TSA's light schedule, almost no red spectrum which from talking with those folks is a large factor in algae growth.
3) Proper Refugium: This system has a properly powered refugium with a Kessil H160, I do get some cyano in the refug which is preferable over the display. Almost like a algae scrubber.
4) Sand Type: I used the caribsea large grain sand and rinsed it thoroughly prior to start up. Sand gets vacuumed every week or two and has a sand sifting starfish and conch which helps move it some.
5) UV Sterilizer: I do run a 25W Aqua UV. It does run at the right speed, but it recirculates w/in the sump so technically not the most effective set-up

@brandon429 Feel free to share a link to any of my old threads, if that helps.
4)

 

[brandon429]

That’s so nice to hear! you had pure dedication last time I knew you’d find a winning combo. I was tapped out on options ;( lol nice job pressing onward, we will link your new success here to our sand thread as a follow up to one we were not able to originally help by ripping and flipping and zip cleaning the sand heh

 

[bcarl77]

What were the pieces you used to convert this to standard PVC?

I used the metric to standard from Coralvue.

 

[bcarl77]

 

[bcarl77]

Salt: Tropic Marin Pro/Bio Actif 50/50 blend
Dosing: BRS/Tropic Marin 2 Part Hybrid
Feeding: Reef Roids, Reef Nurtition Phyto, Reef Nurtion Oyster Feast, Red Sea Reef Energy AB+ (All Daily)
Params:
pH 8.2-8.4
Alk 8-8.2
Cal:420-440
Mg:1300
N:10ppm
P:0.2

 

[count krunk]

looks really good!

 

[brandon429]

I rate that combo as best you could be feeding nice results too so bright and clear