Chris' Waterbox 25 Peninsula First Reef Tank

[cb6502]

Hey y'all,

My name is Chris and I am building my first reef tank. I've never posted before on a forum, but used plenty of advice from threads, so another first for me. I am setup with a waterbox peninsula 25 and the equipment I've gotten is as follows:

-AI Hydra 32
-Tunze ATO Nano
-Inkbird ITC-306A Thermostat
-BRS Titanium Heater
-VGA 1/4" RFG


For filtration I am currently using the stock filter sock in chamber 1, but I have ordered a 3D printed cup for filter floss and should be arriving soon. In chamber 2 I have bio balls and the waterbox stock carbon. My LFS gave me bioballs out of his system to help my cycle the tank faster. In chamber 3 I have the stock return pump, BRS heater and ATO.

The tank is cycled, and I add a YWG and candy cane pistol yesterday. They have taken residence under the main aquascape and have added several new entrances already (all dry rock was put on bare glass to prevent cave-ins). I also added a GSP, which is located on an island on one side of the tank.

Currently I am running the David Saxby program on my hydra, but I reduced it down to 50 percent of the original values based on countless members saying they bleached their corals. So far the GSP very extended and looking very nice. I plan on renting a PAR meter from my LFS this weekend to really dial in the lighting before I add any other corals. I've got three "island" rocks in the tank and plan on 2 being Zoa gardens and the one being GSP. The main aquascape I'm still undecided, so open to suggestions for beginners that won't take over the whole thing. I'm a huge Packers fan, so Green Bay Packers Zoa's are going to be my next purchase. I'd love to get some input of good Zoas to put with GBP that have a relatively similar grow rate.

I've got a powerhead on the way that my LFS says is a knock off version of the Nero 3. He advised me to get the outer tank magnet covered in acrylic if I want to put it on the back wall to ensure there is no leaching into the system. Being that this is my first tank, I am in agreement with that so I don't potentially damage any new corals. I know they can be sensitive to a wide variety of metals in the water.

I'm using a combination of RedSea and Hanna checkers to test my water parameters. I have a hard time reading the color charts so I figured the Hanna was the way to go. Currently testing each parameter with:

-Salinity - Hanna style
-PH - Hanna dip style
-Ammonia - RedSea
-Nitrite - RedSea
-Nitrate - Hanna HR checker
-Phosphates - Hanna LR Checker
-Alkalinity - RedSea (plan on switching to Hanna soon)

I currently don't have testing for Magnesium or Calcium, but I know that I need to get it before I get a coral more advanced than GSP. I'm open to any suggestions for the best kits! I think the BRS YouTube said that Saliferts was best for Calcium so I was thinking about that over the Hanna checker based on the reviews.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something in this post, but that's okay. Thank you in advance for any advice and help that you can offer! I'm very excited about this tank, been wanting to build on for nearly 10 years and finely pulled the trigger.

 

[cb6502]

Here are some pictures of the setup!

 

[blaxsun]

Best of luck with the new tank!

 

[cb6502]

Best of luck with the new tank!

Thank you!

 

[cb6502]

Hey Y'all,

I was able to rent a PAR meter from my LFS (Blue Line Coral if any of y'all are familiar). I've been running the David Saxby program at 50 percent thinking it would be pretty decent for a softy/LPS dominant tank. Turns out what I have been running seems pretty perfect for a softy/LPS tank, gonna chalk it up to beginners luck. Here are two pictures to show the PAR levels I am running with my landscape, sorry the blues are hard to work through, waiting on my lens from BRS that will hopefully help me take better pictures.

Appreciate any and all feedback!

 

[cb6502]

Hey Y'all,

I've got my first bit of advice to ask. Currently the only fish/inverts I have is a yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp pair. I noticed this evening the YWG swimming much higher in the water column than he normally does, and he had his back slightly arched, and his tail curled. His coloration was darker than he normally is, which I believe is a sign of stress. I'm not sure why though. I've attached a picture of him swimming, the coloration in the picture isn't that accurate due to the lighting.

The water parameters right after the incident were:
Ammonia - 0.00 ppm (Red Sea)
Nitrite - 0.00 ppm (Red Sea)
Nitrate - 12.4 ppm (Hanna Checker)
Phosphate - 0.00 ppm (Hanna Checker)
Alk - 7.5 dKH (Red Sea)
Salinity - 1.024 (Hanna)
PH - 7.92 (Hanna)
Temp - 77.8 F

At first I thought it might be an ammonia spike, but that tested zeros. My next thought is that maybe I was feeding too little because I was afraid of the over feeding ammonia spike. Been feeding Reef Frenzy Nano once a day, but broadcasting to prepare them for future tank mates.

I target fed him extra tonight and made sure he ate, which he did. I'm taking this as a good sign. He is back in his burrow with his shrimp buddy now. But I'd like to understand what I might have done to prevent it in the future. Any feedback/suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Firedawg1983]

Every now and then they will swim up top. Definitely good that you have the mesh lid already. I’m in Chicago and just got my 25! Let me know how your build is going! I love blue line coral btw!

 

[3000kelvin]

You still got this tank up and running?