Raptor’s WATERBOX LX 330.7

[Raptor72]

Greetings and salutations. I’m starting this build thread after being here for several years without one.

My previous RS 750 (V1) almost ended with catastrophic results at the end of 2023, but I caught the issue in time. After much research, I decided on a Waterbox 330.7 to fill the niche in the living room where the previous one was. This would fit the bill perfectly with an inch and a half left on either end. I’ll be having an electrician install a dedicated 20 amp circuit just for the tank so it won’t be tied into the living room outlets anymore. That will hopefully get done here in the next month.

I’ve uncrated it somewhat and found a bit of damage to the bottom shelf. WB will be sending out a new shelf soon. I’ll see what I can use this one for.

Meanwhile, I’m shopping around for a bigger skimmer and return pump than what I was running previously. I’m not sure if the Ecotech L1 will be enough to push this amount of water without having to run it at 100%.

I’m also tossing the idea of running this as a FOWLR tank so I can finally get all the fish and other critters that I couldn’t with my previous reef tanks. It’s hard to get away from the reef and corals.

 

[Devaji]

oh no Damage...that sucks. glad WB is taking care of you.
I had a RS 650P that needed replaced. so I now the drill. ended up with the IM 200P

I am doing a FOWLR for the same reason. sometimes its nice to have all those fish you can't keep in a reef.

for skimmer look in to lifereef. they almost have a cult fallowing. I have never used one before but been thinking about for 10 years now. if my reef octo kicks the bucket it 's #1 on the list.

for RT pump just get 2X jebao that way you have a back up if one goes out.

 

[Raptor72]

oh no Damage...that sucks. glad WB is taking care of you.
I had a RS 650P that needed replaced. so I now the drill. ended up with the IM 200P

I am doing a FOWLR for the same reason. sometimes its nice to have all those fish you can't keep in a reef.

for skimmer look in to lifereef. they almost have a cult fallowing. I have never used one before but been thinking about for 10 years now. if my reef octo kicks the bucket it 's #1 on the list.

for RT pump just get 2X jebao that way you have a back up if one goes out.

Thanks for the input. I have a Reef Octo 250SS skimmer on hold by someone locally. I had a Nyos 160 on the other tank but that definitely won’t cover it for this FOWLR tank. I haven't seen a used 300 anywhere.

I’ll give my L1 pump a shot and see how it does. I have a spare so I’m trying to use as much of the stuff I already have.

As far as powerheads, I have 4 Neptune WAVs that I’m going to run till they give out. I’ve gone through a few of them over the years and have quite a WAV cemetery going on in my equipment cabinet.

 

[Raptor72]

Just acquired a Reefmat 1200 this weekend. Excited about installing that when the time comes. I was done with socks years ago and have been using filter floss but this should be better. Especially, if I can get in on those discounted rolls that people on here have been getting.

I’m thinking of lining the inside of the cabinet with some white vinyl or contact paper to give it a brighter feel. Any thoughts on this? I feel like it would reflect better when the door LEDs turn on.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Raptor72]

I’m getting the 250lbs of sand ordered tomorrow. I think I’m going with half live and half dry. I was looking in the cabinet crate yesterday and noticed that the other 2 sections of the bottom panel under the sump sustained some damage during shipping also. I checked with Waterbox and they stated that my replacement panel was going to include all 3 sections so that’s a relief.

Other than that, just working on routing some Romex cable from one end of the house to the other to get that dedicated circuit for the tank installed.

Also, I’m checking with the different LFS to see who has those jack stands for tank installs because this tank won’t be easy to install into this niche with only 1.5” on each end.

