RRIII's Moonshiner SPS Waterbox

[Reginald Reefer III]

2 YEAR PROGRESS PHOTO

8/25/26 FTS

7/26/26 FTS

6/23/26 FTS

5/12/26 FTS

4/5/26 FTS

2/27/26 FTS

1/14/26 FTS

12/15/25 FTS

11/8/25 FTS (MORNING BLUES!)

1 YEAR PROGRESS FTS 9/18/25

FTS 8/11/25

FTS 8/9/25

FTS 6/23/25

As my wife would say, "You need another aquarium like you need a hole.....".

I currently have 2 nanos in my office as I primarily WFH.

I grew up with nothing but freshwater tanks, but definitely got the urge for saltwater since I was 15 and got SCUBA certified. I grew up on the S. Texas coast, always on the beach and always fishing. It hasn't been until recently that I could offer long term stability and jump fully into the salty side.

PREVIOUS BUILD:
In June 2022, I purchased a Waterbox 4820 Clear (BUILD THREAD). It was a 72g high-tech tank with T5 lighting, CO2 injection and auto fert dosing. It has had it's ups and downs, and everything in between. All of the tank inhabitants were sold and the only thing kept has been the pH controller and T5 lighting.

Current SALT UPGRADE!
EQUIPMENT:

Tank: 72g Waterbox CLEAR (Drilled when I converted tank to SW)
Lighting: 6x54W ATI Sunpower Dimmable T5 (CHANGED BULB COMBO 7/2/25) - 1x Coral Plus, 3x Blue Plus, 1x Aquablue Special, 1x Purple Plus , 1x 48" Reef Brite LumiLite Pro Ultra Actinic
Overflow: Prodigy L Low Profile Overflow Box (900 GPH)
Sump: Trigger Systems Sapphire CR44 (FITS LIKE A GLOVE!)
UV: Sicce 9w UV w/ Sicce Pump - Continuous run in sump.
Skimmer: Red Sea Reefer DC 600 Protein Skimmer w/ Controller
Refugium: Chaeto Algae + Live Rock (Added a couple of pieces of Gulf Live Rock November 2025)
Heater: 200W Titanium x 2
Controller: A3 Apex Pro Aquarium Controller System
ALK/CA/MAG Testing: Apex Trident
NO3/PO4 Testing: Apex Trident NP - purchased July 2025
Manual Testing: 5 Major w/ Hanna and Salifert
Automated Dosing: 2x Neptune QD DOS
Alk - ~160mL/day
Ca - ~160mL/day
NO3 - ~15 mL/day Ammonium Chloride/Urea Mix
PO4 - NONE AT THE MOMENT
Mag - As needed w/ ICP tests - I keep it at 1350ppm
Return Pump: Simplicity DC 1600 + 2x 1" returns
Flow/Wave:
2x Vortech MP40wQD
NEW 5/23/26 - 1x Red Sea Wave Gyre 25
NEW 8/22/26 - 1x Hygger Nano Wave (Sump chaeto agitation)
Cover: KRAKEN lid w/ Plank Autofeeder Cutout
Autofeeder: Avast Plank Auto-Feeder (Reef Jerky + Powdered Spirulina + Powdered Copepod + LRO Pellets)
ATO: FZone Optical ATO with 10g Simplicity Container

I use the Moonshiner's method for all trace both major and minor. Check out https://reefmoonshiners.com/ for more information!

LIVESTOCK (4/3/25):

FISH

1 - Foxface Lo (Siganus Vulpinus)
1 - Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis)
1 - Chocolate Tang (Acanthurus pyroferus) ADDED 8/6/26
1 - Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
1 - Yellow Watchman Goby w/ Tiger Pistol Shrimp (Cryptocentrus cinctus)
1 - Midas Blenny (Ecsenius midas)
1 - Maroon Lightning Clownfish (Amphiprion biaculeatus sp.)
1 - Coral Beauty Angelfish (Centropyge bispinosa)
1 - Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula)
1 - Spotted Target Mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) ADDED 2/28/26
3 - Blue/Green Chromis (Chromis viridis) ADDED 4/3/25
4 - Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) ADDED 8/6/26


CORAL

Sadly, I have lost track of what I have and don't have now.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Day 1: Cleanup of Old Tank
Nuff. Said.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Day 8: Fun Begins!
Found a great bargain on a used CR44 Trigger Sump as well as a Red Sea DC600 Skimmer.

Also found great deals on a few used MP40's as well as some reef rock from a teardown at my LFS:

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

AUG 25 2024: Tank Drilling
Took the tank off the stand into the garage and drilled 2 x 1" Return Lines as well as 2 x 1.5" Drains to accommodate the EShopp Overflow

Also Painted the back with a flat black latex

 

[Justfebreezeit]

Looking forward to it. Looks like it's gunna be sick

 

[Aquadude1]

Can't wait to see the progress!

