Podpimp's 25g SPS Waterbox Peninsula

[PODPIMP]

After a 4 year break in the hobby that I've been part of for nearly 30 years, I jumped back in with this peninsula nano. I'm loving the 3 side visibility. The tank seems larger than what it is. This tank will be SPS dominant. 

 

Equipment

- Radion g6 xr15 + reefbrites. Currently using a 3d reefing light spill shade + the ecotech diffuser. The g6 spills a lot of light into the room. You definitely need that 3D shade IMO. 

- 2x nero 3 for flow 

- Aquamax Bullet 3 skimmer. Best hang on skimmer that I have ever seen in operation. Definitely can be overkill on a tank this size, but I always employ a heavy in/ heavy out philosophy which benefits from powerful skimmer. This skimmer makes my old Deltec MCE 600 seem like a toy lol. 

- Using an ink bird temp controller with 100w eheim heater

- Tune osmolator top off

- return pump upgraded to a Jeabo DSC 1200 (intake needs to be trimmed to fit)

- Aquamax hob reactor with rowaphos 

- dosing is not yet needed but I will definitely automate that eventually. 

 

It's only  been a few days but I've gone out of my way to get established rock/sand/bio media to eliminate the nitrogen cycle. I'm sure I will get cyano or diatom outbreak as I push the biooad. 

I'll post an update when I get some SPS in here.  Posted below are pics of my old 24g Aquapod and 34g Solana nanos, and my current Waterbox peninsula in beginning stages which I started quickly in the same fashion. I have no patience with dead rock, especially when going SPS lol. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PODPIMP]

Moving right along. 2 weeks old. 

 

[mcarroll]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:07 AM, PODPIMP said:

Radion g6 xr15 + reefbrites. Currently using a 3d reefing light spill shade + the ecotech diffuser. The g6 spills a lot of light into the room. You definitely need that 3D shade IMO. 

If you like this setup that's cool, but it seems like a lot of mods to the G6 just to get what you want.  Also seems like maybe 50% of the blue accent LED's are being reflected off the G6 shade.  Maybe a different light that is built more like what you really wanted is in your future? 😉   

 

I dunno if this will help given your goals (which I don't know), but you can probably eliminate the the shade (maybe some of the other extras too) if you just lower the light.  

 

Depends on your tanks exact dimensions, but around 4-5" from the water is often just about right.

 

Seems like you have a lot of chemical media on for such a new tank (which lots of folks end up regretting these days).....how are your NO3/PO4 levels holding so far?  Keep a close eye on both parameters and don't let them reach zero.  This is very critical for phosphates.

 

Looks GREAT for 2 weeks old.....don't take it TOO FAST though!  Remember: Nothing Good Happens Fast In A Reef Tank  

 

Keep up the good work!  🙂 👍

[PODPIMP]

6 hours ago, mcarroll said:

If you like this setup that's cool, but it seems like a lot of mods to the G6 just to get what you want.  Also seems like maybe 50% of the blue accent LED's are being reflected off the G6 shade.  Maybe a different light that is built more like what you really wanted is in your future? 😉   

 

I dunno if this will help given your goals (which I don't know), but you can probably eliminate the the shade (maybe some of the other extras too) if you just lower the light.  

 

Depends on your tanks exact dimensions, but around 4-5" from the water is often just about right.

 

Seems like you have a lot of chemical media on for such a new tank (which lots of folks end up regretting these days).....how are your NO3/PO4 levels holding so far?  Keep a close eye on both parameters and don't let them reach zero.  This is very critical for phosphates.

 

Looks GREAT for 2 weeks old.....don't take it TOO FAST though!  Remember: Nothing Good Happens Fast In A Reef Tank  

 

Keep up the good work!  🙂 👍

You should have seen my last 115g at week 1 lol. I realize this seems fast, but the rock and media is from established systems. It really functions more like a tank transfer more than a new tank. In person the g6, shade, and reefbrites looks good. It's no 400w radium, but these days it's easier. I don't like the overly blue AB + spectrum. I run the g6 at a 10k daytime peak. The reefbrites compliment the look. Like a fake ushio 10k and super VHO actinic :D. There is 2 table spoons of rowa in the reactor. I used this much in nanos in the past. No negative effects since I am feeding fish multiple times daily. Nitrate is <5ppm. Po4 is .03 on a Milwaukee colorimeter. Good seeing you still posting. I remember you back in the busy RC days. I am Jackson675 on there. This tank will eventually be my Coral QT tank. Once I close on a new home I will be setting up a waterbox 7225 peninsula. I went almost 4 years without a tank. It's been too long 🙂

[mcarroll]

17 hours ago, PODPIMP said:

Good seeing you still posting. I remember you back in the busy RC days. I am Jackson675 on there.

