New Waterbox 100.3 Build

[eraml]

Good evening,

After doing lots of research, I have decided to jump back in the hobby with a Waterbox 100.3 system. Very excited as this is a huge upgrade from the 20gallon I had 15 years ago
Will be trying to take things as slowly and methodical as I can throughout the process. Looking to learn from others and do things right up front.

Outside of the Tank, I am ordering
- 2 MP40s
- Vectra S2 Return
- Nyos 120 Protein Skimmer
- Tunze ATO
- Lights: Still Researching - suggestions welcome

Equipment Questions:
- Controller: Is having one a requirement? How much help does it provide/time save?
- Looked at eKoral and Neptune Apex System. Not exactly sure everything they do outside of the auto-water testing
- Dosing Pump: Looking at the Neptune Systems DOS - - should I order and setup right away? Or wait until corals added?
- Heaters: What brand do you recommend? 2x150 watt?

Waterbox Sump Questions:
- Plan to use ATO potion of the sump as Refugium: what customization would be needed for that?
- Clarisea - may look to add down the road. Can it fit into the sump?
- Plumbing: Is any additional plumbing needed outside of what Waterbox provides?
- Have seen other builds with custom plumbing to hook up reactors etc - not sure if I need or should go that route.

Rock/Sand:
Have decided to go with Live Rock, having the time to cycle. Going to go with either TBS or KPAquatics
How many lbs of Live Rock would you recommend ordering? Recommend a mix of live and dry?

Planning to Keep:
Fish
- 2 Clowns
- 3 (5?) Bangaii Cardinals
- 1 Orchid Dottyback
- 1 Wrasse
- 1 Blenny
- 1 Goby

Coral
- LPS and SPS mix (new to SPS)
- Frogspawn / Torch
- Zooanthids / Ricordai mushrooms
- Montipora Cap
- Birdsnest/slimer
- Acros?
- SPS recommendations welcome

Looking for thoughts / opinions on the setup above
Let me know something I am missing that you wish you had done/bought up front.

Excited to have things begin to arrive and get this setup!

 

[eraml]

Bump

Looking for opinion on Live Rock - as something I can order now and let sit/cure in brute for weeks
Rock/Sand:
Have decided to go with Live Rock, having the time to cycle. Going to go with either TBS or KPAquatics
How many lbs of Live Rock would you recommend ordering? Recommend a mix of live and dry?

 

[Victor_C3]

As far as equipment goes, the stuff you listed should suit your system perfectly.

I have a 3’ tank that I’m currently setting up and I’m using the same equipment, minus the protein skimmer. I’m running a huge refugium sump (125 gallons) and I’m going skimmerless.

For lights I opted to go with this:

36" Dimmable SunPower T5 Light Fixture

ATI T5 fixtures have always been on the top of the game of lighting for quite some time. With the latest technology in T5 dimmable control and proven performance, the ATI Dimmable Sunpower is one of the best lights on the market today. Compared to other lighting systems there is an unmatched...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I just purchased the 8x bulb version as I am going SPS only and my tank is 28” tall. The 6x bulb version would be more than adequate for SPS with your tank’s 22” height. I’m old and I refuse to go with LED’s. For what it’s worth, everyone still uses T5 and MH lighting as the benchmark to compare LED’s to, so why not just buy T5’s?

You don’t need a Neptune Apex controller for anything. Especially if your lights have a built in timer. That being said, I purchased one about a month ago and I’m absolutely in love with it.

With an Apex you get a whole slew of information at your fingertips and it can send alerts on anything it monitors, whether it is power usage, changes in salinity, PH, whatever. It can get expensive to get it going. The basic powerbar, probes, and control unit is $800. You need to add other modules to expand the functionality of it - and those get expensive quick. The Triton Ca, Alk, and Mg tester is $600 and then you’d need to buy at least one set of dosing pumps at $300 a pair. Want an auto feeder, that’s another $100...

I love tinkering with it, playing with the programing, and opening the app on my phone to check the status of my tank.

I hope that’s helpful!

 

[Victor_C3]

Bump

Looking for opinion on Live Rock - as something I can order now and let sit/cure in brute for weeks
Rock/Sand:
Have decided to go with Live Rock, having the time to cycle. Going to go with either TBS or KPAquatics
How many lbs of Live Rock would you recommend ordering? Recommend a mix of live and dry?

If you’re not in a hurry to get things going, go with a mix of dry rock and live rock. I had 160 pounds of dry rock and seeded it with 50 pounds of locally acquired live rock. I’m impatient and I wish I would have just purchased 200 pounds of live rock instead, but I’ve got what I got. It’s kind of lacking in biodiversity at the moment, but I plan on solving that by purchasing some things from here:

Indo-Pacific Sea Farms

: : : : Indo-Pacific Sea Farms : : : :

Indo-Pacific Sea Farms produces captive-bred marine life for healthier reef aquariums: invertebrates, detritivores, live sand, snail grazers, amphipods, beneficial worms, macro algae, plankton, corals, coral food and beneficial bacteria.

www.ipsf.com

 

[eraml]

Thanks for the feedback

Will go with a mix of the live rock + dry rock
Was leaning towards LED over T5 - what is the advantage/disadvantage?

 

[Victor_C3]

For me, the T5 / LED debate just comes down to personal preference. I’ve been in the hobby since 2006 and I’ve only ever used T5’s because they’ve always worked perfectly for me.

They don’t consume that much more energy than an LED setup for a similar tank and I think they are significantly easier to get setup and growing things. You don’t have to fiddle constantly with spectrum and colors to get something that both looks good and will grow coral. I just buy the same mix of bulbs I’ve been using for years and they work.

Every LED tank I’ve ever seen is also overly blue in my opinion, but that is probably less to do with LED fixtures and more to do with how people tune them and prefer to make their tanks look.

It’s just preference

 

[eraml]

Thanks!

Has anyone had experience with the Waterbox 100.3 sump, specifically converting ATO to a refugium? And making room for a Clarisea filter?

 

[jmevox]

With the amount of money you're spending on everything else I would highly recommend an Apex. Apex just for alerts of a power outage and temperature controller is worth it in my opinion.

I also agree with Victor on t5s. I think they look the best and are proven to work. LEDs work also but it's just more things to tinker with. This is really all preference either one works or a hybrid seems to be real popular.

 

[Mattiejay6]

Thanks!

Has anyone had experience with the Waterbox 100.3 sump, specifically converting ATO to a refugium? And making room for a Clarisea filter?

I was actually considering turning that ATO into a mudd fuge. Using two pumps, one for in and one for out.