 

[exnisstech]

Congrats on the new tank. Damage always sucks but it's good to hear WB is taking care of it as they should.
I just took delivery of my 330.7 yesterday. This thing is a beast. The largest tank I've owned is a standard 72x24x24" 180g. The extra size along with the 3/4" glass sure add to the weight. I unloaded it with a yanmar compact tractor with front forks and it took all the tractor had to lift it out of the truck. I have no idea yet how I'll be getting it in the house
I haven't had a chance to totally unbox everything yet.
The first thing I said to my Gal when I opened the box was "too bad the inside of the stand isn't white". I'll probably just add a bunch of led strips with a door switch as I don't work well with vinyl.
Good idea on adding the dedicated circuit. I'm going to follow your lead on that and also try to come up with some type of distribution center for plug ins. I'm tired of messy power strips with cords all over and really want to clean things up this time around.
I'm thinking of trying a jebao DCP 1300 as a return pump. I have two of the smaller versions running and they have been great. I don't care about wifi and such on the return pump so I can get 2 of the jebao for the price of a single high end pump and have a backup.
Have you given any thought to lighting? I see there are 4 cut outs on the back euro bracing for light mounts. I'm running 6 noopsyche k7 pros over my 180 that will be coming out and thought of using those but I would have to come up with a way to hang them or build a rail and really want something cleaner looking than what I could fabricate. I really like my Reefbreeder photons but don't know of a clean looking way to install them. I really didn't want to hang lights but I may end up having to. Sorry for the long winded post in your build thread.

 

[Raptor72]

Congrats on the new tank. Damage always sucks but it's good to hear WB is taking care of it as they should.
I just took delivery of my 330.7 yesterday. This thing is a beast. The largest tank I've owned is a standard 72x24x24" 180g. The extra size along with the 3/4" glass sure add to the weight. I unloaded it with a yanmar compact tractor with front forks and it took all the tractor had to lift it out of the truck. I have no idea yet how I'll be getting it in the house
I haven't had a chance to totally unbox everything yet.
The first thing I said to my Gal when I opened the box was "too bad the inside of the stand isn't white". I'll probably just add a bunch of led strips with a door switch as I don't work well with vinyl.
Good idea on adding the dedicated circuit. I'm going to follow your lead on that and also try to come up with some type of distribution center for plug ins. I'm tired of messy power strips with cords all over and really want to clean things up this time around.
I'm thinking of trying a jebao DCP 1300 as a return pump. I have two of the smaller versions running and they have been great. I don't care about wifi and such on the return pump so I can get 2 of the jebao for the price of a single high end pump and have a backup.
Have you given any thought to lighting? I see there are 4 cut outs on the back euro bracing for light mounts. I'm running 6 noopsyche k7 pros over my 180 that will be coming out and thought of using those but I would have to come up with a way to hang them or build a rail and really want something cleaner looking than what I could fabricate. I really like my Reefbreeder photons but don't know of a clean looking way to install them. I really didn't want to hang lights but I may end up having to. Sorry for the long winded post in your build thread.

Congrats on the new acquisition. I know you’ll be as pleased as I am.

I’ve been up and down in the attic finding the best route for the wiring and through the wall and I’ve almost got everything strung out for the new circuit. I’ve been doing the dirty work so the electrician just comes in and takes care of stuff on either end.

As far as the pump, I picked up a Ecotech L2 pump and will keep the L1 as a backup. I will be reusing the canopy with the 4 AI Hydra 32s.

 

[Raptor72]

Progress on the electrical is moving along slowly. I have the wall outlet installed and just waiting for the weather to dry out a bit so the other end going to the breaker box can be installed.

I taped up a quick wall reference and this one is gonna sit up higher than my old tank.

I’m considering using a different type of mount for the hood. Maybe a type of tv wall mount or something similar so it can be easily moved out of the way for maintenance.

While waiting for the electrical, I’m making a couple of cutouts on the back aluminum panels for access to the outlets. I 3-D printed some inserts to place around the cutouts to clean up the look.

I’m currently playing around with options for the control panel. I’ll probably use my old stand alone panel with all my Apex modules and use the one that is attached on the side as a cleaner display unit.

Here’s a shot of my old tank with my favorite fan.

