15 Gallon Nano - Waterbox Peninsula All in One (AIO) - Skip Cycle - Mixed Reef

[Gumbies R Us]

Jan 5 - 7 Update:

- I have been dosing between 4ml - 6ml of Alk and Cal the past couple days. Alk is now up to 6.5 dKh. Will continue until I get it up to 8 dKh and then tune/maintain. I expect this will go on for a few more days.

- Once I get Alk stabilized using 2 Part ESV B Ionic. I am thinking of switching to Tropic Marin All For Reef (AFR). Mostly to keep dosing easy/simple. I'd like to get a one head doser, like a Kamoer to dose it daily. I've been reading only good things about AFR.

- Received a coral lens filter kit as a New Year's gift. Simple and unedited shots taken on iPhone 15 Pro Max with yellow lens below.

Tank looks great!

 

[Macbalacano]

Jan 8 - Jan 26 Updates

Been really busy with life but will summarize updates from the last 3 weeks:

1. I have been trying to stick to weekly water changes
   
   
2. I have been keeping Alk stable with water changes and 2 part dosing, but today I just switched to All For Reef with a Kamoer doser. I have been having to dose 3-4 times a day by hand (2ml each time) of 2 part and don't have the time to keep doing this consistently. I wanted to get 2 dosing pumps and keep using 2 part, but I read so many great things about All For Reef, so I decided to make the switch. Seems easier and cheaper in the long run.
   
   
3. I was going to get a Pink Streaked Wrasse, but was worried the predatory worm in my tank, Oenone Fulgida, would kill it. I ended up bringing an Arrow Crab home and hoped that he would eventually kill the worms. I have put out traps several nights to get the worms out, hoping the Arrow Crab will see them and eat them. I am unsure if it is working at this point.
   
   
4. I received another large shipment from Candy Corals online yesterday. This included the following:
   1. Orange Tentacle Plate Coral
   2. 2x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
   3. Ultra Acan
   4. Stellar Stylophora
   5. Feather Duster
   6. Blue Raven Blastomussa
   7. Montipora Spongodes
   8. War Paint Scoly
   9. Red Dragon Acropora (freebie)
   10. Purple Candelabra Gorgonian
   11. A bunch of dry goods
       
       
5. I put the 2 skunk shrimps in a nursery/acclimation box for now with a rock. They seem to be getting along fine and are eating. I plan to keep them there for a month or so while the Arrow Crab does its thing. Once I return the Arrow Crab to the store, I will set the shrimp free. Hopefully, nothing kills them this time!
   
   
6. I continue to battle the following issues:
   1. Bubble Algae - just removing by hand for now.
   2. Aiptasia (I have smothered 3 now over the course of the past 2 months with glue or F Aiptasia)
   3. Flatworms on Octospawn and one of my Hammer Corals. I have been dipping about once a week using stronger concentrations of Coral Rx and for longer periods of time. The corals look healthy but somehow some flatworms continue to survive. Will continue dipping.
   4. 1 small blasto has been on a slow decline. I believe I harmed it with too much flow a while ago.
   5. The freebie red dragon frag I received ended up bleaching today. I acclimated it the same as the other corals. Everything else is doing great. I put it in a low-flow area for now and hope it recovers one day. I can still see it has some polyps so it still looks alive.
      
      
7. Phosphates and Nitrates seem to be stable. Phosphates are 0.07 and Nitrates are 0-5ppm. I continue to see some algae growing on the back/glass and rocks, so I know for sure there are nutrients in the water.
   
   
8. I am seeing really nice growth on everything so far and it has only really been less than 2 months that the tank was running. The birds nest has really taken off. Most Zoas have grown multiple new heads. The blasto and duncans are also growing new heads. All my hammers have split new heads. Really happy with the tank's progress so far.
   
