Talk me out of Upgrading (or perhaps encourage :)

[Devaji]

if your looking for a PnP system and cant get the WB frag look in to the IM 200 its on 40% off right no. ( best bang for the buck tank out there) can get it with or with out sump. even better if you get the peninsula if you have a spot or can make one peninsula's tanks are the cats meow!

I am just about to get that tank myself just took down a RS 650P.
OR go custom with joe from glass cages if you need custom work. He and is team can make glass and acrylic. I thought long ang hard about going custom both glass and acrylic but the price point of the IM and size cant be beat.

good luck beautiful tank. are you gonna keep it and do something you have always wanted to do with it or would you have to take it down?

 

[Kato]

if your looking for a PnP system and cant get the WB frag look in to the IM 200 its on 40% off right no. ( best bang for the buck tank out there) can get it with or with out sump. even better if you get the peninsula if you have a spot or can make one peninsula's tanks are the cats meow!

I am just about to get that tank myself just took down a RS 650P.
OR go custom with joe from glass cages if you need custom work. He and is team can make glass and acrylic. I thought long ang hard about going custom both glass and acrylic but the price point of the IM and size cant be beat.

good luck beautiful tank. are you gonna keep it and do something you have always wanted to do with it or would you have to take it down?

Thanks for the suggestions. Very helpful. Will look into it.

I tell myself I'm not going to keep it to save cost. I have a feeling though it will be repurposed for frags or something else. Lets see.

 

[Islandvib3s]

Hi,

I feel I'm out growing my current tank. Red Sea Reefer 350, somewhat packed, runs well and is 3 years old. Tons of growth, mixed.

3xHydra 32HD, Red Sea oversized skimmer, GHL automation and ALK monitoring, all for reef (AFR) + Kalkwasser.

Some of my fish are also getting big.

So I have my eyes on a Waterbox Frag 165, 160+ gallons. I love the form factor of a more shallow reef. I would need 2 more Hydras (5 total) or I may switch to T5 (cheap, best). Skimmer I could continue to use and all my GHL equipment as well obviously. Need bigger ATO container, some sand, would move rocks over, perhaps get a few extra nice real reef rocks shipped from Whitecoral as well (europe here).

I stopped doing water changes a year ago (actually just did one a week ago as it somehow seemed wrong not to lol).

My concern with a bigger tank is that everything amplifies. I'll likely continue with minimal water changes, run AFR+Kalk. So overall I'm hopefully I don't need to spend a lot more time on the new thank (once established), nor will it be crazy more expensive to run (AFR is amazingly cheap with the powder).

Another concern is just getting it into the house. But will ask my LFS if they can do it (it's 'only' 150kilos).

I would say frag those huge colonies and make some extra money to fund a 180gal. I think the 180gal is the best size tank hands down.

 

[Kato]

Good idea. But I've come to the conclusion that I really do want the shallow reef look here (I have a long history in planted tanks as well and the squascape possibilites are just awesome. Though only made TOP300 on the ADA world planted tank competition).

So I'll be ordering the 165 Frag series and will have to wait a month and a half.
Thanks for all the suggestions (and encouragement). Guess I needed a little push...

One thing I realised since I'll likely be making an island kind of scape, is I may start out with just 1 extra AI Hydra 64. One good thing about the LEDs is that they can be positioned where the various coreal types are (SPS, LPS). If needed I'll buy another 32 as well for a total of 4 32 and 1 64.

I may also try with some Mangrove in a corner that grows out of the tank. With a tank this long there's good room for various themes. SPS corner with high light, Torch/Goni area, bit of Mangrove perhaps even macro algae, etc.

 

[Kato]

Ordered Frag 165!.

Maybe I'll do a build thread this time. I'll be back.

Also ordered an extra 64HD light, Live sand, 10kilo extra of the best, hand picked real reef rock pre-cured (I'll still cook it a bit until tank arrives)

 

[Kato]

Decided to also get a T5/Led hybrid fixture. Can't wait. It will be epic to get this tank up and running
So will run with 4 T5s, 1 HD64, 3 HD32

 

[Kato]

And now got the Aqua T5 Hybrid. Wow, I had forgotten just how much of a blanket of light these fixtures put down. Also put in the Hydra 64 and it's going to be fab. Will add 2 or 3 more 32's as well when I take down the reefer 350.

Also got some more rock. Real reef rock, precured and shipped wet. Doing another month long dark cure as well. Rock looked fab. Full of coraline (will now die), sponges and a bit of growth here and there.

Got everything now, except the tank . Jan can't come soon enough. New return pump, new sand, bit more flow pumps. Ready to go when tank is here.

 

[Kato]

Just a quick update: The Waterbox 165 Frag was shipped, in a container, arrived in Rotterdam with a ton of other tanks....and apparently the entire container fell over due to a storm. All tanks gone.

So, change of plans. Shop has the Waterbox 180 in stock. Got a 20% discount so took it. I need to travel to the US soon so will be delivered end of month where I have more time.

Current problem is less space in the cabinet. Will see if I can install equipment higher on a shelf (also got a cooler)

Question: I know folks are afraid of recommending it, but cant I screw in a small shelf? I doubt it makes any difference to structual integrity with 4 small screws for a shelf.

 

[Devaji]

Just a quick update: The Waterbox 165 Frag was shipped, in a container, arrived in Rotterdam with a ton of other tanks....and apparently the entire container fell over due to a storm. All tanks gone.

So, change of plans. Shop has the Waterbox 180 in stock. Got a 20% discount so took it. I need to travel to the US soon so will be delivered end of month where I have more time.

Current problem is less space in the cabinet. Will see if I can install equipment higher on a shelf (also got a cooler)

Question: I know folks are afraid of recommending it, but cant I screw in a small shelf? I doubt it makes any difference to structual integrity with 4 small screws for a shelf.

oh no! a container full of tanks all gone....man that is an expensive accident.

good luck on the new build.

 

[Kato]

oh no! a container full of tanks all gone....man that is an expensive accident.

good luck on the new build.

Yeah sounded pretty bad. My LFS alone had 5 customers he had to call saying their tanks would be delayed. My guess is it will impact the EU warehouse a lot (it's already out of stuck on most if not all tanks)

 

[Kato]

Didn't have time for a build thread, but Waterbox 180 now installed, corals from reefer 350 moved, more corals added and a new fish. I also made a complete switch from GHL to everything APEX (A3, trident, display, dos, ddr, 6 leak sensors, 2 water level sensors, feeder, RODI solenoid). Added extra (real) live rock to the tank which has been cooking since early December. Tank is based in the EU. Quite pleased with it so far. Got a good idea of the difference between GHL and APEX now. Switched to T5/LED hybrid. Running new tank with same philosophy as old. Let's see how this goes. Need some growth now but expect stuff to kick off shortly