 

[Raptor72]

Duplicate post

 

[sanchez420]

Did you ever get the reef mat installed? Currently putting one on my 330.7 and debating on how to plumb it. Just ordered some colored pvc from brs to try and make it look nice

 

[Raptor72]

Did you ever get the reef mat installed? Currently putting one on my 330.7 and debating on how to plumb it. Just ordered some colored pvc from brs to try and make it look nice

My project is currently on hold due to the extended shipping time of the replacement bottom base. It’s supposed to ship around tomorrow to the 21st and however long it takes to make it overseas

I’m taking this time to apply a vinyl paper covering to the inside of the tank to give it a brighter feel. I’m also making cut outs for the outlets and applying a 3D printed surround to the cutouts for a cleaner finish.

Needless to say, I have not messed with the rollmat or sump yet but plan to dry fit that stuff and have it ready to go for install day

 

[Raptor72]

Alright, middle of April and the replacement bottom base came in. Installed it and put everything back together. I leveled the tank and took off to Cancun for a short (aren’t they always) getaway. Did some snorkeling, and saw some beautiful Tangs and Angels and a barracuda. Came back and had a lfs install the beast of a tank on the stand. It was no easy feat, being that it was going in a niche so it couldn’t be picked up from the ends but the jack stand was the hero of the day.

Sophie the wonder-pup gave her blessing and we aligned the doors and called it a day.

 

[Pufferlover95]

Good luck on your build!

 

[exnisstech]

It fits perfect in that spot but looks like it will be tough working on things. Where are you placing your power heads? I have some in back and was just barely able to get them mounted and I have room to get my arm behind the tank.

 

[Raptor72]

It fits perfect in that spot but looks like it will be tough working on things. Where are you placing your power heads? I have some in back and was just barely able to get them mounted and I have room to get my arm behind the tank.

I’m using 4 WAVs for circulation. 2 will probably be towards the front on the opposite ends and I will have the other 2 towards the back, oscillating on Sea Sweeps that I purchased recently.

I’ve been slowly getting the plumbing sorted out and seeing how I’m going to tap into the Reefmat 1200 for the best flow. Along with that, getting the gear installed inside of the cabinet, including lighting.

 

[Pufferlover95]

I’m using 4 WAVs for circulation. 2 will probably be towards the front on the opposite ends and I will have the other 2 towards the back, oscillating on Sea Sweeps that I purchased recently.

I’ve been slowly getting the plumbing sorted out and seeing how I’m going to tap into the Reefmat 1200 for the best flow. Along with that, getting the gear installed inside of the cabinet, including lighting.

What stinks about having the reefmat in that chamber is the fact you cannot do a simple roll change without moving the whole thing since it’s designed to open forward. That’s the reason I had to install mine in the main section, now all I do is unlock it and swap the roll out, but I don’t have to move the whole thing.

 

[Raptor72]

What stinks about having the reefmat in that chamber is the fact you cannot do a simple roll change without moving the whole thing since it’s designed to open forward. That’s the reason I had to install mine in the main section, now all I do is unlock it and swap the roll out, but I don’t have to move the whole thing.

Pufferlover95, could it have anything to do with having those side panels on your stand installed? I removed mine since I wouldn’t have access to them from the outside, being that the tank sits in a wall niche. It opened up a lot more room for me. I’m also gauging how far left or right I want the sump to sit to leave room for other gear.

 

[Pufferlover95]

Pufferlover95, could it have anything to do with having those side panels on your stand installed? I removed mine since I wouldn’t have access to them from the outside, being that the tank sits in a wall niche. It opened up a lot more room for me. I’m also gauging how far left or right I want the sump to sit to leave room for other gear.

No, I don’t believe so. If this is the way you plan to install it, you notice the part in blue needs to open outwards but can’t bc of the glass sump wall in red.

 

[Raptor72]

No, I don’t believe so. If this is the way you plan to install it, you notice the part in blue needs to open outwards but can’t bc of the glass sump wall in red.

Maybe I’m missing something