The "Quid Pro Quo" WB 130.4 Build

[S.Pepper]

Looks like it's going to be a killer build. GL

 

[CasaReefer]

Would like to know if any Squids have been harmed in this process I know you mentioned that your a Pro... But I think we need an investigation into this matter. With that being said Great Job.... Great Negotiating on your part. Along for the ride.., Thank You

 

[siggy]

Would like to know if any Squids have been harmed in this process I know you mentioned that your a Pro... But I think we need an investigation into this matter.

 

[qnguyen]

I also have the pentair 25W UV. Have you thought about how you are going to plumb this? Off the return? I'm wondering how to best arrange this in the sump area of the 130.4 stand.

I want to minimize the number of pumps so I plan to plumb off the return with a gate valve and a flow meter. I haven’t received my UV and Deltec slimmer yet so I’ll have to wait to play around with the exact layout.

 

[qnguyen]

Would like to know if any Squids have been harmed in this process I know you mentioned that your a Pro... But I think we need an investigation into this matter.

Read my lips. There was no sQuid Pro Quo. It is just lies from the fake Reef Central people. MARGA 2020!! (Make Aquarium Reefs Great Again) ;Woot

 

[CasaReefer]

We Need shirt like that to wear at MACNA here in 2020... I need a XXL .....

 

[qnguyen]

I also have the pentair 25W UV. Have you thought about how you are going to plumb this? Off the return? I'm wondering how to best arrange this in the sump area of the 130.4 stand.

I just received the Pentair 25 watt UV. OMG, I had no idea it was so big. I never bothered to look at the dimensions. The thing is a beast at 29" long and 3.5" diameter. I don't want it to dominate my sump area. I think I will save it for later after I finish my basement fish room project. I will probably feed it with a separate pump instead of teeing off of the return pump.

 

[DragonWrasse103]

I just received the Pentair 25 watt UV. OMG, I had no idea it was so big. I never bothered to look at the dimensions. The thing is a beast at 29" long and 3.5" diameter. I don't want it to dominate my sump area. I think I will save it for later after I finish my basement fish room project.

Yes, it is big. I may end up plumbing to the closet next to my tank if I can’t come up with a good way to mount it in the sump area.

 

[Reefrats]

Alright, I am calling this the "sQuid Pro Quo" build of a Waterbox 130.4. Why? Because I promised my wife that I would release the funds to buy her dream handbag (a Chanel) in exchange for letting me build my dream reef tank!

Warning: I travel alot for business so I expect progress to be very slooooow. Come back in February or March if you don't have the patience to watch paint dry!

About me: I have been in the hobby since 2000. Like most people, I started out small with a 15-gallon nano. I then upgraded to a 75-gallon mixed reef. Here is a picture of my old 75G:

I had to give up the tank when my company asked me to move to Japan. So I have been out of the hobby for nearly 14 years (I just moved back to Boston). Back then, I was a much poorer (but better looking) version of my current self. So everything was DIY. The lights was a retrofit kit of power compacts from Champion Lighting. I built my own stand with just a hand-held circular saw (I had Home Depot cut the big plywood pieces for me). The sump, float valves, ATO … everything was done on the cheap. The only thing that I splurged on was a EuroReef skimmer which cost me like a month's salary. Fast forward 20 years and I am happy to say that I am now financially secure (but worse looking) and I am ready to build my dream tank with no expenses spared.

My philosophy for the new tank:

1. I may not live long enough to see another tank so I am going to build this one as if it were my last one.
2. No more DIY. Life is too short and so are my skills. Some people are great with their hands and creating beautiful stuff. I am not one of those people.
3. Full automation. I travel nearly 40% of the time so I need the reef to be as self-sufficient and bomb-proof as possible.
4. Mixed reef with heavy emphasis on SPS and clams.