   
9. The tank is now really full in my opinion and I think I have officially run out of space for more corals. See latest pictures below.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Hi Everyone, after a 2-year break from reefing (life happened - a new job, got married, had a baby), I'm back! Here is a link to my previous tank (RedSea Reefer 170), which I took down. This is technically my third time setting up a reef tank, my first time around was when I was starting university around 15 years ago. I really wanted to give this another shot and combine all of the knowledge and experience I've gained over the years. This time around, I'm doing a much smaller tank - a 15-gallon All-in-One from Waterbox.

Here are my aquarium/reefing 'philosophies' that I want to stick to when it comes to this tank:

1) Going small(er): Overall easier to manage (smaller water changes, smaller equipment etc.) and everything costs less, you become much more selective as to what you put into the tank, and it fills out more quickly as corals grow (which I think is very satisfying).

2) Skip Cycle: Used all very mature live rock that has Coraline on it and various other signs of life. I feel strongly that this approach will prevent me from having to go through all the issues that come with new rock that I've experienced previously (uglies - algae, cyano, dinos, etc.). You can find my rationale and thoughts throughout this thread.

3) Minimal hands in the tank: Will try to not be so reactive to every little thing that happens in the tank. Spend more time observing and just giving the animals more time to adjust.

4) Minimal Dosing, Additives, Chemicals and not Overfeeding: Will try to let regular water changes be the main source of replenishment of nutrients and let nature take its course on issues that arise. Will also feed fish and corals less to try to keep water parameters in check.

5) Strict Maintenance & Monitoring Routine: Will do weekly 20% water changes + filter sock/floss cleaning or changes. Will do daily manual water top offs and regular testing of water parameters.

6) Easy to keep Corals, Fish, and Inverts: Will only keep 'intermediate' corals and hardy fish and inverts to simplify things.

7) Minimize hi-tech / auto equipment: Will try to use simple equipment that is still good quality. For example, no auto-top off, no Neptune, no auto dosing, etc.

Current Equipment List
Aquarium: Waterbox 15 Peninsula AIO
Lights: AI Prime 16 HD with Arm
Return Pump: Waterbox stock pump
Screen Lid: Waterbox
Heater: Fulval M50
Wavemaker: Jebao SLW 10
Filter Media: Activated carbon (Waterbox), bio balls (Waterbox), media sponges (Waterbox), 1 bag of Chemi-Pure Elite (nano size), filter floss (instead of filter socks).

Current Coral List
Montipora
Monticap
Chalice
CyphastreaFavia
Zoas
Clove Polyps
Hammers
Florida Ricordea
Trachyphyllia
Acans
Bubble Coral
Australian Branching Duncan
Candy Cane Coral
Alveopora
Leptoseris
Elk Horm Montipora
Green Birdsnest
Red Montipora Digitata
Green Scoly
Yellow Tipped Octospawn

Current Invert & Fish List
1x Banded Brittle Star
1x Hawaiian Feather Duster
1x Blood Red Fire Shrimp
2x Clownfish

Losses to Date

• 2x Blood Red Fire Shrimp
  First one died December 12, 2023 a week after it was placed in the tank, it was being bullied by the other blood red fire shrimp. They were put in the tank at the same time from the same LFS.
  
  Second one died December 13, 2023, the next day. It was alive in the morning when I left for work and didn't find his body until later in the evening.
  
  These shrimp deaths are still a mystery to me. Currently my theory is that they were attached by predatory hitchhiking worms in the tank from liverock.
  
  
• 1x Purple Candalabra Gorgonian
  Dead on Arrival (DOA) from online order on November 30, 2023

Really looking forward to sharing with you all this journey, sharing knowledge, and learning from you all!

Photos attached were taken 48 hours after the tank was set up!

Looks very cool! I can't wait to see the corals grow in! It will look awesome!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Jan 8 - Jan 26 Updates

Been really busy with life but will summarize updates from the last 3 weeks:

1. I have been trying to stick to weekly water changes
   
   
2. I have been keeping Alk stable with water changes and 2 part dosing, but today I just switched to All For Reef with a Kamoer doser. I have been having to dose 3-4 times a day by hand (2ml each time) of 2 part and don't have the time to keep doing this consistently. I wanted to get 2 dosing pumps and keep using 2 part, but I read so many great things about All For Reef, so I decided to make the switch. Seems easier and cheaper in the long run.
   
