mk_reefs
Community Member
I'm Mike, also known as mk_reefs on other social media platforms. Going to break down my Waterbox 10 floating reef for you reefers and reefettes and how I'm able to have it the way I do. I appreciate all the love and admiration for the tank. A quick link and thread build will definitely help us both out in the long run.
With that being said, nano reefs rule and let's "dive" into it!
WATERBOX 10
EQUIPMENT:
•WAVEMAKER - ZKSJ, purchased from Amazon.
AUTOMATIC DROP IN STYLE FILTER ROLLER-
reefnrolls.com, these are hand crafted, one of a kind. They work flawless, and leave the worry out of changing media. A roll on the 10G typically lasts me a little over two months. If you do decide to order code MKREEF with save you a bit. Not much but something.
•PUMP- sicce nano, IOAOI 132gph return pump- Amazon. To clarify why I run two pumps. In the pictures you will see a black 1/2 hose in the middle chamber. This hose is hooked to a bag of .08 rox carbon that you can get from BRS. With the sicce nano pump I am forcing water through carbon and not relying on the chambers alone to do this. It helps tremendously with water clarity. The return pump is the 132gph IOAOI pump it's a 5v DC centrifugal pump you can buy off Amazon.
•UV sterilizer- I'm pretty sure they are all generic again, bought off Amazon it's just a drop in type. I run them on both of my tanks if you are familiar. They seem to do me good and I swap them about every six months.
•LIGHTING- The lights are illumagic pixels. Dalua.com sells them and you can check them out. These things seriously pack a punch for being 20w. I've par tested a single fragger (blue) against my AI prime at 44w peak schedule and the numbers were merely identical. I don't have two of these light because I need to. My OCD likes to match my other tank in the room and have whites during the day, blues in the morning and evening.
One is a Fragger (super blue) one is a Reefer (50/50 mix)
MAINTENANCE:
As far as maintaining this tank, it really doesn't take much. I honestly don't even test the water. I do a 2 gallon water change in this tank every week stealing water out of my SPS dominated 20G. I dose everything I need in the 20G. I don't do water changes for nutrient export there, more so to replace very, very, minor trace elements. With the stolen water, I have a really good idea where nutrients and major elements are sitting though. On the fourth week, I generally change it up and change with fresh mix of salt by Fritz RPM blue box. I still "shine" up my fresh mix with added nitrates and phosphate. So there really is no dosing for me. My main monitor is salinity kept at 1.026.
MEDIA:
Short and simple, I run a 70g rated bag of marine pure gems. Never had issues with aluminum coming back on icp tests either. Placed in the middle chamber along with the .08 rox carbon which to mention, replaced monthly.
HOW DID YOU MAKE IT FLOAT?
I ordered a 12x12 1/4 piece of clear acrylic off Amazon. Where else do people buy things these days? I think I then cut that down to roughly a 6x8 and then heated the center with a torch and bent an "L" shape. I secured it to the back glass using GE SILICONE 1 CLEAR from Lowe's. SILICONE 1! not 2, 1! IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT SILICON TO BUY, PLEASE JUST BUY SOMETHING "REEF SAFE". I then proceeded with about 5lbs of rubble rock and slowly sculpted what I was looking for and siliconed them together as well. Giving it the ole pat test once dry, telling myself "that ain't going anywhere."
WALL DECOR: Probably Hobby Lobby I don't know.
With that being said, nano reefs rule and let's "dive" into it!
WATERBOX 10
EQUIPMENT:
•WAVEMAKER - ZKSJ, purchased from Amazon.
AUTOMATIC DROP IN STYLE FILTER ROLLER-
reefnrolls.com, these are hand crafted, one of a kind. They work flawless, and leave the worry out of changing media. A roll on the 10G typically lasts me a little over two months. If you do decide to order code MKREEF with save you a bit. Not much but something.
•PUMP- sicce nano, IOAOI 132gph return pump- Amazon. To clarify why I run two pumps. In the pictures you will see a black 1/2 hose in the middle chamber. This hose is hooked to a bag of .08 rox carbon that you can get from BRS. With the sicce nano pump I am forcing water through carbon and not relying on the chambers alone to do this. It helps tremendously with water clarity. The return pump is the 132gph IOAOI pump it's a 5v DC centrifugal pump you can buy off Amazon.
•UV sterilizer- I'm pretty sure they are all generic again, bought off Amazon it's just a drop in type. I run them on both of my tanks if you are familiar. They seem to do me good and I swap them about every six months.
•LIGHTING- The lights are illumagic pixels. Dalua.com sells them and you can check them out. These things seriously pack a punch for being 20w. I've par tested a single fragger (blue) against my AI prime at 44w peak schedule and the numbers were merely identical. I don't have two of these light because I need to. My OCD likes to match my other tank in the room and have whites during the day, blues in the morning and evening.
One is a Fragger (super blue) one is a Reefer (50/50 mix)
MAINTENANCE:
As far as maintaining this tank, it really doesn't take much. I honestly don't even test the water. I do a 2 gallon water change in this tank every week stealing water out of my SPS dominated 20G. I dose everything I need in the 20G. I don't do water changes for nutrient export there, more so to replace very, very, minor trace elements. With the stolen water, I have a really good idea where nutrients and major elements are sitting though. On the fourth week, I generally change it up and change with fresh mix of salt by Fritz RPM blue box. I still "shine" up my fresh mix with added nitrates and phosphate. So there really is no dosing for me. My main monitor is salinity kept at 1.026.
MEDIA:
Short and simple, I run a 70g rated bag of marine pure gems. Never had issues with aluminum coming back on icp tests either. Placed in the middle chamber along with the .08 rox carbon which to mention, replaced monthly.
HOW DID YOU MAKE IT FLOAT?
I ordered a 12x12 1/4 piece of clear acrylic off Amazon. Where else do people buy things these days? I think I then cut that down to roughly a 6x8 and then heated the center with a torch and bent an "L" shape. I secured it to the back glass using GE SILICONE 1 CLEAR from Lowe's. SILICONE 1! not 2, 1! IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT SILICON TO BUY, PLEASE JUST BUY SOMETHING "REEF SAFE". I then proceeded with about 5lbs of rubble rock and slowly sculpted what I was looking for and siliconed them together as well. Giving it the ole pat test once dry, telling myself "that ain't going anywhere."
WALL DECOR: Probably Hobby Lobby I don't know.
