MJY

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Hi,

I am starting up this build thread to document my “retired” (A.K.A – never used for intended purposes) Waterbox Cube 7 quarantine tank.

Story goes a little something like this…

2020 COVID-19 Peak Lockdown in Australia – I Think, I know what would be good! A nostalgic childhood & adolescence hobby to keep me entertained & occupied while the world melts down around me. Thus, my first tank was born, a Waterbox Cube 20.

Welcome to Reef2Reef thread here.

2021 COVID-19 Continues On & I WFH Full-Time – Naturally one goes, time for an upgrade! And why we are at it, lets try and keep the most difficult and challenging varieties and species of animals! So many $$ and heaps of deliberation later, I present to you my Cade S2 600 SPS reef.

Built thread here.

2022 Life Changes – As with everything in the world currently it seems, my life is also in a state of flux and paradox. Work changes, personal health concerns, family health issues and time gets more finite, and space becomes a premium, again.

So as one does, I made the decision to downsize everything and sell my current set-up alongside the foundation components for what was going to be a pending upgrade.

Fundamentally I wanted my cake and to be able to eat it too... A beautiful desktop nano reef, that was both low maintenance, low tech, and low running costs. All of this is my personal perspective on the definition of those characteristics.

I am already somewhat into this journey and was fortunate in the sense that the tank was up and running with cycled media, sand bed & some live rock. As such, I had a somewhat “insta tank” scenario. I also had some livestock that I would be transferring from my other tank shutdown.

This is a little journal to keep track of methodology, equipment, livestock, maintenance, costs & any little titbits that may prove to be useful or entertaining for the community.

Hope you enjoy! Any questions please do not hesitate to reach out!

Cheers!
 
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MJY

MJY

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Methodology

I really wanted this aquarium to be low tech, low cost & low touch. I did however want a massive visual impact and have varieties and species of animals that I love at this sits right next to me on my WFH "home office".

So with this in mind it was decided that the following componentry would be used, given I already had the tank and a few odds and ends from it's very brief stint as a QT/hospital tank.

Also to give the broader global audience an idea of what things cost here in Australia, I have left some pricing attached for reference. Also a good rough guide to know what you're in for if you want a similar set-up.

Equipment List
Waterbox Cube 7 Nano AIO Aquarium
Kraken Reef Polycarbonate Aquarium Lid
Kessil A80 Tuna Blue LED & Gooseneck Mount
EHEIM compactON 300 Return Pump
Hydor Koralia Wave Pump 900LPH
Aquael Professional Ultra Heater 25w
inTank Aquatics Filtration Accessories
Sub Totalling $1,000.00 AUD (inclusive of taxes, import duties & shipping)

I really like the form factor of the Cube 7, and it just happens to be the perfect size for my compact home office.

Insert boring photos of initial dry goods :)

WB 7G 001.jpg WB 7G 002.jpg WB 7G 003.jpg WB 7G 004.jpg
 
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Costing

This is where it starts to get a touch nerdy, I wanted to know what the cost of operations for this tank would be to work into the budget. I also wanted to know the "true" cost of this hobby at this scale.

Product
Energy Consumption
Duration of Consumption
Annual Running Cost
Aquael Professional Ultra Heater 25w
25w​
24/7 – 365 Days P/A
$35.35​
Kessil A80 Tuna Blue LED
18w​
9:30am – 8:30pm – 365 Days P/A
$13.34​
EHEIM compactON 300 Return Pump
7w​
24/7 – 365 Days P/A
$9.90​
Hydor Koralia Wave Pump 900LPH
4.5w​
365 Days P/A
$6.36​
  • Annual Electricity Running Costs = $64.95 AUD
  • Monthly Electricity Running Costs = $5.41 AUD
Salt, Supplements & Additives
Tropic Marin Pro-Reef Sea Salt 25kg $200.00
Tropic Marin All-For-Reef Supplementation 1L $85.00 (thanks exchange rate, and expedited shipped)
Red Sea Reef Energy Plus AB+ Coral Nutrition 1L $80.00
Sub Totalling $365.00 AUD (inclusive of taxes, import duties & shipping)
  • Annual Salt, Supplements & Additives Running Cost = $365.00 AUD
  • Monthly Salt, Supplements & Additives Running Cost = $30.41 AUD
Food, Consumables & Incidentals
Dried Food Annual Consumption – Approximately 3x 60-80g Containers $50.00
(Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes, Vitalis Marine Pellets XS & Hikari Seaweed Extreme Pellet Small)
Frozen Food Annual Consumption – Approximately 4x 100g Packets $50.00
(Ocean Nutrition – Artemia Brine Shrimp w/ Spirulina & Garlic, Lobster Eggs & Mysis Shrimp)
RODI Water Production Cost – Approximately 60L per month $180.00
Budgeted Incidentals Annual Costs – Filter Media, Breakages, Glue, etc $100.00
Sub Totalling $380.00 (inclusive of taxes & shipping)
  • Annual Food, Consumables & Incidentals Running Cost = $380.00 AUD
  • Monthly Food, Consumables & Incidentals Running Cost = $31.66 AUD
Total Annual Running Costs = $809.95 AUD
Total Monthly Running Costs = $67.48 AUD

Livestock (Fish & Invertebrates) Costs
1x Captive Breed Splendid Mandarin Dragonette $180.00
1x Decora Purple Firefish $90.00
1x Yellow Coral Goby $45.00
3x Shexy Shrimp $170.00
1x Helicopter Shrimp $35.00
1x Peppermint Shrimp $15.00
1x Trochus Snail $10.00
1x Astraea Snail $10.00
3x Turbo Snail $15.00
Sub Totalling $570.00 AUD

Livestock (Coral) Costs

5x Various Mid Range Zoa Frags (Aquacultured) $250.00
1x Wild Collected Small Zoa Rock $50.00
3x Various Soft Corals (Sinularia, Devils Hand & Gorgonian) $150.00
15x Various Discosoma Mushrooms (Red, Green, Blue, Orange) $150.00
1x Green Star Polyp Frag (Aquacultured) $25.00
1x Fireworks Clove Polyp Frag (Aquacultured) $125.00
Sub Totalling $750.00 AUD

Total Cost – Set-Up & First Year Running Costs

Equipment Purchases $1,000.00
Livestock (Fish & Invertebrates) Purchases $570.00
Livestock (Coral) Purchases $750.00
Salt, Supplements & Additives Purchases $365.00
Food, Consumables & Incidentals Purchases $380.00
Annual Electricity Running Costs $65.00
Sub Totalling $3,130.00 AUD

Set-Up Costs & Expenses $3,000.00 AUD approximately

(Equipment, Dry Goods, Livestock & Support Systems)

Ongoing Costs & Expenses $67.48 AUD per calendar month
(Electricity, Salt, Supplements, Additives, Food, Consumables & Incidentals)

Accessories
- Turkey Baster / Coral Feeder / Detritus Remover / Coral Cleaner
- Stainless Steel Tweezers
- Stainless Steel Algae Scraper
- Magnetic Glass Cleaner
- Pocket Knife
- Coral Glue / Epoxy
- Toothbrushes
- Drip Acclimator
- Small Fish Net
- Jugs (1L, 2L & 5L Jug)
- Length of Hose 12/16mm
- Orange Filter Lens Kit – Smartphone

WB 7G 005.jpg WB 7G 006.jpg WB 7G 007.jpg
 
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MJY

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Here are some more recent photos... The corals have really settled in now and stating to see some excellent PE.

WB 7G 008.jpg WB 7G 009.jpg WB 7G 010.jpg WB 7G 011.jpg
 
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