Waterbox Marine 30.2 - Office Build

[marxman]

Well I don't know how I managed to do it, perhaps it was all the covid lockdowns... but I managed to convince my wife that I should be able to have a second tank, and place it in the my home office.

I searched for many different types / styles of tanks but eventually decided on a Waterbox AIO 30.2

Because I do have a full blown Red Sea Reefer 350 I decided that this tank would be much smaller in size and bio-load. The idea really is to try to build something that is low touch. My current thinking for stocking is a pair of clowns, a mandarin goby, and a fire shrimp... but this could well change.

Here is the overall equipment list that I will continue to add to when I add items.

Equipment List:

Almost all of this equipment will be coming from Love The Reef, in Wilmington MA. Great LFS!!


Tank, Sump, and Cabinet : Waterbox AIO 30.2 (Waterbox don't show their older tanks)

In-Cabinet Lighting : Luminoodle Click LED Strip

Controller : Neptune Apex EL

Auto Top Off : Neptune ATK w/ extra OS1 Optical Sensor and Low Profile Leak Detector

Tank Light : Aqua Illumination Prime 16 HD

Return Pump : Innovative Marine MightyJet DC Desktop

Power Heads : Ecotech Vortech MP10

Heater : 2 x Aquatop 100W

Auto Top Off Reservoir : Trigger Systems Crystal ATO 5 Gallon

Skimmer : Hydor Slim Skim Nano Skimmer

Media Baskets : inTank Aquatics Media Baskets

Lid : ClearView custom designed lid

Light Diffuser : 3DReefing Prime Diffuser

Dosing Pump : Neptune Systems DOS

 

[HD_Reefer]

Congrats! Can’t wait to see the build!

 

[marxman]

Spent the day setting up the tank and getting it cycling.

Looking good in it its new spot.

Testing out the AI Prime 16 HD:

Picked up some initial cave pieces to get the scape started. I never seem to be able to lay out the scape before going in the tank. I always start with a few pieces and then add to it as the tank matures.

Heater and Return Pump installed in return chamber.

Full body shot:

 

[marxman]

How Noisy is Too Noisy?

I started up the tank and it ran great all Saturday night. On Sunday morning I noticed that the Sicce return pump was now making a noticeable hum. It was much louder than the day before so I checked to make sure it wasn't touching the glass or that it was on "restricted" flow.

Anyway, after trying many things the LFS agreed to return it to Sicce, and I decided to order a Innovative Marine MightyJet DC Desktop pump.

Upon installing that pump it's amazingly quiet and so for now.. the "cycle" continues.

As a side note, my LFS gave me some Ammonium Chloride to start the cycle... I've never used it before so it will be interesting to see how it works out.

 

[marxman]

Heating Redundancy

Today I installed a second Aquatop 100W heater in the Return Chamber of the sump. I'm a big believer in redundant heaters.. both fit nicely in the chamber.

 

[marxman]

All About Control

Because my idea here is to build a almost full automated tank, a Neptune Apex was center to the automation. My larger tank already has a Neptune Apex, and even though I know I could run an Aquabus cable to that head unit, the location of the two tanks made that impossible. Therefore, I had to install a second Apex with EnergyBar.

In order to mount the EnergyBar to the back of the cabinet, I attached a 9 x 24" black shelf from Home Depot.

No Cable clean up yet, just want to get the controller up and I can start programming automation.

The white box in the top of the picture if the controller for the LED strip mounted to the inside of the cabinet.

The probes for pH and Temperature are mounted in the second chamber.

 

[Zach B]

Nice build!

 

[marxman]

Testing for the Cycle:

I don't think anyone other than an aquarium keeper can understand this excitement...

But I genuinely enjoy testing my water every day of the cycle and watching the progression....

 

[Fishinabarrel]

I love the nitrogen test pics! A perfect way to show the meaning of “mid cycle”.
The last time I cycled I tested only nitrite. Watched it go up and then down. Worked perfectly.

 

[marxman]

Making Waves:

Today I installed the Ecotech MP10 powerhead to provide some water circulation around the back of the rock scape.
I'm a big fan of the Ecotech powerheads after installing 2 MP40s in my larger tank.

 

[marxman]

Topping Off:

The APEX ATK - Auto Top Off Kit was installed with the Trigger Systems ATO Reservoir. Hopefully this will give me a week or so between needing to top off...