The “sQuid Pro Quo” Blueprints

Here I will just rundown the equipment list. I will explain the reason for each of my choices in subsequents posts as well as the alternative products that I did not choose. I have spent over one year researching and planning for this tank. And yet I still feel unprepared and constantly second guessing my choices!

Above the stand:

• Tank: Waterbox 130.4 in white
• Lighting: Custom ordered Giesemann Spectra (48” inch, two 250w MH, four 54w T5s, integrated moonlight, custom metallic silver finish). This unit is wired for 220v so I am also buying a Krieger transformer rated for 1700 watts (Giesemann recommended a minimum of 1500 watts).
• Powerheads: A pair of Maxspect Gyre XF350 with controller
• Rocks: 180 lbs of Tampa Bay Saltwater aquaculture live rock
• Sand: Undecided; either TBS live sand or Tropic Eden aragonite. Enough for 2 inches or so.
• Salt: Tropic Marine Pro Reef

Under the stand:

• Sump: I will use the Waterbox sump on Day 1, but I plan to upgrade to Geo’s SU24R or perhaps a SU46R-Pro-Plus later down the road once I finish my basement fish room project.
• Protein skimmer: Deltec 1000i
• Skimmate locker: Avast Davy Jones Skimmate Locker
• UV: Pentair Aquatics 25w Smart UV
• Return pump: Abyzz A100
• Heater: Finnex 300w controlled by Ranco ETC1110000
• Cooling fans: GHL Propeller Breeze 3 (4-fan)
• Emergency back-up power: IceCap battery back-up for the Gyre’s
• Long-term back-up power: I am still planning this out, but the general concept is to use an inverter with a deep cycle marine battery with battery tenderer to keep the battery fresh.
• Controller cabinet: Undecided. The 130.4 does not give you a lot of space to work with on the dry-side. So this project may need to wait until I finish my basement fish room.

The Brains: The entire friggin' GHL catalog!! P4 Profilux, KH Director, ION Director, Doser 2.1 with 4 heads, leak detectors, flow sensors, the "oh gawd I spent too much money" sensor, the "holy crap how much electricity did I use" power monitor, etc, etc, etc.

In the basement:

• RODI: BRS 7-stage with water saver and booster pump with XP Aqua RO/DI Flood Guardian as failsafe
• ATO: Tunze Osmolator 3155 combined with GHL high and low sensors as failsafe
• Kalkwasser reactor: Geo KR618
• SW mixing station: This is about as DIY as I will go. Two Brutes with the re-circulating plumbing powered by Pan World 40px.
• AWC: GHL Maxi dosers for daily replacement of 2% of water volume (two gallons per day)
• QT: I will be re-using an old ADA 5.5-gallon planted tank that was another money-pit obsession I had back in the day. One of the perks about living in Tokyo was having direct access to ADA stores. Here is a bit of eye-candy for any of you guys that are into ADA equipment (yes, that is a picture of my tank):
• 

Miscellaneous:

• I will be using B-Ionic 2-part dosing to start with.
• Cleaning magnet: Tunze
• Test kits: Reef Foundation, Salifert, etc

Future projects:

• Frag system in the basement
• Refugium in the basement

Thanks for following along
Jim

Thanks for posting this thread - I’m definitely following. I have my 130.4 with lights and just ordered a maxspext gyre xf330. I need everything else so I look forward to hearing your reviews of everything. Like you I’m not in a rush and want to make smart decisions.

 

[siggy]

I picked up a Aqua uv 25 watt on ebay, no one bid so I snagged it for almost nothing. Not sure what Ill do with it qt or mount it under the tank above the sump is the only thing I can figure. Cool t-shirt idea dont forget to put onr of these on it.

 

[Reefrats]

Unfortunately it won’t fit. It is only 13” or so even if you remove the hinge assembly. There is an inside brace on the left side that takes up space. But... I wonder if you can rip the MD controller box down to size. Take an inch off each side or two inches off one side. The face plate would be easy, but I am not sure about the enclosure.

