Opotter’s IM 25 lagoon

[Opotter]

 

11 minutes ago, banasophia said:

This is awesome! Where did you get it? So much better than the caddy I’m using for mine. 

I love it!  Works perfect!  It is so nice to sit it down in front of you and flip those bins open rather than shuffling through boxes and stuffing your hands down in them trying to find those little spoons and drip tips!

 

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Flip-Bin-Organizer/dp/B07GLC1Y77/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=dewalt+organizer+case&qid=1568039979&s=gateway&sprefix=dewalt+organize&sr=8-13

[banasophia]

13 minutes ago, Opotter said:

 

I love it!  Works perfect!  It is so nice to sit it down in front of you and flip those bins open rather than shuffling through boxes and stuffing your hands down in them trying to find those little spoons and drip tips!

 

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Flip-Bin-Organizer/dp/B07GLC1Y77/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=dewalt+organizer+case&qid=1568039979&s=gateway&sprefix=dewalt+organize&sr=8-13

Thanks for the Amazon link - I just ordered it!! 🤗

[Opotter]

So close!!!  Dosed the tank with 2ppm ammonia yesterday.  Ammonia down to 0.5 and nitrites to 0.3 at 24 hours on the mark.  Maybe a couple more days I think and I’m ready for a water change and to finally hit the lights!  🙂

 

[Opotter]

Tank passed the ammonia test tonight!!  So I’m calling it cycled 👏!   Big water change and seeded it with some coraline.  Will retest it here in a few hours to see if it needs another soon (probably) or if I got lucky enough to get nitrates down enough.  Hit the lights and now it’s time to wait some more.. lol.  Plan to wait until I see some algae growth and add first part of clean up crew.  Not doing the full WWC/BRS 4 month cycle as that seems to be more for SPS dominant systems (and I’m just planning softies and LPS), but I do like the idea of using coraline as a marker of a system that is healthy/ achieved enough stability to grow coral.  May wait until I see a few polka dots before I start transferring corals.  We shall see if my patience holds for that 🤞.

[WV Reefer]

8 minutes ago, Opotter said:

Tank passed the ammonia test tonight!!  So I’m calling it cycled 👏!   Big water change and seeded it with some coraline.  Will retest it here in a few hours to see if it needs another soon (probably) or if I got lucky enough to get nitrates down enough.  Hit the lights and now it’s time to wait some more.. lol.  Plan to wait until I see some algae growth and add first part of clean up crew.  Not doing the full WWC/BRS 4 month cycle as that seems to be more for SPS dominant systems (and I’m just planning softies and LPS), but I do like the idea of using coraline as a marker of a system that is healthy/ achieved enough stability to grow coral.  May wait until I see a few polka dots before I start transferring corals.  We shall see if my patience holds for that 🤞.

Yay!! 😃

 

 

[Opotter]

So I think when IM came out with the pro model of the lagoon they may have redesigned and added a fixed surface skimmer plate to the overflows?  Can anyone confirm if the previous non-pro models had these?   I ordered an In-Tank media basket but it doesn’t seem to fit because of this?  I don’t think it’s even close enough to shave a bit off the front of the basket.  I reached out to In-Tank (awesome customer service!), but seems to be news to them.  They are researching.

[Opotter]

** I did confirm I ordered the correct model with In-Tank**

 

 

In other news, I just installed RFGs on the tank!  Absolutely worth the pennies!  They are awesome!

[Opotter]

So In-tank got back to me in a separate post.  It seems IM included the skimmer plates on previous models and that it’s just that IM has some inconsistencies with application of silicone altering dimensions of back chambers.  Solution seems to be to shave off the skimmer plate with a razor to make the basket fit.  Mine seems to miss by quite a bit on both sides (about 1/2 to 2/3 of a centimeter).  I’m not too excited about taking a razor blade to my new tank and definitely not to shave off that much.    I think I will return and just use the IM media caddies.  Not as well made, but appear to be quite functional.

[Opotter]

So, I think the coral migration from the old Evo will start tomorrow.  About 10 days ago, I was starting to get pretty decent uglies so first part of clean up crew (reefcleaners) and pods (Algae Barn) went in.  All seem to be doing well.  Uglies are clearing pretty fast.  Still a bit of diatoms on the sand bed and a couple of spots of cyano on the rocks.  There were a couple of cerith snails that didn’t survive shipping.  I left them on the sand thinking sometimes they stay dormant for a few days.  I gave them 4days.  Stunk to high hell when I pulled them.  Tank handled it really well.  Testing has been really stable.  Today I noticed a couple of tiny pimples of coraline forming, pods are gathering on the glass.  So, I think I’m there.  First coral goes in tomorrow!

