Waterbox Cube 20 Questions

[paradizecityz]

Hello there, sorry if I’m in wrong section. New to this site

Recently got a Waterbox 20 cube to transfer from an old tank. Everything is running great but have a few questions.
1) The tank comes with 2 sponge for middle chamber, for bottom and top. Are y’all using both?
2) Why are y’all suggesting to upgrade pump to Sicce 1.0?

Both are kind of related because I find that the 3rd chamber water level drops easily so I was thinking of dropping to a Sicce 0.5 instead for slower gph? Also I’ve read that something could be clogged but I checked and don’t see anything that would cause that or maybe it’s the bottom sponge?

Any guidance is highly appreciated, thank you!

 

[Peace River]

Hello there, sorry if I’m in wrong section. New to this site

Recently got a Waterbox 20 cube to transfer from an old tank. Everything is running great but have a few questions.
1) The tank comes with 2 sponge for middle chamber, for bottom and top. Are y’all using both?
2) Why are y’all suggesting to upgrade pump to Sicce 1.0?

Both are kind of related because I find that the 3rd chamber water level drops easily so I was thinking of dropping to a Sicce 0.5 instead for slower gph? Also I’ve read that something could be clogged but I checked and don’t see anything that would cause that or maybe it’s the bottom sponge?

Any guidance is highly appreciated, thank you!

@EmilyXLC @Waterbox Aquariums - can y'all help with an answer to this question?

 

[Hasted]

Hello there, sorry if I’m in wrong section. New to this site

Recently got a Waterbox 20 cube to transfer from an old tank. Everything is running great but have a few questions.
1) The tank comes with 2 sponge for middle chamber, for bottom and top. Are y’all using both?
2) Why are y’all suggesting to upgrade pump to Sicce 1.0?

Both are kind of related because I find that the 3rd chamber water level drops easily so I was thinking of dropping to a Sicce 0.5 instead for slower gph? Also I’ve read that something could be clogged but I checked and don’t see anything that would cause that or maybe it’s the bottom sponge?

Any guidance is highly appreciated, thank you!

I am not using the sponges on my WB 15g Peninsula.

When you say the water drops, do you mean on initial start up? If so, that is typical. The return chamber should drop until the water in the display overflows into the sock chamber which then overflows to middle, then again into return. You will lose water in the return chamber until that happens.

If you look inside the return chamber, there should be a baffle that comes up 2/3 of the way. That is where the middle chamber flows into the return chamber.

I try to keep my water level at that point WITH THE PUMP ON. My water evaporates throughout the day and drops below that line. I then add fresh water until the return chamber is at the same level as the top of that baffle. Overfilling will cause the middle and sock chamber to increase in water level.

What I would do is have some water ready.
Turn on pump.
Watch the return chamber drop.
Add water to make the return chamber fill back up to the top of the baffle.

The Sicce 1.0 is the correct size according to the WB site.

Now, as for WHY. The 1.0 is a higher GPH than stock. Which increases turn over and also flow.

The Sicce pumps are also known to be a higher quality giving you a longer lasting pump that tends to be more quiet.

 

[paradizecityz]

@EmilyXLC @Waterbox Aquariums - can y'all help with an answer to this question?

Thank you for tagging the right people!

I am not using the sponges on my WB 15g Peninsula.

When you say the water drops, do you mean on initial start up? If so, that is typical. The return chamber should drop until the water in the display overflows into the sock chamber which then overflows to middle, then again into return. You will lose water in the return chamber until that happens.

If you look inside the return chamber, there should be a baffle that comes up 2/3 of the way. That is where the middle chamber flows into the return chamber.

I try to keep my water level at that point WITH THE PUMP ON. My water evaporates throughout the day and drops below that line. I then add fresh water until the return chamber is at the same level as the top of that baffle. Overfilling will cause the middle and sock chamber to increase in water level.

What I would do is have some water ready.
Turn on pump.
Watch the return chamber drop.
Add water to make the return chamber fill back up to the top of the baffle.

The Sicce 1.0 is the correct size according to the WB site.

Now, as for WHY. The 1.0 is a higher GPH than stock. Which increases turn over and also flow.

The Sicce pumps are also known to be a higher quality giving you a longer lasting pump that tends to be more quiet.

I did not mean on initial startup. I completely understand it for that. I meant the water drops with the pump already been running. Maybe it's the evaporation but and maybe since the chamber is small, it seems like a lot of water has evaporated but in reality, it's normal?

I usually try to keep the water level at the same line but over night, it drops a good 2-3 inches in that chamber. Is that normal?

On the stock pump, I turned the flow all the way down already and that's why I was thinking about the Sicce 0.5 instead of the 1.0 but will look more into it.
I am also thinking of removing the bottom sponge that it came with. Seems like that could end up clogging up.

Thank you!

 

[Hasted]

Thank you for tagging the right people!



I did not mean on initial startup. I completely understand it for that. I meant the water drops with the pump already been running. Maybe it's the evaporation but and maybe since the chamber is small, it seems like a lot of water has evaporated but in reality, it's normal?

I usually try to keep the water level at the same line but over night, it drops a good 2-3 inches in that chamber. Is that normal?

On the stock pump, I turned the flow all the way down already and that's why I was thinking about the Sicce 0.5 instead of the 1.0 but will look more into it.
I am also thinking of removing the bottom sponge that it came with. Seems like that could end up clogging up.

Thank you!

Mine drops a good amount over the course of the day due to evap. What you could do is make a mark on the glass where the waterline is in the display (and each chamber if you can find a way?).

If the water continuously go up through the day over those lines, that means the pump is pushing more water than the water can travel back to the chamber. This would be due to clog somewhere (as you mentioned) or too strong of a pump.

