Nick's Waterbox 100.3

[nickkohrn]

The rock and MarinePure that I have had cycling for five months (in the dark) was moved to a spare ten-gallon today. I want to allow light to get to them so that I can (hopefully) get through the diatom stage before my tank is plumbed and ready for them to be transferred to the sump. I’ll continue to dose ammonia to keep the bacteria happy and healthy!

 

[Brock0019]

Like you, i thought the same. Quality would be through the roof and they would do all they could for the customer. Which, Jessica is awesome. She seems to be the only one who really wants everything to be right ( at least in my case).
Well, i've gotten 2 stands so far, both have been absolute junk.
now, they have none in stock until end of february.
my tank was going to be a 6026, now it'll be a 5526 because they have that in stock right now.

 

[nickkohrn]

I finally finished the main plumbing, which includes both drains and the return.

I am still deciding on whether I want to plumb a manifold. If I decide to, then I will do it on a separate pump. The challenge will be in trying to find the room for the second pump. I wish that I could remove the glass that creates the automatic top-off reservoir, but that is the same pane of glass that creates the final baffle before the return chamber. I'd like to install my UV sterilizer for water clarity, but I need to figure out the manifold situation first; there just isn't much room left in the stand.

I ordered two controller boards from Marine Depot, and I mounted my equipment.

I left a space for another FMM so that I can add leak detectors, and I left a space for another DŌS. The tricky part was trying to align the boards when mounting them, but it proved to be too difficult for myself to do, so they are slightly misaligned, horizontally. Unfortunately, the VorTechs' drivers were unable to fit through the holes, so I had to take them apart and route the cords through the holes before reassembling and mounting them.

I am hoping to start routing cords after work tomorrow evening; I want to get water in the tank this weekend.

I'v also been contemplating what fish to get. I was at a local shop over the recent weekend, and I saw that they have an abundance of ORA Lemon Damsels. I have alway thought that Damsels are pretty, but their temperaments have always dissuaded me. However, ORA says that Lemon Damsels are more mild-mannered and adapted to aquarium life since they are captive-bred. I'm thinking about a trio of them because they bring a lot of color, and I don't know that I want a mix of different fish. I like when systems have multiple of the same species of fish; it tends to put more emphasis on corals. Since I am wanting to create an SPS-only or SPS-dominant system, I'd like to put the emphasis on the corals.

 

[Janci]

I like the look of these boards and while scrolling through the pictures was wondering where these would go in the cabinet.
Nice solution to put them in the corner.
I would make one suggestion (although it might seem too late)... keep the DOS as low as possible to avoid other equipment getting wet when a hose gets loose.

I have 7 Talboti damsels and doubted a lot before adding them, for the same reasons as you have.
But they behave very well and I am tempted to add some more.

 

[nickkohrn]

I like the look of these boards and while scrolling through the pictures was wondering where these would go in the cabinet.
Nice solution to put them in the corner.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't fit in the stand with the sump. Also, I didn't want them in there with the amount of humidity that would be present.

I would make one suggestion (although it might seem too late)... keep the DOS as low as possible to avoid other equipment getting wet when a hose gets loose.

Thanks for the suggestion on the DŌS! I thought of that, but only after I had them mounted...
I may change some things up; it depends on how ambitious I am feeling since this has been a build that seems to have taken much longer than I allowed for.

I have 7 Talboti damsels and doubted a lot before adding them, for the same reasons as you have.
But they behave very well and I am tempted to add some more.

I'm highly considering a trio of Lemon Damsels and a fairy wrasse or flasher wrasse. I love the activity that damsels and wrasses bring to display tanks.

 

[mch1984]

Man sorry for the rash of like notifications, but I just caught up on your build thread and I can't believe I caught it before the water went in. I like the scape a lot and it's easy to picture packed full of SPS. Just a note on the clown fish, i was sorry to see them go. You might reconsider them after you add the other fish. If you add them last it will help cut down on aggression. Clown fish are a staple but I think for good reason, they are so much fun to have in tank. Plumbing looks good, especially since it's your first time. I've never seen those controller board, I'll have to check them out. Glad I get to be here to celebrate when the tank gets water in it.

 

[nickkohrn]

Man sorry for the rash of like notifications, but I just caught up on your build thread and I can't believe I caught it before the water went in. I like the scape a lot and it's easy to picture packed full of SPS. Just a note on the clown fish, i was sorry to see them go. You might reconsider them after you add the other fish. If you add them last it will help cut down on aggression. Clown fish are a staple but I think for good reason, they are so much fun to have in tank. Plumbing looks good, especially since it's your first time. I've never seen those controller board, I'll have to check them out. Glad I get to be here to celebrate when the tank gets water in it.

Your kind words are appreciated! My wife is more than ready for me to have the aquarium room, which is the room of entry into our apartment, back in order. It has been a mess for months, and it feels like it's finally starting to come together.

