Upgrading to a waterbox 150.4

[brycenelson]

Hey reefers, I am going to be upgrading my tank to a Waterbox Infinia Reef 150.4 or a Cade Reed 1200 S2. This is my first tank that has a sump as my last one was all HOB filters and reactors. I dont know if its better to have an extra 10 gallons in the display with the cade since the sump will be much smaller. I have a few items that I have chosen so far that I think will work well in the tank. If anyone can help fill in some gaps or a better product than what I have listed I will listen to all help. This is going to be a a Mixed reef but a main focus in sps.
Reef mat 500
2 xr 15 pros
I want a good Versa return pump (I have heard good things if better pump out there lmk)
2 AI orbit 4 Cross flow
1 Nero 7 (with the pumps im very versatile I have used gyres and normal pumps IDK if 2 mp40s would be better than these 3)
I have room for a refugium and ill get a basic light for that
I have been looking into Hydros Controllers and I was looking at getting the launch to start and maybe upgrading to the doser version down the road
also want a uv because of how much I will be investing into the fish
Again any tips welcome
Thanks guys

 

[disaster999]

I would go with a bigger sump, the more room you have for equipment in the future the better.

2 XR15 is not enough if you plan on doing a sps dominant tank. getting another 2, or upgrading to 2 XR30s would be better

I dont see a skimmer in your system...are you not planning on having one?

 

[brycenelson]

I would go with a bigger sump, the more room you have for equipment in the future the better.

2 XR15 is not enough if you plan on doing a sps dominant tank. getting another 2, or upgrading to 2 XR30s would be better

I dont see a skimmer in your system...are you not planning on having one?

yes i planned on a skimmer but I didn't know what skimmer to get so i didn't list one. Ok i can definitely do xr 30s do you think 2 xr 30s would be better than if I connected 2 ai blades and mounted them on both sides of the 15s? I was looking at a reef octopus skimmer I heard they were good didn't know what size to get.

 

[xxoczukxx]

yes i planned on a skimmer but I didn't know what skimmer to get so i didn't list one. Ok i can definitely do xr 30s do you think 2 xr 30s would be better than if I connected 2 ai blades and mounted them on both sides of the 15s? I was looking at a reef octopus skimmer I heard they were good didn't know what size to get.

I think you would be fine with 3-4 xr15's rather than 2 xr30's

 

[brycenelson]

I think you would be fine with 3-4 xr15's rather than 2 xr30's

Only reason I would go with the 2 xr 30s is because I don’t have a fixture and the xr 30s would work well with the mesh lid I was planning on getting

 

[xxoczukxx]

Only reason I would go with the 2 xr 30s is because I don’t have a fixture and the xr 30s would work well with the mesh lid I was planning on getting

what do you mean fixture? How are you planning to mount the xr30's?

 

[brycenelson]

what do you mean fixture? How are you planning to mount the xr30's?

I was planning on using the rms mounts that EcoTech sells and just having 2 of those one on either side of the over flow

 

[disaster999]

yes i planned on a skimmer but I didn't know what skimmer to get so i didn't list one. Ok i can definitely do xr 30s do you think 2 xr 30s would be better than if I connected 2 ai blades and mounted them on both sides of the 15s? I was looking at a reef octopus skimmer I heard they were good didn't know what size to get.

I have 2 XR30 clone over my waterbox 110.4 and the coverage is perfect. the 150 is a similar size to my 110 but deeper which it the XR30 should have no issues providing coverage.

I guess you can get away with 2 48" AI blades, which adds 200w of light, which is roughly about the same as 2 XR30 but I dont think the lighting spread would be that even. You are going to have 2 hot spots under the XR15 and maybe not enough lighting just under the blades. Could be fine if you are doing a mixed reef.

Reef Octo skimmers are great, I had one before and its been flawless. For a 150 gal, the Regal or Elite 150 should be good for a light to medium bio load. For heavier bioloads go with the next size up.

 

[brycenelson]

I have 2 XR30 clone over my waterbox 110.4 and the coverage is perfect. the 150 is a similar size to my 110 but deeper which it the XR30 should have no issues providing coverage.

I guess you can get away with 2 48" AI blades, which adds 200w of light, which is roughly about the same as 2 XR30 but I dont think the lighting spread would be that even. You are going to have 2 hot spots under the XR15 and maybe not enough lighting just under the blades. Could be fine if you are doing a mixed reef.

Reef Octo skimmers are great, I had one before and it’s been flawless. For a 150 gal, the Regal or Elite 150 should be good for a light to medium bio load. For heavier bioloads go with the next size up.

Thanks for the knowledge I’m leaning more to xr30s now I just saw on the waterbox site they sell a combo pack with xr15s but once I did a little more research on YouTube I see xr30s are top of the line lights and I think I’m just gonna splurge on them because I don’t wanna go cheap on one of the most important parts of a reef tank. Do you use blues or pros?

 

[disaster999]

Thanks for the knowledge I’m leaning more to xr30s now I just saw on the waterbox site they sell a combo pack with xr15s but once I did a little more research on YouTube I see xr30s are top of the line lights and I think I’m just gonna splurge on them because I don’t wanna go cheap on one of the most important parts of a reef tank. Do you use blues or pros?

If you go over to the lighting section you can find a thread for the XR30 clone, called the A8 btw, where lots of successes from using those lights at 1/4-1/3 the price. I just dont think the xr30s are worth the premium but its your choice.

I have the first gen blue, but its not exactly the same as the XR30 blue as it has way more white, just less greens and reds. The second gen A8 blues is exactly the same as the XR30 blue. It depends what look you go want to go for. If you like the blue pop and no the washed out look sometimes the green and red produces then the blue might be for you, but if you dont like it too blue then the pro might be a better choice.

One last thing about the lights. the G6 or the A8 uses 120degrees lense which gives a nice even coverage but light spills like crazy and you might need to either lower the lights closer to the water line, jack up the intensity to 80-100%, or do both to get the desired par numbers throughout your tank. I swapped out the stock lens for ecotech's high intensity lens with narrower 63-77degree len so it focuses more light into the tank and allows me to mount the light higher. something to keep in mind.

 

[Ziggy17]

If you do the WB 150.4, and you want to use a reefmat, have a look at my thread. I’m working out the issues and details now.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/wb-150-4-sump-redesign.1126016/#post-13826696