bubbgee
Active Member
Bought my second(ish) tank off a member here at Reef2Reef. It was a great deal for me as it saves me a bunch of cash buying stuff brand new and having a sump and most of everything set up for me.
I like waterbox for the most part. Honestly, I was so tempted to get the Nyos G2 300 for the better shape and fit in the area but the extras from the teardown was too tempting. My tear down tank was the WB 20 cube which was great but not so good with the kind of livestock I wanted to keep (yes, it feels like pokemon at this point for me).
Here's the spec:
- Waterbox 85.3 Frag tank
- NYOS 120 Skimmer (connected to BRS media having CO2 scrubber)
- NYOS Torq 2.0 G2 Reactor (using GFO -- scared of getting bryopsis)
- Ecotech Vectra S2 Return Pump
- Tunze 5017 ATO System
- Eheim Heater
- Neptune Apex, Trident, Trident NP
- RedSea ReefMat 500 (did I mention I am scared of nuisance algae?)
- Hygger Gyre (to be upgraded later, it's leftover from the teardown)
- 2 AI Nero 3s (working fine so far, I don't even need to take it to more than 35%)
- Instead of filter socks, I am using a filter cup with Nyos zeovit to control nitrates (working amazingly so far)
- Added 16 bio blocks from the old tank
- Hygger Autofeeder with camera.. (doesnt quite work just yet)
The best part of the tank for this build is the light. I decided to go with Orphek Natura iCon this time around. I prefer mostly softies and plan to just a handful of SPS at the top so I think one light would be sufficient. Plus with my par meter, I tested with 400-500 at the top 4 inches of the tank and 90s at the corners which is fine for chalices, acans, zoas and mushrooms I have.
I have never had a tank this large, so my biggest challenge was getting 90 gallons of water stored and ready. It took about a week to make, used Brightwell NeoMarine salt (would have gone with a better brand but I wanted this build in a week and those take 2 weeks to ship). I didnt want a long wait to cycle rocks and the tank, so I went with the Life Rock shapes from CaribSea and OceanDirect sand which are supposedly live. Also got a few rocks off of NotAFeesh for arches-- Hunter gave me a real nice and blindly perfect fit for the tank to connect the rocks with. I still wanted to play it safe, while making that much water and cycled the rocks in a bucket and added Microbacter7 and an airstone.
Once I got it in place and the rocks setup, it got wet quick..
My 20 gal cube was suffering from dinos and bryopsis which triggered me to upgrade. I lost a few torches already with the state so I decided to move the livestock real quick once the tank cleared up.
The tank was very wide so I was able to add different sections for mushroom, zoas, torches, hammers, chalices and acans. The effect is that I have a different view of each side and I have a completely different experience viewing that part of the tank!
Now for the light, I like it a lot. It took away a lot of the guesswork on the spectrum. Helios schedule works for me and I just adjusted some levels to make it close to AB+ with a 3 hour full spectrum with the rest being blue the rest of the day. I might want to add a couple of Orphek OR3 (blue plus and UV) for the front of the tank eventually but I am happy where the par settings are at. I highly recommend the Natura if you're in the market for lights.
Anyway, Mr. Purple Yellow Pants is pretty stoked about his new tank. You can follow his adventures at: https://www.instagram.com/mrpurple_yellowpants/
I like waterbox for the most part. Honestly, I was so tempted to get the Nyos G2 300 for the better shape and fit in the area but the extras from the teardown was too tempting. My tear down tank was the WB 20 cube which was great but not so good with the kind of livestock I wanted to keep (yes, it feels like pokemon at this point for me).
Here's the spec:
- Waterbox 85.3 Frag tank
- NYOS 120 Skimmer (connected to BRS media having CO2 scrubber)
- NYOS Torq 2.0 G2 Reactor (using GFO -- scared of getting bryopsis)
- Ecotech Vectra S2 Return Pump
- Tunze 5017 ATO System
- Eheim Heater
- Neptune Apex, Trident, Trident NP
- RedSea ReefMat 500 (did I mention I am scared of nuisance algae?)
- Hygger Gyre (to be upgraded later, it's leftover from the teardown)
- 2 AI Nero 3s (working fine so far, I don't even need to take it to more than 35%)
- Instead of filter socks, I am using a filter cup with Nyos zeovit to control nitrates (working amazingly so far)
- Added 16 bio blocks from the old tank
- Hygger Autofeeder with camera.. (doesnt quite work just yet)
The best part of the tank for this build is the light. I decided to go with Orphek Natura iCon this time around. I prefer mostly softies and plan to just a handful of SPS at the top so I think one light would be sufficient. Plus with my par meter, I tested with 400-500 at the top 4 inches of the tank and 90s at the corners which is fine for chalices, acans, zoas and mushrooms I have.
I have never had a tank this large, so my biggest challenge was getting 90 gallons of water stored and ready. It took about a week to make, used Brightwell NeoMarine salt (would have gone with a better brand but I wanted this build in a week and those take 2 weeks to ship). I didnt want a long wait to cycle rocks and the tank, so I went with the Life Rock shapes from CaribSea and OceanDirect sand which are supposedly live. Also got a few rocks off of NotAFeesh for arches-- Hunter gave me a real nice and blindly perfect fit for the tank to connect the rocks with. I still wanted to play it safe, while making that much water and cycled the rocks in a bucket and added Microbacter7 and an airstone.
Once I got it in place and the rocks setup, it got wet quick..
My 20 gal cube was suffering from dinos and bryopsis which triggered me to upgrade. I lost a few torches already with the state so I decided to move the livestock real quick once the tank cleared up.
The tank was very wide so I was able to add different sections for mushroom, zoas, torches, hammers, chalices and acans. The effect is that I have a different view of each side and I have a completely different experience viewing that part of the tank!
Now for the light, I like it a lot. It took away a lot of the guesswork on the spectrum. Helios schedule works for me and I just adjusted some levels to make it close to AB+ with a 3 hour full spectrum with the rest being blue the rest of the day. I might want to add a couple of Orphek OR3 (blue plus and UV) for the front of the tank eventually but I am happy where the par settings are at. I highly recommend the Natura if you're in the market for lights.
Anyway, Mr. Purple Yellow Pants is pretty stoked about his new tank. You can follow his adventures at: https://www.instagram.com/mrpurple_yellowpants/
