Waterbox 25 peninsula! After 25 years of reefing..my first build thread

[rishma]

Hello!
This will be my smallest reef ever, my first all-in-one and my first build thread. I hope I do a decent job for your enjoyment. I have a mix of new equipment and some reused from prior reefs. I sold my last tank and relocated earlier this year so it’s a fresh start.

EQUIPMENT
Tank: Waterbox 25 gallon Peninsula
Stand: white Waterbox stand
Return: Tunze 1073.008
Flow: AI Nero 3
Filtration: Tunze 9001DC skimmer, OctoAquatics floss cup
Heat: Neotherm 100w
Light: AI Hydra 26HD with 3DReefing diffuser
Control: Apex Jr + PM1 module + pH probe + temp probe+ BOB
ATO: 2 floats connected to Apex with LiterMiter dosing pump
Dosing: DOS and a BRS 1.1 ml/min pump
Misc: Kraken Lid, OctoAquatics probe holder, OctoAquatics Dosing tube holder

Ready to go! But this is not the tanks final resting spot. More to come.

 

[blaxsun]

Good spot for it!

 

[jgirardnrg]

 

[rishma]

Good spot for it!

I know, but just around the corner in that nook there is a patch of tile instead of hardwood floor and let's just say I have made enough mistakes that my wonderful wife strongly encouraged me to put the tank on the tile

 

[jgirardnrg]

I know, but just around the corner in that nook there is a patch of tile instead of hardwood floor and let's just say I have made enough mistakes that my wonderful wife strongly encouraged me to put the tank on the tile

Tell your wife: "I DO WHAT I WANT! DON'T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!"





(follow me for more divorce advice)

 

[rishma]

Tell your wife: "I DO WHAT I WANT! DON'T TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE!"





(follow me for more divorce advice)

 

[jgirardnrg]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that is false (if she has undiagnosed mental disorders (Also costed me over $300K)). One of her personalities was happy, the one that was active during the divorce will never be happy.

 

[rishma]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that is false (if she has undiagnosed mental disorders (Also costed me over $300K)). One of her personalities was happy, the one that was active during the divorce will never be happy.

Ah man, sorry you went through that. It was meant to be in jest and I apologize if I struck a nerve. I am super lucky with a very supportive wife. She let's be do all kinds of stupid things and just smiles and shakes her head. I had had to replace a room of hardwood in a previous house, which she reminded me of as I was finding a spot for the tank.

ok! back to happy reefing!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Ah man, sorry you went through that. It was meant to be in jest and I apologize if I struck a nerve. I am super lucky with a very supportive wife. She let's be do all kinds of stupid things and just smiles and shakes her head. I had had to replace a room of hardwood in a previous house, which she reminded me of as I was finding a spot for the tank.

ok! back to happy reefing!

Nah man I'm good, no apology needed... I was over it way before the divorce papers were filed.

I'm actually flying down to Tennessee on the 7th and driving back with my new partner in crime. As for the ex? Well, the money it costed hurt a bit but I'm much happier without the drama. I'm actually waiting on filling my new tank because the new woman wants to do it together. Blessed...

 

[rishma]

What am I thinking for this reef?

I have been keeping a reef nearly continuously for 25 years and continue to learn at what feels like the pace of a newbie. No doubt I will make choices I later regret, will add, remove and replace equipment, regret a livestock choice or placement, and have a blast doing it. I really appreciate feedback and thoughts from this community. Here is what I am thinking:

noise: honestly I am a little nutty about noise. My last Reefer 170 was so quiet people asked me if it was running. This was accomplished with equipment choice and little sound proofing foam. This simply wont be possible with an AIO if I am going to use a skimmer. I'll have to get over it, but will still try to keep it quiet.

Redundancy: I know nobody will believe this, but as a reefer I have flooded my house, killed livestock, and experienced other heartbreaks because I am an idiot and things fail. Redundancy is tough on this little tank. The Apex Fusion Alerts will help a little, but if you see something I am doing that could be safer, TELL ME!!

Keep it tidy: I know its tough when cramped for space, but I am committed to keeping the wires, tubes, equipment, etc. very tidy. It takes time but I find a lot of pleasure in nice tidy set up.

