Auflyfish’s Waterbox Frag 145.5 build

[Auflyfish]

Alrighty so I have been the king of rimmed and Craigslist aquariums for along time but have always had the dream of one day upgrading to a nicer system from either Red Sea or WaterBox. Well the day finally came where my wife broke down (I bribed her with new laminate floors) and I ordered my dream tank I’ve always wanted a lower profile tank. I honestly find them striking and proportioned the way I’d like to lay my corals and rock. Thus the new build! So as the title states it’s a Waterbox 145.5 Frag and I ordered it 12/9. I have a delivery window so far of the 3-13th of January. So in the mean time I have already finished the floors. ( Did them myself) and am now getting my bracing designed for under the room where it will be I’ll post pictures soon of the template. I have already bought most of the equipment so I’ll list out what I’ve got so far.
Tank- WB Frag 145.5 white
Sump -included
Skimmer- Red Sea 300
Lights- Red Sea ReefLed 160s with mounts (X2)
ATO- Duletto
Doser- Red Sea Reefdose 4
Wave maker- Eco Tech MP40 (X2)
Return- Sicce SDC 6.0
Around 80lbs of Carib sea rock with aquaculture’s Tampa bay saltwater rock I’ve had for a long time.
heater- Ehiem Jager 150w X2
Ink bird controller
100lbs carribsea black sand
Nyos Torq G2 with 1.0 body
Waterbox DD jumpguard lid
So that’s it so far looking forward to the build and updates please leave any comments and suggestions as I move through this process would love some ideas. Also anyone use strip led lighting in the cabinets of their tanks? Could use an idea or brand suggestion as I’d like one I can cut to size and need

 

[Auflyfish]

Here’s a pic of the floors I just finished. Didn’t want the tank on old carpet.

 

[Auflyfish]

Anyone have suggestions for in cabinet led strips?

 

[Auflyfish]

Ordered the NYOS G2 reactor base and the 1.0 body. Anyone currently or previously using these? I saw mostly good reviews

 

[Auflyfish]

Got the rest of my epoxy and stuff to do the rock work for Christmas so now I’m just playing the waiting game on the tank

 

[Auflyfish]

Kind of an idea of where I’m thinking of putting it

 

[oldmonk]

Ordered the NYOS G2 reactor base and the 1.0 body. Anyone currently or previously using these? I saw mostly good reviews

Was using one before shutting down my system. Sold it off. Only drawback, It has a big footprint.

 

[Auflyfish]

Was using one before shutting down my system. Sold it off. Only drawback, It has a big footprint.

That is my biggest fear with it. It came in on Christmas Eve the base is much bigger than I anticipated

 

[oldmonk]

Plus with the reactor body it will be like a tower in the sump. I would prefer the smaller ones like two little fishies, H2Ocean or the lifegard aquatics.

 

[Auflyfish]

Plus with the reactor body it will be like a tower in the sump. I would prefer the smaller ones like two little fishies, H2Ocean or the lifegard aquatics.

Thanks for the input, any recommendations on calcium reactors? Did you run one in your system?

 

[oldmonk]

Thanks for the input, any recommendations on calcium reactors? Did you run one in your system?

No worries buddy.

No, i never ran a Calcium reactor. Given my daily Calcium consumption of 110ml for a 180g mixed reef (75% lps -25% sps), calrx was bit too much. Stuff that goes with it like CO2 bottle , ph controller , solenoid valve etc kept me away from it.

 

[Auflyfish]

No worries buddy.

No, i never ran a Calcium reactor. Given my daily Calcium consumption of 110ml for a 180g mixed reef (75% lps -25% sps), calrx was bit too much. Stuff that goes with it like CO2 bottle , ph controller , solenoid valve etc kept me away from it.

Yeah I’m just going to dose as needed been looking at Dosers. I like the redsea dose but will most likely worry about that later in the build

 

[oldmonk]

Yes absolutely, your initial requirement of the supplements won't be too much. Key would be too do regular and near precise dosing. So doser would be a good buy.

Btw, Redsea doser does look good, but sadly one has to purchase tubings separately. For Redsea tubings have become an accessory for a doser !!??. Don't know what Redsea is thinking.

 

[Auflyfish]

Yes absolutely, your initial requirement of the supplements won't be too much. Key would be too do regular and near precise dosing. So doser would be a good buy.

