Custom AIO

[spartanman22]

Hey all looking to jump back into the hobby after a roughly 4 year hiatus. Last tank was a full blown SPS AIO. Life is more chaotic now with two small children. So thinking of keeping it simple and doing an anemone clownfish tank (3 year old loves clownfish).

I’m looking into a custom AIO peninsula built from Waterbox. Rough dimensions being 50x20x17. If you were going custom what’re some things you wish would be considered in the tank design? I’ve been toying with the idea of a closed loop manifold between the first and last chamber for probes and dosing and reactor feeding.

Prior to my last move I planned out a dream build so I’ve got all kinds of equipment. Don’t want to go that complicated, but would like to incorporate the algae reactor somehow. This is going in my living room so tank aesthetics and appearance are almost more important than the tank itself.

No threads complete without photos so here’s some shots of the last setup.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Your last build looked great!

 

[spartanman22]

Your last build looked great!

It was the most success I’ve ever had in this hobby! And ironically the simplest setup. Ceramic media, tunze skimmer, blasted it with flow and light. Amazing what happens when you don’t go crazy!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

It was the most success I’ve ever had in this hobby! And ironically the simplest setup. Ceramic media, tunze skimmer, blasted it with flow and light. Amazing what happens when you don’t go crazy!

I think it is better to keep it simple. Once you start overcomplicating it or micro-managing everything, stuff can go south quickly.

 

[TheWB]

Hey all looking to jump back into the hobby after a roughly 4 year hiatus. Last tank was a full blown SPS AIO. Life is more chaotic now with two small children. So thinking of keeping it simple and doing an anemone clownfish tank (3 year old loves clownfish).

I’m looking into a custom AIO peninsula built from Waterbox. Rough dimensions being 50x20x17. If you were going custom what’re some things you wish would be considered in the tank design? I’ve been toying with the idea of a closed loop manifold between the first and last chamber for probes and dosing and reactor feeding.

Prior to my last move I planned out a dream build so I’ve got all kinds of equipment. Don’t want to go that complicated, but would like to incorporate the algae reactor somehow. This is going in my living room so tank aesthetics and appearance are almost more important than the tank itself.

No threads complete without photos so here’s some shots of the last setup.

Does Waterbox give you the option to make the AIO section larger, if I'm remembering correctly theirs are pretty narrow on the stock AIO tanks. I just had a custom acrylic AIO built and I made the AIO section much larger than normal in order to accommodate full sized equipment. I would have them build it at least 5" wide so you can use a 4' sock or a Klir-4 filter roller if you like that sort of thing. I'm using the Klir-7 and while it's ugly sticking up out the top of the tank it works well. You just have to make sure to set the sock plate down low enough so that the filter roller sensor can be triggered. You could also just use a media caddy and forgo the sock plate altogether or have them make it removable. The more options you can have to change it around, the better. It's also nice to have enough room in the AIO section to fit your hand in there for cleaning.
Your closed loop idea is interesting but with only 20" of width it might be hard to get probe holders and plumbing for reactors to all fit in that limited amount of space. Have you sketched it out to see how much you could actually fit between the bulkheads? The biggest lessen I have learned from my custom experience is to really plan things out meticulously because you can't really go back and change a dim or feature after the tank is built. I would definitely do some things differently if I had it to do over again but without a prototype you really only get one shot at it. Make sure it's going to do everything you want before you finalize an order.

 

[spartanman22]

Does Waterbox give you the option to make the AIO section larger, if I'm remembering correctly theirs are pretty narrow on the stock AIO tanks. I just had a custom acrylic AIO built and I made the AIO section much larger than normal in order to accommodate full sized equipment. I would have them build it at least 5" wide so you can use a 4' sock or a Klir-4 filter roller if you like that sort of thing. I'm using the Klir-7 and while it's ugly sticking up out the top of the tank it works well. You just have to make sure to set the sock plate down low enough so that the filter roller sensor can be triggered. You could also just use a media caddy and forgo the sock plate altogether or have them make it removable. The more options you can have to change it around, the better. It's also nice to have enough room in the AIO section to fit your hand in there for cleaning.
Your closed loop idea is interesting but with only 20" of width it might be hard to get probe holders and plumbing for reactors to all fit in that limited amount of space. Have you sketched it out to see how much you could actually fit between the bulkheads? The biggest lessen I have learned from my custom experience is to really plan things out meticulously because you can't really go back and change a dim or feature after the tank is built. I would definitely do some things differently if I had it to do over again but without a prototype you really only get one shot at it. Make sure it's going to do everything you want before you finalize an order.

