Waterbox Cube 20 equipment help

[westcoastwhale]

Hello!

I’m starting my first saltwater tank. Purchased the Waterbox cube 20 thinking it was AIO but it is not although it has some components. I’m in the midst of research but overwhelmed. If anyones able to help with a bit of an equipment list to help organize my research I’d be so grateful

My plan is to stock with live rock and potentially some zoas/mushrooms/GSP to begin with and then add some combination (not all) of:

2 clowns (oscillaris)
Royal gramma basslet
Watchmen Goby
Purple Firefish
6 line wrasse
anemone (bubble-tip?)
CUC (peppermint shrimp, snails)

so far I have:

• cube 20 which came with filter sock, Carbon, Bio Balls, Pump
• mesh lid
• refractometer
• Heater

So far I know I need:

• test kits
• Live sand
• Lights (any affordable suggestions?)
• Looks like I could potentially wait on a protein skimmer (will do regular water changes)
• Will wait on an RODI unit
• Powerhead? Necessary?
• Salt mix
• Bacteria
• Food
• Algae glass cleaner
• More filter socks

Am I missing any essentials?

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Unless you have easy access to a clean source of top off or ASW mixing water I’d prioritise the RODI unit as well as an ATO.

Powerhead or wavemaker is very desirable, I can recommend the AI Prime (light) / AI Nero (wavemaker) combination.

There are some nice WB20 builds on this forum, you can find them via the search function and see what steps they took to achieve success.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

 

[westcoastwhale]

Unless you have easy access to a clean source of top off or ASW mixing water I’d prioritise the RODI unit as well as an ATO.

Powerhead or wavemaker is very desirable, I can recommend the AI Prime (light) / AI Nero (wavemaker) combination.

There are some nice WB20 builds on this forum, you can find them via the search function and see what steps they took to achieve success.

Good luck, hope it goes well.

Thank you for this! Taking a look at those WB20 builds, great advice!

 

[sidpost]

Is the suggested fish load from the OP too much for a 20G tank?

 

[sidpost]

Comments and thoughts on an ALGAE SCRUBBER and PROTEIN SKIMMER for this 20G Waterbox tank?

 

[westcoastwhale]

Is the suggested fish load from the OP too much for a 20G tank?

I suspect yes which is why I will take a selection from the list 2 clowns for sure and deciding on the others still! Any advice appreciated.

 

[doubleshot00]

I have this tank and setting mine up right now. I would look into a dc pump options to like the jebao dcs-1200 or mightyjet 348.

• test kits red sea master kits great kit
• Live sand just pick one
• Lights (any affordable suggestions?) Ai prime or go cheap off amazon nicrew 50 watt
• Looks like I could potentially wait on a protein skimmer (will do regular water changes) skip this not necessary unless your all about ph
• Will wait on an RODI unit priority number one imo unless you just bought a bunch of ro water from local store.
• Powerhead? Necessary? Ai nero 3 or Jebao slw-10 to save $
• Salt mix Instant ocean works just fine.
• Bacteria only for the cycle. Turbostart is what I suggest with a little ammonia
• Food frozen mysis and flakes.
• Algae glass cleaner flipper nano
• More filter socks get the INTANK media basket and just use filter floss at the top. Saves time and money

 

[Nburg's Reef]

If it’s in your budget, I would opt for the better equipment. I used an AI hydra 26HD which was perfect! A prime would work too, but if you can find a deal in a 26, it would be a better option. I would also opt for the Nero 3. I have one and had the jebao equivalent- not even a close comparison beyond looking similar. The smaller jebao clone does not push much water - the larger one would but it’s much bigger than the Nero 3. The Nero 3 is small, silent but powerful. Bonus is the AI equipment all uses the same app.
I tried the smallest jebao DC pump and it was a tad overpowered even at the lowest setting. I ended up using a sicce 0.5 which worked well.

Here’s my build thread - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/20g-waterbox-cube-softie-simple-secondary-aquarium.897176/

I have since taken this tank down as a compromise with the wife - turn my 2 tanks into 1 huge tank.

Edit: I’d skip a scrubber or protein skimmer. Mechanical filtration and carbon replaced appropriately and/or weekly water changes is sufficient.

 

[westcoastwhale]

I have this tank and setting mine up right now. I would look into a dc pump options to like the jebao dcs-1200 or mightyjet 348.

