Journey Into Reefing - Waterbox Infinia Reef 150.4

[rzimm33]

Hey Everyone! I have wanted to build a reef aquarium for roughly 3-4 years now. Around October of last year, I finally bit the bullet and ordered my first part.

Part list:
Waterbox Infinia Reef 150.4 (New - on order and anticipated to ship early June)
Ecotech MP40 x 2 (still need to buy 1)
Tunze Osmolator 3 (New)
BRS 300W Titanium Heater x 2 (New)
Helio Heater controller (New)
Maxspect Aeraqua Duo AD600 Protein Skimmer (Got for half price while on sale - New)
AI Hydra 32HD x 3 (All used but in great shape)
Return Pump - Still undecided. Leaning towards Syncra SDC 7
RODI - BRS 6 stage (Have had for a few years for my planted freshwater system. Has new filter media)

Future part list:
Neptune Apex + automated water change accessories
ReefMat 500
Refugium lighting

My current plan for this tank is to be a mixed reef. I want to start off with a few softies, move onto LPS, and then finally SPS once stable.

The tank will be situated on a wall shared with the garage. I have an electrician coming to put in a dedicated breaker and outlet for the tank in the coming week. Since the tank will share a wall with the garage, I will be able to have all of my mixed salt water, RODI water, and control elements for the tank just on the other side. This should make it easy to setup any additional systems if and when needed like an automated water change system.

A few things I am still unsure about -

Rock... I have seen pros and cons of going with live rock versus dry rock and am torn on which route to take. My father kept a 150g reef tank for 15 years and thinks live rock is the only way to ensure success. But the cost savings and ease to work with for dry rock is pretty attractive. I have considered doing maybe 80% dry rock and 20% live rock as seed material. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Next, I am torn on which return pump to go with. I am considering the Syncra SDC 7 purely because BRS seems to think it is top tier. But from I have gathered, the much much cheaper Jebao pumps are also pretty reliable. Additionally, the Jebao pumps would allow for redundancy since it is more reasonable to buy 2 - $100 pumps versus 2 - $400 pumps. Anyone have a specific recommendation?

I will get pictures up once the electrical work is under way!

No specific details as of what I want to stock in the tank yet, but I do love Euphyllia.

Thanks everyone!

 

[tzabor10]

Since you have the electrician coming, you might want to consider 3 or more dedicated GFCI breakers with dedicated outlets. It’s not much more expensive and having different circuits doesn’t crash your system if one breaker trips.

I like vectra return pumps because of the battery backup. Would go nice with your MP 40s.
Can’t wait to see it

 

[rzimm33]

Since you have the electrician coming, you might want to consider 3 or more dedicated GFCI breakers with dedicated outlets. It’s not much more expensive and having different circuits doesn’t crash your system if one breaker trips.

I like vectra return pumps because of the battery backup. Would go nice with your MP 40s.
Can’t wait to see it

That’s a great idea for the different circuist. I’ll run it by the electrician and see it done. I already had it planned to have an outlet where the tank will go and a separate outlet in the garage where the control panel is going to go.

I’ll checkout some reviews on the Vectra. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[texasreefer92]

Excited to see your build. We got the infinia 150.4 about a month ago and loving it so far. We have the Syncra SDC 9 which is total overkill but i think it was what was suggested to us. I would have gone with the 7 hindsight.

We were transferring a tank over so we used about 40 LBs live rock and got some new dry rock. Bristle worms freak me out so i always tend to go for the dry rock (freak me out purely because they are creepy looking to me i dont actually worry about them harming anything)

 

[rzimm33]

Excited to see your build. We got the infinia 150.4 about a month ago and loving it so far. We have the Syncra SDC 9 which is total overkill but i think it was what was suggested to us. I would have gone with the 7 hindsight.

We were transferring a tank over so we used about 40 LBs live rock and got some new dry rock. Bristle worms freak me out so i always tend to go for the dry rock (freak me out purely because they are creepy looking to me i dont actually worry about them harming anything)

Yeah, I also don't love bristle worms. My father had one that was over 1ft long back in his reefing days. We say it once, and then never again. We never knew what happened to it.

