Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25 Build

[Gary777]

I like your aquascape. Looks like a lot of places to swim and hide.

Which lid is that and how do you like it? I’ve modified my Sicce 1.5 for my 25 Peninsula build. Seems to work very well with a Random flow generator so far. I wish the pump chamber was just a little bigger to give us more options.

Will continue to follow and see your progress, nice work so far.

Thanks. The lid is a D-D Jump guard. It is very good, you do have to cut the pieces to size but the result is worth it. Good value for money.

Agreed on the size of the pump chamber. I am happy with the Jecod DC pump, even though it needed minor surgery to fit it in. I cleaned it for the first time recently as I noticed the flow had dropped quite a bit. It was easy to clean.

I added an Azure Damsel a couple of weeks ago. There was a bit of unhappiness for the first day as he got chased around by my 'peaceful' Royal Gramma. But all is OK now. Was interesting to watch the pair of clowns actually get between them to give the Damsel a bit of support.

I still have issues with diatoms and now some hair algae so I have been using Microbacter Clean since Sunday. Will see how that goes. If I can beat the algae it will be looking great.

 

[bherbold8]

Yes the light is fine. I was being a bit OCD in wanting the light to sit perfectly straight. I have never been able to get it absolutely right, even padding it with a piece of acrylic to make the glass thicker. It's good enough though.

The light itself with the app to control it is very good. It's a great price compared to other similar lights.

I see what you mean with the light Did you end up using the long or short slide rail?

 

[Gary777]

I see what you mean with the light Did you end up using the long or short slide rail?

Is that a Maxspect Jump LED?

On mine the mount is made up of 3 parts which fix together to allow adjustable height and reach. It has to be set to reach a fair amount because the Peninsula 25 is 2 feet front to back.

 

[howaboutme]

I received and set up the Reefloat ATO. It's very impressive. It works using a sensor which is held on the outside of the glass by a plastic coated magnetic (which is the only thing in the water). The sensor is not optical so it doesn't need to be on clear glass. It works fine on the blacked out filter section of an AIO tank.

Not having an optical sensor or a float switch in the water is a big advantage. No moving parts or things to be blocked by snails or whatever.

The sensor has a blue light which is lit when it detects the water level is high enough. When it detects the level has dropped the light goes out and if the level has been low for 3 seconds the pump runs until the correct level is reached. The 3 second check is there so if you are working in the sump area and causing waves the ATO will not keep starting up. This is more a feature for people with large sumps rather than AIO tanks of course.

You can set a safety time for the pump to run which defaults to 10 seconds out of the box but can be adjusted. The pump will not run beyond this time and if it reaches it, an alarm sounds and the ATO is now shut off until you manually press the reset button on the controller.

I'm happy I can finally retire my plastic manual top off jug.

Nice build! Question on the ATO. That's an interesting concept. You can confirm it works over the black film covering the back chamber? No issues so far?

 

[Gary777]

Nice build! Question on the ATO. That's an interesting concept. You can confirm it works over the black film covering the back chamber? No issues so far?

Yes it works through the black film. Has worked well so far. The product gets great reviews on a UK based reefing forum where the guy who makes them is a sponsor.

I believe you can request a version with a longer cable between the sensor and the control box. I didn't know that so I have both on the side of the filter section. With a longer cable you could have the controller in your cabinet. It's not a big deal either way.

Hope that helps.

 

[bherbold8]

Is that a Maxspect Jump LED?

On mine the mount is made up of 3 parts which fix together to allow adjustable height and reach. It has to be set to reach a fair amount because the Peninsula 25 is 2 feet front to back.

Nevermind forgot that's the light you had. I went with xr15 I think I need to switch to the long rail

 

[owenmeyerswbreef25]

Hello

My name is Gary and I am based in the UK. I am returning to marine aquarium keeping after a really long break. Without giving away my age when I last had a marine tank it was fish only, used an under-gravel filter, and was filled with tap water. That was a very common setup at the time. I stumbled across some YouTube videos earlier this year and I was amazed at the improvements that have been made in technology and know how.

So after months of reading forums and watching more YouTube videos I have bought one of the new Waterbox mini peninsula aquariums for my home office.

Here's my equipment list :

Waterbox Mini Peninsula 25

Light : Maxspect Jump MJ-L165
Wavemaker : Nero 3
Pump : Sicce 1.0
Heater : Aquael Ultra 100w
Temperature Controller : D-D Dual (For heater and cooling fan)

Rock and substrate is 20lbs of Caribsea Life Rock Shapes and 10lbs of Caribsea Fiji pink live sand.

