jmcdona6
Community Member
Hello everyone, my name is Justin. I don't normally like to do build threads but there was so little out there on the larger Waterbox peninsula tanks and newer stands. This made my purchasing decision process a challenge so I felt compelled to contribute.
A little about me before I get started. I've been in the hobby since ~2019. In 2023 I relocated from Atlanta to South Florida. To do so I had to shut down my tanks and have been on a break the last year while I got settled. This is my first peninsula and first major branded large tank. My first was a SCA 150 on a custom stand. I've also ran a IM 25 Lagoon.
Catching up to present...I decided to take advantage of the labor day sales to make my Waterbox purchase. It was delivered last week. Being in Florida I got the Waterbox truck delivery. Awesome customer service. The guy helped me unpack it, inspect it, made sure everything was there before signing. Way different from my SCA delivery that was basically left on my curb (albeit way less $$$). Also, even though I bought through BRS, Waterbox communicated with me as if I had bought from them. Nothing but great things to say.
I had two major concerns about the Waterbox 6025 and Waterbox in general while I was considering what to purchase:
(1) Stand quality. The few things I did find about Waterbox and the Peninsula's specifically was the poor stand quality. Structural issues. Needing extra reinforcement. Etc. I was nervous and even considered going with other brands because of it. My original tank had a welded steel stand...I appreciated it's sturdyness and didn't want a weak stand in the middle of my living room with young kids and animals running about.
That said, once the stand was complete...its sturdy. PITA to put together, but it doesn't budge. I do see how someone less handy could screw it up though and get a far different result. It has poor instructions (im pretty sure one picture is incorrect). It's definitely not over engineered but designed to do the job well enough if done right. You need to do it right and tight. I did have a few issues where holes didn't line up exactly, but overall it is a great stand.
(2) Poor storage. The sump provided is spacious compared to anything I've had before...but because of that there is virtually no storage under the stand. I included a picture to show how little space there is. It's even less in person than when viewed online. Maybe if you put shelves up above? But been there done that...I hated how that functioned.
To combat this, and to make my tank stick further out into the room for aestheic reasons, I built a cabinet (still a work in progress) that looks sort of built in with it. This will give me a space to keep all the controllers, cables, etc. and some room to store supplies without taking over half the kitchen drawers and cabinets. It will also allow me to keep the tank flush to the wall and still be able to mount powerheads on the back.
Next step, I have a mover coming tomorrow to lift the tank onto the stand. A little extra money but I'm not about manhandling 350lb tanks anymore these days.
After that...I'm taking it slow. Hopefully get it wet by the end of the month. Not even considering livestock until well after Christmas. Going mostly dry rock/sand but looking into adding some real live sand after watching what BRS and others have put out on it. Tackling equipment decisions as they naturally come up...will likely watch November sales closely to get most of what I need. With that said, equipment list below.
Tank/Stand: Waterbox 6025 (White)
Sump: Waterbox Included Sump
Controller: have always used Apex but heavily considering giving Hydros a try.
ATO: Hydros Triple Optical ATO
Skimmer: TBD
Lights: Kessil A360X on HMS rail. Might do some light bars or other supplemental lighting later.
Pump: Maxspect DC 12K. Way oversized but basically got for free so I made it work. I had to install a reducer to work with the Waterbox plumbing. Between that and head/bend friction...I can just run it at setting 2 out of 20 without overflowing the box. Bright side, its super quiet!
Flow: 1x 4K IceCap Gyre, 2x 2K IceCap Gyre and the Hydros WaveEngine V2 Controller
A little about me before I get started. I've been in the hobby since ~2019. In 2023 I relocated from Atlanta to South Florida. To do so I had to shut down my tanks and have been on a break the last year while I got settled. This is my first peninsula and first major branded large tank. My first was a SCA 150 on a custom stand. I've also ran a IM 25 Lagoon.
Catching up to present...I decided to take advantage of the labor day sales to make my Waterbox purchase. It was delivered last week. Being in Florida I got the Waterbox truck delivery. Awesome customer service. The guy helped me unpack it, inspect it, made sure everything was there before signing. Way different from my SCA delivery that was basically left on my curb (albeit way less $$$). Also, even though I bought through BRS, Waterbox communicated with me as if I had bought from them. Nothing but great things to say.
I had two major concerns about the Waterbox 6025 and Waterbox in general while I was considering what to purchase:
(1) Stand quality. The few things I did find about Waterbox and the Peninsula's specifically was the poor stand quality. Structural issues. Needing extra reinforcement. Etc. I was nervous and even considered going with other brands because of it. My original tank had a welded steel stand...I appreciated it's sturdyness and didn't want a weak stand in the middle of my living room with young kids and animals running about.
That said, once the stand was complete...its sturdy. PITA to put together, but it doesn't budge. I do see how someone less handy could screw it up though and get a far different result. It has poor instructions (im pretty sure one picture is incorrect). It's definitely not over engineered but designed to do the job well enough if done right. You need to do it right and tight. I did have a few issues where holes didn't line up exactly, but overall it is a great stand.
(2) Poor storage. The sump provided is spacious compared to anything I've had before...but because of that there is virtually no storage under the stand. I included a picture to show how little space there is. It's even less in person than when viewed online. Maybe if you put shelves up above? But been there done that...I hated how that functioned.
To combat this, and to make my tank stick further out into the room for aestheic reasons, I built a cabinet (still a work in progress) that looks sort of built in with it. This will give me a space to keep all the controllers, cables, etc. and some room to store supplies without taking over half the kitchen drawers and cabinets. It will also allow me to keep the tank flush to the wall and still be able to mount powerheads on the back.
Next step, I have a mover coming tomorrow to lift the tank onto the stand. A little extra money but I'm not about manhandling 350lb tanks anymore these days.
After that...I'm taking it slow. Hopefully get it wet by the end of the month. Not even considering livestock until well after Christmas. Going mostly dry rock/sand but looking into adding some real live sand after watching what BRS and others have put out on it. Tackling equipment decisions as they naturally come up...will likely watch November sales closely to get most of what I need. With that said, equipment list below.
Tank/Stand: Waterbox 6025 (White)
Sump: Waterbox Included Sump
Controller: have always used Apex but heavily considering giving Hydros a try.
ATO: Hydros Triple Optical ATO
Skimmer: TBD
Lights: Kessil A360X on HMS rail. Might do some light bars or other supplemental lighting later.
Pump: Maxspect DC 12K. Way oversized but basically got for free so I made it work. I had to install a reducer to work with the Waterbox plumbing. Between that and head/bend friction...I can just run it at setting 2 out of 20 without overflowing the box. Bright side, its super quiet!
Flow: 1x 4K IceCap Gyre, 2x 2K IceCap Gyre and the Hydros WaveEngine V2 Controller
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