I was looking at the same thing and so bummed it doesn’t fit. I will probably have one made at a place nearby that custom cuts starboard.

 

[qnguyen]

Let there be Light!

Life is full of choices. Should I become an accountant or a rock star? Coke or Pepsi? Get married or enjoy bachelorhood? But no choice is more difficult than picking lights for your reef tank. I selected the Giesemann Spectra and I will discuss why in this post.

My top three choices were:
1) Giesemann Spectra (total cost with shipping ended up being $2,057 for a customized 48" fixture with moonlight, dimmable T5 ballast, two 250w 21k Megachrome blue MH bulbs, two 54w Powerchrome actinic blue T5 bulbs, two 54w Powerchrome super purple T5 bulbs plus another $220 for a Krieger 1700 watt transformer)
2) Reefi Duo Extreme Led ($1,500 for two, but please note that they have a $100 discount per unit right now so the cost is actually $1,300)
3) Orphek v4 gen 2 ($1,540 for two)

You can find numerous examples of successful tanks being run on led and MH. So for me, it comes down to personal preference and aesthetics. I am not going to debate the technical merits of each light type. I just love Giesemann. I have always loved Giesemann. I will always love Giesemann. If Giesemann was female, I would marry her in an instant. The curves. The fit and finish. The refinement. Giesemann fixtures just exude sex appeal that I don't feel when I look at led fixtures. And you can't beat the shimmer of MH. 'Nuff said.

But I have to say that I was on the fence with led. The smaller form factor, energy efficiency, ability to dim and replicate dawn/dusk/moonlight as well as the ability to pick virtually any color from the rainbow spectrum were all appealing considerations. I will probably go with led for my future frag tank and the Reefi Duo Extreme will be my first choice.

So let me share with you some more details about my buying experience with Giesemann. Unfortunately, Coralvue no longer carries the Spectra model in the U.S. They only carry the Infinity which is similar except that the Infinity uses double-ended MH bulbs versus the single moguls in the Spectra. The Spectra also has larger reflectors for better light spread and uses external ballasts which removes the weight and heat from the fixture. Take my advice and spend the extra money on the Spectra. The buying process is pretty easy. You have to contact Giesemann Sales directly. I worked with Patrick at Giesemann and he was very patient answering my 20 different questions. Buying direct from Giesemann also allows you to customize exactly what you get. Here are some of the options and costs:

• Of course the length. You can choose between 24", 48" and 72". I am using the 48" which is actually 47 1/2" which is just a tad longer than my 130.4 stand which is 47 1/4" long.
• 250w or 400w (the cost for 250w 48" fixture is Euro 1,135.40; the cost for 400w is Euro 1,343.70)
• Dimmable T5 ballast (extra Euro 77.50 for each set of T5 or Euro 155 in total)
• Moonlight (extra Euro 49.58)
• Special colour (extra Euro 167.23 if you do not want the standard iridium metallic or pure white )
• Suspension kit (extra Euro 16.72)
• Giesemann will include all the bulbs for "free"
• Giesemann charged Euro 60.82 for shipping and customs (for 48” fixture)
• It comes wired for 220v with ballast as standard but probably you can ask them to send it with just the quick connect to attach to your own ballasts (I recommend the LuxCore 250w/400w switchable ballast if you go this route). I kept the 220v because it eliminated another cord (according to Giesemann). I purchased a separate step-down transformer. Giesemann recommended at least a 1500 watt transformer. I went with Kreiger for its high quality. I don’t trust those cheap ones manufactured in China.

It took exactly 3 weeks from the date I ordered the fixture to when I received it (due to the custom paint job). Here are some pictures. I went for the Silver Metallic. I felt the iridium was too dark and the white would not stand out enough. I am very happy with the color.

The little dot in the middle is the moonlight:

Here you can see the two power cords, moonlight cord and 0-10v plug to control the dimmable T5 ballast:

It came very well packaged:

Cheers
Jim

 

[siggy]

Your not fooling around about lighting, nice fixture

 

[Zach W]

Awesome build, I’ve had my eyes on the 130.4 for a couple months now!