So I did have Waterbox design it to accomodate a Klir-4 (already have). So I sent them the operating specs from the manual to design the drain compartment to accomodate. The AIO portion will be 5" deep. I don't want to go too much deeper since I'm doing it as a peninsula, but staging it on the built ins seen above (I like to open back look). I ultimately decided to drop the manifold Idea for simplicity's sake. Any opinions on having a 3/4" hole drilled as a cable-way in the inside top of the return section? I plan to have a custom lid made and would love to have no visible cords.

 

[spartanman22]

Any opinions on lighting? I am pulling the trigger on a 48" x 19" x 17" peninsula AIO that will be staged on the fireplace builtins. I love my fish tanks, but I love the aesthetic of my house more. So I want this to look nice in the room. I currently have a 36" wifi-ready ATI Powermodule. I love this light however it's much beefer over the tank. I'm considering 2 x Kessil A360's or 2 XR15's. I've had Kessils before so pretty comfortable in that comparison, but for those with Radion's would 2 x XR15's be sufficient of a 43" x 19" x 17" display? This will be predominantly anemone and clown tanks (son loves em). I'll eventually get the SPS itch again so can always add a third XR15 if needed, but would 2 suffice for the starting plan?

 

[TheWB]

So I did have Waterbox design it to accomodate a Klir-4 (already have). So I sent them the operating specs from the manual to design the drain compartment to accomodate. The AIO portion will be 5" deep. I don't want to go too much deeper since I'm doing it as a peninsula, but staging it on the built ins seen above (I like to open back look). I ultimately decided to drop the manifold Idea for simplicity's sake. Any opinions on having a 3/4" hole drilled as a cable-way in the inside top of the return section? I plan to have a custom lid made and would love to have no visible cords.

Couple of things.
Make sure there is enough depth for the water level to rise high enough to trigger the Klir-4 to advance the fleece when it clogs. I have an emergency overflow in mine that stops that from happening and I’m going to need to make an adjustment. Doable but annoying.
If you are talking about putting a 3/4” hole through the filtration wall for cords going into the display, like for wavemakers, be careful. Wherever you drill that hole your display waterline needs to be lower or water will leak from the display into the filtration area, bypassing the Klir-4 and whatever else you’ve got running in those chambers. I solved that problem by putting the cutouts in the top bracing but that won’t work if you have a rimless tank. My top bracing is 3/4” acrylic so the cords aren’t visible when viewing from the front.
Hope that all made sense?

 

[TheWB]

Any opinions on lighting? I am pulling the trigger on a 48" x 19" x 17" peninsula AIO that will be staged on the fireplace builtins. I love my fish tanks, but I love the aesthetic of my house more. So I want this to look nice in the room. I currently have a 36" wifi-ready ATI Powermodule. I love this light however it's much beefer over the tank. I'm considering 2 x Kessil A360's or 2 XR15's. I've had Kessils before so pretty comfortable in that comparison, but for those with Radion's would 2 x XR15's be sufficient of a 43" x 19" x 17" display? This will be predominantly anemone and clown tanks (son loves em). I'll eventually get the SPS itch again so can always add a third XR15 if needed, but would 2 suffice for the starting plan?

For a couple of years I ran an XR15 gen 4 over an IM Lagoon 50 which has a display area of 29x19x16 and it was good for that job. Two XR15’s should be just fine for your new peninsula. You may even find that a 3rd is unnecessary and instead maybe a lightbar or two, like the Quantas, on either side might be sufficient.

 

[spartanman22]

Couple of things.
Make sure there is enough depth for the water level to rise high enough to trigger the Klir-4 to advance the fleece when it clogs. I have an emergency overflow in mine that stops that from happening and I’m going to need to make an adjustment. Doable but annoying.
If you are talking about putting a 3/4” hole through the filtration wall for cords going into the display, like for wavemakers, be careful. Wherever you drill that hole your display waterline needs to be lower or water will leak from the display into the filtration area, bypassing the Klir-4 and whatever else you’ve got running in those chambers. I solved that problem by putting the cutouts in the top bracing but that won’t work if you have a rimless tank. My top bracing is 3/4” acrylic so the cords aren’t visible when viewing from the front.
Hope that all made sense?

What is the necessary depth? My concern is that the klir-4 wont work well in an AIO. The AIO's I've had have all had that sock compartment mostly submerged versus a sump with sock setup. The sock area isn't submerged entirely.

And yes if doing a cord bulkhead I would need to make sure I have enough water level clearance. The surefire solution would be to just avoid a cord bulkhead entirely and notch a cord area in whatever custom lid I get. But I just want a nice clean setup!

