Waterbox Peninsula Mini 25 Build

[Gary777]

Hello

My name is Gary and I am based in the UK. I am returning to marine aquarium keeping after a really long break. Without giving away my age when I last had a marine tank it was fish only, used an under-gravel filter, and was filled with tap water. That was a very common setup at the time. I stumbled across some YouTube videos earlier this year and I was amazed at the improvements that have been made in technology and know how.

So after months of reading forums and watching more YouTube videos I have bought one of the new Waterbox mini peninsula aquariums for my home office.

Here's my equipment list :

Waterbox Mini Peninsula 25

Light : Maxspect Jump MJ-L165
Wavemaker : Nero 3
Pump : Sicce 1.0
Heater : Aquael Ultra 100w
Temperature Controller : D-D Dual (For heater and cooling fan)

Rock and substrate is 20lbs of Caribsea Life Rock Shapes and 10lbs of Caribsea Fiji pink live sand.

Other bits and pieces I have picked up include:

Hanna Salinity checker (despite the mixed reviews)
D-D Jumpguard mesh lid kit
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt
A 3D printed filter cup replacement for filter floss to replace the filter sock.
A 75 gallon per day RODI system with a booster pump.
Maxspect nano-tech bio spheres
Test kits, etc etc etc

I will also pick up an ATO, not sure which yet. Maybe a protein skimmer too sometime in the future, but maybe not.


This Waterbox comes with a pump, which I don't think they used to in the UK. Anyway, it will be used to mix salt and be there as a backup. The Maxspect light is a new product so I am hoping people cleverer than me will come up with some settings and schedules as it becomes more widely used. It looks like a good alternative to the AI Prime HD. It costs a bit less and comes with a mounting arm in the box.

I really liked the look of the Caribsea life rock shapes. It looks like I got the most common selection: 2 arches, a cave and a smaller ring / doughnut (donut!) shape. I think the 20lbs box would be great for a slightly bigger tank. It's a shame it is not easy to buy these rocks individually. While I wait for everything to be delivered I think I have come up with an aquascape using the 3 biggest rocks without it being over the top for the tank size. Using the final rock would be too much I think.

Caribsea also sell a box of 'nano arches'. Arches that are about 8 inches long. These would be great but a box of 4 costs the same as the 20lb mixed box, which seems unreasonable to me.

I am looking to stock a pair of clowns and a royal gramma with a shrimp and then see how things progress ...

... and from the other side

Another photo that shows the 'spare' rock

The Maxspect LED ...

I am waiting for some vital things to be delivered, like a stand. I'll be back with more later.

Thanks for reading and any advice and opinions will always be welcome.

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R and congratulations on your new tank, looking forward to seeing more

 

[Bryan68]

Welcome to R2R, excited to see your progress!

 

[Kawasaki]

That's awesome. I'm currently in the planning stage of a WB Peninsula 25 build and it will be my first time so for now I will live through you vicariously!

 

[Lazerith]

I have a peninsula mini 25 also. I’m watching to see how yours goes. I’ve had mine since they released them. I can’t wait to see how yours turns out.

 

[Gary777]

Thanks for the welcome messages. I am hoping to receive my RODI booster pump today so I can make a bit more progress. My aquarium cabinet is delayed as it is out of stock until tomorrow. Once that gets here I should be good to go.

 

[eamm97]

Hello

My name is Gary and I am based in the UK. I am returning to marine aquarium keeping after a really long break. Without giving away my age when I last had a marine tank it was fish only, used an under-gravel filter, and was filled with tap water. That was a very common setup at the time. I stumbled across some YouTube videos earlier this year and I was amazed at the improvements that have been made in technology and know how.

So after months of reading forums and watching more YouTube videos I have bought one of the new Waterbox mini peninsula aquariums for my home office.

Here's my equipment list :

Waterbox Mini Peninsula 25

Light : Maxspect Jump MJ-L165
Wavemaker : Nero 3
Pump : Sicce 1.0
Heater : Aquael Ultra 100w
Temperature Controller : D-D Dual (For heater and cooling fan)

Rock and substrate is 20lbs of Caribsea Life Rock Shapes and 10lbs of Caribsea Fiji pink live sand.

Other bits and pieces I have picked up include:

Hanna Salinity checker (despite the mixed reviews)
D-D Jumpguard mesh lid kit
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals salt
A 3D printed filter cup replacement for filter floss to replace the filter sock.
A 75 gallon per day RODI system with a booster pump.
Maxspect nano-tech bio spheres
Test kits, etc etc etc

I will also pick up an ATO, not sure which yet. Maybe a protein skimmer too sometime in the future, but maybe not.


This Waterbox comes with a pump, which I don't think they used to in the UK. Anyway, it will be used to mix salt and be there as a backup. The Maxspect light is a new product so I am hoping people cleverer than me will come up with some settings and schedules as it becomes more widely used. It looks like a good alternative to the AI Prime HD. It costs a bit less and comes with a mounting arm in the box.

I really liked the look of the Caribsea life rock shapes. It looks like I got the most common selection: 2 arches, a cave and a smaller ring / doughnut (donut!) shape. I think the 20lbs box would be great for a slightly bigger tank. It's a shame it is not easy to buy these rocks individually. While I wait for everything to be delivered I think I have come up with an aquascape using the 3 biggest rocks without it being over the top for the tank size. Using the final rock would be too much I think.

