controlledentropy Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Update - 02/11/2018 The tank is officially 1.5 months old. Going through the ugly phase. Edit: This is funny. So funny. Apparently I ordered Fusion 20, NOT, the Lagoon 25. I'm not complaining, but I seriously thought I ordered the Lagoon. Oh well, now I dont have to think about the net top. Hello all, I finally took the step of ordering an IM Nuvo Lagoon 25 after admiring all of your beautiful tanks for almost a year. I have experiences in keeping a freshwater planted tank and I am now brave enough to take my snorkel to plunge into the world of a saltwater aquarium. I think saltwater will suit me just like freshwater does, because of my geekiness. My freshwater tank is over-engineered; I use a temperature probe, a light dependent resistor to measure general light level, and 2 Atlas Scientific, ph and conductivity (plus TDS) probes, connected to my Arduino, which is connected to my Raspberry Pi, which is connected to a website that logs live data feed from my tank. I also use a dosing pump to dose macro, micro and glutaraldehyde solutions 7 times each day in small amounts. I have 3 schools of Southeast Asian fish, and I am still not done as I haven't found my centerpiece fish. For my saltwater tank, I am planning to have a minimal amount of fish, preferably 1, up to a maximum of 2 fish. Hopefully, someone can suggest a stunning, centerpiece fish. As for corals, I would like to keep everything, softs, LPS and SPS. But, I would probably stay away from genus like Euphyllia, because I don't think this tank will be big enough for their poofiness. The one coral that I saw that literally took my breath away and probably the reason why I want to set this tank are Chalices. Man, I love how velvety their flesh looks like and how crazy the color of their mouths. I also saw some Leptoseris that looks like the outer hull of the Borg spaceship. So cool. I don't understand the appeal of Scolymia and Cynarina. So, I would like suggestions for my plans and some suggestion regarding stocking. I may use this December to cycle the tank - I have Cycle and Pristine from my freshwater tank and some ammonia too. Will be using dry rock with live sand. Here are my plans; Fauna - Vertebrate One or two fish - Preferably Not Clownfish (nothing against Nemo, but I think it's overdone, it's like the Neon Tetra of freshwater fish) Fauna - Mobile invertebrates (Are these too much? Considering that I only have maximum 2 fish) Fire shrimps X 2 Trochus snails X 2 Nassarius snailx X 2 Blue legged hermit crab X 2 Fauna - Sessile invertebrates (From the highest to lowest priorities) Chalice - Medium light, medium flow Leptoseris - Low light, low flow Cyphastrea - Low light, moderate flow Acropora - High light, high flow Favia - High light, low flow I think its pretty clear that I like encrusting corals with colorful mouths. LOL. Acan (Micromusa) - Low light, low flow Blasto - Low light, low flow Duncan - Medium light, medium flow Ricordea - High light, low flow Zoas - Low light, high flow Encrusting Monti - High light, high flow Hardware (Purchased) Innovative Marine NUVO Aquarium - Fusion Lagoon 25 Tunze comline Skimmer 9001 Aqua Illumination Hydra 26 HD Aqua illumination Hydra Flex Arm Ecotech Marine Vortech MP10wQD Quietdrive Water Care Aquatic Life RODI Buddie Hydrometer ATO Tunze Osmolator 3152 5G Food Grade Water Container Consumables Red Sea ABC Red Sea ABCD Trace Color Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Test kits Central Command Conductivity Probe ph Probe Full isolation shield Temp Probe Arduino Uno Arduino wireless shield Strike Force Etekcity smart plug (Can be hacked to turn on and off from the internet) Jebao DP-4 Auto Dosing Pump - Master A bunch of empty pop bottles for the ABC solutions, I am not gonna shell out money for $40 dosing "containers" 01/09/2018 - Video looks better than picture. 12/27/2017 3 Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 All my equipment are here. Flooding it tonight. Base rocks not in pic. 2 Quote Link to comment
Nixperience Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Awesome start! ? Quote Link to comment
Biglex Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Looks like a great build so far Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 (edited) And the Worst Aquascaping Award of 2017 goes to me. I am so bad in this. Even my planted tank looks like road side bush. Edited December 18, 2017 by controlledentropy Grammar. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Nixperience Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 Roadside bush ? Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 1 minute ago, Nixperience said: Roadside bush ? Yes. The illegitimate sister of G. W. Bush. 1 Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 18, 2017 Author Share Posted December 18, 2017 Also, anyone has any recommendation for a return pump? The stock pump is loud. Or will the stock pump become quieter as time goes by and more slime latch onto the pump? 1 Quote Link to comment
