Nick's Waterbox 100.3

[nickkohrn]

Hey Nick! Just found your build thread and read through it and am now following... Looking forward to our next Columbus Area get together!

Hey, Paul! I'm glad to have you following along! I posted the next gathering on Meetup. Check it out if you haven't already.

 

[PaulPerger]

Hey, Paul! I'm glad to have you following along! I posted the next gathering on Meetup. Check it out if you haven't already.

I added it to my calendar... Pies & Pints is a great little restaurant. See you then!

 

[count krunk]

QT can be very hard on the fish.

That is one reason I do not do it. What filter do you have on it? I seriously doubt that it is too strong and the fish get stuck on it and die there. I am 99% sure the fish are dead before getting stuck there.

Be sure to feed well in qt, good foods. Not just flake and pellet.

I have no qt advice other than that. If I was you I would do this

- ditch the qt
- let the display become established
- run UV or ozone
- add fish gradually starting with most peaceful
- feed good food like clams, black worms, etc


If you are committed to qt, then look at your process some more. Hot rocks seems to be a master of QT, so try to replicate what he is doing.

QT or no QT, you have to commit to either direction to have fat and happy fish

 

[nickkohrn]

QT can be very hard on the fish.

That is one reason I do not do it. What filter do you have on it? I seriously doubt that it is too strong and the fish get stuck on it and die there. I am 99% sure the fish are dead before getting stuck there.

Be sure to feed well in qt, good foods. Not just flake and pellet.

I have no qt advice other than that. If I was you I would do this

- ditch the qt
- let the display become established
- run UV or ozone
- add fish gradually starting with most peaceful
- feed good food like clams, black worms, etc


If you are committed to qt, then look at your process some more. Hot rocks seems to be a master of QT, so try to replicate what he is doing.

QT or no QT, you have to commit to either direction to have fat and happy fish

I appreciate your thoughts and advice!

What filter do you have on it? I seriously doubt that it is too strong and the fish get stuck on it and die there. I am 99% sure the fish are dead before getting stuck there.

I have two Aqua Clear 50 HOB filters, which are both on the lowest setting. One houses filter floss, and the other houses carbon.

Be sure to feed well in qt, good foods. Not just flake and pellet.

I feed Reef Nutrition TDO Chroma BOOST pellets and frozen PE Mysis, which has been loaded with Selcon.

I have no qt advice other than that. If I was you I would do this

- ditch the qt
- let the display become established
- run UV or ozone
- add fish gradually starting with most peaceful
- feed good food like clams, black worms, etc

I am finishing my plumbing tonight, which is for my Pentair 25w UV sterilizer. Once I do that, then I will start filling the system with water and move my cycled filtration media (live rock and MarinePure brick) over to the sump. The rock and ceramic media have been cycling for nearly six months, and it's able to convert a large amount of ammonia in under twenty-four hours.

If you are committed to qt, then look at your process some more. Hot rocks seems to be a master of QT, so try to replicate what he is doing.

QT or no QT, you have to commit to either direction to have fat and happy fish

I think that I will likely break down my quarantine tank and see what happens when I add fish to the main system. I am sick of losing fish. I am highly considering hardier fish, such as three Lemon Damsels and three Yellowtail Blue Damsels from ORA since they are a hardier fish and they are considered to have a less aggressive temperament.

 

[count krunk]

i wouldn't go the damsel route.. it just seems something was off in your QT process.

I would add fish slowly, to you dt. run your UV, and feed them well.

 

[Cmooreinor]

Hey Nick how did you attach your COR return pump.... What did you buy and where were you able to fine it? ..... Need to pick one up.

 

[nickkohrn]

Hey Nick how did you attach your COR return pump.... What did you buy and where were you able to fine it? ..... Need to pick one up.

I ordered everything from Bulk Reef Supply. Below are URLs to the products that I used.

• COR-15
• 3/4" spigot barb
• 3/4" silicone tube
• 3/4" ratchet clamp
• Oatey Fusion primer/cement
  • Amazon
  • Lowe's
  • The Home Depot

Let me know if you need anything else!

 

[nickkohrn]

This week has been a big one for me.

I finished plumbing my system, and it wasn't without headaches from fixing leaks. I had one heck of a time with the UV sterilizer; the 1/2" flow sensor would not stop leaking at the threads. I tried multiple thread sealant products, but what ended up working was a lot of thread tape. I am running ~250 gph through the return and ~80 gph through the UV sterilizer.

