poor mans lagoon 25

[dp32713]

After a few years of following this forum and being involved in the reef keeping hobby, I FINALLY decided to start a build journal for my newest aquarium. Hopefully you guys will keep me on top of this one because I have spent enough money on corals that are no longer calcifiying (rip) than I would like to admit lol. I recently parted with all of my tanks except 2, currently all of my frags are located in a 6 gallon bow front while my main tank stabilizes. Previous tank was devastated and overrun by bryopsis and another macro algae I could never identify. New tank is bare bottom so I can blast acros with crazy flow. Gonna try to keep this tank mainly SPS. 

 

Heres what I'm working with:

IM 25 gallon lagoon

Ikea stand (if anyone is considering this DIY stand, you really have to do a thorough job bracing this thing because it is unstable on its own) 

75 watt eheim jager heater on an inkbird temp controller

Aquaticlife 24 inch t5 led hybrid  fixture running 2 ATI blue plus and 2 coral plus bulbs, along with an AI hydra 26 

Jebao DCW 2000 return pump

2x Jebao OW 25 wavemakers 

Jebao DP-4 dosing pump

AquaSmart ATO micro 

NO SKIMMER and I do not plan on running one

 

Current livestock:

Stubby Clown

Melanurus wrasse

Yellow eye kole tang

 

You read that correct, I have a sand burrowing wrasse in a bare bottom and a tang in a nano. They came from my last tank which was a 60 gallon cube. The wrasse might stay depending on how well he adapts to the new environment, but the young kole tang will be relocated. Bummer because this fish chomps on algae all day. All fish are very active and have been adapting extremely well, they seem to enjoy exploring the new rock work. 

 

I managed to salvage about 40 corals, mostly sps, from my previous disaster. They have been coloring up and showing signs of recovery and decent PE in their temporary holding tank. Without further ado, I present to you through outstanding photography skills and the best camera money can buy, some of what is left of my coral collection. (I seriously apologize for the terrible photos lol) There is left over bryopsis and various algae, I have ordered some fluconazole to combat this. 

 

 

Here is a shot of the new tank with an ugly temporary frag rack

 

 

I'm counting on you guys to keep me on top of this one! I feel like I have adequate reef keeping knowledge but I have a ton to learn from you guys and can't wait to finally share my experiences with my fellow hobbyists. This is truly the best hobby on the planet! Okay, maybe thats subjective. Tell me what you think!

 

 

[Timaaa]

you have some nice sps that look pretty healthy!  Are you going to put a cup/bowl of sand in there for the wrasse to burrow?  

[dp32713]

30 minutes ago, Timaaa said:

you have some nice sps that look pretty healthy!  Are you going to put a cup/bowl of sand in there for the wrasse to burrow?  

Thank you! They've got a long way to go! I am trying to avoid putting any form of sand in the tank as much as possible. Obviously, the well being of the animals I am responsible for is my main priority, and if he displays any signs of distress due to a lack of sand I will put some in there for him. However, he really seems to be doing very well in his new home and there is an abundant amount of crevasses he sleeps in when the lights go out. 

[MainelyReefer]

Starting to build a lagoon 25 as well and also plan on using the aquatic life hybrid.  A few questions, did you use the 16” end caps or decorative end caps? I was thinking shrinking the footprint may help keep light more in the display. What hardware did you use to hang the fixture? 

[dp32713]

I cannot say enough great things about the aquatic life fixture. It is perfect length wise for this tank but I do have it at a slight angle where the front is slightly lower than the back to better direct the front bulbs into the tank and reduce spillover. I think this tilt will also help shadowing and better light the viewing sides of the corals. I'm pretty sure I have got the standard end caps on there, any shorter and the hydra 26 wouldn't fit in between the two t5 fixtures. I'll take a picture of the setup for ya later when I've got a chance. The fixture should also come with hardware to hang the lights, the only thing you need would be either toggle bolts to hang it into the ceiling or eye bolts if you have a joist to tap into above your tank.

[MainelyReefer]

Thanks for the response, I’m planning a tank very similar to yours so will follow your thread.  If you could take some pictures of what the light fixture looks like above your tank that would be much appreciated!

[dp32713]

17 hours ago, GraniteReefer said:

Thanks for the response, I’m planning a tank very similar to yours so will follow your thread.  If you could take some pictures of what the light fixture looks like above your tank that would be much appreciated!

Here you go, ignore the messy wires, I still haven't gotten around to getting all the cables and equipment managed. 

 

Hard to get a clear picture lol, but there is about an inch and a half between the bulbs and the front and back glass. It doesn't protrude into the integrated sump compartment but light does still get back there. 

[dp32713]

The fluconazole came in today, so I am going to get that started on the 6 gallon holding tank with a full dose. Here is what the tank looks like on day one of treatment. Hopefully you can see the various places the algae has taken over. 

 

I know my snails will appreciate no longer being covered in this nasty stuff.

 

 

 

[Jayaw]

I’ve got something similar.love the light it puts off.Getting ready to stock the tank .Mine is the 40 fusion.

[Jayaw]

I’ve also got the small brackets it keeps the light spill to a minimum.

[dp32713]

17 minutes ago, Jayaw said:

I’ve also got the small brackets it keeps the light spill to a minimum.

Haha got enough light?

 

I've got a spare AI prime that I could use if I got my hands on another one for each ends. Definitely inspired by your setup with the additional kessils. I would definitely consider getting the shorter brackets so I can get more unified t5 coverage, because I feel like mine may be a little spread out. How did you end up mounting the hydra with the smaller brackets? They are the 16 inch right?

[Jayaw]

Yes it lines right up just had to adjust it all around.

[Jayaw]

I’ve had the kessils laying around and when I got my ai and aquatic life I thought why not.I have just rebooted the system though I got a bad case of Lars after I got transferred to 3rd shift. But it’s coming together again.It all seemed to line up when putting it together want to go heavy sps and a little mix .

[Timaaa]

jayaw thats sps heaven with your lights and flow 

[Jayaw]

Hats the gameplan

[dp32713]

On 12/13/2019 at 6:39 PM, Jayaw said:

I’ve had the kessils laying around and when I got my ai and aquatic life I thought why not.I have just rebooted the system though I got a bad case of Lars after I got transferred to 3rd shift. But it’s coming together again.It all seemed to line up when putting it together want to go heavy sps and a little mix .

Definitely considering grabbing an extra prime and doing something similar. Maybe I'll angle them slightly inward to reduce shadowing on the sides of the corals. 

[Jayaw]

When the t 5 is on very little shade accept in the caves but I figured I would rather have more than enough light to worry about it and the shimmer the kessils give when the ai is on washes out what little disco effect there is

[Jayaw]

Hopefully after Xmas I can get some sps but where I live there isn’t any great place to go.I have accepted I have to order on line to get good and healthy corals.