Waterbox 15gal Peninsula

[melbournedan]

Tank: Waterbox 15gal Peninsula
Start date: 18/7/2022
Planned Stock: pair of designer Ocellaris clownfish, CUC (snails, peppermint shrimp) , 2-3 different types of small BTA, hardy soft corals.
Location : Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Aquascape: Caribsea life rock belize branch (4), Barebottom.
Light: Ai Prime 16HD (2022), 18in flex arm
Lid: Kraken Lids, acrylic cut to fit to keep heat in winter.
Water movement: Sicce Silent 1.0 return pump & Ai Nero 3
ATO: Autoaqua Smart Duo, 7 liter container
Biological filtration: Maxspect nano tech biosphere (22 spheres), filter floss, waterbox filter sponge.
Temperature Control : Inkbird controller, Eheim Jager 100w heater, clip on cooling fans(future)
Water: Rodi unit, Redsea salt (Bluebucket)
Test kit: Salinity Refractometer, Hanna checker Nitrate HR, API ammonia, nitrite, PH (upgrade when needed)

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AIO chambers :
1st chamber: Intank rack, filter floss on top(blue) will replace with white floss once cycle is finished, bag of bio spheres sandwiched between waterbox black filter sponge.
2nd chamber: waterbox black filter sponge and heater.
3rd chamber: return pump, and ATO.

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Cycle: Dr Tims One and only nitrifying bacteria, (2 bottles added 1 week apart), dr tim’s ammonium chloride drops (1drop per gallon for 2ppm)

 

[AydenLincoln]

That’s cute one suggestion get some normal live/dry rock not shaped like branches as they are filled with holes beneficial for the fish and places to put coral frags.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Super nice, like it.

 

[melbournedan]

That’s cute one suggestion get some normal live/dry rock not shaped like branches as they are filled with holes beneficial for the fish and places to put coral frags.

hey! thanks for the suggestion! probably hard to see in the photos but the scape leaves heaps of swimming/ hiding space between the stacked branches.

 

[apolsod]

Hey cool setup I’m setting up a very similar tank check out my build thread, I also went with two clowns, mines a month older but so far it’s been pretty smooth sailing. I like the scape and I’m excited to see ur tank in the future!

 

[melbournedan]

3 week update:

3 weeks in and i’m seeing some good movement in the lowering of ammonia and the rising of nitrates, after a lot of hours listening to podcasts and reading through posts, i’ve decided not to worry too much about nitrites.

Today I added 2 bottles of copepods and will be dosing 5ml of phyto a day/ or every 2nd (will see how things go), to get a good population building.

The plan is to wait another 2 weeks, water change 50% and add 2 x super small and cute orange storm clownfish that i found for a half reasonable price at a really good aquarium.

Once the clowns are settled i’ll organize a CUC when i start to see some algae but not 100% locked into anything yet. happy to hear any input on this ?

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Upgraded the ATO reservoir from a 4.5l to a 10l just to push the refilling days out bit further.

Added a seneye mostly for temp monitoring (calibrated with a old school thermometer) but will run the ph and ammonia slides for a while just so i can do a review on it and also the SWS + wifi module. (haven’t had the best time using it so far but there will be an update to come).

In tank style breeding box and ammonia alert badge installed for the 2 x small clowns once they arrive as a bit of precaution.

Let me know what you think.
Cheers

 

[melbournedan]

4 week update:

Ammonia has dropped to zero and nitrates are fairly high (60+ using hanna hr), i’m putting the high reading down to nitrite being detected, and to be of no concern. I slowly raised the salinity to about 1.023-1.024 during the week and will keep raising it fairly slowly, temps have been stable within about 1°C.

I added 2 marine pure spheres from my local LFS that the owner was nice enough to give me, they had been in his display system for 5+ years, they are in a media bag and i will remove them once i see them breaking down or they become a problem.

I decided to change routes on live stock and add a CUC first before the clowns and introduced my first live stock to the tank, 2 x peppermint shrimp and 2 trochus snails.

They were drip acclimated for about 50minutes and started them in a breeder box to keep an eye on them, but have released them into the display since.

The plan is to add the clownfish mid next week if everything keeps going well, they are quite small so i think the beneficial bacteria should be able to keep up with the small bio load.

 

[melbournedan]

6 weeks in- Added my first fish, a pair of super small orange storm clownfish. I kept them in a breeder box for 3 days with a fake anemone.