My assumption is that is is normal water evaporation, though.

Hope this helps some! Waterbox nanos are amazing and I love mine!

 

[paradizecityz]

Mine drops a good amount over the course of the day due to evap. What you could do is make a mark on the glass where the waterline is in the display (and each chamber if you can find a way?).

If the water continuously go up through the day over those lines, that means the pump is pushing more water than the water can travel back to the chamber. This would be due to clog somewhere (as you mentioned) or too strong of a pump.

My assumption is that is is normal water evaporation, though.

Hope this helps some! Waterbox nanos are amazing and I love mine!

Makes complete sense!
Definitely love mine and I think my questions are more of learning curve then an actual problem. Thank you again!

 

[Fishel]

New WB 20 here. Had running water level even with the baffle in the return chamber. It ran that way all day. Woke up this morning and the tank temp was 72 degrees, heater off, return chamber almost empty! Tank is cycling so no harm done.

Where did the water go? It didn’t spill so it must have dumped into the display. I’m using the stock pump but have an intank media basket in the first chamber with filter floss and media. Middle chamber has a Tunze 9001 skimmer, 2x WB stock sponges with a bag of carbon in-between. Return chamber has the heater.

I don’t see a clog anywhere? Maybe I need to dial down the stock pump? Then again it ran that way all day yesterday?

 

[Fishel]

Ok so messing with it a little bit more. If there is a temporary blockage (I lifted the intank media basket out therefore blocking flow for a few seconds) the return pump empties the return chamber and even if the blockage is cleared, again only blocked a few seconds, the return chamber cannot catchup and the return chamber remains low. Heater shuts off due to inadequate water level.

Am I maybe using too much mechanical filtration in the first chamber?

 

[Fishel]

I removed a large amount of filter floss from the intank basket in chamber 1. The floss basically filled up the lower half of the intank basket.

I lifted the intank basket up halfway out of the 1st chamber. This stopped water flow and I watched the return chamber empty 100%. I pushed the intank basket back in and the return chamber filled back up in ~10 seconds.

This makes me think I need to put the heater in the middle chamber? There’s no risk of overflowing the tank as with the return chamber emptied the tank does not overflow. But if my temp goes from ~78 to ~72 overnight that would be a problem. I’d have to get a shorter heater as the 100w heater is too long to be used in the middle chamber.

 

[>>klong<<]

2) Why are y’all suggesting to upgrade pump to Sicce 1.0?

I'd only consider upgrading to a DC pump. The stock pump is loud, which a DC would fix. It would also allow you to tune the flow to your liking.

I'm thinking about maybe trying out a cheap Jebao on my new WB 20

 

[paradizecityz]

I had my WB20 perfectly set but have sold it already due to upgrading to larger size. I did upgrade to Sicce 1.0 and it helped a lot with the noise.

 

[>>klong<<]

I had my WB20 perfectly set but have sold it already due to upgrading to larger size. I did upgrade to Sicce 1.0 and it helped a lot with the noise.

Lol. I saw the reply to this thread this morning. Sorry I didn't see this was from over a month ago.

This makes me think I need to put the heater in the middle chamber?

Anywhere but the return chamber. That will run dry first.

 

[paradizecityz]

Lol. I saw the reply to this thread this morning. Sorry I didn't see this was from over a month ago.


Anywhere but the return chamber. That will run dry first.

All good! I’ll try to help where I can

I actually had the heater in the return chamber but I also had my ATO in that chamber as well

 

[Waynerock]

Are you guys using chamber 2 or 3 for the ato? Also what is the proper water level y’all keep in chamber 2&3? Set this tank up for my son so not used to AIO’s. Basically how many inches down chamber 3 do you keep the water at? I am sitting at about 3 inches and manually topping off to keep it around that level Till I put in the ATO

 

[stylolvr]

Are you guys using chamber 2 or 3 for the ato? Also what is the proper water level y’all keep in chamber 2&3? Set this tank up for my son so not used to AIO’s. Basically how many inches down chamber 3 do you keep the water at? I am sitting at about 3 inches and manually topping off to keep it around that level Till I put in the ATO

The ATO should go in the third chamber and allow the water to cascade over the baffle a bit, maybe an inch or so.

To the OP, I run the stock pump and as long as it isn’t touching the glass at all it’s pretty quiet. When it dies, I’ll upgrade to the Socce 1.0 as suggested. I don’t use any of the sponges or plastic bio balls. I’m running the filter sock but am thinking of moving to either the media basket or a filter floss holder. I go through a 5-gal ATO reservoir about every 2 weeks, and the ATO (Duetto) adds about 1/4”-1/2” of water multiple times throughout the day. Your evaporation will depend on your surface agitation as well.

Sorry I didn’t see this thread until now. How are things going with the tank?

 

[Ghost25]

I just got a Waterbox 20. The only filtration I am running is the filter sock, no bio balls, sponges or carbon. Skimmer, and heater in second chamber. ATO sensor in third chamber. I bought a Tunze 1073.020 Silence which is so big I had to take off the cover and shave it down a bit to get it to fit. I haven't actually installed it yet so we'll see how it works out.

 

[paradizecityz]

Hey guys, just to update. I had the WB20 for about a month and upgraded so no longer have it. In the time that I had it, took a couple days but got it dialed in the way I wanted. I did end up upgrading to Sicce 1.0 pump and used the stock for water changes, that was my excuse
Either way, the main thing I looked at was the return chamber, I had the water line where it falls over about 0.5-1 inch and everything else worked great. ATO sensor and return line into return chamber as well. Hope this info helps someone out!