Btw, Redsea doser does look good, but sadly one has to purchase tubings separately. For Redsea tubings have become an accessory for a doser !!??. Don't know what Redsea is thinking.

My same thoughts, it’s becoming a trend with all big brands now. Like for my MP40’s I had to order mounting brackets for the drivers. It’s seriously just a small bracket

 

[oldmonk]

Very true. These brands start the trend and unfortunately majority of the hobbyists give in.

MPs are considered gold standard of reefing but here are my 0.2cents

To be honest, i am not a fan of Ecotech when it comes to powerheads. 1st of all they end up getting pretty expensive here in india and Secondly the lack of flexibility in positioning it offers. I am not even getting into the customer support aspect. Can't afford to ship the piece back n forth.. if needed.

then comes the wetside part of it, have read many posts /experiences that you need to keep one wetside as a spare. Seriously!! for the price they command!!.

Some ppl have faced issues of the wetside sliding down /losing position during ramp up due to algea build up on the glass. So cleaning often becomes inevitable..

 

[Auflyfish]

Very true. These brands start the trend and unfortunately majority of the hobbyists give in.

MPs are considered gold standard of reefing but here are my 0.2cents

To be honest, i am not a fan of Ecotech when it comes to powerheads. 1st of all they end up getting pretty expensive here in india and Secondly the lack of flexibility in positioning it offers. I am not even getting into the customer support aspect. Can't afford to ship the piece back n forth.. if needed.

then comes the wetside part of it, have read many posts /experiences that you need to keep one wetside as a spare. Seriously!! for the price they command!!.

Some ppl have faced issues of the wetside sliding down /losing position during ramp up due to algea build up on the glass. So cleaning often becomes inevitable..

Wow I knew about the wet sides issue but not about the other aspects

 

[oldmonk]

Wow I knew about the wet sides issue but not about the other aspects

Sometime back there was a thread here on R2R where a reefer in the US itself had to ship the powerhead back to Ecotech and they were asking him to verify his card by paying little amount or something like that for the repair or for replacement.

The reefer was not very happy with their support is what the thread said.

 

[oldmonk]

Bad customer support experience

I see a bunch of good Ecotech customer service threads. That is why I bought ecotech. But so far my customer service experience has sucked. Today my mp40 wet side started falling off and rattling (it’s less than a year old). So I got in a chat with ecotech customer support. So far so good said I...

www.reef2reef.com

This is the one i am talking about .

 

[Auflyfish]

Bad customer support experience

I see a bunch of good Ecotech customer service threads. That is why I bought ecotech. But so far my customer service experience has sucked. Today my mp40 wet side started falling off and rattling (it’s less than a year old). So I got in a chat with ecotech customer support. So far so good said I...

www.reef2reef.com

This is the one i am talking about .

Yikes

 

[oldmonk]

Alrighty so I have been the king of rimmed and Craigslist aquariums for along time but have always had the dream of one day upgrading to a nicer system from either Red Sea or WaterBox. Well the day finally came where my wife broke down (I bribed her with new laminate floors) and I ordered my dream tank I’ve always wanted a lower profile tank. I honestly find them striking and proportioned the way I’d like to lay my corals and rock. Thus the new build! So as the title states it’s a Waterbox 145.5 Frag and I ordered it 12/9. I have a delivery window so far of the 3-13th of January. So in the mean time I have already finished the floors. ( Did them myself) and am now getting my bracing designed for under the room where it will be I’ll post pictures soon of the template. I have already bought most of the equipment so I’ll list out what I’ve got so far.
Tank- WB Frag 145.5 white
Sump -included
Skimmer- Red Sea 300
Lights- Red Sea ReefLed 160s with mounts (X2)
ATO- Duletto
Wave maker- Eco Tech MP40 (X2)
Return- Sicce SDC 6.0
Around 80lbs of Carib sea rock with aquaculture’s Tampa bay saltwater rock I’ve had for a long time.
heater- Ehiem Jager 300w
Ink bird controller
100lbs carribsea black sand
Nyos Torq G2 with 1.0 body
So that’s it so far looking forward to the build and updates please leave any comments and suggestions as I move through this process would love some ideas. Also anyone use strip led lighting in the cabinets of their tanks? Could use an idea or brand suggestion as I’d like one I can cut to size and need

Do add a Lid/jumpguard to the list.

No idea if WaterBox comes with one.