   
3. I was going to get a Pink Streaked Wrasse, but was worried the predatory worm in my tank, Oenone Fulgida, would kill it. I ended up bringing an Arrow Crab home and hoped that he would eventually kill the worms. I have put out traps several nights to get the worms out, hoping the Arrow Crab will see them and eat them. I am unsure if it is working at this point.
   
   
4. I received another large shipment from Candy Corals online yesterday. This included the following:
   1. Orange Tentacle Plate Coral
   2. 2x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
   3. Ultra Acan
   4. Stellar Stylophora
   5. Feather Duster
   6. Blue Raven Blastomussa
   7. Montipora Spongodes
   8. War Paint Scoly
   9. Red Dragon Acropora (freebie)
   10. Purple Candelabra Gorgonian
   11. A bunch of dry goods
       
5. I put the 2 skunk shrimps in a nursery/acclimation box for now with a rock. They seem to be getting along fine and are eating. I plan to keep them there for a month or so while the Arrow Crab does its thing. Once I return the Arrow Crab to the store, I will set the shrimp free. Hopefully, nothing kills them this time!
   
   
6. I continue to battle the following issues:
   1. Bubble Algae - just removing by hand for now.
   2. Aiptasia (I have smothered 3 now over the course of the past 2 months with glue or F Aiptasia)
   3. Flatworms on Octospawn and one of my Hammer Corals. I have been dipping about once a week using stronger concentrations of Coral Rx and for longer periods of time. The corals look healthy but somehow some flatworms continue to survive. Will continue dipping.
   4. 1 small blasto has been on a slow decline. I believe I harmed it with too much flow a while ago.
   5. The freebie red dragon frag I received ended up bleaching today. I acclimated it the same as the other corals. Everything else is doing great. I put it in a low-flow area for now and hope it recovers one day. I can still see it has some polyps so it still looks alive.
      
7. Phosphates and Nitrates seem to be stable. Phosphates are 0.07 and Nitrates are 0-5ppm. I continue to see some algae growing on the back/glass and rocks, so I know for sure there are nutrients in the water.
   
   
8. I am seeing really nice growth on everything so far and it has only really been less than 2 months that the tank was running. The birds nest has really taken off. Most Zoas have grown multiple new heads. The blasto and duncans are also growing new heads. All my hammers have split new heads. Really happy with the tank's progress so far.
   
   
9. The tank is now really full in my opinion and I think I have officially run out of space for more corals. See latest pictures below.

All the new corals look great!

 

[Macbalacano]

Water Parameters on Jan 28:

PO4: 0.05 - amazed that I got here. Been trying to get phosphates down since the tank started. Seems that the GFO is working well

Alk: 8.3 dKh or 149ppm - Going to try to maintain Alk around 8 dKh. Seems to be holding steady with current doing of 3ml of All for Reef daily.

Nitrates: 0-2ppm - been trying to keep this detectable. I still have Algae growing so I know there are definitely nitrates in the tank

Ca: 480+

Mg: 1470+

Salinity: 35%

Temp: 79 degrees

 

[Macbalacano]

Feb 1 Updates

- I noticed that Alk dropped 0.5 dKh. I upped my All For Reef dosing to 4ml a day (1ml x 4 times a day) and will continue to monitor daily.

- Started to notice some Algae growing on rocks. I think this was because I scrubbed it all off the back wall and some of it landed on the rocks. Will try to scrub them off soon.

- A little concerned about my Green Acan, and Plate Coral. Both haven't been fluffy for the past day or two. Will continue to monitor. Everything else in the tank looks good.

