Waterbox Marine X 60.2 - Practicing Patience

[ajnies]

Quick background. Currently I'm running an Innovated Marine Fusion 20 that has been up for around 3 years had it's share of ups and downs. Around 6-9 months ago I had a dino outbreak that killed 95% of the coral I had, which in turn sent the tank into a new cycle. Since that point, I've been working on stabilizing the tank, but haven't been adding much in the way of livestock or coral. The fusion has been a great tank and has taught me a lot. Specifically that just because the community loves a piece of equipment or lots of people keep a specific fish or coral, that doesn't mean it's the right choice for my personal tank. Over the past few years I definitely rushed the addition of livestock and swapped in and out equipment far too frequently. My goal with this new build is to do the research and buy what is right for this tank from the start.

To that end, back in October I finally pushed the button and ordered a Waterbox Marine X 60.2 (total volume ~54.5 gallons). However, since apparently every tank in America is on backorder, I'm still waiting for that glorious shipping notification. In the meantime, I've been gathering equipment, dry rock, and working on the aquascape. However, I'd be interested to hear what anyone else's experience has been with Waterbox and their shipping times. Currently I'm at 6+ weeks from the order date.

I want this tank to be interesting and last me for years to come, but I am also aiming for a somewhat lower maintenance / more forgiving setup. So, while I LOVE sps, I'm planning for this to be mostly softie, LPS, and euphyllia. Currently, I have two clowns which will be coming over to the new tank, but not much else will be transferred. I think a total of 5(ish) fish would be very doable in this tank, but the stocking list is still up in the air.

Equipment

• Waterbox Marine X 60.2 (~54.5 gallons without rock and equipment / ~40 gallons with rock and equipment)
• Lighting - 1X Kessil A360X + Kessil Spectral Controller X
• Return Pump - EcoTech Marine Vectra S2 (1400 gph max)
• Flow - 2X EcoTech Vortech MP10
• Natural Filtration
  • ~25lbs Marcorocks Reef Saver
  • ~20lbs Marcorocks Bahama Aragonite Dry Sand (may switch this to live sand)
  • 1X Brightwell Aquatics Xport-Bio Dimpled Brick
• Mechanical Filtration
  • Klir Di-4 - Drop In Automatic Fleece Roller (Not in use yet)
  • Skimmer - Regal 150SSS 6" Space Saving Protein Skimmer (VarioS)
• Controller - Neptune APEX EL
• Heater - 2X Bulk Reef Supply Titanium 100 watt + contoller
• Dosers - 2X Bulk Reef Supply 1.1 mL/min
• ATO - AutoAqua Smart Micro ATO
• Feeding - 1X Neptune AFS

Cycle

• Brightwell Microbacter Quick Cycle
• Brightwell Microbacter XLM Switched to Microbacter 7 to complete cycle and remove nitrite.
• Brightwell Microbacter Clean

Fish

• 2X - Clownfish

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Here's a picture of the aquascape. I'll try to get a video to better show the depth, but I'm pretty satisfied with how it came out. Right now it's only super glued, but once I'm fully satisfied I plan to mortar it together.

Always looking for places to improve, thoughts on the aquascape or equipment list are more than welcome!

 

[reefinnewb]

Looks like the glass thickness is on the extreme end of what the MP10 can hold on to. You should be ok, but something to consider. Everything else looks great! Best of luck.

 

[ajnies]

Looks like the glass thickness is on the extreme end of what the MP10 can hold on to. You should be ok, but something to consider. Everything else looks great! Best of luck.

Thanks for the heads up! To my disappointment, I actually noticed this issue a couple of weeks ago which is why I haven't ordered a second MP10 yet. I've read mixed reviews as to whether that additional 0.5mm outside it's recommended glass thickness will make a big difference in performance. Going to test the current one out and hope it works. In the end I may still end up going with an MP40 as the second flow pump.

 

[Jason sovereign]

T

 

[Jason sovereign]

I ordered mine back in the beginning of November. I never received another email from them but then last week Thursday I got a text from ups saying type 1 for Friday appointment which was the next day or 2 for Monday. So took 5 weeks for me on a 35.1. I have a thread going on my waterbox build I just started also. Going to follow yours along. I like the scape.

 

[ajnies]

I ordered mine back in the beginning of November. I never received another email from them but then last week Thursday I got a text from ups saying type 1 for Friday appointment which was the next day or 2 for Monday. So took 5 weeks for me on a 35.1. I have a thread going on my waterbox build I just started also. Going to follow yours along. I like the scape.