Wow.  THAT is a blast from the past!  I'm gonna have to cruise some old posts later. 🙂 

 

 

Glad you're back in the fold with some tanks!!    Again, looks great too!!

[PODPIMP]

The Kraken Reef lid came. I love it. It’s great that they have the exact dimensions to an AIO tank. No headache. Highly recommend.

 

The tank has been cruising along. Please don’t let me persuade you into doing anything too fast. Remember, everything here is from an established system. Think tank transfer instead of new start.

 

We’re just a little passed the 3 week mark. Nutrients are balanced where I want them. I’m getting a daily cal/alk consumption now (7.5ml each daily). I’m seeing improvements on all sps polyp extension, colors, and some noticeable growth already. Just keeping it steady as I’ve done with other tanks. I’ll update in a few weeks or so. 

 

[PODPIMP]

50 days into the life of this tank. Things are going fairly smooth. I’m at the point where I’m constantly balancing nutrients and lighting intensity. I have no idea what kind of par that I’m getting on the xr-15 g6 so I have a par meter coming this week. I ordered the usb type from BRS. 
Growth has been decent. I think when I can safely increase lighting it will improve. I’ve added a kamoer doser using all-for-reef to keep up with alk, cal, and mag. To my surprise it’s holding all levels super stable. I’m dosing 17ml daily. I’ve also added a co2 scrubber (RO canister from brs). My ph range went from 7.8-8.2 to 8.1-8.4. I got 2 weeks out of the first canister full of media so not too bad. I will keep it going.

Just wanted to add that taking pics with blue leds and an iPhone 13 sucks. Very hard to get accurate colors. I tried using software white balance and this orange clip on phone gels

 

 

 

[PODPIMP]

10 week mark. Added crushed coral because of the flow. 
 

 

[PODPIMP]

Changed things up. Swapped out some rock to Austrian live rock 6 weeks ago. Rescaped the tank, removed torches to stop stinging (they got too big), and went old school with a 150w halide + reefbrites. This is where it’s at now, I’ll post updates as it grows more. 

[mcarroll]

did the PAR meter come in handy?

[PODPIMP]

1 minute ago, mcarroll said:

did the PAR meter come in handy?

Sort of lol. I got the sq-420. I'm told it doesn't pick up the lower 400 spectrum but it only equates to 5% off or so... Either way I got very low readings with a radion g6 on AB+ Even with that spectrum 100% I was only seeing 300 max par and 100-120 on my sand bed. Naturally I tried to boost up the whites to get more par, that didn't work out too well. All of the corals would tighten up polyp extension and even start to fade in color. I boosted up my nutrient level to help the corals darken up a little more but that only created an ulva outbreak and some GHA. 

 

In my frustration I came across this old aqua medic 150w pendant on Ebay for $40. I mounted it on the rms bracket and mounted the reefbrites to it as well. I started off with a 14k phoenix but swapped out to 20k Marine Color bulb ($10 new on Ebay). If you told me that the 20k marine color was a radium bulb, I wouldn't know the difference. The 20K also gives like 20-30 more par than the phoenix so I'm running that one. 

 

So with the halide I'm getting 450 par on the highest corals and 220-250 on the sand (higher closer to glass). The vast majority of frags is seeing 300+. Even with the higher par and lower nutrients, the sps aren't showing signs of lighting shock. The actually improved in color and growth considerably over the last 6 week. Enjoying my tinkering and a brighter looking tank 😄

[mcarroll]

14 hours ago, PODPIMP said:

In my frustration I came across this old aqua medic 150w pendant on Ebay for $40. I mounted it on the rms bracket and mounted the reefbrites to it as well. I started off with a 14k phoenix but swapped out to 20k Marine Color bulb ($10 new on Ebay). If you told me that the 20k marine color was a radium bulb, I wouldn't know the difference. The 20K also gives like 20-30 more par than the phoenix so I'm running that one. 

Interesting!  That makes me ask if you happen to monitor power usage?   The old 150w Radiums (for example) would actually run closer to 175w and would put out a commensurately greater amount of light vs standard 150w bulbs.   Wonder if you're seeing higher power usage along with the higher PAR?  (I would guess so.)

 

If you're using the Aqua Medic ballast, there's a good chance it's an HQI ballast, which would support the higher wattage.

 

I have an old 36" dual-150w HQI Coralife fixture that still has a (worn out) set of Radiums in it...there's a chance I might start using that again here in the next few weeks if there are good bulbs available.

 

I was sad when Radium stopped making the 150w version.  

 

Glad that Hamilton Technology is still offering their 20,000K 150w DE.  Seems like a good deal at $39.  

 

Glad to see this new "Marine Color" bulb too!  At worst it'll be a cheap ($9) experiment!

