Reefer 911’s significant downsize Waterbox 35.2 AIO

[Reefer911]

I’m moving into an apartment and the largest aquarium allowed is 20 gallons. I currently have a CADE 1200 peninsula that will be shutting down.

I plan on moving over a couple of torches, a Jack-O-Lantern leptoseris, 2 zoanthid colonies, Raja Rampage chalices, a coupe of Yuma mushrooms and various cyphastreas. I plan on adding some acans and thinking along the lines of holy grail type.

I also plan on starting the new tank with live gulf rock and possibly black sand.

For a while I have thought it would be fun to have a nano tank with a few select corals and only two candy basslets so that’s my tentative plan.

Follow along and join in! I’ll be asking lots of questions out there and I’m sure this will be a fun adventure!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Can't wait to see the new tank!

 

[Reefer911]

A little update. I decided to go with a Waterbox 35.2 and hope the apartment doesn’t catch on that it’s over 20g.

Equipment so far:

IM MightyJet Desktop DC return pump (326 gph). Hopefully I’ll get good flow in the display and won’t need a power head. I don’t plan on keeping any acros for now.

A 9w Sicce UV

Sicce Shark 150 Skimmer

Kessil a360x Tuna Blue

For the ATO I plan on getting a Red Sea Reef Can for RO and have yet to decide on an ATO unit. I’ve always relied on gravity and a float valve. Wish I could continue that for this build.

For dosing I currently use AFR controlled by GHL but for this tank, I will use an Ecotech Versa that I have packed away.

I will try to keep everything tidy in the cabinet using the Waterbox control box.

I’ve decided against black sand and plan on going with Carib Sea Bahamas Oolite sand.

 

[Reefer911]

I’m also not sure how feasible it will be to have only two candy basslets in an aquarium. I’m sure I will need more aquatic life so as not to have my nutrients always bottomed out. But I will plan for those two fish when they become available. I have reached out to Adam Sklar at OceanDevotionLA whom I have dealt with in the past and he’s great to work with. If you’re needing QTd fish, he’s your man.
Until then I’ll probably just move over my clowns, royal gramma, and look for some sort of peaceful yellow fish. Maybe a goby of some sort. I want to keep my Lemon Peel Angel but I also want acans lol. She already pecks at my nems and sometimes mushrooms so she’d likely peck at the acans.

 

[Reefer911]

Finally got the aquarium in. Built the stand but haven’t leveled it yet.
I had to rethink my rock scape because the actual display is smaller than I had measured according to tank dimensions online…now I realize those measurements include the sump area in the back. No big deal though.
Anyway here’s what I have so far. I plan on leveling next and adding sand once it’s rinsed well.

 

[Reefer911]

A little progress tonight. Stand leveled and my 14 year old son helped me muscle the aquarium up in its place. My 9 year old daughter was there for moral support.
I’ll get the sand rinsed over the weekend.
I need to figure out how I’ll run the UV. I don’t see how I’d put it in the filter area, so probably going to be externally mounted

 

[Kernboy66]

It looks bigger than i expected! Once you get it up and running you gotta let us know how you like it! I’ve been on the fence between the 35.2 and 50.3!

 

[Reefer911]

It looks bigger than i expected! Once you get it up and running you gotta let us know how you like it! I’ve been on the fence between the 35.2 and 50.3!

I think the 35.2 will be good for what I’m trying to achieve.
Here’s a side shot with a 750ml bottle of Chimay for reference to give you an idea on the front to back depth