Currently I am trying to figure out the best light hanging method. From what I gather, people seem to dislike the AI mounts for the Hydra 32s

 

[texasreefer92]

Yeah, I also don't love bristle worms. My father had one that was over 1ft long back in his reefing days. We say it once, and then never again. We never knew what happened to it.

Currently I am trying to figure out the best light hanging method. From what I gather, people seem to dislike the AI mounts for the Hydra 32s

We have two AI Prime from our old tank and added an AI hydra in the middle but it was something we added after and we did not leave enough room between wall and tank and had to make another wood mount to attach to the wall lol

But we borrow a par reader and confirmed we were getting enough light because some people were telling us not to use the primes and get all Hydra 32s. But after the expense of the tank and everything getting all new lights was out of the question plus I did not want to waste perfectly good lights.

 

[rzimm33]

Tank came in yesterday! It’s beautiful.

Also, the electrical work is about done other than placing the outlets. I went with 2 breakers and 2 GFI outlets.

The area the tank is going has been painted and prepped. I’ll also be cutting a hole to pass through for automated water changes

Hoping to get the stand built tonight and in place. Putting the outlet in once the stand is in place.

 

[skey44]

I just decided on an Infinia Frag 125.4. Will be following your build

 

[rzimm33]

Also had this bad boy come in..:

I was able to snag this for a really great deal from a fellow reefer.

 

[rzimm33]

Stand is complete. Not as intuitive as one might think lol..

 

[rzimm33]

Another day, another shipment:

 

[rzimm33]

Day 2 of leak testing. Had a small leak in the return pump line which was caused by a gasket getting kinked. I removed the pipe and fixed the gasket. Going strong now

 

[mizukage]

Great start to your build, thank you for sharing! Have you decided on the filter fleece roller yet? Very interested to learn which you go with and how you do it.

Edit: did you end up going with jebao? if so, mind sharing which model?

 

[rzimm33]

I did pick up a used Reefmat 500. Will be installing it maybe in a week or two.

For the return pump, I got a Syncra SDC 9.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I did pick up a used Reefmat 500. Will be installing it maybe in a week or two.

For the return pump, I got a Syncra SDC 9.

How much did you get the reefmat for?

 

[rzimm33]

$220 from someone on here. Unfortunately it didn’t come with the inlet hose which I had to buy separate.

 

[mizukage]

I did pick up a used Reefmat 500. Will be installing it maybe in a week or two.

For the return pump, I got a Syncra SDC 9.

Nice! That's a pricey pump but Sicce is outstanding quality. Would love to have that one but probably have to go Jebao because $$.

 

[rzimm33]

I am curious what everyone’s opinions are of Dry rock versus live rock from my LfS.

The wet rock seems to be allocated from local reefers selling to the shop. It’s also $7/lb which is quite expensive.

 

[skey44]

I am curious what everyone’s opinions are of Dry rock versus live rock from my LfS.

The wet rock seems to be allocated from local reefers selling to the shop. It’s also $7/lb which is quite expensive.

I’m going to get some actual fresh live rock to seed my tank when it’s setup.. 7-10#’s of something premium. I am currently curing some dry live rock from my old tanks and let me tell you the phosphate leaching is real. I’m still waiting on a tank so I have time but it is definitely troublesome to reduce the phosphates from the used rocks. If I was starting from scratch I’d probably try dry rock that is mined like Marco and seed with something premium for some life and bacteria. That’s just my 2 cent. Lots of folks hate the idea of fresh live rock because of potential for pests but I look at the biodiversity and life provided as an irreplaceable resource. I’m looking at Australian LR for seeding purposes.

 

[mizukage]

I am curious what everyone’s opinions are of Dry rock versus live rock from my LfS.

The wet rock seems to be allocated from local reefers selling to the shop. It’s also $7/lb which is quite expensive.

Pros and cons. For building custom aquascapes, you can’t beat dry rock like Marco but takes longer to cycle and mature . You can’t do scales like that with live wet rock but you gain all the benefits of faster cycling and maturation of the biosphere in your tank that you just don’t gain from stuff in a bottle.