[WV Reefer]

2 minutes ago, Opotter said:

So, I think the coral migration from the old Evo will start tomorrow.  About 10 days ago, I was starting to get pretty decent uglies so first part of clean up crew (reefcleaners) and pods (Algae Barn) went in.  All seem to be doing well.  Uglies are clearing pretty fast.  Still a bit of diatoms on the sand bed and a couple of spots of cyano on the rocks.  There were a couple of cerith snails that didn’t survive shipping.  I left them on the sand thinking sometimes they stay dormant for a few days.  I gave them 4days.  Stunk to high hell when I pulled them.  Tank handled it really well.  Testing has been really stable.  Today I noticed a couple of tiny pimples of coraline forming, pods are gathering on the glass.  So, I think I’m there.  First coral goes in tomorrow!

Yay! 😃

[Opotter]

Moved some coral and critters to the lagoon last night from the EVO.  I will post some pictures when everything is done being pissed off at me 😬.  
 

Meanwhile, everyone meet Pistol Pete.   20 months or so now that the Evo has been up and running, and I’ve never actually seen but a shadow of him.  Heard his noise, but always hiding.  Turns out there are two of them.  So now we have Pistol Petunia too.  (Ignore the tool under the glass, didn’t spot it while I was grabbing a picture).  They both appear to be Caribbean blue legs.. and are both pretty tiny.
 

[WV Reefer]

10 minutes ago, Opotter said:

Moved some coral and critters to the lagoon last night from the EVO.  I will post some pictures when everything is done being pissed off at me 😬.  
 

Meanwhile, everyone meet Pistol Pete.   20 months or so now that the Evo has been up and running, and I’ve never actually seen but a shadow of him.  Heard his noise, but always hiding.  Turns out there are two of them.  So now we have Pistol Petunia too.  (Ignore the tool under the glass, didn’t spot it while I was grabbing a picture).  They both appear to be Caribbean blue legs.. and are both pretty tiny.
 

Bonus!! 

 

Where did it come from?

[Opotter]

9 minutes ago, WV Reefer said:

Bonus!! 

 

Where did it come from?

My original live rock was from Tampa Bay Saltwater.  Loads of life on it, but also a ton of not so good hitchhikers. Really fun live rock, great first experience with keeping a reef.  But honestly I don’t think I was experienced enough to spot the signs of the bad guys in the tank.  Spent too much time focusing on chasing gorilla crabs, missed the naughty eunice and the polyclads (and a few others along the way).  By the time I really started to build the knowledge of these things, it was just too late.  But I got a really cool cup coral that is huge now, the two pistols, a handful of pretty porcelains, a big orange chestnut snail, and some great experiences/knowledge along the way.

[Opotter]

Some shots of the tank tonight, now that everything has settled from the move.  Trying out the new polyplab lenses for my phone. Coral looks pretty true to color.  Rest of tank has a weird pink/purple hue. May try another photo shoot tomorrow with the whites all the way up.

Tank still has quite a bit of a diatom bloom so ignore my dirty sand.  My hammer has been grumpy today, extended but not nearly all the way out.  Tank is testing ok.  Will see what it looks like in the morning and change out some water if he is still being a piss ant.

 

 

 

 

 

[mitten_reef]

2 minutes ago, Opotter said:

Some shots of the tank tonight, now that everything has settled from the move.  Trying out the new polyplab lenses for my phone. Coral looks pretty true to color.  Rest of tank has a weird pink/purple hue. May try another photo shoot tomorrow with the whites all the way up.

Tank still has quite a bit of a diatom bloom so ignore my dirty sand.  My hammer has been grumpy today, extended but not nearly all the way out.  Tank is testing ok.  Will see what it looks like in the morning and change out some water if he is still being a piss ant.

 

 

 

 

 

That ric island looks great 😍

[Opotter]

4 minutes ago, mitten_reef said:

That ric island looks great 😍

Thank you!  Excited for when it fills in!

[Opotter]

Trouble in paradise

 

 

[Opotter]

Checked the tank this morning... water is crystal clear again.  Everything looks back to normal and super happy.   Combination of water changes, UV and filter sock seem to have fixed things up.  Going to test the water in a bit to see where my nitrate and phos are.
 

How long should I leave the UV on before pulling it?  

[WV Reefer]

17 minutes ago, Opotter said:

Checked the tank this morning... water is crystal clear again.  Everything looks back to normal and super happy.   Combination of water changes, UV and filter sock seem to have fixed things up.  Going to test the water in a bit to see where my nitrate and phos are.
 

How long should I leave the UV on before pulling it?  