 

[LohTeK]

I have a feeling this is gonna get exciting really quick.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Dry fit the EShopps Prodigy L overflow. Not 100% satisfied with it as it looks to have 3 fairly major manufacturing flaws which look to be from when the acrylic was being shaped with a router. Other than that, everything looks to be in good shape. Overall I would rate this overflow 8/10.

Also dry fit the returns and some of the other plumbing. TBD but the returns may need to be shortened. Waiting for the rest of the plumbing to arrive later this week!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

8/28/24: Christmas in August?

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

I'm extremely torn with 1 particular decision.

Bare Bottom vs. Reclaimed Media (2 fishies) vs. Sand (Live Sand from TBSW)

Thoughts?! I'm beginning to lean towards Live Sand and rubble from TBSW just to give the system a huge bacteria boost during cycling.

 

[LohTeK]

I have ran bare bottom and gravel bottom frag tanks, I find it easier to have a TO much nutrient problem than not enough nutrient problem, I also use a thick gravel for my frag tank bottoms and it creates GIANT copepod factories. Good skimmer, Good Macro, and good clean up crew youll be set. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/1/24: Tank Back on Stand + Drain Plumbing DONE

By far the most difficult thing with the drains was making the Bean-Animal Overflows to fit correctly in the overflow box. I had to do multiple cuts on PVC fittings to shorten them and make it fit. Definitely would love to have some type of kit to make all of required plumbing fit inside of the very slim box.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/7/24: Plumbing and More!

Finished up the plumbing runs and dry fitting of the drains + returns. My wife wanted everything hidden and with the way things are lining up, we had to purchase a couple of side cabinets to hold all of the electrical + Apex + DOS + more. This was a tough decision and we finally settled on the following cabinets from Amazon:

They will house all of the ancillary equipment as well as all of the automated dosing. The Jebao Doser will move to an AWC soon on my nanos and not be used in this build.

I also purchased 2x Neptune Dos QD as well as the Printed Reef 3d printed mod for the Trident. Hoping to get the PVC glue finished up tomorrow and the cabinets assembled and in place. I have a work trip in the upcoming week so it looks like the tank will get wet by next weekend!

Time to take a break from huffing PVC glue. :upside-down-face:

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/10/24: Leak Testing Passed!

Took a couple of fill/empty trials to finally get all the leaks found and fixed. Biggest offender was the EShopps Prodigy L overflow. The gaskets had to be centered and what felt like overtightened to get it to finally seal. All of the other plumbing wasn't nearly as bad with only a few unions needing slight tightening. I need to also get some supports in place on some of the return piping as they have some stress/deflection I need to get relieved. I'm planning on getting the electrical installed in the cabinets this weekend and the final rockscape put into place and epoxied. Getting closer!

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/15/24: Ready for Startup and Commissioning

Been doing A LOT of work on getting the wiring completed and run back to the controls cabinet. I really wanted to be methodical with wire labeling and getting things easily identified once I start the APEX and system up. I plan on cleaning up the wiring once the APEX is programmed and functioning.

I also finished with the sump area below the tank which included the ATO system as well as the Trident sampling line. The refugium is lit by an old Fluval Planted Nano 3.0 Light which I think is PERFECT for it. The 2x Vortech controllers are mounted on the door just because of the lack of wire length going to the opposite side of the tank. The Simplicity DC return pump control is also mounted inside the sump area.

On the opposite side of the tank is the dosing cabinet with the 2x QD Dos units as well as the containers for Alk/Cal/Mag. I have settled on the Moonshiners method and plan on using a couple of Jebao dosing pumps for that. Future plans also include installing a mini fridge in the controls cabinet and running line from a DOS head for a continuous Phytoplankton dosing into the sump. The Trident which has the modified housing sits to the side of the tank on top of the dosing cabinet for very easy access. I plan on adding the NP Trident at a later date and moving it into the modified housing as well.

This is the final aquascape as the tank fills with RODI! Once I get the salt in, I'll add a layer of live sand and hopefully have no new leaks! The entire family is ready for it to finally begin cycling!

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/17/24: IT'S ALIVEEEEE!!!

Overall, I'm very happy with how this has turned out. Startup went very well and things are now salty.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

9/21/24: Avast Plank + Kraken Lid Installed. APEX Neptune + Dos Commissioned

Got my custom lid from @Kraken Reef Reef in and I can't say it couldn't be any better. Phenomenal fit and design and is a perfect fit for the tank. Freaking phenomenal @Kraken Reef !!

Also installed the AVAST Plank Autofeeder. I need to integrate it into the APEX, but it fits the Kraken lid perfectly as well!

Fully commissioned my Phytofridge and dosed my first set of Bacteria, Pods and daily 50mg Phyto for now. The big 3 (Alk + Cal + Mag) are also ready to go and set up on APEX for auto test.

 

[mch1984]

Awesome build, the side table fit well with it all.

 

[Printed Reef Verified Sponsor]

Looking great!