A note on the controller boards: they are more expensive than I think they should be, but I am not handy, and I don't currently have the skills or tools to make aesthetically pleasing ones. I ordered some extra cutout covers, and they aren't cheap either; three solid covers and three covers with cord cutouts were ~$25.00!

 

[nickkohrn]

By the way, if anyone is interested, I made an iOS version of the Bulk Reef Supply calculator with a couple extra features. It's currently in beta, but you can grab a copy of it from TestFlight.

There are some cool features coming in future updates, so check it out if you use the Bulk Reef Supply calculator!

 

[mch1984]

Your kind words are appreciated! My wife is more than ready for me to have the aquarium room, which is the room of entry into our apartment, back in order. It has been a mess for months, and it feels like it's finally starting to come together.

A note on the controller boards: they are more expensive than I think they should be, but I am not handy, and I don't currently have the skills or tools to make aesthetically pleasing ones. I ordered some extra cutout covers, and they aren't cheap either; three solid covers and three covers with cord cutouts were ~$25.00!

I used raw kitchen cabinets from lowes, and stained them for the room. It works great but the mounting inside isn't all that clean. Plus I think it would be fun to see all the controllers and electronics that go with it. Especially since my dosing containers are empty taquilla bottles.

 

[nickkohrn]

I used raw kitchen cabinets from lowes, and stained them for the room. It works great but the mounting inside isn't all that clean. Plus I think it would be fun to see all the controllers and electronics that go with it. Especially since my dosing containers are empty taquilla bottles.

I like that the cabinets make for an already-professional-looking solution! They will keep your electronics from getting wet from accidental spills and/or sprays. The height also gives you plenty of room to work with.

Showing off equipment is starting to grow on me. We spend as much, if not more, money on our equipment than we do on the livestock, so why not show it off? However, that just means more thought and time into organizing it and ensuring that you have enough room for future equipment, rather than being able to just put it anywhere when it's hidden behind cabinet doors. Do you have any photos of the inside?

 

[mch1984]

I like that the cabinets make for an already-professional-looking solution! They will keep your electronics from getting wet from accidental spills and/or sprays. The height also gives you plenty of room to work with.

Showing off equipment is starting to grow on me. We spend as much, if not more, money on our equipment than we do on the livestock, so why not show it off? However, that just means more thought and time into organizing it and ensuring that you have enough room for future equipment, rather than being able to just put it anywhere when it's hidden behind cabinet doors. Do you have any photos of the inside?

I agree, displaying makes for a challenge but the board you used is a good solution. I have added some equipment since these pics were taken, and I cleaned up the dosing part in the lower cabinet.

 

[nickkohrn]

I agree, displaying makes for a challenge but the board you used is a good solution. I have added some equipment since these pics were taken, and I cleaned up the dosing part in the lower cabinet.

Things look good in there! Cable management is a tough thing to master, so at least the facade of cleanly-managed cables makes it feel less chaotic. I'm trying to find a solution to keep the inside of the boards organized because the last thing that I want to do when adding new equipment is battle a tangled mess of wires.

 

[mch1984]

Yeah I won't be taking a picture of the rats nest behind the board lol. I tried a couple of solutions for it but really couldn't get anything to work for me. The smooth interior is hard to get anything to stick to it. I was just looking at marine depots website and that LED lit one would be fun.

 

[nickkohrn]

Yeah I won't be taking a picture of the rats nest behind the board lol. I tried a couple of solutions for it but really couldn't get anything to work for me. The smooth interior is hard to get anything to stick to it. I was just looking at marine depots website and that LED lit one would be fun.

The board that comes with the LED strip is also a little larger than the two basic models that I purchases.

 

[mch1984]

The board that comes with the LED strip is also a little larger than the two basic models that I purchases.

I will probably seriously be looking into them later, although my wife might not agree with me on the value of showing off the electronics.

 

[nickkohrn]

I just placed an order with Live Aquaria for a Blue Flasher Wrasse. The videos and images that I have seen of this fish in the adult stage have been beautiful. It should arrive on Friday, so that will likely be a work-from-home day.

The attached photos are not mine; they are from Live Aquaria, and Google search results.

 

[oneilwiz]

Setup looking good tagging along....

 

[NY_Caveman]

By the way, if anyone is interested, I made an iOS version of the Bulk Reef Supply calculator with a couple extra features. It's currently in beta, but you can grab a copy of it from TestFlight.

There are some cool features coming in future updates, so check it out if you use the Bulk Reef Supply calculator!

This is very cool. Checking it out.

 

[nickkohrn]

The Blue Flasher Wrasse that I ordered never shipped because it is backordered. It showed as available when I placed my order. @LiveAquaria needs to update their system to prevent sales of items that are sold out. :mad:

 

[Janci]

The Blue Flasher Wrasse that I ordered never shipped because it is backordered. It showed as available when I placed my order. Live Aquaria needs to update their system to prevent sales of items that are sold out. :mad:

So they will refund or you will wait till a new batch is arriving?