 

[qnguyen]

Giesemann Shipment Part 2

I received the second part of my Giesemann shipment today which included the two MH bulbs and the external ballasts. I had no idea they were so big. Each is 5” x 5” x 8.5” and very heavy at around 10 lbs each. Each ballast has the quick connect input for the power cords coming from the light fixture and a 220v Schuko plug for the MH and a 110v grounded U.S. plug for the T5. The Schuko plugs will go into my transformer. The T5 plugs will go into my Profilux power bar so that I can control it with the included 0-10v cable that comes with the dimmable T5 option.

I guess the benefit of using Giesemann's ballasts over using something like the LuxCore ballast is that this one comes with dimmable T5 ballast and it eliminates a third power cord coming out of the lighting fixture. But man, does it take up alot of space. I think I need to accelerate my basement fish room project so that I can move the sump to the basement and use both sides of the stand for my equipment. That will also give me space to put a small wine fridge under the stand to store my fish food and my beer!

 

[qnguyen]

Sorry for the long delay between updates. I did warn you guys that this would be a slow build! I spent the bulk of the past three months preparing for my basement fishroom (boy, what a pain that has been) as well as waiting for my Synergy Reef sump and ATO. Updates to follow.

 

[qnguyen]

The Sump

Ah, another difficult decision. I was torn between the GEO SU46R-PRO or the Synergy Reef CL 44.7. I liked the fact that Geo's sump comes with the built-in media canister as well as the integrated refugium, but I ultimately chose the Synergy Reef sump for the following reasons:

1) I prefer the dual 7" socks on the CL 44.7 versus the three 4" socks on the Geo.
2) The skimmer section in the CL 44.7 is 21″ x 17.5″ while the Geo SU46R-Pro is 20″ x 14 1/2″ (frame opening is 20″ x 12″). I like the additional space provided by the CL 44.7.
3) Although I liked Geo's integrated refugium, it is a bit on the small side.
4) Both sumps are aesthetically pleasing, but I just fell in love with the look of the Synergy Reef's Red Mercury model.

I bought the sump, matching ATO and some frag racks as well. It came very well packaged. The sump is made-to-order and it took about 6 weeks to receive, but that includes the Christmas and New Year's holiday period. So my guess is that the normal waiting time is 4 weeks, but of course, it depends on their backlog:

Oh yeah, baby :

The sump comes with four John Guest fittings for dosing. I asked Synergy Reef to add a fifth for future flexibility. I also added the option for the three 1/2" bulkheads that you see in the skimmer section to accommodate a manifold for reactors in the future:

Some sweet laser etching:

The 10-gallon ATO is a perfect matching pair for the CL 44. Top-off water never looked so sexy!

I also got some matching 10" x 10" frag racks. I originally purchased four of them to fit into my planned 24" x 24" frag tank. But after seeing them, I ordered another two from Synergy Reef, but I asked them to reverse the color so that I will have two with red tops and two with black tops. Yes, I have OCD when it comes to this stuff:

So there you go. It was a totally unnecessary expenditure, but you can't put a price on personal enjoyment.

 

[qnguyen]

Mounting the Giesemann

I love my Giesemann Spectra, but mounting the fixture to the ceiling was a pain in the butt :mad:. I was not lucky enough to hit a floor joist in the ceiling where the mounting cables need to be located. I did not feel comfortable using toggle bolts, so I used a 1"x12" piece of wood to provide a mounting platform. But finding the joists to screw the mounting platform into was also challenging because I have a plaster ceiling that is held up by a wire mesh. The wire mesh made it impossible to use normal stud finders. So I had to drill alot of test holes before I finally hit a joist. Anyhow, I finally got it done, but I think my next fixture will be a small, compact led!

A major PITA, but I am happy with the end result ;Wacky ;Facepalm.

