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Back in the Game - IM 25G Lagoon


HatrickSwayzee

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HatrickSwayzee

Hey y'all!

 

I've been out of the hobby for 6 years I think now.  I was running a 4G CAD Lights pico tank for a little more than a year.  I came home after work one day and everything was dead.  I suspect it was an anemone that died and the water took a turn for the worse before I could ever recover.  That was a ton of fun regardless and I really enjoyed learning about everything.  So here I am trying my hand at this again, but with more water volume to hopefully give me a little more room for error.  

 

Everything is still dry as I'm still procuring all the equipment I need, but my stock list is as follows.

 

IM Nuvo 25G Lagoon

- stock filter sock

     - may swap out for an InTank media basket

- stock CustomCaddy media basket

     - will run with filter floss, Chemi-Pure Blue, and some GFO

          - what else are people running in their media baskets?

- stock MightyJet 326 GPH return pump

 

Lighting

- AI Prime 16HD

 

Aquascape/Substrate

- 20 lbs. CaribSea Life Rock shapes

- 20 lbs. CaribSea Arag-Alive Special Grade sand

 

Heating

- 75w Eheim Jager TruTemp

     - will probably add a 2nd 75w heater

- bayite Temperature Controller

 

Additional Water Movement

- Reef Breeders RP-M

     - I have it on hand, but will only place if the stock return pump doesn't generate enough flow

 

Testing

- API Saltwater Kit

- Milwaukee Digital Refractometer

- Seneye Reef Monitor

     - I was about to order, but went Out of Stock before I committed to it.  Was only looking at this for the PAR meter, but seems like practical safe reef-  keeping equipment.  Does anyone have any feedback on this?

 

Additional

GFCI extension cord

- Tripp Lite 7-Outlet Surge Protector

- NEWA Maxi MP1200

     - mainly to assist with water changes although there looks to be a multitude of possible uses

- WiFi Outlets

 

 

Current Livestock

- Fish

     - ORA Frostbite Flurry Clownfish Sold to my neighbor

- Inverts

     - Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

     - 3x Sexy Shrimp

     - Various Hermit Crabs and Snails

     - Maxi Mini Anemone

- Corals

     - Gatorade Zoas

     - Eagle Eye Zoas

     - Orange Mint Zoas

     - 2x Florida Ricordea Mushrooms

     - Multicolor Aussie Branching Hammer

 

Future Livestock

- Fish

     - 1x Royal Gramma per my eldest son's request.  I'm letting the kids pick the fish.  He chose this one because it looks like Lakers colors and he's going to name it Kobe.  I couldn't say no.  Additionally, this is the only fish I'll let have a name.

     - 1x Tailspot Blenny

     - 1x some kind of designer Clownfish

- Inverts

     - 1x Porcelain Crab (might have been my favorite thing in my previous tank)

     - 1x Pom-Pom Crab

     - 1x Trochus snails

     - 1x Nessarius Snail

     - 1x Conch

- Coral

     - definitely a Torch

     - probably a Hammer and Frogspawn also

     - Will likely save space for a Zoa colony.  Can I coral dip an entire colony (live rock and all) from my LFS?

     - a mixture of other LPS

     - will likely add some easy SPS

 

I feel like this is a fairly safe amount of livestock for a 25G tank.  If you think otherwise, please let me know.  I've got a Google sheet with my equipment listing and pricing if anyone is interested.  I'm happy to share. 

 

Wish me luck!

 

FTS 12/15/20

PXL_20201216_072911770.thumb.jpg.dfaa124dc63f711bb51483358778eb6c.jpg

 

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HatrickSwayzee

I admit this Reef Breeders RP-M was a bit of an impulse buy.  I haven't even got the tank wet to figure out if the stock return pump will provide enough flow.  But while the cord management isn't as tidy as an MP10, I do like the low profile.

 

Sand and rocks coming in a few days.  Hope to get it started early next week!

PXL_20201202_202738783.jpg

PXL_20201203_030134906.NIGHT.jpg

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On 11/30/2020 at 5:05 PM, HatrickSwayzee said:

I came home after work one day and everything was dead.

Dude you’re my favorite reefer 🤣 

 

I don’t think the anemone killed the tank - just to save your love for them - have had terrible tragedy with BTA’s and they bounce back and make many more to appreciate!  
 

BTA found the gyre... 

 

C641AC3A-035C-464A-A768-B86F51D4D72D.thumb.jpeg.4336e8eb92f631d312bd1022b0ba928a.jpeg

 

Less than a week later...

 

8B443F35-95C2-4686-BC9C-D50709FEEDE5.thumb.jpeg.b6e16fc2ebaab57061b9476c5f2bd465.jpeg

 

A month later...


A9A0D27C-6AA3-472D-B385-C8971BB2B1B4.thumb.jpeg.f86e8bf4c1dd57b771dd493392fac28e.jpeg

 

 

By the way - IM 25 lagoon - dream tank!!!

