Justin's Waterbox 130.4 Mixed Reef

jlauck

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I’m getting ready to order a Waterbox 130.4 in a few days, just waiting for the Blue Friday sale. I am in the process of planning and buying all the equipment to get back into the saltwater hobby. I’ve been in and out of saltwater tanks since 2004, and this time I’m going bigger than I have in the past.

So far, I have ordered:
  • 120 lbs CaribSea LifeRock
  • 80 lbs CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink sand
  • 6 stage BRS RODI
  • InkBird Wifi Aquarium Heater Controller
  • 2 x 300 watt Finnex Heating Elements
  • Tunze Osmolater 3155 ATO
I Still need to order:
  • Waterbox 130.4 Reef tank
  • Nyos Quantium 160 Skimmer
  • 2 x Radion XR15 G5 Blue LED Lights
  • 2 x Vortech MP40 Powerheads with Battery Backup
  • Vortech M2 Return Pump with Battery Backup

I'm not sure that 2 XR15 Blues will be enough for a mixed reef, but my aquascape is pretty tall, and I'm going to stick with two until I introduce some SPS. At that point, if I need more light, I'll add one or two more.
 
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jlauck

jlauck

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Latest version of the Aquascape:
Z62_3399.JPG
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jlauck

jlauck

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Picked up some water storage tanks last night (65 gallon) to start building a mixing station this weekend. Thinking about doing auto water change, but may push that off for a few months.
IMG_5537.JPEG
 
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jlauck

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I pulled the trigger. I ended up splitting the difference between two lights and four lights and bought three.
  • Waterbox 130.4 Reef tank
  • Nyos Quantium 160 Skimmer
  • 3 x Radion XR15 G5 Blue LED Lights
  • 2 x Vortech MP40 Powerheads with Battery Backup
  • Vortech M2 Return Pump with Battery Backup
I also picked up a shelf for my mixing station / quarantine tanks. Going to get the plumbing soon.
IMG_5557.JPEG
 
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jlauck

jlauck

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Redid my aquascape. I felt like it was a little too high before (13-14" the whole width). Now the high end is 12 1/2 inches, the low end 8 1/2 inches.
Z62_3419.JPG
Z62_3423.JPG
Z62_3424.JPG
 

Alexdiaz

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Redid my aquascape. I felt like it was a little too high before (13-14" the whole width). Now the high end is 12 1/2 inches, the low end 8 1/2 inches.
Z62_3419.JPG
Z62_3423.JPG
Z62_3424.JPG
Nice job with the aquascape, I like all the caves, just might want to secure it with some epoxy or reef safe glue because id hate for one of those top overhang rocks to fall and damage coral or worse the tank.
 
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jlauck

jlauck

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Nice job with the aquascape, I like all the caves, just might want to secure it with some epoxy or reef safe glue because id hate for one of those top overhang rocks to fall and damage coral or worse the tank.
Absolutely. I have the epoxy ready for when it goes into the tank.
 

iamacat

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Redid my aquascape. I felt like it was a little too high before (13-14" the whole width). Now the high end is 12 1/2 inches, the low end 8 1/2 inches.
Z62_3419.JPG
Z62_3423.JPG
Z62_3424.JPG
It looks awesome dude. I would like to point out tho that your scape doesn’t provide much space for corals to get light. If you were to layer from back to front as well as left to right you would be able to have multiple heights to place corals. Being a mixed reef you will have different demands
 

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awesome can’t wait to see the tank up and running!!! I would say with the rock structure to make sure they are varying in height from low to high as many corals demand different intensity of lighting.
 
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jlauck

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Thanks for the feedback. How much of a height difference do most people have in a mixed reef? It's currently around 7.5" from the highest flat area to the lowest flat area (not including the islands, which are another 2" lower).

The overflow is 19.5" from the bottom of the tank. The high end of the rock on the left side is about 7" below water level. I could try to push the left side back a little further to get some more low rock in the front. The center can't go back much more because of the overflow.

The previous photos did not do a great job of showing some of the depth. I have the low island in the back right corner that wasn't really visible in the other photos. I think if I grab another rock, I can probably push that top rock on the left back further and step it down a little more back to front.


IMG_5658.jpg


IMG_5659.jpg


IMG_5661.JPEG
 

iamacat

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Thanks for the feedback. How much of a height difference do most people have in a mixed reef? It's currently around 7.5" from the highest flat area to the lowest flat area (not including the islands, which are another 2" lower).

The overflow is 19.5" from the bottom of the tank. The high end of the rock on the left side is about 7" below water level. I could try to push the left side back a little further to get some more low rock in the front. The center can't go back much more because of the overflow.

The previous photos did not do a great job of showing some of the depth. I have the low island in the back right corner that wasn't really visible in the other photos. I think if I grab another rock, I can probably push that top rock on the left back further and step it down a little more back to front.


IMG_5658.jpg


IMG_5659.jpg


IMG_5661.JPEG

looking from the top down you have a strip of viable rock for coral placement. If you were to widen your structure it would give you space to light way more corals. You can do that by adjusting what you have easily. Good luck! It’s already great
 
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jlauck

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Status Update.

Saltwater Mixing Station - Done
Quarantine Tank setup - Done
RODI & Ethernet run to tank area - Done
Extra 1/4" Tubing for future auto water change - Done
Lights installed under stand - Done
Thermostat Moved to other side of wall away from tank - Done

Just need to touch up some paint and then I'm ready to move the tank in.


IMG_5708.jpeg


IMG_5713.jpeg
 

iamacat

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I can feel that picture. So excited but also terrified. It’s all in motion now. No going back baby
 
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jlauck

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Passed the leak test. Drained the tank, cleaned it, and got the rocks in and epoxied. Three bags of Fiji Pink added, and the first batch of water (~53 gallons). Mixing the next batch of water now.

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jlauck

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Season 2 Dancing GIF by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Digging it! Scape looks great. I really like the view from the right side!
Thanks. That was my hope on the right side. You can see that side when you come into the house.
 
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