New tank

[longjohn]

It's been a struggle deciding if I was even keeping this tank. I got this waterbox 110.4 for 1800 brand new on the skid, was going to flip it and make some cash from it, but I ended up liking it too much and decided to finally set it up. Still a bit hesitant on it.

Few questions I have are:

1. It's in a window, but the back is blacked out and the window dosent get direct sunlight for more then 3 or 4 hrs a day I work 9hrs a day so I'm not home often to open the window so the blinds are closed for the direct sun part of the day. But Will this still cause me headaches and problems? Unfortunately this is the only area to put the tank.

2. The sump is massive and the stand has open areas on the back panel. Would I need to black out the sump area so no light leaks in?

3. Sump has no lid alot of sumps ive seen have tops or lids to them can I make a lid for this sump? Out of plexiglass

4. The sump is hugeeeeeeee at almost 33G the sump is massive not sure if it's worth maybe selling the waterbox sump and going for something smaller and more manageable?

5. Still on edge about setting it up i love the Hobbie alot more then other hobbies I have, just need more motivation to set it

up I guess.

 

[Elira_6301]

So ill try my best here.

The sump looks like a great to me. Bigger is better.

Ive not seen a sump with a lid before and I dont believe it needs to be blacked out. I think shutting the cabinets is good. But you could definitely make a lid. Problem with plexiglass and polycarbonate is that they tend to bow. For my octopus tank I made homemade lids and they would NOT stop bowing It was super annoying.

For the side facing the window, you could add some black vinyl if your concerned about the UV and added heat. I open my blinds daily and havent had negative effects on my tank. But the back is facing the window and it has black vinyl on it. I keep my room at 73 degrees and the tank stands at 77 daily even with the blinds open.

 

[Marco_99]

If you have that nice of hardware sitting right in front of you and you aren’t excited like “right now” to get that thing up and going, you probably should just sell it. It doesn’t sound like you’re ready to take on the commitment to run a reef tank IMO

 

[Elira_6301]

It's been a struggle deciding if I was even keeping this tank. I got this waterbox 110.4 for 1800 brand new on the skid, was going to flip it and make some cash from it, but I ended up liking it too much and decided to finally set it up. Still a bit hesitant on it.

Few questions I have are:

1. It's in a window, but the back is blacked out and the window dosent get direct sunlight for more then 3 or 4 hrs a day I work 9hrs a day so I'm not home often to open the window so the blinds are closed for the direct sun part of the day. But Will this still cause me headaches and problems? Unfortunately this is the only area to put the tank.

2. The sump is massive and the stand has open areas on the back panel. Would I need to black out the sump area so no light leaks in?

3. Sump has no lid alot of sumps ive seen have tops or lids to them can I make a lid for this sump? Out of plexiglass

4. The sump is hugeeeeeeee at almost 33G the sump is massive not sure if it's worth maybe selling the waterbox sump and going for something smaller and more manageable?

5. Still on edge about setting it up i love the Hobbie alot more then other hobbies I have, just need more motivation to set it

up I guess.

I 100% encourage you to do this. Its a beautiful tank and you love the Hobby. So just jump in and get started. Yes, there's a lot of patience involved and it can get downright frustrating at times, but you will create your own masterpiece and it will make you ultimately happy.

Find that motivation inside you. The work doesn't compare to the joy it brings once you see everything come to life.

 

[longjohn]

If you have that nice of hardware sitting right in front of you and you aren’t excited like “right now” to get that thing up and going, you probably should just sell it. It doesn’t sound like you’re ready to take on the commitment to run a reef tank IMO

Taking on the "commitment" isnt an issue, I own reef tanks, two of them to be exact. But I like money......and this hobbie is draining that extensively. This 110.4 tank was supposed to take my two 32g tanks and put them into one large one. But not sure if i wanna keep up with the constant expense it's hard to look at the amount you spend on a tank after one year it's almost 2 grand just in expenses. (I'm canadian aswell) but who knows i might keep it i might not, right now it's just an ornament in my apartment lol.

 

[longjohn]

So ill try my best here.

The sump looks like a great to me. Bigger is better.

Ive not seen a sump with a lid before and I dont believe it needs to be blacked out. I think shutting the cabinets is good. But you could definitely make a lid. Problem with plexiglass and polycarbonate is that they tend to bow. For my octopus tank I made homemade lids and they would NOT stop bowing It was super annoying.

For the side facing the window, you could add some black vinyl if your concerned about the UV and added heat. I open my blinds daily and havent had negative effects on my tank. But the back is facing the window and it has black vinyl on it. I keep my room at 73 degrees and the tank stands at 77 daily even with the blinds open.

That was good information about the plexiglass flexing i wouldn't have thought about that. The added heat I'm not too worried about my apartment has A/C and I live in canada so even if it gets hot it won't effect the tank to much. Maybe in the winter as that window does have a draft but adding another Hester for winter months isn't an issue.

Glad to hear about the UV i was on the edge about that but figured if I got black out blinds it would take away alot of thst issue or even just leave the blinds I have closed. the picture I posted is about as intense the sun gets on the sides of the tank and it's only for maybe at the most 4 hrs a day. Then the sun is behind the building for the rest of the day.