I created a build thread last November to document the progression of my Waterbox 100.3, which had some ups and downs. It was intended to live as a display system, but after much thought, I decided to replace it. If you are interested, then I will share the reasons for my decision in a subsequent post. However, there is one reason that I will share now — my wife and I will be moving into our first home within the next couple of years, and I don't want to have a beautiful display system that will be moved, risking losses of livestock due to corals being attached to substrates. I want a system that can withstand a move more easily.
So, here begins the documented progression of my frag-system build.
I picked up an Aqueon 40-gallon breeder that will be used as the main holding tank for frags. Its dimensions are 36"Lx18"Wx16"H. I decided to use a tank that has the same length as my Waterbox because it will allow me to have a decent amount of room while limiting how many corals that it can hold, which is desirable due to my addiction to SPS corals. ;Greedy
I will likely purchase an additional 40-gallon breeder during the next $1/gallon sale so that I have a backup should something unfortunate happen to this during the drilling process or after it is set up and filled with livestock. I will drill it with the same configuration as the primary tank so that a relatively easy swap can take place.
I will be using a Bashsea Smart Series sump. I am excited to use it because it will allow me to control the water-heights within its compartments, which will be quite useful when setting an appropriate depth for my skimmer.
Since the sump has three drain bulkheads, I decided to order an oversized overflow box from Modular Marine. It will handle 1,600 GPH, which is more than I will need, but I like its features and the fact that I can use it on a future build. The selling points were the extremely low-profile skimmer box and Bean Animal configuration.
I was looking at purchasing an extruded aluminum stand to use, but it was far outside of what I want to spend after configuring the add-ons. Luckily, @Billdogg reached out to me and offered to build my stand and equipment cabinet since he is local. After exchanging many messages regarding my desires, he started on it yesterday, and I am incredibly excited! Below are a few photos that he sent.
In the meantime, I cycled a quart of MarinePure spheres and Bio-Balls with an elevated temperature of 86ºF and a salinity of 18ppt, which was inspired by Dr. Tim Hovanec's MACNA talk.
One piece of equipment that I wanted to get ahold of was delivered this morning, with my overflow box — a Neptune Systems Trident! I will be waiting to set it up until I have the frag system plumbed and running.
I will begin moving equipment over from the Waterbox as I set up the frag system, which can't happen soon enough! My excitement is tough to contain at the moment.
So, there's my initial progress report for this build, which is turning out to be more exciting than I thought!
So, here begins the documented progression of my frag-system build.
I picked up an Aqueon 40-gallon breeder that will be used as the main holding tank for frags. Its dimensions are 36"Lx18"Wx16"H. I decided to use a tank that has the same length as my Waterbox because it will allow me to have a decent amount of room while limiting how many corals that it can hold, which is desirable due to my addiction to SPS corals. ;Greedy
I will likely purchase an additional 40-gallon breeder during the next $1/gallon sale so that I have a backup should something unfortunate happen to this during the drilling process or after it is set up and filled with livestock. I will drill it with the same configuration as the primary tank so that a relatively easy swap can take place.
I will be using a Bashsea Smart Series sump. I am excited to use it because it will allow me to control the water-heights within its compartments, which will be quite useful when setting an appropriate depth for my skimmer.
Since the sump has three drain bulkheads, I decided to order an oversized overflow box from Modular Marine. It will handle 1,600 GPH, which is more than I will need, but I like its features and the fact that I can use it on a future build. The selling points were the extremely low-profile skimmer box and Bean Animal configuration.
I was looking at purchasing an extruded aluminum stand to use, but it was far outside of what I want to spend after configuring the add-ons. Luckily, @Billdogg reached out to me and offered to build my stand and equipment cabinet since he is local. After exchanging many messages regarding my desires, he started on it yesterday, and I am incredibly excited! Below are a few photos that he sent.
In the meantime, I cycled a quart of MarinePure spheres and Bio-Balls with an elevated temperature of 86ºF and a salinity of 18ppt, which was inspired by Dr. Tim Hovanec's MACNA talk.
One piece of equipment that I wanted to get ahold of was delivered this morning, with my overflow box — a Neptune Systems Trident! I will be waiting to set it up until I have the frag system plumbed and running.
I will begin moving equipment over from the Waterbox as I set up the frag system, which can't happen soon enough! My excitement is tough to contain at the moment.
So, there's my initial progress report for this build, which is turning out to be more exciting than I thought!
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