First Reef Tank: Waterbox 15 Peninsula

aquatic26 · Aug 19, 2023

Hello R2R! Thought I'd create a build thread for my first ever reef tank. I purchased the Waterbox 15 Peninsula AIO tank. Plan for softies and LPS, plus some fish and inverts. I've had fresh water tanks before, but always been too daunted to switch to salt water. I decided to take the leap and have spent the last month researching and purchasing supplies.

Purchased so far:
Waterbox 15 Peninsula AIO
4-Stage RODI Unit
CaribSea Arag-Alive! Special Grade Reef Sand
CaribSea LifeRock (broken apart and reassembled with gorilla glue)
Eheim Jager Heater - 75 watt
Jebao SLW 10 wave maker
Fzone ATO
Siphon vacuum cleaner
Dr. Tim's One & Only
Ammonia starter from my LFS
Refractometer
IO Reef Crystals
Glass & acryllic magnet cleaner
Brute 10gallon
A few reef safe buckets
RedSea Marine Care Test Kit (will add alk, ca+, mag+, etc)

Still to purchase:
Light
Possible return pump upgrade to replace stock one from WB
Kracken Reef Custom Lid

Currently:
RODI is running to flush system 5-10 gallons
Aquascaping. Surprisingly challenging trying to consider what corals I will want, which I will want to isolate on their own "islands", and am still unsure how tank will be positioned once running.
Plan to get it up and running possibly today and let sit for ~2 weeks before testing.

Photos to follow!

blaxsun · Aug 19, 2023

Good luck with the new build!

aquatic26 · Aug 21, 2023

Quick update and a question for anyone who is following along (if anyone is?

). I currently have my tank cycling to get my rock cooking. I opted for a ceramic aquascape instead of the CaribSea rock because I liked the ability to move pieces around and be adjustable as needed. I dumped in all the Dr. Tim's One and Only and am ghost feeding and added some ammonia from my LFS, as well. Probably overkill, but oh well. I used tap water for the initial fill since I actually need to move the tank to our new place after it's done cycling and need it to be empty for a short time (1 hour) for that in order to carry it. Then I'll fill with RODI.

I did get my RODI unit up and running and wasted the first 5 gallons of water produced, so nice to have that out of the way.

Question: Is a UV sterilizer necessary/worth it for a tank this size?

Gumbies R Us · Aug 21, 2023

Best of luck with the tank!

aquatic26 · Aug 31, 2023

An update: Waterbox 15 cracked. The company did right and replaced it for free, letting me keep the original. I upgraded to a cube 20, though. The lack of stand with the 15 peninsula was driving me nuts, and I want a very clean aesthetic.

I took my water in to my LFS to check my at home testing. Ammonia is below 1, nitrites are high, nitrates are low. They sent me home with some live bio balls they had from their stock in hopes of boosting my bacterial colony a bit to speed things up. I thought I was going to do a clown pair as my first fish, but lo and behold they had a bonded yasha goby and candy cane pistol shrimp pair in from another customer breaking down their scape. They held them for me and will come home as soon as my nitrites clear. Woohoo!

PizzaIan339 · Aug 31, 2023

I can’t wait to follow along this sounds awesome and I can not wait for pictures!

aquatic26 · Sep 2, 2023

Update: I was going to wait until Sunday to test my nitrites and see if they were low enough to bring home the yasha, pistol pair, but I tested this AM and they’ve plummeted to barely detectable. Hopefully they’ll come home tonight!

PizzaIan339 · Sep 2, 2023

aquatic26 said:
Update: I was going to wait until Sunday to test my nitrites and see if they were low enough to bring home the yasha, pistol pair, but I tested this AM and they’ve plummeted to barely detectable. Hopefully they’ll come home tonight!

That’s awesome news!

aquatic26 · Sep 2, 2023

They’re in! I’m slightly stressed because I had to net them separately and they haven’t found each other. The shrimp chose a handily placed burrow right where I can see and the goby is hiding on the opposite side of the tank… hoping the goby finds his buddy by tomorrow…

PizzaIan339 · Sep 2, 2023

aquatic26 said:
They’re in! I’m slightly stressed because I had to net them separately and they haven’t found each other. The shrimp chose a handily placed burrow right where I can see and the goby is hiding on the opposite side of the tank… hoping the goby finds his buddy by tomorrow…

He should be able to but it may take a little while

aquatic26 · Sep 2, 2023

I thought yasha were shy, but this little dude popped right out to eat and swam all over the tank. Best yet, I happened to catch on camera him finding his candy cane pistol (who is not pictured but under the rock the yasha swims under)

aquatic26 · Sep 5, 2023

Tank update: my Kracken lid and filter cup should be delivered today. I'm already annoyed with the filter sock that came with the tank. Cheap filter floss is on the way. I also purchased some media bags and some PhosBond, as well as a Hanna phosphate checker. I figure I'll slowly upgrade to nicer testing supplies and phosphate was one I did not already have an at home testing kit for.