 

(Man....how much I was paying for Radiums back in the day... 😮‍💨)

[PODPIMP]

6 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Interesting!  That makes me ask if you happen to monitor power usage?   The old 150w Radiums (for example) would actually run closer to 175w and would put out a commensurately greater amount of light vs standard 150w bulbs.   Wonder if you're seeing higher power usage along with the higher PAR?  (I would guess so.)

 

If you're using the Aqua Medic ballast, there's a good chance it's an HQI ballast, which would support the higher wattage.

 

I have an old 36" dual-150w HQI Coralife fixture that still has a (worn out) set of Radiums in it...there's a chance I might start using that again here in the next few weeks if there are good bulbs available.

 

I was sad when Radium stopped making the 150w version.  

 

Glad that Hamilton Technology is still offering their 20,000K 150w DE.  Seems like a good deal at $39.  

 

Glad to see this new "Marine Color" bulb too!  At worst it'll be a cheap ($9) experiment!

 

(Man....how much I was paying for Radiums back in the day... 😮‍💨)

I don’t monitor the power but I’ll get my hands on one of those kill-a-watt plug in things and see what the draw is. I didn’t know that the radium’s use more wattage.
 

This light came with the original aquamedic ballast. Don’t hesitate with the marine color 20k bulbs, they’re awesome. I actually bought the 10k and 14k bulbs as well but haven’t tested them out yet. I wish there were more 400w bulb options. I’m planning a larger build and really don’t want to go LED. 

[ml86743]

This looks great!

 

Did you build that stand?

[PODPIMP]

1 hour ago, ml86743 said:

This looks great!

 

Did you build that stand?

Thanks! I didn’t build it. It’s an end table from Amazon that fit the dimensions. I had to brace it for more stability. I wouldn’t recommend it 🤷🏽

[ml86743]

8 hours ago, PODPIMP said:

Thanks! I didn’t build it. It’s an end table from Amazon that fit the dimensions. I had to brace it for more stability. I wouldn’t recommend it 🤷🏽

Haha well it looks good!!

[PODPIMP]

Just a quick update. Ended up going with a 250w Giesemann infinity over the tank since I missed halide so much 😄. Growth has been taking off on a bunch of pieces. Over the last few weeks I had to increase All for reef dosing 30% to keep up. Up to 30ml daily now. Still have to dose 120ml of b-ionc magnesium weekly to stay around 1300. Things haven't been super smooth though. I don't have a tank full of easier SPS. It's a little more tricky in a 25g tank as well. This will be the last month this tank is up before it has to be moved on 11/1 to a new house... finally! I plan on keeping this tank running there while I am in the process of getting a larger reef together again. I'll update the day before and after the move. Hopefully I don't mess stuff up too much 😕 

[mitten_reef]

12 hours ago, PODPIMP said:

Just a quick update. Ended up going with a 250w Giesemann infinity over the tank since I missed halide so much 😄. Growth has been taking off on a bunch of pieces. Over the last few weeks I had to increase All for reef dosing 30% to keep up. Up to 30ml daily now. Still have to dose 120ml of b-ionc magnesium weekly to stay around 1300. Things haven't been super smooth though. I don't have a tank full of easier SPS. It's a little more tricky in a 25g tank as well. This will be the last month this tank is up before it has to be moved on 11/1 to a new house... finally! I plan on keeping this tank running there while I am in the process of getting a larger reef together again. I'll update the day before and after the move. Hopefully I don't mess stuff up too much 😕 

good luck on the move, and that light is just the perfect amount of coverage, what spillage?? 🤣🤣

 

 

 

 

[Reefkid88]

[PODPIMP]

Just to keep updated, I moved this tank to my new home, setup a 200 Innovative Marine, and transferred all corals and fish over. The 25 is still running but just a pile of rock for now. I ran a blackout to kill off some bubble algae. I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing with this tank. Might use it as a coral and fish QT(no meds) tank. I may end up putting Goni and lps in there?! ... We'll see 😄. I have a yellow Coris wrasse recovering in there at the moment. Getting it fat and healthy before putting it in the big tank. 

[Elizabeth94]

Wow quite the upgrade! Fantastic!

[PODPIMP]

20 minutes ago, Elizabeth94 said:

Wow quite the upgrade! Fantastic!

Thank you Elizabeth. This was the plan all along. Was using the nano to get a head start on growing out frags for the bigger thank. Was originally going with a water box, but had to take advantage of the innovative marine Black Friday sale 😁. Now I have to reinvent this nano 🤔

[debbeach13]

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.  
Love the open space and the overall look new tank. 

[PODPIMP]

6 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Well Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.  
Love the open space and the overall look new tank. 

Thanks! Happy New year! Wish you all the best!