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Dark Side of the Lagoon


Clown79

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12 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I've yet to find an epoxy that's  not a b$%#h to work with.

I will be doing the rocks out of water and will use crazy glue for corals.

 

I know! I had to wait for the tank. It just arrived. gotta leak test it. So it actually being set up on cda thanksgiving weekend. Oct 8th....

Yay, you just made me realize it's a long weekend next week! Early this year! 

 

Have fun getting it wet!

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2 minutes ago, Orangutran said:

Yay, you just made me realize it's a long weekend next week! Early this year! 

 

Have fun getting it wet!

Thanks! 

I'll be posting everything I do.

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when I built my 20g I was super stoked to start tossing in my LR,clown, and blenny when I had it filled, It was a tough battle to hold off on that, but It really does give you more time to finalize and not rush things though,

how is it getting tanks in the mail though? I always get so skeptical that it'd get all the way to my PO and the mailman just "accidentally" drops it too hard on my porch or something.

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3 hours ago, sapling said:

when I built my 20g I was super stoked to start tossing in my LR,clown, and blenny when I had it filled, It was a tough battle to hold off on that, but It really does give you more time to finalize and not rush things though,

how is it getting tanks in the mail though? I always get so skeptical that it'd get all the way to my PO and the mailman just "accidentally" drops it too hard on my porch or something.

I'm just transferring my 15g to the 25g so it's not a fresh tank. 

 

This is the first time I have ever ordered a tank, no option to buy IM in the store.

 

They delivered it to my elevator. They wouldn't bring it to my apartment. They expected me to move a 40lb very large box on my own.lol. My landlord helped me with a dolly.

It was very well packed and in perfect shape.

Not delivered by regular post, special overnight delivery service.

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Well I have everything ready to go for Sunday's transfer.

 

Tank arrived and past a 48hr leak test.

It's now washed and dried.

 

Caribsea liverock has been cleaned and soaking in sw.

 

I've washed all my buckets, containers, filter socks, and media basket.

 

Everything is organized for use.

 

Picking up my salt on Saturday and all my distilled water is picked up too...that was alot of bottles.

I ordered an ro/di but its back ordered.

 

My stand has been filled, sanded, and painted. 

 

Friday night is sand washing night!

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On 10/6/2017 at 8:14 PM, Clown79 said:

Washed the sand...it took forever. 

 

I think I have enough water. Lol

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oh boyy! Save some money in the long run (and your arms) and get yourself an RODI setup :D

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1 hour ago, eslatts11 said:

oh boyy! Save some money in the long run (and your arms) and get yourself an RODI setup :D

I ordered one. Waiting on the supplier to ship it to the store.

 

I waited a month for my tank.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

I ordered one. Waiting on the supplier to ship it to the store.

 

I waited a month for my tank.

 

 

Good deal, coming along nicely! Nice stand btw

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Got my RODI in two weeks ago.  Water pressure was low, maybe around 35-40.  Turned around and got a booster pump.  Made a huge difference and also cut way back on the water waste.

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Well the transfer is complete! It went pretty smoothly.

 

These are the steps I took to complete the transfer. Hopefully this information can help others who plan on the process.

 

Day Before Transfer:

 

-Washed all containers and buckets with vinegar water and completely dried them

- washed my media basket, washed the filter sock, and put aside for drying

- organized all the items I needed in one area so I wasn't scrambling the day of transfer

- washed sand in tap water, final tap water rinse I added prime and then the complete final rinse was with distilled. I then placed the sand in a bucket with a tight fitting lid.

 

 

Transfer Day:

 

Prep work

 

1 .made room on all my counters and on my table for all the items I would need for the transfer.