Other bits and pieces I have picked up include:

Hanna Salinity checker (despite the mixed reviews)
D-D Jumpguard mesh lid kit
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt
A 3D printed filter cup replacement for filter floss to replace the filter sock.
A 75 gallon per day RODI system with a booster pump.
Maxspect nano-tech bio spheres
Test kits, etc etc etc

I will also pick up an ATO, not sure which yet. Maybe a protein skimmer too sometime in the future, but maybe not.


This Waterbox comes with a pump, which I don't think they used to in the UK. Anyway, it will be used to mix salt and be there as a backup. The Maxspect light is a new product so I am hoping people cleverer than me will come up with some settings and schedules as it becomes more widely used. It looks like a good alternative to the AI Prime HD. It costs a bit less and comes with a mounting arm in the box.

I really liked the look of the Caribsea life rock shapes. It looks like I got the most common selection: 2 arches, a cave and a smaller ring / doughnut (donut!) shape. I think the 20lbs box would be great for a slightly bigger tank. It's a shame it is not easy to buy these rocks individually. While I wait for everything to be delivered I think I have come up with an aquascape using the 3 biggest rocks without it being over the top for the tank size. Using the final rock would be too much I think.

Caribsea also sell a box of 'nano arches'. Arches that are about 8 inches long. These would be great but a box of 4 costs the same as the 20lb mixed box, which seems unreasonable to me.

I am looking to stock a pair of clowns and a royal gramma with a shrimp and then see how things progress ...

... and from the other side

Another photo that shows the 'spare' rock

The Maxspect LED ...

I am waiting for some vital things to be delivered, like a stand. I'll be back with more later.

Thanks for reading and any advice and opinions will always be welcome.

Did you ever get a skimmer? I have the same tank and have been wrestling with the idea.

 

[owenmeyerswbreef25]

Hello

My name is Gary and I am based in the UK. I am returning to marine aquarium keeping after a really long break. Without giving away my age when I last had a marine tank it was fish only, used an under-gravel filter, and was filled with tap water. That was a very common setup at the time. I stumbled across some YouTube videos earlier this year and I was amazed at the improvements that have been made in technology and know how.

So after months of reading forums and watching more YouTube videos I have bought one of the new Waterbox mini peninsula aquariums for my home office.

Here's my equipment list :

Waterbox Mini Peninsula 25

Light : Maxspect Jump MJ-L165
Wavemaker : Nero 3
Pump : Sicce 1.0
Heater : Aquael Ultra 100w
Temperature Controller : D-D Dual (For heater and cooling fan)

Rock and substrate is 20lbs of Caribsea Life Rock Shapes and 10lbs of Caribsea Fiji pink live sand.

Other bits and pieces I have picked up include:

Hanna Salinity checker (despite the mixed reviews)
D-D Jumpguard mesh lid kit
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt
A 3D printed filter cup replacement for filter floss to replace the filter sock.
A 75 gallon per day RODI system with a booster pump.
Maxspect nano-tech bio spheres
Test kits, etc etc etc

I will also pick up an ATO, not sure which yet. Maybe a protein skimmer too sometime in the future, but maybe not.


This Waterbox comes with a pump, which I don't think they used to in the UK. Anyway, it will be used to mix salt and be there as a backup. The Maxspect light is a new product so I am hoping people cleverer than me will come up with some settings and schedules as it becomes more widely used. It looks like a good alternative to the AI Prime HD. It costs a bit less and comes with a mounting arm in the box.

I really liked the look of the Caribsea life rock shapes. It looks like I got the most common selection: 2 arches, a cave and a smaller ring / doughnut (donut!) shape. I think the 20lbs box would be great for a slightly bigger tank. It's a shame it is not easy to buy these rocks individually. While I wait for everything to be delivered I think I have come up with an aquascape using the 3 biggest rocks without it being over the top for the tank size. Using the final rock would be too much I think.

Caribsea also sell a box of 'nano arches'. Arches that are about 8 inches long. These would be great but a box of 4 costs the same as the 20lb mixed box, which seems unreasonable to me.

I am looking to stock a pair of clowns and a royal gramma with a shrimp and then see how things progress ...

... and from the other side

Another photo that shows the 'spare' rock

The Maxspect LED ...

