I'm super excited to announce that the time has finally come to upgrade my reef tank. I've pulled the trigger on a Waterbox Marine X 110.4, which comes in at just over 110 gallons total once you include the sump. My 20 gallon nano reef is getting a MASSIVE upgrade, and honestly, I've been waiting for this moment since the day I set the Nano up.
I don't know yet exactly how long it'll take for the tank to make its way across the country to me. But here's the thing... while I wait for it to arrive, I'm using the time to plan everything out, figure out what's transferring over, what I still need to buy, and where the heck this thing is even going to go in my house.
The 20 Gallon Was Always Just a Starting Point
When I got the 20 gallon nano, it was never meant to be the endgame. It was a way to get into the hobby, learn the basics, and make my mistakes on a smaller (and cheaper) scale before committing to something bigger. But even back then, I already knew I'd eventually upgrade. So I actually started buying equipment that was a bit overkill for a 20 gallon tank... on purpose... with the bigger tank already in mind.
Hopefully that decision is going to pay off as I now have some equipment I can re-use in the new system.
Equipment That's Transferring Over
A few of the bigger pieces of gear I've been running on the nano are going to move directly over to the Waterbox with zero need to replace them:
Hydros Launch Controller - this has been running the automation side of things, tracking pH and temperature in real time, and handling my auto top off system with an external ATO pump and a low-level sensor on the reservoir. When that water gets low, I know about it immediately.
Hydros Wave Engine - controls my wavemaker on a schedule.
Hydros Minnow Dosing Pump - right now I'm only running the single Minnow with two dosing heads, but for the 110 I'll likely be upgrading to either a second Minnow for two more dosers, or the Blenny, which would give me four additional pumps.
Buying equipment that was technically too much for a 20 gallon tank felt a little silly at the time. But I knew where I was headed, and now that gear is walking straight into the next chapter with me.
Figuring Out Where It's Actually Going to Go
Now, here's where things get a little less exciting and a little more logistical. The 110.4 is just under 48 inches by 20 inches by 22 inches, which is a serious footprint compared to the nano. I've got a spot picked out on one of my walls, but there's some dejunking and rearranging that needs to happen first. A mini fridge needs to move to where a glass cabinet currently sits, a leather chair needs a new home entirely, and a couple of storage bins need to disappear from the spot where the tank is going to land. I even had AI generate a mockup of what that wall could look like with everything cleared out, just to get a rough visual of the end result. It wasn't exactly gallery quality, but it gave me enough of an idea to know the plan makes sense.
I won't know the exact final placement until the tank actually arrives and I can get the stand built. Sometimes you just have to get the physical thing in the room before you can dial in the perfect spot. Don't overthink it.
Building a System to Track What I Have vs. What I Need
To keep things organized, I put together a simple planning application to track my equipment across both tanks. Basically, I log everything I have on the nano, and then I have a separate entry for the Waterbox where anything I already own shows up highlighted in green.
What I discovered going through this exercise is that I have most of the controllers already sorted, but there's a real list of gaps still to fill.
What's Still Missing
A second light. I'm currently running a single Prime 16 HD LED on the nano. For a tank this much bigger, I'll likely need a second one, or I may end up selling it entirely and going with something built for a footprint this size.
A return pump. The Waterbox system I ordered is bare bones. No return pump, nothing. Just the aquarium, stand, sump, and plumbing. I'm still early in my research here, so if you've run a return pump on a system around 110 gallons, I'd genuinely love to hear what's worked for you.
A titanium heater. Right now I'm running a glass heater on the nano, and what I didn't realize when I bought it is that glass heaters can crack and, in some cases, explode. Not exactly something I want sitting in a 110 gallon system. I'm upgrading to a titanium heater with a controller, and I might even add a second one as a backup. Better safe than sorry with something like this.
A protein skimmer. I may not need this on day one, but once the bioload starts climbing with more fish, it's going to become a necessity.
The Refugium Problem
The Waterbox system is nearly perfect for what I wanted, except for one small wrinkle - it doesn’t have a dedicated spot for a refugium. The layout has a chamber for the protein skimmer, a chamber in the back for the return pump, and one area that's meant for an ATO reservoir, which I won't even be using since I run mine off an external bucket. So now I'm looking at converting that ATO chamber into a refugium instead. I've also seen other reefers modify their sump chambers, even cutting glass in some cases, to relocate the skimmer and make room for a refugium elsewhere. I'm still researching whether I go that route, modify what I have, or just look into a different sump entirely.
What's Next
So that's the plan so far. Controllers are mostly sorted thanks to some deliberately overkill decisions on the nano, and the real work ahead is the return pump, the heater upgrade, the skimmer, and solving the refugium puzzle. Once the tank actually arrives, I'll be building the stand, tackling the room cleanup, and documenting the entire build process step by step. If you've got recommendations on return pumps, skimmers, or anything else for a 110 gallon reef build, I'd love to hear about it.
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