Schrauf’s Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25

[Schraufabagel]

Ordered a Striped Blenny and an Orchid Dottyback, both from ORA. Will be adding them next Tuesday. Also, I added 4 more SPS frags from @BoomCorals. I definitely recommend purchasing from Quinn, as he gave me a free Bubble Gum Digi!

Sand is a bit dirty due to the bryopsis battle

 

[Schraufabagel]

Had to frag my birdsnest and dip it due to what appeared to be STN/RTN. I also ordered the Red Sea trace colors kit and corresponding test kit. I plan to start using these regularly according to my calcium uptake

 

[Schraufabagel]

Here's a look at my updated aquascape. I added an arch and the rear rock work. This gives me more room for SPS frags and more hiding space for the 2 new fish I have coming. I also moved all of my feather dusters to the same spot which I like much better. Now I'm just dialing in my lighting settings

 

[Schraufabagel]

I've been looking at dosing pumps to get sometime this year yet. Initially I was thinking the Reefdose, but I may opt to swap out my Coralvue Hydros XS for an X2. I don’t use all of the sense ports, so that would provide me with a total of 3 open drive ports I could use for the new hydros dosers. I’m just unsure of how long it will take their more advanced hydros dosers to come to market. They said they are building 2 new ones from the ground up

Just food for thought

 

[Schraufabagel]

These are some pretty bad pictures, but I was in a rush during my lunch break. I added another 5 rock flower anemones and 8 more frags from @REEFTIDE. You can also see my new ORA striped blenny out and about. The ORA Orchid Dottyback is hidding

 

[Schraufabagel]

Added some coding back to my tank; the last few clusters of it had GHA growing all over it and I threw it out months ago before I beat it. You can also see my new striped blenny out and about, happy as can be

 

[trevorhiller]

Setup my refugium with an Innovative Marine Chaetomax LED, ORA chaeto, and some @Reef Nutrition Apex pods. My only issue is that I get light leak through the sump wall to the tank. This isn’t terrible though since I have it only on during the night

I'm considering doing the same thing on my Peninsula 15gallon. A few questions for you:

1. I am assuming you cut the black film off the back of the tank. Are you able to see the light through the compartment when it is turned off and the tank lights are on?

2. How has this been working for you? Any issues? I originally wanted to do a skimmer, but I don't think I can fit one since I am using the AI prime gooseneck and the clamp obstructs so much of the middle compartment on my tank, so a mini refugium seems like a viable option to reduce nitrates.

I wonder if you could get a piece of black plastic cut to fit to place against the front glass to blackout the middle chamber and prevent light spill from the refugium light into the display.

 

[Schraufabagel]

I'm considering doing the same thing on my Peninsula 15gallon. A few questions for you:

1. I am assuming you cut the black film off the back of the tank. Are you able to see the light through the compartment when it is turned off and the tank lights are on?

2. How has this been working for you? Any issues? I originally wanted to do a skimmer, but I don't think I can fit one since I am using the AI prime gooseneck and the clamp obstructs so much of the middle compartment on my tank, so a mini refugium seems like a viable option to reduce nitrates.

I wonder if you could get a piece of black plastic cut to fit to place against the front glass to blackout the middle chamber and prevent light spill from the refugium light into the display.

The light does shine through, but I have it on an alternating schedule with my normal lights. So I rarely noticed, and it hasn’t caused any issues with algae growth in the tank. It is on the back inside of a square I cut out of the film.

Also, I was struggling setting up my Tunze DOC Comline 9001 skimmer. Setting the refugium up was far simpler and it has worked very well. I see absolutely no nutrient spikes. NO3 is always between 5-8 and phosphate is always between 0.04-0.07

I get very good growth from the light I use too. The size of the chaeto baseball tripled in the first month.

 

[trevorhiller]

The light does shine through, but I have it on an alternating schedule with my normal lights. So I rarely noticed, and it hasn’t caused any issues with algae growth in the tank. It is on the back inside of a square I cut out of the film.

Also, I was struggling setting up my Tunze DOC Comline 9001 skimmer. Setting the refugium up was far simpler and it has worked very well. I see absolutely no nutrient spikes. NO3 is always between 5-8 and phosphate is always between 0.04-0.07

I get very good growth from the light I use too. The size of the chaeto baseball tripled in the first month.