I mounted my controller boards above an IKEA cabinet. I left room for some more equipment:

• DŌS
  
• another FMM for leak detectors
  
• another COR-15 dedicated to a future manifold
  
• PM1 for an extra temperature probe to monitor the room's ambient temperature (hovers ~60ºF)
• an iPad for viewing Fusion

Detritus settles in the rear, behind the dens, which will keep the bare bottom looking nice and make siphoning it out during maintenance easy.

I left a bunch of room between the wall and the tank so that I can perform maintenance more easily. I don't like how visible the cords are, but I'd rather see them than have difficulty getting behind the tank.

The cabinet houses all of my power supplies, testing equipment, food, medications, and other supplies. I added two 3" IceCap Smart Fan units to keep everything cool. They have temperature probes, so they adjust their speeds based on the ambient temperature within the cabinet. I'd like to add a third PM1 so that I can add another temperature probe inside of the cabinet, which will let me monitor the temperature where food and other temperature-sensitive products may be located.

I'm still upset with the way that Rich from Waterbox handled my support emails regarding the quality of the products that I received. The scratches in the glass overflow box are more visible now that the lights are on overhead. Corals will hide the damages in time, but it's still frustrating.

I have not added salt yet because we are going away for the weekend, so I wanted to ensure that only RO/DI water, not saltwater, would end up on the floor if my plumbing proved to not be effective while we are gone. I will likely add salt on Sunday if everything still appears to be functioning as it currently is.

I did test for power outages, and there isn't much water that drains back into the sump; I have the return nozzles just under the water's surface, which causes any siphon to break quickly. Also, the water in the overflow box is just above the main drain.

 

[Hurdbird88]

Awesome stuff Nick. I have a WB 130.4 in process as well. What lights did you go with (3) XR15’s?

 

[nickkohrn]

Awesome stuff Nick. I have a WB 130.4 in process as well. What lights did you go with (3) XR15’s?

Thanks for the compliment! I went with three EcoTech Radions—one G4 Pro and two G3 Pros. I want to upgrade them to XR30s down the road so that I can eliminate more shadows.

 

[nickkohrn]

I just placed a fun order! We are going on vacation in May, so I want to ensure that I have an automatic feeder configured, and I’ll have plenty of time to do so. The FMM will handle the flow sensor on my UV sterilizer and leak sensors. The diffusers for my Radions will minimize that ugly separation of colors from the LEDs.

Next up, a beautiful lid!

 

[nickkohrn]

I’m thinking about purchasing a nice rug for the aquarium room, but I don’t know which one I want to go with. I need help with my decision!

I think I like the Meridian Blue the best. I have light gray furniture, and that seems like it will be the most neutral.

 

[Tom Stevens]

I’m thinking about purchasing a nice rug for the aquarium room, but I don’t know which one I want to go with. I need help with my decision!

I think I like the Meridian Blue the best. I have light gray furniture, and that seems like it will be the most neutral.

I would pick a water proof one

 

[PaulPerger]

I’m thinking about purchasing a nice rug for the aquarium room, but I don’t know which one I want to go with. I need help with my decision!

I think I like the Meridian Blue the best. I have light gray furniture, and that seems like it will be the most neutral.

You're right. The Meridian Blue would be the most neutral, and the most boring... You've got those beautiful prints on your wall, add some bling to the floor and go stars or branches... Personally I like the Coral Navy the best.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Good looking setup, bro!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Well, I like the Starfish best for a floor pattern. So, we have been no help to you at all, LOL.

 

[nickkohrn]

Thanks for your input, everyone! I ended up going with the Meridian Blue. I like the patterned ones, and especially the starfish one, but my wife needs to like it as well. She likes the Meridian Blue best, and I will have some nice patterns above the couch due to the beautiful photos from Coral Morphologic. We all got vetoed, but I don’t want her to hate my hobby.

Onto another question:

I have a 90gpd SpectraPure RO/DI unit. I have heard and seen talk about manual and automatic flushing. However, I don’t believe that my unit has this capability. Would it be worth upgrading to this one that does? It will significantly cut down on our water usage, and it should cut my production time in half.

 

[Sandbox]

I’m thinking about purchasing a nice rug for the aquarium room, but I don’t know which one I want to go with. I need help with my decision!

I think I like the Meridian Blue the best. I have light gray furniture, and that seems like it will be the most neutral.

The blue one!

 

[Devaji]

I think she made a good choice! when doing water changes I would move the rug. at some point dirty salt water will spill on the rug its just a matter of time... haha

 

[nickkohrn]

I picked up these helpful pieces of equipment to prolong the life of my filtration media and to get more efficiency! My 90gpd seems to take forever to produce water since it’s hooked up to the faucet of our bathroom. It doesn’t provide enough pressure to give me the output that I should be getting. Hopefully this will make it rip!