- We took some pictures using our Canon DSLR R10 and were amazed with the results! Latest tank shot below.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Feb 1 Updates

- I noticed that Alk dropped 0.5 dKh. I upped my All For Reef dosing to 4ml a day (1ml x 4 times a day) and will continue to monitor daily.

- Started to notice some Algae growing on rocks. I think this was because I scrubbed it all off the back wall and some of it landed on the rocks. Will try to scrub them off soon.

- A little concerned about my Green Acan, and Plate Coral. Both haven't been fluffy for the past day or two. Will continue to monitor. Everything else in the tank looks good.

- We took some pictures using our Canon DSLR R10 and were amazed with the results! Latest tank shot below.

Everything is looking great!

 

[Macbalacano]

Everything is looking great!

Thank you for your kind words!

 

[lubeck]

Incredible tank. Excellent growth in 2 months!

 

[parclife]

This is epic!

 

[Macbalacano]

@parclife @lubeck @Gumbies R Us thanks for all your kind words! Really happy with the progress so far

 

[welshd24]

Feb 1 Updates

- I noticed that Alk dropped 0.5 dKh. I upped my All For Reef dosing to 4ml a day (1ml x 4 times a day) and will continue to monitor daily.

- Started to notice some Algae growing on rocks. I think this was because I scrubbed it all off the back wall and some of it landed on the rocks. Will try to scrub them off soon.

- A little concerned about my Green Acan, and Plate Coral. Both haven't been fluffy for the past day or two. Will continue to monitor. Everything else in the tank looks good.

- We took some pictures using our Canon DSLR R10 and were amazed with the results! Latest tank shot below.

this tank looks awsome loving the details in your build thread.

 

[ralquist]

You had made a nice comment on my tank so I figured I'd come check out your build, wow! What a beautiful tank and in record time, I've read from the start and great work so far!

Glad to see you've gotten your flow figured out, I am planning to get my new 15 wet today! I have the Jabao SLW-10 I am planning to use but now maybe to much I'm learning. Mine is a IM Nuvo 15 and unsure what your dimensions in the rear of your waterbox but I picked up a new compact return pump from TMC and going to use the VCA dual return nozzles to help direct that extra flow 2 ways. TMC was one of the only pumps I could find that would fit and it runs vertical, I run a larger one to power my UV in my other system and so far really happy with the performance.

All for Reef is so so so awesome! I'm running that alone on my 45, dosing 14ml daily using a Jabao 4 channel wifi doser. Unless you add 20 corals at once (I saw your orders ) you shouldn't need to change it much besides a little increase with your growth! One thing to watch for is the tip of your dosing line (tube to tank) if not in the water will crystalize and plug up and stop working if you don't keep it clean. I try and keep mine just below the water line with the ATO, that way its self rinsed!

If you still are dealing with worms on your frogspawn, I had been dealing with white bugs on a frogspawn as well. Was the only coral effected, tried every dip I had for about 3 weeks and only seemed to knock them down temporally only to come back just as bad or worse. Now I'm not saying its a good idea or you should do it BUT I tried a last ditch attempt at using Bayer. 2 weeks since the 10min dip and no sign of bugs and back to its normal self happy in the display. If your interested I can elaborate further, I was stressed and against using it but in my situation I didn't have a lot to lose.

Last thing, don't know if your bothered by light spill with your AI, saw your is set in your kitchen! Mine was in my living room and wanted to minimize that. There is a company called 3Dreefing(on Amazon) that make a shade to go over and seems to help a little, was happy with mine!

Again, beautiful tank and following along!

 

[Macbalacano]

You had made a nice comment on my tank so I figured I'd come check out your build, wow! What a beautiful tank and in record time, I've read from the start and great work so far!

Glad to see you've gotten your flow figured out, I am planning to get my new 15 wet today! I have the Jabao SLW-10 I am planning to use but now maybe to much I'm learning. Mine is a IM Nuvo 15 and unsure what your dimensions in the rear of your waterbox but I picked up a new compact return pump from TMC and going to use the VCA dual return nozzles to help direct that extra flow 2 ways. TMC was one of the only pumps I could find that would fit and it runs vertical, I run a larger one to power my UV in my other system and so far really happy with the performance.