 

[TheWB]

What is the necessary depth? My concern is that the klir-4 wont work well in an AIO. The AIO's I've had have all had that sock compartment mostly submerged versus a sump with sock setup. The sock area isn't submerged entirely.

And yes if doing a cord bulkhead I would need to make sure I have enough water level clearance. The surefire solution would be to just avoid a cord bulkhead entirely and notch a cord area in whatever custom lid I get. But I just want a nice clean setup!

You’ll want to make sure the sock plate that the Klir fits into sits down far enough below the weir that the water level can rise to the middle of the sensor. If it can’t rise that high you can get an upgrade that allows you to attach the water level sensor with a magnet mount so it can be moved up or down to wherever you want the water level to be. That’s probably what I’m going to have to do.

Did you talk to Waterbox about a cord management option? The pass throughs in your lid are the best option but you will see the cords. I wouldn’t put any holes on the back wall that would affect your water level in the display. I talked with my builder about doing that and he’s the one who suggested making the openings in the top bracing instead of the filter wall. It was a great suggestion but not applicable to your situation.

 

[spartanman22]

You’ll want to make sure the sock plate that the Klir fits into sits down far enough below the weir that the water level can rise to the middle of the sensor. If it can’t rise that high you can get an upgrade that allows you to attach the water level sensor with a magnet mount so it can be moved up or down to wherever you want the water level to be. That’s probably what I’m going to have to do.

Did you talk to Waterbox about a cord management option? The pass throughs in your lid are the best option but you will see the cords. I wouldn’t put any holes on the back wall that would affect your water level in the display. I talked with my builder about doing that and he’s the one who suggested making the openings in the top bracing instead of the filter wall. It was a great suggestion but not applicable to your situation.

im going to see if they can do like a 1/2” x 2” recess in the top wall for cords to go out, underneath a lid. This should be well high enough for overflows to not be an issue.

I’ll have to take some measurements on the unit and verify the drawings waterbox sent. They did it to the klir’s specs but I need to verify.

 

[TheWB]

im going to see if they can do like a 1/2” x 2” recess in the top wall for cords to go out, underneath a lid. This should be well high enough for overflows to not be an issue.

I’ll have to take some measurements on the unit and verify the drawings waterbox sent. They did it to the klir’s specs but I need to verify.

That should work as long as the opening is above your waterline, and it sounds like it is.
Definitely double check those measurements for the Klir. Mine actually has plenty of room if there wasn’t an emergency overflow built into that area. If that wasn’t there mine would work just fine.

 

[spartanman22]

Still haven’t finalized design but boxes are starting to show up

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Still haven’t finalized design but boxes are starting to show up

Have fun with the apex!

 

[spartanman22]

Have fun with the apex!

I've been out of the Hobby since 2020 so lets see if the A3 is any better than the previous version. Hopefully so because I think I bought every Apex accessories you could reasonably use on an AIO.

 

[spartanman22]

So this is the current power head situation for the new tank: 6xMP10wQD, möbius compatible. Had all these from the big(get) build that never came to fruition.

With the peninsula design I’m debating going with a single large gyre on the AIO side of the peninsula. I have zero experience with gyres. Any thoughts?

 

[spartanman22]

We've got a finalized design!

 

[TheWB]

So this is the current power head situation for the new tank: 6xMP10wQD, möbius compatible. Had all these from the big(get) build that never came to fruition.

With the peninsula design I’m debating going with a single large gyre on the AIO side of the peninsula. I have zero experience with gyres. Any thoughts?

I’m using a Maxspect Jump4k and Jump2k gyre in a 48” long x 20” wide x 16” high display area with the 4K on the side panel aimed the long way like if it was in a peninsula. Flow is good but I may add one more to better create random flow. You might start with a 4K or similar and then supplement later if needed.

 

[reef’r]

Hey all looking to jump back into the hobby after a roughly 4 year hiatus. Last tank was a full blown SPS AIO. Life is more chaotic now with two small children. So thinking of keeping it simple and doing an anemone clownfish tank (3 year old loves clownfish).

I’m looking into a custom AIO peninsula built from Waterbox. Rough dimensions being 50x20x17. If you were going custom what’re some things you wish would be considered in the tank design? I’ve been toying with the idea of a closed loop manifold between the first and last chamber for probes and dosing and reactor feeding.

Prior to my last move I planned out a dream build so I’ve got all kinds of equipment. Don’t want to go that complicated, but would like to incorporate the algae reactor somehow. This is going in my living room so tank aesthetics and appearance are almost more important than the tank itself.

No threads complete without photos so here’s some shots of the last setup.

Did you do a build thread on this tank??