Biglex Posted December 18, 2017 Share Posted December 18, 2017 I like the right rock is just change up the left side (turn that top rock around and separate the rocks alittle so it creates a little bridge/tunnel the fish can swim threw. As for pump sicce https://www.marinedepot.com/Sicce_Syncra_Silent_2.0_Multifunction_Aquarium_Pump_568_GPH_Fixed_Flow_Aquarium_Powerheads-Sicce_USA-XJ1137-FIPHFF-vi.html 1 Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 Changed my aquascape. Created a little cave on the left side. And now I have 4 peaks, good to put fancy schmancy high light coral. Apart from the tiny cave I also have a small channel between the left and right side rock. 1 Quote Link to comment
Nixperience Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Looks good. If you could lay one rock down so all the peaks aren’t the same exact height, I think that would make it top notch. 1 Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Nixperience said: Looks good. If you could lay one rock down so all the peaks aren’t the same exact height, I think that would make it top notch. Thanks. Most of the rocks are the same height. I’ll let it stay like that for now. Maybe I’ll all some height differences using different corals with different growth pattern. 1 Quote Link to comment
Kijho Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Off to a nice start dude! Can't wait to see what you do!! Quote Link to comment
TatorTaco Posted December 19, 2017 Share Posted December 19, 2017 Looks like you bought great quality stuff from the get-go. Good job on that. You certainly won't regret it later! Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 19, 2017 Author Share Posted December 19, 2017 42 minutes ago, TatorTaco said: Looks like you bought great quality stuff from the get-go. Good job on that. You certainly won't regret it later! Bank account is crying. Lol Plus, everything in Canada has a 30% markup compared to stateside. Even my planted tank is not as cheap. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 I poured a bottle of Biospira 2 days ago and I added 2 ml of ammonia. The protein skimmer was turned off since then. I tested my water today. Nitrate is definitely more than 4 ppm. It is very purple, using the Red Sea Nitrate test kit. No Phosphate detected, which is not surprising since no food had been added. I think I will continue adding 2 ml of ammonia every 2 days to keep the bacteria alive while waiting to get my frags in the second week of January. Will also switch on the protein skimmer to control the nitrate. Should I add vodka also to keep all the nitrate down? Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 In other news, instead of arriving in January, the test frags I ordered will be arriving tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Finally did a full test. Will be receiving some test frags tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Skimmate is super wet. Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 22, 2017 Author Share Posted December 22, 2017 (edited) The new settlers are here. The Mayflower had arrived. I ordered 5 cheap and easy frags, and I got one free. Here they are. In the Ellis Island Immigration Center, being registered. Cheap Dollarama container and baster. Their new home. Which frag is the one which opened up the fastest? Metallic Red Pally - acted as if nothing had happened. Some sort of Green Acan Lord - the flesh got fleshier Superman Monti - the polyps are out? (Can they even recede?), also the monti harbored 4 barnacles - Probably the prettiest of them all right now, sorry Acro, if you want to be pretty too, please open up. Acropora valida - super slimy right now, haven't seen the polyp yet Punchy Red Acan - still receded Disco ball lepto - no idea how to even tell whether it's happy or not Edited December 22, 2017 by controlledentropy grammar Quote Link to comment
n00b_nuvo Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 how old is your tank? Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 22, 2017 Author Share Posted December 22, 2017 6 minutes ago, n00b_nuvo said: how old is your tank? Don't kill me. A few days... Cycled with Biospira and ammonia. Frags were supposed to arrive in the 2nd week of Jan, but someone canceled their order and a spot opened up, so the shop called me to see if I want them today. I guess we will see if this will be a mistake or not by January. Quote Link to comment
Jimmeh Lee Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 13 hours ago, controlledentropy said: Don't kill me. A few days... Cycled with Biospira and ammonia. Frags were supposed to arrive in the 2nd week of Jan, but someone canceled their order and a spot opened up, so the shop called me to see if I want them today. I guess we will see if this will be a mistake or not by January. Eh, my spec was cycled in a week with dr Tim’s. First zoas went in then and are fine. Quote Link to comment
controlledentropy Posted December 22, 2017 Author Share Posted December 22, 2017 10 minutes ago, Jimmeh Lee said: Eh, my spec was cycled in a week with dr Tim’s. First zoas went in then and are fine. I think their (coral) bio load is less than fish. It took me a month to cycle a planted community tank. I waited because I know I would have 40 fish in there. Quote Link to comment
Kijho Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 The biospira does an awesome job I used it on my Fusion 20 too. Quote Link to comment
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