 

[dough]

Great build thread. Appreciate the explanation in your choices.

 

[deplinger]

Let there be Light!

Life is full of choices. Should I become an accountant or a rock star? Coke or Pepsi? Get married or enjoy bachelorhood? But no choice is more difficult than picking lights for your reef tank. I selected the Giesemann Spectra and I will discuss why in this post.

My top three choices were:
1) Giesemann Spectra (total cost with shipping ended up being $2,057 for a customized 48" fixture with moonlight, dimmable T5 ballast, two 250w 21k Megachrome blue MH bulbs, two 54w Powerchrome actinic blue T5 bulbs, two 54w Powerchrome super purple T5 bulbs plus another $220 for a Krieger 1700 watt transformer)
2) Reefi Duo Extreme Led ($1,500 for two, but please note that they have a $100 discount per unit right now so the cost is actually $1,300)
3) Orphek v4 gen 2 ($1,540 for two)

You can find numerous examples of successful tanks being run on led and MH. So for me, it comes down to personal preference and aesthetics. I am not going to debate the technical merits of each light type. I just love Giesemann. I have always loved Giesemann. I will always love Giesemann. If Giesemann was female, I would marry her in an instant. The curves. The fit and finish. The refinement. Giesemann fixtures just exude sex appeal that I don't feel when I look at led fixtures. And you can't beat the shimmer of MH. 'Nuff said.

But I have to say that I was on the fence with led. The smaller form factor, energy efficiency, ability to dim and replicate dawn/dusk/moonlight as well as the ability to pick virtually any color from the rainbow spectrum were all appealing considerations. I will probably go with led for my future frag tank and the Reefi Duo Extreme will be my first choice.

So let me share with you some more details about my buying experience with Giesemann. Unfortunately, Coralvue no longer carries the Spectra model in the U.S. They only carry the Infinity which is similar except that the Infinity uses double-ended MH bulbs versus the single moguls in the Spectra. The Spectra also has larger reflectors for better light spread and uses external ballasts which removes the weight and heat from the fixture. Take my advice and spend the extra money on the Spectra. The buying process is pretty easy. You have to contact Giesemann Sales directly. I worked with Patrick at Giesemann and he was very patient answering my 20 different questions. Buying direct from Giesemann also allows you to customize exactly what you get. Here are some of the options and costs:

• Of course the length. You can choose between 24", 48" and 72". I am using the 48" which is actually 47 1/2" which is just a tad longer than my 130.4 stand which is 47 1/4" long.
• 250w or 400w (the cost for 250w 48" fixture is Euro 1,135.40; the cost for 400w is Euro 1,343.70)
• Dimmable T5 ballast (extra Euro 77.50 for each set of T5 or Euro 155 in total)
• Moonlight (extra Euro 49.58)
• Special colour (extra Euro 167.23 if you do not want the standard iridium metallic or pure white )
• Suspension kit (extra Euro 16.72)
• Giesemann will include all the bulbs for "free"
• Giesemann charged Euro 60.82 for shipping and customs (for 48” fixture)
• It comes wired for 220v with ballast as standard but probably you can ask them to send it with just the quick connect to attach to your own ballasts (I recommend the LuxCore 250w/400w switchable ballast if you go this route). I kept the 220v because it eliminated another cord (according to Giesemann). I purchased a separate step-down transformer. Giesemann recommended at least a 1500 watt transformer. I went with Kreiger for its high quality. I don’t trust those cheap ones manufactured in China.

It took exactly 3 weeks from the date I ordered the fixture to when I received it (due to the custom paint job). Here are some pictures. I went for the Silver Metallic. I felt the iridium was too dark and the white would not stand out enough. I am very happy with the color.

The little dot in the middle is the moonlight:

Here you can see the two power cords, moonlight cord and 0-10v plug to control the dimmable T5 ballast:

It came very well packaged:

Cheers
Jim

I love that light! Very nice.