Waterbox Owners Needed!!

[LeftFootedJedi]

Good news is my 90.3 finally arrived and I’m getting housekeeping in order. My question is about the sump.

The 1st chamber where the water comes in is tall/skinny & perfect for a heater. But when fully installed & plumbing is in place will I be able to get the heater out for cleaning & routine maintenance? If not or yes but not w/o a major hassle where are yooz guys keeping your heater?

Also, the baffle between the skimmer chamber and return came with a white hard sponge like filter that I can tell would not easily clean, what are yooz putting in its place?

I have attached a picture from the back of the sump looking forward for reference.

 

[Alchameth]

I have a different tank, but looking at it a heater that big might be a problem. I with with some shorter Finnex ones.

 

[Scallopking]

Heater should be in one of the last chambers before water goes back to the tank, I have WB 6025 the same heater and put it in the refugium area. I had mine in the first skinny chamber like you said and not so easy to access it, plus if that first chamber water level drops then you’ll burn the heater out, like I almost did when my return stopped and since I had a pump on that first chamber to feed reactor it drained it out and heater was exposed. I’ll post a pic of my sump. I thought that white material was originally for shipping but left it there after reading and it started to deteriorate and fell apart so I removed it. I don’t run anything in the return baffle now and will just end up another detritus trap to clean.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

In hindsight I would have bought two smaller (50g rated) heaters but I was concerned about space.

 

[jstephens24]

dont have that same tank/sump but i put my heater in skimmer/refugium section. i took out the baffle between. also i took out the foam piece near the return

 

[Montiman]

I am a RedSea owner so I don't have waterbox specific experience but I will say that I often put heaters in the overflow box when space is a concern. There is plenty of height in the overflow and the heater should remain submerged.

 

[LeftFootedJedi]

Hmm, with this heater it wont fully submerge anywhere but in that 1st chamber. In the return chamber I cam get a little more than 3/4’s.

About the plumbing, do most people assemble as it came in the box or would you recommend adding plumbers tape?