Just checked out your thread and it's looking great!

I'm coming up on 8 weeks since ordering mine. I've called a few times and been told "it will ship any day". I think my biggest frustration is that they charged me for the tank immediately and I have nothing to show for it. Anyway, for my tank I'm aiming for a mix of automation and simplicity. I plan to use the Apex mostly as a backstop in case something breaks. I'm already loving the power monitoring feature in the new powerbars.

I'm also really torn on whether or not to add sand to the tank. I'm not really a fan of the look of bare bottom, but the fact that I can use flow to keep all the detritus suspended is very appealing. Decisions Decisions.

 

[Jason sovereign]

Just checked out your thread and it's looking great!

I'm coming up on 8 weeks since ordering mine. I've called a few times and been told "it will ship any day". I think my biggest frustration is that they charged me for the tank immediately and I have nothing to show for it. Anyway, for my tank I'm aiming for a mix of automation and simplicity. I plan to use the Apex mostly as a backstop in case something breaks. I'm already loving the power monitoring feature in the new powerbars.

I'm also really torn on whether or not to add sand to the tank. I'm not really a fan of the look of bare bottom, but the fact that I can use flow to keep all the detritus suspended is very appealing. Decisions Decisions.

I’m with you on the sand. I did purchase a bag of special grade but still not sure if I am going to use it. If I was going to be 100% sps I definitely would not. My issue is I really also like rock flowers and can’t have those without sand. I’ll probably start without sand and run for a few weeks before I ever add any coral and see how I feel about it. I just hate the maintenance that comes with vacuuming sand even in my case where it’s a very little area.

 

[ajnies]

I’m with you on the sand. I did purchase a bag of special grade but still not sure if I am going to use it. If I was going to be 100% sps I definitely would not. My issue is I really also like rock flowers and can’t have those without sand. I’ll probably start without sand and run for a few weeks before I ever add any coral and see how I feel about it. I just hate the maintenance that comes with vacuuming sand even in my case where it’s a very little area.

The maintenance is definitely something you have to commit to. I'm debating just putting a thin later of sand (less than one inch). that way I can easily use a turkey baster to stir it up regularly. Or maybe I'll hate it and end up sucking it all out haha

 

[ajnies]

After a long weekend filled with several exasperated moments, the tank is assembled, leveled, and ready to get some water in it!

The assembly process was pretty straightforward, but as others have mentioned, Waterbox's instructions are on the minimalist side of things. However, once you get the first couple pieces together things start to move quickly. Overall it probably took me about 2 hours to unbox and assemble the entire thing.

The real nightmare was leveling the tank because as you can see the room that the tank is going in has carpet in it. The Waterbox stand has 12 individually adjustable screw in feet to assist with leveling which were super difficult to get adjusted uniformly Adjust one on the level to even things out and now the front right is out of whack. Anyway, after about 4 hours of messing around with it, I accepted the fact that I needed to cut through the carpet to make sure the feet were setting on solid concrete. This approach worked well, but overall the leveling process what not enjoyable haha.

Following the leveling fiasco I was finally able to get back into some of the fun parts of setting up a new tank. First was installing some minimalist cabinet lighting so that I can see what's going on when I open the sump door.

Here's a few pics of the build.

While I get the tank up to temp and the salinity stabilized I plan to run minimal filtration. Probably just some floss and the filter bag... maybe some carbon to get the remaining dusty fines from the stand and marcorock. However, I'd waited long enough to assemble the Reef Octopus skimmer I snagged on Black Friday. This thing is.... large. Certainly oversized for the tank, but the DC pump should allow me to tune it down to match the bioload. In any instance, it's not about where you are, but where you're going and I want the equipment on this tank to last the life of the tank. Annoyingly the skimmer was missing the gate valve. After a quick email, they are sending me a replacement.

Few pictures of the sump setup and skimmer.

Rock is in!

Now to get the sand in and the water filtered! Can't wait to see this thing running.

 

[Jason sovereign]

great looking start and bonus points for the dog,

 

[ajnies]

The tank is wet, salty, and cycling!

After almost a day of making RODI water I had enough to fill the tank and sump. Interestingly, I measured only about 39 gallons out of the 54.5 volume advertised on Waterbox's website. Obviously the rock and sand take up some volume, but I wasn't expecting it to be that much. Either way, I just tripled the volume from my previous tank. I'll take it!

