Waterbox Infinia 165.4 - My First Large Tank

[chrisriker]

Hi all,

I got into fish keeping about a year ago or so, started with freshwater planted tanks. I am a renter, so I've been somewhat limited in the size of tanks I can keep. Roughly 6 months ago I set up my first reef tank, a Waterbox Cube 25 Peninsula with a pair of gorgeous clowns, a gaggle of sexy shrimp, some easy corals, and an ultra rock flower anemone.

Just last week, my partner and I closed on our first home together, and there is a very nice spot in the basement that looks like it was specifically crafted for a tank to be there. I went back and forth on a bunch of tanks, and ultimately just found myself trying to find something that would make me stop thinking about the Infinia. I pulled the trigger on the 165.4 2 days ago; unfortunately this particular model is backordered, so it won't ship for another 6-8 weeks.

In the mean time, we're moving, finishing up the fall semester (both of us work full time and are in grad school), and doing holiday stuff, so unfortunately it'll probably be a while before this thing gets wet...

So far, the build is not well defined, but here it is.

Creatures:

• Mixed reef, probably starting with softies/easy LPS first and maybe dabbling in SPS down the road. Ultimately the goal is for this system to be one that I grow into as I advance.
• A pair of clowns, either the pair I have now in my peninsula 25 or a different pair, but clowns are my favorite fish so they will definitely be present
• Longer term goal is to be able to support mandarin(s) - we friggin love em

Equipment

• Lights - A pair of Apex Neptune Sky's. They were on a fairly steep discount at BRS for black November save-a-thon, so I jumped on them while I had the chance. Not sure if I'll end up sticking with these long term, but based on community feedback and various reviews they seem like well-liked lights. Luckily BRS has a 1-year return policy for store credit, so I can always swap them out down the line if they aren't working for me
• Return pump - Not sure on this one yet. Thinking DC so I can control with an app, but not sure. I also need to figure out the flow rate I need.
• Skimmer - I will probably not run a skimmer off the bat. I plan to just watch my nutrients and overall ecosystem health and go from there
• Powerheads - Not sure on this one either. Kind of conflicted because I've read some not-so-great things about the MP40s, but they also seem to be the benchmark against which others are measured.
• Heater(s) - I run an Aquael heater on my nano reef so they fit nicely into my return pump chamber, but they are pretty pricy for the size/number I'll need for a tank of this size. Since I don't really have to see them in the display or fit them anywhere tight, I am open to some of the, erm, uglier options on the market.

I am open to any suggestions/insights y'all have on the equipment - plenty of time to stew and research!

I don't have pictures of anything other than the space right now, so here it is. I taped off the dimensions of the 125 gallon model and 165 gallon model. My mom and partner both agreed that the 125 felt a little small for the space, so it was actually pretty easy to get approval for the 165

 

[Naturalreef]

Congrats on your new home and soon to be new tank! You couldn’t pick a better place for a tank….

 

[chrisriker]

Thank you thank you! Luckily it's in the basement, so no need to do any work to make the first floor suitable for the weight of this thing. We will have to contend with the temperature down there, as it is finished but not climate controlled. So far it's stayed relatively warm just from the heat radiated by the boiler, but this will be my office, so we are considering installing a ductless mini split system down there that heats and cools if the space needs it. Upshot there is we'll get some square footage out of the install on paper

 

[reaper93]

Congrats on the new tank! Look forward to seeing this tank progress.

 

[chrisriker]

Lights came a few days ago and I've just got around to checking them out. Current plan is 2x Apex Neptune Sky fixtures. I got these lights on sale for $650 per fixture, $1300 delivered total cost for the lighting for this tank. I jumped on them with the BF sales ending soon, but BRS has a pretty great return policy that I may leverage.

Currently, I'm trying to decide if I stick with these lights or swap them with 3x Radion XR15 gen 6 fixtures. From what I've read, 3 of them with the upgrade in spread/distribution on the gen 6s should be sufficient for the tank for pretty much anything but the hardest SPS, and I can simply add a 4th down the road if it's not enough. I'm not sure if it's a better option than what I've got right now considering the negative talk surrounding Mobius in its current state. Open to any feedback here.