And then released into the display, they showed no signs of ill health, they will be the only live stock, so i found no need to quarantine them. The pink fake anemone thing with be removed when the clowns settle a little bit but they seem to enjoy the hiding space for now, they are eatting aquaforest marine mix small size that i break into smaller parts before dropping in and dosing 5ml of phyto every day or 2nd.

Finally got to run the AI prime, i set it up on AB+ schedule ,extended the time but dropped the intensity right down. (running at about 10%).

I also changed out the sicce silent 1.0 for a tunze but still find the hum quite annoying, so i am waiting for a innovative marine mighty jet to be delivered and hopefully being a controllable dc i have a bit more control on how hard it works.

Kraken lid arrived ! Looks super neat. photos in next update.

 

[dawi03]

Hey mate! I’m from Melbourne too! Looking to get a 15 as well I’ve got a Cade 500 but do want a 2nd tank. What cabinet do you have this on?

also where did you get the 10l reservoir from?

 

[melbournedan]

Hey mate! I’m from Melbourne too! Looking to get a 15 as well I’ve got a Cade 500 but do want a 2nd tank. What cabinet do you have this on?

also where did you get the 10l reservoir from?

Great to see a fellow Melbournian!! and welcome to my build thread. Absolutely loving the tank so far (plenty of upgrades do help), still not sure about the middle chamber.

The tank sits on buffet stand that i bought from fantastic furniture, just chucked acouple of extra feet on to make it 100%. (the missus isn’t a fan of the hobby, so i do my best to keep her happy)

the 10l container is a food safe water jug from bunnings, fits my space well and gives me enough time between refills.

any other questions don’t hesitate to ask! enjoy!

 

[dawi03]

Thanks mate!! Need to find a stand for my one when I set it up

is that the Kraken reef lid? You like it??

also not sure if you are on the Aussie discord server but you should jump on there heaps of good people with advice and just general chit chat!!

 

[melbournedan]

Thanks mate!! Need to find a stand for my one when I set it up

is that the Kraken reef lid? You like it??

also not sure if you are on the Aussie discord server but you should jump on there heaps of good people with advice and just general chit chat!!

yeh it is, took 4 weeks for it to get here so if your wanting one, get your order in, the kraken lid is awesome, would highly recommend it.

the aqua.culture discord ?

 

[OldRed1]

Such an awesome build! Thanks for sharing your set up. Any advice you can pass on from the lessons you’ve learned?

 

[melbournedan]

Such an awesome build! Thanks for sharing your set up. Any advice you can pass on from the lessons you’ve learned?

This is my 4th reef tank start up, but first time using dry rock, bare bottom, maxspect biospheres with dr tim’s one and only. and at this point i don’t think i’ll ever do it another way. about 2 weeks before adding any live stock, i added 3 bottles of copepods and have been dosing phyto everyday with lights running full AB+, and haven’t had any issues yet.

need to do an update soon, but so far so good.

 

[dawi03]

yeh it is, took 4 weeks for it to get here so if your wanting one, get your order in, the kraken lid is awesome, would highly recommend it.

the aqua.culture discord ?

yeh it is, took 4 weeks for it to get here so if your wanting one, get your order in, the kraken lid is awesome, would highly recommend it.

the aqua.culture discord ?

Yeah are you part of it? Haven’t seen you on there

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Looking good mate I kicked off a WB 10g cube a few months ago, good to see a few Aus reefer build threads. Might have to start one myself.

 

[melbournedan]

Yeah are you part of it? Haven’t seen you on there

yeh i’ve been on there trying to sell an orange storm clownfish, without luck so far

 

[melbournedan]

Looking good mate I kicked off a WB 10g cube a few months ago, good to see a few Aus reefer build threads. Might have to start one myself.

its off to a good start, nothing amazing yet but hoping to get some more money into it once it matures a bit. have any pics of your set up ?

once you start your thread send the link so i can follow along. cheers

 

[Latte]

yeh i’ve been on there trying to sell an orange storm clownfish, without luck so far

How come you're selling the clown btw? Looks good so far man! Which LFS do you go to in melbourne?

 

[melbournedan]

How come you're selling the clown btw? Looks good so far man! Which LFS do you go to in melbourne?

he was getting picked on constantly, so i decided to grab another one instead of risking the little fellas life. might have to give him away at this point.

I like to bounce around a little bit, mostly lifestyle bundoora (my local) but natures aquarium, deer park, williamstown and galleria are all very good stores.