Jonathan's Waterbox 130.4 with Detailed Plumbing Diagrams

[PanhandleReef]

Btw, how do I get one of those nifty "Build Thread Contributor" flares on my profile?

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[golgobot]

Nice build. Lots of fun gadgets. Also like the scape.

Thanks!

 

[golgobot]

Announcement - Get a TANK THREAD BADGE and become one of the cool kids!

Your Build Thread Badge is now a LINK to your tank thread! Here is how you add your link and get your badge: 1. Click here to edit the link in your profile: https://www.reef2reef.com/account/account-details 2. Add the URL (link) of your build thread. You can see mine in the example. 3. Save...

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Thanks for the link!

 

[golgobot]

Cycle Done!

After 6 weeks of cycling, my tank can finally process 2ppm of ammonia in about 36 hours. The cycle took a lot longer than I expected. Part of that expectation probably came from Dr Tims marketing convincing me I could cycle the tank in 8 days with their product. Some people have had success accelerating a cycle with bottled bacteria, while others haven't. It took about 2.5 weeks for Nitrosomonas to grow and process the first dose of ammonia. And then 3 weeks for Nitrobacter to grow and process the nitrites. A few days ago I added 2 ppm of ammonia and it was gone within36 hours. Nitrites aren't quite processed as fast as I'd like yet. As of today, nitrites are at 0.5-1ppm and nitrates are at 15 ppm after a 35% water change. However, moderate nitrites are well tolerated by certain marine fish.

Clownfish seem to be able to tolerate pretty high nitrites. The LC50 is 350 ppm. That means 50% of clownfish live at nitrite levels of 350 ppm. See this toxicity table here. So, despite "high" nitrites, I thought it was time to take the plunge and get some clownfish.

Final Equipment

During the cycle, I had no filters, the skimmer turned off, and the scrubber light off as well. While waiting for the tank to cycle, I got a Klir 4" roller filter. These are great low maintenance alternatives to sock filters. As the filter roll becomes clogged with detritus, the motor turns the spool with fresh filter paper. You only need to change it when the filter roll runs out. Filter socks, on the other hand, need to be changed every 3-4 days to keep the detritus from decaying into ammonia.

I turned on the protein skimmer for the first time ever and noticed that the bubbles were overflowing into the sump event on the lowest setting. This was because my sump water level was 1.5" too high for the skimmer. Waterbox's skimmer chamber sits at 9" high and the highest recommended height for my skimmer is 8". Some more modern sumps have an adjustable baffle to change the overflow height into the pump chamber, but mine is all glass. I bought a skimmer stand, but realized that its minimum height is 3", which is too high. So I ended up building a makeshift skimmer stand. I grabbed an old silicon cutting board from the kitchen (with my wife's permission of course) and cut it up and coral glued it together to make a stand, which is actually quite quiet!

Behold! The finest in fish husbandry engineering! (Also note the QT bio media cycling for later). This ended up working like a charm. Perfect water level.

I also set up the two part dosing with the DOS. I have it dosing 10 ml of CaCl and Na2CO3 solutions every day. That shouldn't change the parameters too much. This is mostly to see how they change over time. I have my Trident testing Alk, Calc, and Mag 4 times daily, so I'll monitor this for a few weeks before I get corals and setting up the Trident controlled auto dosing.

First Fish!
After everything else was setup, including feed cycles, I finally decided to get some fish!

I knew clownfish were a great starter fish, so I looked around. There's a great local distributor called Sea and Reef. They're in Maine (I'm in Boston) and I was excited to buy "local". unfortunately they don't sell direct to consumer, but I did find one that sells their stock mail order: Cultivated Reef. I really liked the Longfin Mocha variety. They arrived in the mail heathy and energetic. I drip acclimated them and added them to the tank and they've been happy ever since. Someone from Cultivate Reef also reached out to me via text to make sure everything was ok. She has been super helpful and answered all my newbie questions. Big thanks to @Cultivated Reef for making my first fish a great experience.

 

[codee]

How did the Klir fit in the WB sump? Any modifications or adapters necessary?

 

[golgobot]

How did the Klir fit in the WB sump? Any modifications or adapters necessary?

No modifications needed. The unit comes with two other adapters for slightly larger and smaller sock holders. But the WB has 4” holes and the device fit perfectly.

 

[Andy Wenzel]

No modifications needed. The unit comes with two other adapters for slightly larger and smaller sock holders. But the WB has 4” holes and the device fit perfectly.

What did you end up putting in the first sock holder now that you have the Klir in the second?

 

[VermontReefs]

Whats the latest on this build?

 

[golgobot]

What did you end up putting in the first sock holder now that you have the Klir in the second?

Nothing! One Klir is enough filtration.

 

[golgobot]

8 Month Update!​

It's been 8 months since my last post and since my tank cycled. Lot's has happened since then.

​

Removed Algae Scrubber​

Turns out I really didn't need an algae scrubber. My tank doesn't produce enough nitrates to keep that thing going. It just ended up being a receptacle for gunk.

New Lighting​

I ran my tank at a PAR level that was way too low for months. It wasn't until I got a PAR meter that I found out that most of my coral were eking by with 20-50 PAR! I lost a lot of SPS frags cause of this. After turning the lights up to acceptable levels (250-400 PAR at the top and 50-150 at the bottom PAR), I noticed an immediate improvement in my corals overall health.

After that, I also replaced the Kessils with Reef Breeders Photon 50 v2 Pro. The Kessils had terrible hot spots and cast harsh shadows. The Reef Breeders create much more diffuse light, which is much better for Acros.

The ReefBreeders come with legs that attach to the tank, but they're really clunky and frankly ugly. Luckily, they also came with wires to hang them with. I did have to get the hardware to put them in the ceiling. It was a pain, but I'm so glad I did it. It really cleans it up.

Calcium Reactor​

I ditched the 2 part for a calcium reactor. I got a Reef Octopus CR-140 and an FX-STP Continuous Duty pump. Much less maintanence than the 2-part and it allows me to very precisely tune the rate of effluent going into my tank by adjusting the FX_STP pump, which has a resolution of 0.1ml/min. I've been able to get my Alk, Ca, and Mg levels super stable after a couple weeks of tuning. Right now I have Alk around 11.2 dKH, which should help my frags grow.

Some Update Photos​

 

[golgobot]

Whats the latest on this build?

Just posted an update!

 

[Jacobbbb82]

This is the most comprehensive build I’ve seen for a Waterbox. I have the same tank being delivered next week and I have prepared as much as I can for now but just now seeing your post and making some minor adjustments to mine. I’m also a software Engineer so I guess it’s in our blood to automate and know exactly what’s going on with everything. I have the Neptune controller, COR pump, ATK, LDK, FMS, Trident, Solenoid to ATO my ATO, DOS for AWC, and lots more. My wife is a Mechanical Engineer and is nerding out as much as I am. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!
Thanks for all the info.

 

[golgobot]

This is the most comprehensive build I’ve seen for a Waterbox. I have the same tank being delivered next week and I have prepared as much as I can for now but just now seeing your post and making some minor adjustments to mine. I’m also a software Engineer so I guess it’s in our blood to automate and know exactly what’s going on with everything. I have the Neptune controller, COR pump, ATK, LDK, FMS, Trident, Solenoid to ATO my ATO, DOS for AWC, and lots more. My wife is a Mechanical Engineer and is nerding out as much as I am. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!
Thanks for all the info.

Thanks! I saw a lot of info on Red Sea tanks, but there's less out there on Waterbox, so I thought this might be helpful!

Exciting about your new tank. Good luck. Hope to see your build thread when it's ready!