Very nice, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I am still cycling my tank, so I am no where near the point of needing a refugium, skimmer, etc. but I do like hearing about all the options out there.

I also feel like growing algae in a controlled location is more "natural" than a skimmer, I might just do this when the time comes.

I wish Tunze would make a nano version of their ECO Chic waterproof light, it would be perfect for this application. It actually would physically fit in my second chamber, but I think it's probably overkill. If they made a 5-6" version (for a little cheaper of course!) that would be really ideal.

Edit: I just emailed Tunze this idea as a future product suggestion, can't hurt to make a request! I think a lot of nano tank owners would be love to be able to make a nano refugium in their rear AIO chamber without modifying their tanks.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Very nice, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I am still cycling my tank, so I am no where near the point of needing a refugium, skimmer, etc. but I do like hearing about all the options out there.

I also feel like growing algae in a controlled location is more "natural" than a skimmer, I might just do this when the time comes.

I wish Tunze would make a nano version of their ECO Chic waterproof light, it would be perfect for this application. It actually would physically fit in my second chamber, but I think it's probably overkill. If they made a 5-6" version (for a little cheaper of course!) that would be really ideal.

Edit: I just emailed Tunze this idea as a future product suggestion, can't hurt to make a request! I think a lot of nano tank owners would be love to be able to make a nano refugium in their rear AIO chamber without modifying their tanks.

That would for sure be nice if they made the light that way. The benefit of it is that you can have it inside the chamber and don’t have to cut the film. I think on the peninsula mini 25 it would work, but it might be too tall for the 15. I’ve considered adding some sort of barrier that would block the light, but that’s more cosmetic than anything

 

[rishma]

Very nice, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I am still cycling my tank, so I am no where near the point of needing a refugium, skimmer, etc. but I do like hearing about all the options out there.

I also feel like growing algae in a controlled location is more "natural" than a skimmer, I might just do this when the time comes.

I wish Tunze would make a nano version of their ECO Chic waterproof light, it would be perfect for this application. It actually would physically fit in my second chamber, but I think it's probably overkill. If they made a 5-6" version (for a little cheaper of course!) that would be really ideal.

Edit: I just emailed Tunze this idea as a future product suggestion, can't hurt to make a request! I think a lot of nano tank owners would be love to be able to make a nano refugium in their rear AIO chamber without modifying their tanks.

Good idea. An ECO Chic would work well in my 25WB, I think it would fit vertically. I’m satisfied with my 9001DC but I do like chaeto refugiums. Clever idea for an AIO.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Good idea. An ECO Chic would work well in my 25WB, I think it would fit vertically. I’m satisfied with my 9001DC but I do like chaeto refugiums. Clever idea for an AIO.

The DOC Comline does work well if you can get it setup! I was just struggling to set it up and I found that the refugium was more stable and consistent since my feeding isn’t always constant in what or how much

 

[Schraufabagel]

Also, side note, but my dwarf cory catfish had babies recently.

 

[rishma]

The DOC Comline does work well if you can get it setup! I was just struggling to set it up and I found that the refugium was more stable and consistent since my feeding isn’t always constant in what or how much

I just dropped it in the middle chamber. I slipped the rubber ring off the magnet and slipped it between the baffles. Seems like it will work out for me, but there’s more than one way to reef!

 

[Schraufabagel]

I just dropped it in the middle chamber. I slipped the rubber ring off the magnet and slipped it between the baffles. Seems like it will work out for me, but there’s more than one way to reef!

It’ll work wonders for you I’m sure!

 

[Schraufabagel]

Just got my new lid from @Kraken Reef!

 

[rishma]

Just got my new lid from @Kraken Reef!

I have the same one with feed hole. Nicely made.

 

[Schraufabagel]

I have the same one with feed hole. Nicely made.

I’m impressed with it for sure

 

[trevorhiller]

Nice lid! I'm kicking myself for going with the DIY screen net top, but I guess there is always room to upgrade!

 

[Schraufabagel]

Nice lid! I'm kicking myself for going with the DIY screen net top, but I guess there is always room to upgrade!

I used a DIY screen for a while, and it worked, but it just wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. In retrospect, I should’ve saved money and just gotten the nicer lid from the start