I am waiting for some vital things to be delivered, like a stand. I'll be back with more later.

Thanks for reading and any advice and opinions will always be welcome.

Did you ever get a skimmer? I have the exact same tank and have been thinking about it.

 

[Gary777]

Did you ever get a skimmer? I have the exact same tank and have been thinking about it.

No I haven’t bought a skimmer. I swapped the filter sock for a 3d printed filter cup. I filled it with Bio Balls and put filter floss on the top. With a small bag of carbon in the middle section the water is crystal clear.

I’m sure a skimmer would be even better but I worry it might be noisy.

 

[Hamblin]

No I haven’t bought a skimmer. I swapped the filter sock for a 3d printed filter cup. I filled it with Bio Balls and put filter floss on the top. With a small bag of carbon in the middle section the water is crystal clear.

I’m sure a skimmer would be even better but I worry it might be noisy.

Hi Gary,

Just set mine up how many bioballs did you put in your cup as I am doing the same without socks? I have put some under the cup, should they be in it? Also put some in the middle chamber. Here is a pic after a busy day/night/ morning. Love it already.

Sam

 

[Gary777]

Hi

In the middle section I have 21 Bio Balls on a string of cable ties. There is a picture somewhere at the start of the thread. This hangs off of the light bracket so they only just touch the bottom of the tank. I have about 8 balls in the filter cup. So I can still get a layer of filter floss across the top of the cup.

That's probably way too many bio balls but it seems to work so far.

Your setup looks great. Which light is that?

 

[Hamblin]

Cheers Gary. Really pleased with it all just need to get the filtration right. Light is the AI hydra 26hd. I currently have bioballs in a bag in first section under the filter cup? I don't want to restrict flow, what do you think?

 

[Gary777]

I have the bio balls loose in the filter cup. I use a filter floss from Amazon that isn’t specifically for aquariums. It’s in a sheet about 1cm thick so I cut it into squares to fit the first filter section and I use 2 squares at a time to make it thicker.

The only time I had a problem with flow was when I tried to add a small amount of carbon in a bag between the bio balls and the floss. So I moved the carbon into the middle section right by the water flow.

The filter floss and the carbon make the water crystal clear.

The light looks great.

 

[Hamblin]

I have the bio balls loose in the filter cup. I use a filter floss from Amazon that isn’t specifically for aquariums. It’s in a sheet about 1cm thick so I cut it into squares to fit the first filter section and I use 2 squares at a time to make it thicker.

The only time I had a problem with flow was when I tried to add a small amount of carbon in a bag between the bio balls and the floss. So I moved the carbon into the middle section right by the water flow.

The filter floss and the carbon make the water crystal clear.

The light looks great.

Thanks yeh love that it matches the shape of the tank. I upgraded pump to the sicee 1.0 but a bit noisy atm. Might try the 0.5? Didn't bother with the stock.

How's your tank?

Sam

 

[Gary777]

Hi

All is good.

I watched a live stream the other day where a LFS owner in the UK suggested there is a known noise problem with the Sicce 1.0 that doesn't happen in the 0.5 or 1.5. I think the problem only occurs in the tight space of an AIO return section when the pipe is attached from the pump to the return nozzle.

I use my 1.0 to mix salt. It doesn't seem noisy in a bucket.

 

[Hamblin]

Hi

All is good.

I watched a live stream the other day where a LFS owner in the UK suggested there is a known noise problem with the Sicce 1.0 that doesn't happen in the 0.5 or 1.5. I think the problem only occurs in the tight space of an AIO return section when the pipe is attached from the pump to the return nozzle.

I use my 1.0 to mix salt. It doesn't seem noisy in a bucket.

Right..Have you got the 0.5 in your tank?

 

[Gary777]

Right..Have you got the 0.5 in your tank?

No it’s a Jecod DCS 1200.

 

[Hamblin]

No it’s a Jecod DCS 1200.

How you finding it?

 

[Gary777]

How you finding it?

It’s good. Much quieter than the Sicce or the stock pump. It has a controller with a ‘feed’ button which shuts it off for 10 minutes.

You do need to cut a piece of the inlet pipe off to get it to fit in the peninsula tanks.

 

[Ocean Blue]

Hiya. How is the tank progressing? I'm going to be downsizing my tank and have been trying to decide on which to go with. Your thread has been really helpful - thank you, it's great to find someone from the uk! I think I have finally made up my mind on the WB mini 25 too! eek