After testing my existing vortech MP10, the magnetic hold seemed plenty strong even though the glass thickness is technically above the max tolerance for the MP10 so I went ahead and ordered a second. I also decided to go with MarcoRocks sand... I'm not sure about this decision since currently I have a temporary MJ600 powerhead in the tank and it's already blowing the sand everywhere, the addition of MP10s to the tank isn't likely to improve the situation. It's possible I may need to take it out and replace with crushed coral or something similar. We shall see.

On to the cycle! I decided to give Brightwell's dry rock starter kit a shot. I dosed the ammonia/nutrients as directed and ended up with as close as I can tell 2ppm ammonia which is exactly what the instructions say it should be. Next I put the Microbacter Start XLM into the tank and the cycle is off! According to the directions, if all goes as planned the tank should be cycled in approximately a week. I'll be measuring ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate along the way and will keep the thread updated on the tank's progress.

 

[Jason sovereign]

Yeah I used the kit in my new build and worked great. Currently now dosing the clean. Brightwell has a winner IMO with this new kit.

 

[ajnies]

Yeah I used the kit in my new build and worked great. Currently now dosing the clean. Brightwell has a winner IMO with this new kit.

I was really hesitant because the reviews online are pretty sketchy, but the process is straightforward. I'm waiting to pass full judgement, but so far so good!

How are you liking the clean, does it seem to be working?

 

[Jason sovereign]

I was really hesitant because the reviews online are pretty sketchy, but the process is straightforward. I'm waiting to pass full judgement, but so far so good!

How are you liking the clean, does it seem to be working?

It’s still to early to tell. I literally only started a week ago. I’ve been running my lights for 9 hours a day at 50%. Only thing in the system is a pair of clowns. Bare bottom system. I have only noticed some diatoms forming on the pump magnets and suction cups after the lights have been on for a few hours each day. Then I dose and it does seem like it out competes the for the second half of the day as they disappear. Right now I know my phosphates and nitrate is still high so until I do a few more water changes and build my Bactria colony up to get no3 and po4 down I’m going to keep using it and hope it continues to keep the rock looking clean until coralline starts growing on the rock.

 

[rengb6]

Great looking tank! I'm thinking about upgrading from my Nuvo 20 to this tank. Btw, you can keep rock flower anemones in bare bottom tanks. The nem in my bare bottom tank stuck its foot into a small crevice in a low flow area and hasn't moved since day 1. Its fully opened up and seems happy enough.

 

[ajnies]

Summary so far...

Day 1 - Ammonia 2ppm

Day 2 - did not test, didn’t have nitrite kit yet... dumb on me.

Day 3 - Ammonia ~2ppm (looks lighter than day 1...maybe it's just my eyes)
Nitrite - 0ppm (maybe a little darker than 0?)
Day 4 - Ammonia ~2ppm (looking lighter than yesterday...hard to be sure)
Nitrite - 0.0 - 0.25. Definitely darker than zero and darker than yesterday.

According to the instructions I have if your levels are over 0.25ppm you can "add more bacteria if desired". Going to do that tonight!

 

[ajnies]

Dosed the recommended amount of additional Microbacter XLM to the tank last night (day 4) after not seeing any real change in the ammonia or nitrite levels. Looks like that may have done the trick! Today's levels are finally showing some movement.

Day 5
Ammonia - 1ppm
Nitrite - 0.25 ppm

 

[ajnies]

Day 6
Ammonia - 1ppm
Nitrite - 0.50ppm

Nitrite is going up, but ammonia still hanging around. Per the instructions, I dosed another 15ml of Microbacter XLM.

 

[FrontRangeReefer]

Day 6
Ammonia - 1ppm
Nitrite - 0.50ppm

Nitrite is going up, but ammonia still hanging around. Per the instructions, I dosed another 15ml of Microbacter XLM.

Sorry if I missed this, but which testing kit(s) are you using? I ordered both the Saltwater Master and the Reef Master Kits. Seems like they are pretty popular.

 

[ajnies]

Sorry if I missed this, but which testing kit(s) are you using? I ordered both the Saltwater Master and the Reef Master Kits. Seems like they are pretty popular.

Generally I use a mix of test kits based on what I've come to like and also what is easiest. I use Salifert for Ca, Mg, and Nitrate and I use Hanna checkers for Alk and phosphate.

Since I don't set up a lot of new tanks I don't generally keep ammonia and nitrite tests on hand, however I'm using the API test kits since they're cheap(ish), easy to use, and accurate enough for determining how the cycle is progressing.