An interesting issue I have come across. Because I have installed the ATK float switch in the AIO back sump, it can be seen through the glass as it is being lit by the tank light. I'm not sure how to solve this yet. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[marxman]

First in the Pool:

As I had mentioned in the beginning the intention of this tank was to have 2 clowns and some inverts in a fully automated tank. Today the clowns arrived!!

I ordered them from Cultivated Reef in Maine. They have a great selection of fish, are just up the road (ish), and offer overnight shipping. After ordering the fish I received good email communication; the fish were dispatched and arrived on time via fedex. After their acclimation period both fishes are now happily in their new home.

The fish I chose were the Onyx Black Percula Clowns.

 

[diabolical_clownfish]

Following

 

[ramona]

How are the fishes doing?

 

[marxman]

How are the fishes doing?

Hi Ramona,
Sorry I havent been on for a while. The fish are still doing great.. getting larger and very healthy.

 

[marxman]

I have made a number of additions to the tank over the rest of 2021, and will attempt to bring this thread up to date

Time to Skim the rear:

Into one of the rear chambers of the tank I decided to add the Hydor Slim Skim Nano.
It fits perfectly into one of the rear chambers of the tank.

There have been many things written about the effectiveness of these small skimmers.
I agree that they don't work nearly as well as the larger free standing skimmers, but it does seem to produce some level of skimmate on a daily basis. I have it run for 3 hours a day, and with such a small bioload in the tank it may or may not be entirely necessary.

 

[marxman]

What's in the Basket:

On either side of the Waterbox 30.2 rear sump are square chambers meant for filter socks.
I decided that this space would be better served with some media baskets and filter floss.
I went to inTank Aquatics who sell a 3 compartment media basket perfect for filters and medias.

In order for these to fit in the sump compartments you need to remove the filter sock holder. This requires cutting the silicone sealant used to attach the the holder to the sump. This can be a little tricky.

In the left hand chamber I am running filter floss and some biocubes
In the right hand chamber I am running filter floss, chemipure, and Phosban

So far this has been a much better replacement than the original filter socks alone.

 

[marxman]

A Masterpiece:

My larger RedSea 350 tank has a lid from ClearView Lids. It is by far one of the nicest lids you can get for your tank. It stands to reason that I would want something similar for this tank. However, when I went on their website, they didn't offer a Waterbox 30.2 lid. I decided to try to create a custom version and went ahead and inputted dimensions of the tank and sump. ClearView Lids immediately contacted me and thus began a few days of going back and forth with dimensions. This served two purposes; 1) I received exactly the lid I was looking for 2) they were able to create some plans going forward for a waterbox 30.2. In fact they were so grateful for my help and willingness to help they gave me a slight discount on my lid.

I can't say enough about this company... the both times I have ordered a lid from them the service and the product has been exceptional. I recommend them to anyone that is willing to listen

The lid I designed rests on the entire tank, it even covers the sump area.
There is a large cutout at the back which allows for light mounting, cables, and hoses.
A small feed door in the front allows me to feed everyone without removing the entire lid.

Do you need any further convincing?

 

[marxman]

Diffuse the Situation:

I recently added a light diffuser to the AI Prime 16 I have over the tank.
The diffuser serves two purposes I can see. The first is that it claims to remove the "rainbow effect" caused by the LEDs, secondly the diffuser has a shroud that blocks the lights shining directly at you when viewing the tank.

The diffuser came from 3DReefing and simply clipped on the light.

 

[marxman]

DOSing the Tank:

One of the largest decisions I made recently was to begin dosing the tank.
Because I already had an APEX Controller running the tank, a DOS was the easiest way to achieve this.

I decided that the tank would contain mainly softies and some LPS, no SPS. To me this meant I would not dose ALK and CA separately, but would instead try dosing Tropic Marin All 4 Reef.

The other dosing pump would be used for dosing Red Sea NoPox to help control Nitrates and Phosphates.

Currently I am dosing about 1 - 2ml a day of these.

PRO TIP : I am using glass mason jars as my dosing containers. Some others would use the Neptune DDR containers, however they are Acrylic... NoPox causes acrylic to crack over time.

Here is a view under the cabinet with the dosing pump installed.