All for Reef is so so so awesome! I'm running that alone on my 45, dosing 14ml daily using a Jabao 4 channel wifi doser. Unless you add 20 corals at once (I saw your orders ) you shouldn't need to change it much besides a little increase with your growth! One thing to watch for is the tip of your dosing line (tube to tank) if not in the water will crystalize and plug up and stop working if you don't keep it clean. I try and keep mine just below the water line with the ATO, that way its self rinsed!

If you still are dealing with worms on your frogspawn, I had been dealing with white bugs on a frogspawn as well. Was the only coral effected, tried every dip I had for about 3 weeks and only seemed to knock them down temporally only to come back just as bad or worse. Now I'm not saying its a good idea or you should do it BUT I tried a last ditch attempt at using Bayer. 2 weeks since the 10min dip and no sign of bugs and back to its normal self happy in the display. If your interested I can elaborate further, I was stressed and against using it but in my situation I didn't have a lot to lose.

Last thing, don't know if your bothered by light spill with your AI, saw your is set in your kitchen! Mine was in my living room and wanted to minimize that. There is a company called 3Dreefing(on Amazon) that make a shade to go over and seems to help a little, was happy with mine!

Again, beautiful tank and following along!

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to read through my thread and for giving me so much valuable feedback! That is super exciting to hear you're starting a new 15g also - would love to follow along your journey on that one too.

I actually debated using a VCA dual return nozzle and upgrading my return pump to a higher-flow Jebao DC pump. I don't even know what Waterbox uses for stock pumps, but it has pretty decent flow, but its also not as quiet as it was when it was first new. I'd also like some more controllability and as my SPS grows out, I'd like other alternatives to increasing flow instead of just adding another wavemaker. Will love to know how your VCA dual nozzles work out in your new tank!

So I was just thinking the same thing about the doser getting clogged. But I was worried if dipped the line, it would create a siphon? Or does that only apply to ATO lines? Something I need to look into more.

Ah yes, I'd love to give Bayer a try. The only problem is, that I am in Canada and it is impossible to source here. I may just have to try to pick some up when I am down in the USA. I have been dipping weekly (just dipped it again a couple of days ago actually) but I have been using Coral Rx at like double the concentration and double the amount of time that you should have the coral in there. Seems to work well. I haven't seen any of those worms lately, but like you said, I wouldn't be surprised if they came roaring back in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed!

You know I was worried about light spilling from the AI, but surprisingly it hasn't been an issue for us. We have a pretty bright and open-concept kitchen, so I think the other light sources in the house outcompete the AI, but thank you very much for the suggestion. Good to know it exists for the future!

Thanks again and looking forward to your updates also

 

[Macbalacano]

this tank looks awsome loving the details in your build thread.

Thank you for your kind words!

 

[Macbalacano]

Feb 2-5 Updates

- Did regular maintenance on the weekend. I am trying to get into a regular routine every weekend to do: 20% water change, glass scraping, rock maintenance (algae, bubble algae, aiptasia removal), coral dipping (as needed), coral placement (as needed), and filter media changes (as needed).

- I've been trying to tune in All For Reef with a doser. Currently dosing between 4-6ml per day. 4 seemed to be not enough, and 6 seemed to be too much, so I've settled at 5ml currently. I continue to test Alk daily until I get it stable.

- I realized I never mentioned it previously in this thread, I also adjusted my lighting schedule to just be 12 hours a day (1 hour ramp up + 10 hours full + 1 hour ramp down). I have found that this has helped significantly in reducing algae growth whilst maintaining happy corals

- I have decided to keep my arrow crab until the end of February. Then I will take him back to LFS and then I can release my cleaner shrimp in the tank. The cleaner shrimp are currently in an acclimation box hanging inside the tank. I have noticed a significant reduction in worms of any kind in the tank. I have not seen any bristle worms, flatworms, or Oenone Fulgidas (predatory worms). I really attribute this mostly to my arrow crab and my minimal feeding (trying to starve the worms out too).