Fish: I am thinking the variety of captive bred fish for this size tank can keep me happy.

Quarantine: I have a 10 gallon tank running to house my pair of ocellaris clowns (from my old tank) that I'll keep running as a proper QT for new fish. I probably wont QT corals.

Live Rock: Already settled. I have 10 lbs from KPAquatics. I had the same Fiji liverock through multiple tanks for nearly 20 years. I gifted a tank to my friend with the rock about 5 years ago. The next tank i set up was with dry rock and I struggled. I believe in biodiversity so I spent the $$$ to ship the cultured liverock in water (more to come on this).

Sand: I have been bare bottom for many many years. I am thinking I can manage the sand in this small tank and it opens some options for critters, plus it looks nice.

Corals: I love SPS and LPS. I have done dedicated tanks for both. I am thinking I'll do a mix of the two this time, focusing on easy SPS.

Confession: I think one of the main reasons I have never done a build thread is I don't take many pictures and the ones I do take are pretty crappy. I am going to challenge myself to take and share pictures because we all know that is the fun part of a build thread.


Cord Management is a PITA in a little AIO tank!!!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Going to be awesome... take a couple of those cable raceways you have at the bottom and run them vertically to hide the wires running down the back of the tank. I did this in my new setup in the sump area and makes everything so much cleaner:

 

[rishma]

Going to be awesome... take a couple of those cable raceways you have at the bottom and run them vertically to hide the wires running down the back of the tank. I did this in my new setup in the sump area and makes everything so much cleaner:

Yes! I have some for inside the cabinet and will try to do it like you. Unfortunely I couldn’t find white ones big enough for the cords. Another issue with small tanks is long cords take a ton of space. I had flat white ones like you but all the cords took up too much space. I ended up with some light grey 2”x2” that will work well, just not as nice looking as the white would have been.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Yes! I have some for inside the cabinet and will try to do it like you. Unfortunely I couldn’t find white ones big enough for the cords. Another issue with small tanks is long cords take a ton of space. I had flat white ones like you but all the cords took up too much space. I ended up with some light grey 2”x2” that will work well, just not as nice looking as the white would have been.

You can paint them with Krylon Fusion from Home Depot. It's spray paint meant for plastics.

 

[jgirardnrg]

That's fr sad bro I had this gf once she told me my fish and coral took too much time, complained about my water machine, and said my room smelled fishy, the same person was also jealous of my dog and friends and was mad I worked 60 hours a week..


Needless to say she had to go

@rishma (whip cracks) this is what you should say everytime she says that

All good... new woman is 150% into the coral and the reef tanks. I win... I'm happy.

 

[rishma]

You can paint them with Krylon Fusion from Home Depot. It's spray paint meant for plastics.

Oh man! Wish I thought of that. So simple. I already double-stick taped them in the cabinet. Should have started this thread sooner!

 

[rishma]

Family friendly forum!

 

[rishma]

One of big regrets on the location of this tank: It is located on interior walls and the only way to run tubing/wiring to a remote top-off and water change station would be some fairly heavy ceiling and drywall work. I am not willing to do this for my smallest tank ever so there will be no AWC and no remote top off reservoir.

A standard Petco 10 gallon tank fits nicely on the stand and should last a good while as an ATO reservoir.

I needed to drill 3 holes in the glass 10 gal ATO reservoir.
1) one for mechanical float valve for refilling. I will manually drag a line from my RO/DI to refill the reservoir when needed. The float valve is one layer of protection fro over filling. Not fool proof, but pretty reliable when used this way.

2) Float switch to alert me when the reservoir is low. Not totally necessary but I have the horizontal switch already and room in the BOB.

3) a 1/4” bulkhead (3/4” hole) to plumb the liter meter thought the side.

got these cheap glass bits on Amazon. Not great quality, same as you get through BRS, but good enough for a few holes if you keep them cool.

Drilling! I found it easier to start the hole with the drill guide bit finish by hand. Go slow. Very very slow.

 

[jgirardnrg]

Thanks for reminding me... I need to make some RODI!

Getter done!

 

[rishma]

Found an issue this morning, not aquarium related! This means I will not be working on my build today. Darn homeownership!!

 

[Schraufabagel]

Can’t wait to see more! Looks like it’s going to be a very cool build