• test kits red sea master kits great kit
• Live sand just pick one
• Lights (any affordable suggestions?) Ai prime or go cheap off amazon nicrew 50 watt
• Looks like I could potentially wait on a protein skimmer (will do regular water changes) skip this not necessary unless your all about ph
• Will wait on an RODI unit priority number one imo unless you just bought a bunch of ro water from local store.
• Powerhead? Necessary? Ai nero 3 or Jebao slw-10 to save $
• Salt mix Instant ocean works just fine.
• Bacteria only for the cycle. Turbostart is what I suggest with a little ammonia
• Food frozen mysis and flakes.
• Algae glass cleaner flipper nano
• More filter socks get the INTANK media basket and just use filter floss at the top. Saves time and money

SO helpful. Thank you so much for your input!!

 

[RaymondL]

Hello!

I’m starting my first saltwater tank. Purchased the Waterbox cube 20 thinking it was AIO but it is not although it has some components. I’m in the midst of research but overwhelmed. If anyones able to help with a bit of an equipment list to help organize my research I’d be so grateful

My plan is to stock with live rock and potentially some zoas/mushrooms/GSP to begin with and then add some combination (not all) of:

2 clowns (oscillaris)
Royal gramma basslet
Watchmen Goby
Purple Firefish
6 line wrasse
anemone (bubble-tip?)
CUC (peppermint shrimp, snails)

so far I have:

• cube 20 which came with filter sock, Carbon, Bio Balls, Pump
• mesh lid
• refractometer
• Heater

So far I know I need:

• test kits
• Live sand
• Lights (any affordable suggestions?)
• Looks like I could potentially wait on a protein skimmer (will do regular water changes)
• Will wait on an RODI unit
• Powerhead? Necessary?
• Salt mix
• Bacteria
• Food
• Algae glass cleaner
• More filter socks

Am I missing any essentials?

Welcome! Here's my take on your setup:

You should consider getting an Auto Top Off - not needed, if you want to manually replaced evaporated water with RODI, but you have to be on top of it. Evaporation causes a spike in salinity, which is not good. I know, because prior to having a ATO, my salinity shot up dangerously high.

Test kits: if you're just having soft corals, you can skip the Calcium and Magnesium ones. You should definitely have an Alkalinity test kit, Nitrate and Phosphate, and for cycling (Ammonia, Nitrites)

If you up get a powerful return pump, you might be able to get away from a wavemaker - you can add it later. A DC pump like the DCA-1200 suggested here is a good option.

Lights: The absolutely best value in my opinion is the Noopsyche k7 mini - this small low cost light packs a crazy punch and can grow anything under this light. I"m amazed with it and rivals the lights 3x as much.

Refractometer: make sure you get a good accurate one. I use a floating Hyrdometer by Tropic Marine - it's accurate and I don't have to have any doubts.

Good luck!

 

[RaymondL]

Hello!

I’m starting my first saltwater tank. Purchased the Waterbox cube 20 thinking it was AIO but it is not although it has some components. I’m in the midst of research but overwhelmed. If anyones able to help with a bit of an equipment list to help organize my research I’d be so grateful

My plan is to stock with live rock and potentially some zoas/mushrooms/GSP to begin with and then add some combination (not all) of:

2 clowns (oscillaris)
Royal gramma basslet
Watchmen Goby
Purple Firefish
6 line wrasse
anemone (bubble-tip?)
CUC (peppermint shrimp, snails)

so far I have:

• cube 20 which came with filter sock, Carbon, Bio Balls, Pump
• mesh lid
• refractometer
• Heater

So far I know I need:

• test kits
• Live sand
• Lights (any affordable suggestions?)
• Looks like I could potentially wait on a protein skimmer (will do regular water changes)
• Will wait on an RODI unit
• Powerhead? Necessary?
• Salt mix
• Bacteria
• Food
• Algae glass cleaner
• More filter socks

Am I missing any essentials?

Forgot to suggest: get rid of them plastic Bio Balls and replace them with Marine Pure BioFilter Media - more surface area for developing a bacteria population.

6 Line Wrasse - hmm, might be too large for the tank.

Anemone - if you decide to get one, put it in the tank first before any corals and wait until it settles - they will move and find a spot that they are happy with and stay put - you don't want them touching any corals because they will sting

CUC: make sure you don't add too many too soon. Nassarius snails are good to start - they agitate the sandbed and also scour for leftovers.

 

[jpmazzone]

Hi, welcome to the money pit (but fun) hobby! I am three months into a Waterbox 20 myself. How far along are you into it now? I realize that your post is a few weeks old at this point. Can you give a status update and a pic or two?