Waterbox 75.2 north of Space City

[kgk]

I bought a WB 75.2 quite a while ago, built it and then let it sit. I'm finally getting around to filling it up!

Equipment:
Waterbox 75.2
Ecotech Vectra S1 return
Ecotech MP40w upgraded to QD driver with a new wetside
Ecotech XR30W Pro. First-gen light; I have two of these from previous tanks, so it's nice to have a backup
Ecotech RMS light mount
Ecotech Reeflink
Octo esSence S-130 skimmer
Finnex 300W titanium heater
Inkbird temp controller
~20 gallon ATO container made by Aquatic Experience here in Houston
Tunze Osmolator 3155

The tank sits next to the built-in desk in my office, so I routed all the cables through the desk wall, where they're hidden. None of the electronics are in the stand, besides the stuff that is in the water.
I'm going to 3D print filter sock replacement cups for the sump. I'll run Poly-Fil in them instead of socks; I hate washing socks. I can also run carbon or GFO in media bags in the cups, so I don't need reactors.
The whole theme of the tank is to simplify, simplify, simplify. I want the least amount of complexity & equipment I can get away with, and still have a reliable system. If I need to dose, I'll start with Kalk in the ATO container & go from there. The less stuff to maintain & fret over, the better.

All the equipment works as expected, and now I'm playing with a little simple automation. I have an Echo Dot in my office, so I'll be able to control the the tank two ways. First, I have the heater & skimmer hooked up to a wifi-enabled power strip. I also have the Ecotech Live skill for Alexa, to control the Ecotech stuff. I'm still playing with the best way to do this. You can't chain "skills" and "routines" in Alexa together, so that's a bit of a bummer - using the Ecotech skill requires it's own statements to Alexa, vs controlling the sockets on the power strip. I guess it's not a big deal to both say "Alexa, turn off skimmer" and "Alexa, have Ecotech Live enable feed mode" one after the other. But I'd really like to just say, "Alexa, let's feed the tank" or something like that. Anyway, it's something to play with.

I went with The Package from TBS and I put the first shipment in the tank last Thursday, so I figured it's time to start this thread. There are a couple pics from before the rock, and then some pics of the rock. I haven't done any aquascaping yet, just put the rock in the tank to chill for a while. No funky hitchhikers so far - bunch of snails & limpets & a couple hermit crabs. Lots of tunicates, sponges, and interesting macroalgae...

 

[SPR1968]

Looking great so far and keep the pictures coming!

 

[kgk]

My 3D printed filter cups. You can get the STL files here if you want to make your own: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3602659

 

[kgk]

I picked up the second shipment at Houston Hobby last Thursday; it was delayed about a half day in transit, so I didn't get it in the tank until 3 AM on Friday. That sucked! Anyway, I'm happy with the rock so far. I know I have one decent sized Gorilla crab to catch, but there is SO MUCH cool stuff in this tank already. I used standard sand - didn't have him ship me sand - and it's already FULL of worms and bugs. They're everywhere. The entire tank is FULL of life. Hermits, anemones, filter feeders, several porcelain crabs that I spotted tonight, macro, corals, sponges, brittle stars, tunicates, pods, worms... It's almost a shame to stack the rocks, because I'm sure I'm squashing something cool!

My son and I have spent the last couple late evenings with a pen light doing a scavenger hunt. I'm going to catch this gorilla crab somehow, add some fish & see how the tank matures over time! I don't really feel the need to go all nuts on coral, even though I'm sure I'll add different pieces as other stuff dies back.

I'd like to go all Caribbean with fish, but there's only 1 Tang option & I don't want to keep the Atlantic Blue Tang in a 2' tank... so I'll probably do a Tomini Tang. Probably add a Cherub Angel even though everyone thinks it's a bad idea; I just love that fish, and it's found in the Caribbean. Maybe a Royal Gramma or a Chalk Bass, as they're Caribbean, and probably a wrasse of some kind (maybe a yellow coris or 6-line)...

Assuming I do those 4, any thoughts on order to add them would be appreciated. I'm thinking about adding the Tang first to see if he eats the macro in there, but I've always added them last in the past... hmmm.

My iPhone pics of the tank come out really, really blue. I'll have to play with it some to get some decent images.

 

[kgk]

Some pictures that don't look so blue! Small changes to the Radion profiles make big differences in how it photographs.

 

[Mr.Z]

Some pictures that don't look so blue! Small changes to the Radion profiles make big differences in how it photographs.

This already looks awesome with the established rock! It'll be interesting to see how the existing life on the rock balances out with new tank inhabitants that get introduced.

 

[kgk]

The caulerpa is growing very quickly. I pulled a bunch of the Grape & Taxifolia (I think it's taxifolia anyway) out tonight. I hope my planned Tomini tang has a taste for caulerpa, otherwise I'm going to spend quite a bit of time gardening in this tank early in its life.

I haven't even thought about adding a fish yet, because I haven't caught the big gorilla that I know is in there. I'm trying a new pest trap this week; if that doesn't work, I'll have to start removing rock until I catch the little *******... my hermit crab population is seriously dwindling & something ate several arms off my big serpent star. He already got my peppermint shrimp... he's got to go!

 

[wmo168]

Is this a Marine or Reef version? I didn't see the filter sock bracket in the sump...

 

[kgk]

Is this a Marine or Reef version? I didn't see the filter sock bracket in the sump...

Original platinum reef version. Filter sock holders are behind the skimmer.

 

[kgk]

After catching 100000 gorilla crabs, I finally felt ready to add fish and coral to the tank.

There's a Tomini Tang and a pair of Picasso clownfish. For coral, I added a Green Slimer acro, a Purple/light blue acro, an orange digitata, some Octospawn, and some rad zoas.

The Picasso clowns are captive bred, and all coral are frags from another enthusiast's tank.

Sorry for the poor cell phone pic, I'll get some better ones. This one was a quick snap while I was feeding the tank. Everyone ate, which is a good sign!

 

[kgk]

Sunday was Sump Day. Pulled it all out, cleaned it, put it back together.