2. Started 2 buckets of salt to mix, used powerheads and heaters for mixing (pic 1)

3. ensured my refractometer was calibrated and salinity was correct when I mixed it 

4. Pulled out all my utensils, towels, glue, epoxy, nets, papertowel, and spray bottle and placed it on my table near the tank for easy access(pic 2)

5. Put all my filter media, media basket, filter socks, and additional equipment on my island close to where I needed it(pic 3)

 

 

15g Breakdown

 

1. Filled my tank tupperware containers with water from the tank

2. cont. 1 - all sps removed and added

3. cont 2 - euphyllia and shrimp added

4. cont 3 - plates, brains, hermits, and snails 

5. cont 4 - clowns, their frogspawn and the blenny

 

 - I placed all these containers on my counter

 - I had drilled holes in the lids to run air hoses

 - I used a gang valve to run 4 air lines and air stones to each container so they would have oxygen through the day ( pic 4)

 

6. I drained water from my tank into containers to save for use in the new tank

7. I drained more water into a bucket and removed the rocks from the tank and placed in a bucket (pic 5) This water will not be used in the new tank. Too much detritus

8. I removed a small container of sand to seed my new sand. I washed the sand in tap water until it ran clear, last rinse with prime, and final rinse with salt water.

 

Picture 6 - this is why its beneficial to either wash your old sand completely or start with all new. It's filthy and I vacuum my sand bed completely every week

 

Picture 7 - Why I wear gloves when I work in a tank.. pretty big bristle worm I never saw before

 

25g Lagoon Set Up:

 

- placed the new tank on the stand, ensured it was even and level

 

Aquascaping:

 

- added eggcrate to the bottom of the tank and started adding in the rocks (pic 8)

- started aquascaping

-  while aquascaping I sprayed saltwater(from my tank) onto the rocks to ensure they stayed completely wet. I used a standard spray bottle

- after setting the rocks in place we epoxied them (pic 9)

- we used Aquamaxx reef welder - loved this stuff. It's great to work with.

 

Reef Welder:

 

the trick is getting the water very hot.

 

- I boiled water in a kettle

- added it to a small container

- added the epoxy beads to the water

- once they started going see through, I stirred them with tweezers, once blended, I pulled out some, blended it more and then applied to the area on the rock

- if you make a mistake, just place the chunk back in hot water.

 

There was no smell, no stickiness, no flaking of epoxy.

 

9. Started adding sand to the tank, I used about an inch, I didn't want a thicker sand bed. then added my cup of sand from the 15g.

10. placed ammonia badge in the tank

11. then we started pouring in the newly mixed water, then I mixed another bucket(my salt only takes 30mins to mix), then added the old water. added final bucket of water to the tank..started everything up

12. Checked salinity

13. cleaned while I waited for the tank to clear and reach proper temp

14. tested alkalinity as it's the one parameter that really effects corals

 

 

After 1.5 hrs my tank was clear enough to start adding things

 

I started with adding my corals and gluing them in place.

 

Once that was done, I added my fish and their frogspawn.

 

everything went pretty smoothly. Took about 8hrs from start up to clean up.

 

My only hiccup was I broke my monti in 2 pieces, I wasn't happy as it had grown quite a bit but now I have 2 pieces. My new 75watt jagger heater wouldn't fit so I'm using my 50watt until my 75watt cobalt arrives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Very very nice scape!  The details are very helpful.  My 65 had some damage that I missed and I tore the tank down.  The new one should be here tomorrow.  No livestock yet but as observed above the key is being organized, and wow you were.  Thanks again, very helpful. 

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1 hour ago, Flexin said:

Very very nice scape!  The details are very helpful.  My 65 had some damage that I missed and I tore the tank down.  The new one should be here tomorrow.  No livestock yet but as observed above the key is being organized, and wow you were.  Thanks again, very helpful. 

Lol. I'm kinda obsessive about organization.

 

I really hope it helps others because many are fearful of moving or upgrading.

 

I don't blame them, there is a level of anxiety mixed with excitement. I couldn't fall asleep the night before, I was excited, worried, planning.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Lol. I'm kinda obsessive about organization.

 

I really hope it helps others because many are fearful of moving or upgrading.

 

I don't blame them, there is a level of anxiety mixed with excitement. I couldn't fall asleep the night before, I was excited, worried, planning.