I wouldn’t leave it on too long because it can kill the good stuff too. 

[Opotter]

Will pull it this morning then!  Thank you!

[Opotter]

Time for an update!!

 

I’ve been battling cloudy water on and off ever since I had the bacterial bloom.  The original bloom, I still think was caused by mass diatom extinction. But I’ve had some cloudy water issues since then.  Finally figured out that tank ran great when I had just filter floss in the back.  Every time I added and media/carbon to the back, the darn thing would cloud up again.  Can’t believe it took me several episodes of this to put together something was blocking flow in the back. I’m using the IM filter caddies and the flow just isn’t as good as the InTank baskets I used in my old tank (I think).  Finally got it sorted tough, pulled one of the shelves and hung the media.  Looks much better and seems to be working much more efficiently.

 

Started dosing NeoPhos as needed to keep the phos more consistent in the tank (Thank you @mcarroll!). Tried briefly to raise with feeding, but just couldn’t keep it up and still be able to do weekly water changes.  Corals all seem much happier for it!  I’ve had no issues keeping my nitrates stable.  Also I’ve decided to continue using the OceanMagik phyto that came with my original pod order.  Pods are multiplying like crazy and corals seem to really like it.  Just using a smaller amount than recommended and being really careful with it since it’s a new tank.

 

So far so good with algae and new tank issues (other than my bacterial idiocy).  I think I may have hit the nail on the head with the clean up crew.  I’ve had to supplement just a bit with nori to make sure my larger snails are getting enough.

 

Full tank shots:
Whites

Blues with filter

 

Hammer is back to happy and I swear looks like it’s grown more every day.

New additions:
 

Japanese Pink Nepthea from Marine Farmers (inspired by all of you adding recently to your tanks... you know who you are!)

 

Giant Bali Xenia from Marine Farmers- loving this coral!  Supposed to be non-invasive as it grows into one big stalk instead of spreading throughout tank.  Pulsing without the drama!

 

Sad little green weeping willow toad from Marine Farmers (Speckled leather in foreground)- this is the second toad that I’ve tried.  The first one I gave too much light to at first, and then moved it and it didn’t have enough flow.  I think I have this guy in the perfect spot... but alas.. doesn’t seem to be opening up for me.  Gonna give it some more time.  Toadstools are supposed to be easy?!?

 

Deepwater purple frilly feather from KP aquatics- super stoked about this one.  Seems to be pretty happy already.. crossing fingers.. knock on wood.  Love the way this addition gives the tank a more natural reef look.  I scoured @billygoat’s thread before I picked this one, trying to figure out what might be easy for me to try and have the look I wanted.

 

I think my plan is to hold here with new additions until after Christmas as far as coral goes.  I’m thinking about adding a few fish to the system.  I think the plan is a citron clown goby, tailspot blenny, and pink streak wrasse.  I may eventually want a whitespotted Pygmy filefish to complete the tank, but not 💯 on that one yet.. still have more research to do.  I’m working with a guy from QuarantinedMarine who lives nearby (about 90mins) who sells/orders fish and does quarantine for the buyer (using Humblefish’s methods).  I actually found him through Humblefish, who many of you know has a similar business.  Super excited about supporting this concept!!

 

[Opotter]

New baby Ric (small on left.. still pissed off from mounting)- Finally had a Ric baby!!!  Been trying to figure out how folks get these guys to split and then bam.. new baby finally split off.  He was little so my mounting job looks like crap on a stick.. nearly glued my hand to the rock.. what’s new!?

 

 

Speckled/hidden cup coral-hitchiker I cut off the Tampa bay rock from my old tank. I think this one is a speckled cup coral and not a hidden cup coral, but only able to find one reference that identifies a speckled cup coral from the hidden cup variety.  Seems to match up.  It’s grown like crazy for me... it was teeny tiny when it first arrived on the old live rock (previous broken down tank).

 

[billygoat]

Oh wow, this tank is looking great! Glad to hear the issues are smoothing out and you're starting to get some consistent positive results. 😁 Also glad to hear that you were able to glean some useful information from my experience! Looks like you've got a beautiful Antillogorgia bipinnata there. Nice polyp extension on it too. 👍 If it stays happy it has the potential to grow to a considerable size. In the wild this species can reach heights of 1 meter or more!

[Opotter]

Lol.. I read that they can get big, but love how it looks!!   If it does well, I may have plenty of frags to pass around.

[TerribleLobster]

Your nitrate test is affected by nitrite btw which is why it shows super high. It isn't worth testing nitrate while you have nitrites. The same thing happened in my cycle, I was so confused.

 

Sorry about the late post haha I know that was back in August. Tank looks great!