- Worms on my octospawn and hammer corals seem to have disappeared due to dipping in Coral Rx weekly, at double concentration and 2-3x longer than the instructions on the bottle. All of my euphylias are taking off and growing multiple new heads. Very happy about this.

- I ended up ordering a Kamoer ATO. I was against running an ATO in this tank, but I have realized that my schedule is just too busy/unpredictable and I'd like more stability in the tank parameters, including salinity. Plus I do sometimes travel for business and worried about relying on others to keep up with the RODI top-offs. Will update here to see how this new Kamoer ATO does.

 

[ralquist]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to read through my thread and for giving me so much valuable feedback! That is super exciting to hear you're starting a new 15g also - would love to follow along your journey on that one too.

I actually debated using a VCA dual return nozzle and upgrading my return pump to a higher-flow Jebao DC pump. I don't even know what Waterbox uses for stock pumps, but it has pretty decent flow, but its also not as quiet as it was when it was first new. I'd also like some more controllability and as my SPS grows out, I'd like other alternatives to increasing flow instead of just adding another wavemaker. Will love to know how your VCA dual nozzles work out in your new tank!

So I was just thinking the same thing about the doser getting clogged. But I was worried if dipped the line, it would create a siphon? Or does that only apply to ATO lines? Something I need to look into more.

Ah yes, I'd love to give Bayer a try. The only problem is, that I am in Canada and it is impossible to source here. I may just have to try to pick some up when I am down in the USA. I have been dipping weekly (just dipped it again a couple of days ago actually) but I have been using Coral Rx at like double the concentration and double the amount of time that you should have the coral in there. Seems to work well. I haven't seen any of those worms lately, but like you said, I wouldn't be surprised if they came roaring back in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed!

You know I was worried about light spilling from the AI, but surprisingly it hasn't been an issue for us. We have a pretty bright and open-concept kitchen, so I think the other light sources in the house outcompete the AI, but thank you very much for the suggestion. Good to know it exists for the future!

Thanks again and looking forward to your updates also

Never thought about siphoning until you said this and moved it, this gave me chills. Here’s a good tread about options:

All-For-Reef - Tube Clogging

hey guys I started dosing all for reef few weeks ago. Now I see that my tube is clogging after a while (output). I mean the solution cannot flow and drip into the water anymore. How do you guys avoid that?

www.reef2reef.com

Great new on the pests clearing up! O Canada locks ya down on that, heck!
New build didn’t happen tonight but very soon!

 

[Macbalacano]

Never thought about siphoning until you said this and moved it, this gave me chills. Here’s a good tread about options:

All-For-Reef - Tube Clogging

hey guys I started dosing all for reef few weeks ago. Now I see that my tube is clogging after a while (output). I mean the solution cannot flow and drip into the water anymore. How do you guys avoid that?

www.reef2reef.com

Great new on the pests clearing up! O Canada locks ya down on that, heck!
New build didn’t happen tonight but very soon!

This thread is super helpful, thanks for sharing! I think I'm going to try the 'T'!

 

[Macbalacano]

Feb 6 - 10 Updates

- Started using Kamoer ATO. Was easy to set-up and seems to be working well. Great buy especially for only $100 CAD
- Did my weekly 20% water change, cleaned glass, scrubbed rocks to get rid of some minor algae growth
- I noticed no new Aiptasia (good news!) and very minimal bubble algae
- Adjusted All For Reef dosing to 5ml per day (1.2 ml x 4 times a day)
- Moved corals around. Some of them fell over due to glue not holding. I split up my euphyllia garden as they are all growing very quickly and I want to give them room to grow.

Latest tank shots below.

 

[ralquist]

So clean, nice and happy! What’s your thoughts on using your back wall for those you had to move?!