 

 

No seriously, a million thank yous for documenting and sharing all this. I am psyching myself up (out!) for a massive upgrade and my brain *needs* every little detail figured out first. Cheers :) 

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On 10/11/2017 at 12:49 AM, Clown79 said:

Lol. I'm kinda obsessive about organization.

 

I really hope it helps others because many are fearful of moving or upgrading.

 

I don't blame them, there is a level of anxiety mixed with excitement. I couldn't fall asleep the night before, I was excited, worried, planning.

 

 

After reading your thread, I will agree, you might be somewhat absessive.  Excellent attention to detail.  Good instruction for anyone who may be planning a larger or another tank.  Not that us reef junkies are planning more or bigger tanks.  

 

Your thread title  “Lagoon tank” confused me.  I love your rock work.  As a theme, I would consider your tank to be a “patch reef”.  When I think of a lagoon biotheme, I envision macro mixed in with gorgonions, leathers, sponges, filter feeders like sea apples and flame scallops.

 

Love your other tanks.  Perhaps you may have “too many tanks”,

 

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48 minutes ago, Subsea said:

After reading your thread, I will agree, you might be somewhat absessive.  Excellent attention to detail.  Good instruction for anyone who may be planning a larger or another tank.  Not that us reef junkies are planning more or bigger tanks.  

 

Your thread title  “Lagoon tank” confused me.  I love your rock work.  As a theme, I would consider your tank to be a “patch reef”.  When I think of a lagoon biotheme, I envision macro mixed in with gorgonions, leathers, sponges, filter feeders like sea apples and flame scallops.

 

Love your other tanks.  Perhaps you may have “too many tanks”,

 

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It's called a lagoon because it's a 25g innovative marine lagoon.

 

I don't have leathers in my tank because of the sps. They don't mix well with sps and my 10g is a softy/lps tank.

 I do have a mangrove and gorgs.

I won't ever do a flame scallop again. They belong in the ocean. 

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Scallops and Sea Apples are unique filter feeders.  Systems to keep them should produce its own  live food.  With a 75G Jaubert  Plenum on top and a 30G EcoSystem mud/macro refugium that was 25 years old, I feed these filter feeders tank produced live food.  For several years while working on a dynamically positioning drill ship, I maintained a reef aquarium in the ships galley.  A constant feed of ocean water introduced zooplankton to this tank.  It was my most successful filter feeding tank.  The tank was set up in a mostly unused side of the galley.  Over the timespan of this tank being set up, an increasing number of crew members eat there.  It was a very good morale booster for the crew.  Sometimes when the stress of work was heavy, I would stare into this tank, turn everything off and be swept into the beauty of the numerous filter feeders.  Being on a ship, as we would roll so would the tank.  It was mesmerizing.  

 

The end to this tank came about, when an Oceaneering friend, who helped me maintain the tank when I was not there, introduced a crab that their ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) caught on the bottom.  It poisoned the tank.  A month later, I went to my first MAST conference in which Julian Sprung was one of many speakers.  One morning at breakfast, I saw Julian sitting alone and I asked if I could join him.  He was extremely friendly and we visited for more than an hour.  I felt like a groupie.  He explained to me what happened.  Many deep water crabs are full of copper.  

 

Getting back to apples and scallops.  Because of an infestation of Red Planaria in my mud/macro refugium, I turned out the lights three months ago.  Open reading a recent thread on cryptic zone filtration, I have embraced diversity in complex food webs that are interconnected and dependent on each other, by seeding live rock with cryptic sponges into my refugium and filling it with dry rock.  As sponges consume DOC, they grow and slough off particles which mix with plankton being produced by other consumers.  This becomes an organic soup called zooplankton, which feeds the filter feeders.

 

While many may feel that apples and scallops should be left in the sea, there are multitudes more that would like to ban reefkeeping in general.  In both cases, the solution is the same.  We as reef keepers should be good stewards of our tanks.   Study on the requirements of each member in the tank.   If you picked a difficult specimen, be prepared for the commitment in time to maintain it.  “Be a responsible keeper of the reef”.

 

 

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  • Clown79 changed the title to Dark Side of the Lagoon

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