Caribsea also sell a box of 'nano arches'. Arches that are about 8 inches long. These would be great but a box of 4 costs the same as the 20lb mixed box, which seems unreasonable to me.

I am looking to stock a pair of clowns and a royal gramma with a shrimp and then see how things progress ...

... and from the other side

Another photo that shows the 'spare' rock

The Maxspect LED ...

I am waiting for some vital things to be delivered, like a stand. I'll be back with more later.

Thanks for reading and any advice and opinions will always be welcome.

I have been thinking about starting with a setup similar to this one, I’ll follow your journey for inspo!

 

[Gary777]

I did get a delivery that included my RODI booster pump. So today I have been making RO water for the first time. Fortunately the booster pump has increased the water pressure from my garden tap from 10 psi to 90 psi so my 75 gallon per day system takes around 5 minutes to make a litre of water (a bit less than 20 minutes for a US gallon).

The tank is 90 litres so I am thinking 80 litres will be enough to fill it with the sand and rock included. I got a 10lb bag of live sand in my delivery, it looks a bit small but I am hoping it will be enough. I don't want a deep sand bed, which is lucky because I won't be getting one!

I have some coraline algae coloured epoxy to stick my Caribsea rocks together and a D-D Jumpguard mesh lid to build. Jobs for tomorrow I think.

Still awaiting news of my cabinet which is the only thing left that I need.

 

[Gary777]

So I am all setup. Everything so far has gone ok. The only problem I have is a buzzing noise that is coming from the Sicce 1.0. I have tried to move it but the return pump section is very tight and the pump is difficult to move when it is stuck down with the suction cups. I just wrestled with it for about half an hour but it is still loud. I might try getting it out again and maybe sitting it on a piece of sponge rather than the suction cups.

Maybe it will get quieter over time, but right now it's actually very annoying to the point where I would not recommend anyone buy one for this tank. If anyone has a fix please do let me know.

I saw a Youtube video where the guy made a string of media balls on some cable ties and then suspended them on the light bracket so they didn't take up much room and were easy to access.

A few pics ...

(The Rubiks cube is not actually in the tank)

 

[MONTANTK]

Wow that rockscape looks incredible!

 

[Gaspipe]

Looks great so far! You have a link to the video for the media balls? Also can you provide some details on the stand?

Thanks and looking fwd to seeing more of this!!

 

[Gary777]

Wow that rockscape looks incredible!

Thank you. It is just the biggest 3 of the 4 rocks you usually get in the 20lb box of Caribsea life rock shapes.

 

[Gary777]

Looks great so far! You have a link to the video for the media balls? Also can you provide some details on the stand?

Thanks and looking fwd to seeing more of this!!

Thanks. Yes, the idea for the media balls on cable ties came from a YouTuber called Parkers Reef. An Australian guy who makes very good videos. He had a series where he setup a Waterbox Cube 20 for beginners called ‘The Idiot Proof Reef Tank’. I’m pretty sure it’s in the video about filtration. If you can’t find it let me know and I’ll track it down for you.

The stand is an aquarium stand made by Aqua One for one of their tanks which happens to be the same footprint as the peninsula mini 25. The cabinet is called the Inspire 60. It’s pretty cheap but seems solid enough for the price.

 

[Gary777]

So I had some problems with the Sicce 1.0 being incredibly loud. Today I swapped it out for the stock pump that comes with the Waterbox. I was pleasantly surprised. It is very quiet and has similar flow to the Sicce. I will probably return the Sicce for a replacement.

The next job is to try and get the Maxspect light to sit horizontally over the tank. Mine tilts downwards for some reason. Also I need to build the Jumpguard lid.

I have some Fritz Turbostart so will probably pick up a pair of clowns this week.

 

[Gary777]

More progress today with a pair of clowns added and the Jumpguard mesh lid built. My happiness with the stock pump was short lived as that is now also pretty loud after being fine for a day. I have ordered a Jecod DCS-1200 as a final throw of the dice. Not 100% sure it will fit the the return pump chamber which is too small for this size tank. It's the same as the Cube 10 and they should have taken some space from the middle chamber to give more options of return pumps to use.

2 decent photos of the tank follow, with a pretty terrible photo of the new fish.

 

[shim]

Very similar history to myself, under gravel filters and tap water. Jumping back in was an eye opener. I had a similar experience with the return pump and wouldn't be able to tolerate the hum all day. The Tunze Silence worked for me and it's been keeping with its name.

Thanks for the tip on the media balls, may employ that as well. Good looking tank.

 

[Gary777]

Very similar history to myself, under gravel filters and tap water. Jumping back in was an eye opener. I had a similar experience with the return pump and wouldn't be able to tolerate the hum all day. The Tunze Silence worked for me and it's been keeping with its name.

Thanks for the tip on the media balls, may employ that as well. Good looking tank.

Thanks for the info on the Tunze Silence pump. If the Jecod pump doesn’t work out I might well give that a try. Your build thread is great I will follow along with interest.

 

[termalene]

Just want to say nice tank! I kinda regret going with the WB20 cube. Will be keeping up with your build.

 

[Bepis]

Does the max spect jump led come with its mount

 

[Gary777]

Just want to say nice tank! I kinda regret going with the WB20 cube. Will be keeping up with your build.

Thanks. The Cube 20 has the benefit of being slightly wider so you get a bigger filter section. Otherwise they are very similar. The build quality is very good.