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HatrickSwayzee
46 minutes ago, I'm Batman said:

+1 on the prime with gooseneck 

Time will tell if the 18" arm was the way to go.  The other option was a 12" arm.

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HatrickSwayzee
2 hours ago, I'm Batman said:

I don’t think the anemone killed the tank

You're probably right about that.  I was painting with a pretty broad brush right there.  2nd biggest mistake I made was not testing the water after noticing the anemone looking annoyed.  Biggest mistake was probably getting that anemone in the first place so quickly.  

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HatrickSwayzee

Finally plugged everything in and got the tank wet.

 

I thought I was going to need more sand, but it looks like the 20 lbs. of Special Grade from CaribSea was about right.  I think using the old "put a plastic bag on top of the sand bed" really worked to minimize cloudiness.  Nice and clear after 4 hours.

 

Last time I started a tank I used live rock and some ammonia to start my cycle.  This time around I've got live sand, dry rock, and a bottle of Dr. TIm's One and Only.  I haven't thrown in the One and Only because I wasn't able to procure the ammonia chloride drops and I don't want to add a fish because I'll be out of town for a few days.  For those of you with experience with the One and Only method, can I add it now even though I have no ammonia source?  Or do I need to wait until I can either grab some ammonia chloride or add a fish?

 

 

PXL_20201214_100418657.jpg

PXL_20201214_100902035.jpg

PXL_20201214_112538354.jpg

PXL_20201214_162105466 (1).jpg

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I was rummaging through my fish junk box yesterday and found a bottle of ammonium chloride.  I'm in AR.  Want me to see if I can send you some?  

 

 

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HatrickSwayzee
23 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

I was rummaging through my fish junk box yesterday and found a bottle of ammonium chloride.  I'm in AR.  Want me to see if I can send you some?  

 

 

Oh wow I really appreciate the gesture, but that's okay!  I'd hate to inconvenience you.  Also, it never hurts to put some money, even this small amount, into the industry.

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32 minutes ago, HatrickSwayzee said:

Oh wow I really appreciate the gesture, but that's okay!  I'd hate to inconvenience you.  Also, it never hurts to put some money, even this small amount, into the industry.

Okay.  If you change your mind.... send me a message.  It's no biggie. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
HatrickSwayzee

Picked up a few living things after the cycle!

 

1x ORA Frostbite Flurry Clownfish

1x Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

5x hermits (only asked for 3 and some shells.  Ended up with 5 and some shells)

 

 

 

PXL_20201225_103613403.jpg

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Nice tank! I would let it be for a while, and let it get a bit more established before adding any corals.  Let the tank get through it's "nasty" phase, and keep up on the maintenance, pulling algea, cleaning and water changes. Then add some coral. In the interim, get your flow dialed in, that will really help you in the long run. I can say for a fact that the return pumps will not have the flow you need for this size of a tank, with rockwork there will be dead spots, and will be a pain to keep algae off. 

 

I have a 25 lagoon, and find it perfect size for me also. Regarding your question as to what you put in the media basket, I only put filter pad and some charcoal. I ditched the filter socks after a bit, as they were a pain to clean. Keep a couple hanging around in case you want to polish the water a bit someday, they are a fast way to clear it up. As for all the other stuff you listed, Chemi blue, GFO, only run media when you know you need it, they really do not need to be run as a preventative measure. Your live rock is supposed to do all that work anyways. 

 

I would be tempted to replace the 18" gooseneck with a 12", and get it closer to 8" off the top. I have a RedSea Reef LED 50 which is similar to the AI, and I cut an inch off the bottom of my aluminum post to get it where I wanted it. Less light spill into the room, and I can run my light at lower % (LPS tank). 

 

Cool fish, get him a mate!  Make sure the hermits have enough to eat, they really wont have a lot to forage with such a young tank. 

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HatrickSwayzee
On 12/26/2020 at 7:48 PM, Garf said:

I would let it be for a while, and let it get a bit more established before adding any corals.  Let the tank get through it's "nasty" phase, and keep up on the maintenance, pulling algea, cleaning and water changes. Then add some coral.

Yup, that's absolutely the plan.  It was fun to add some animals, but I'll let it be for now.

 

On 12/26/2020 at 7:48 PM, Garf said:

I would be tempted to replace the 18" gooseneck with a 12", and get it closer to 8" off the top.

Done and done.  I made the swap, but I'll keep the 18" if I change my mind down the road.

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  • 1 month later...
HatrickSwayzee

I'm actually surprised how good that pic in the above post turned out.  Stock Google camera app on my Pixel 5 with no editing.  Just placed the free pair of coral viewing sunglasses that came with my saltwateraquarium.com order in front of my camera lens.  I've been slowly adding corals here and there.  Started with some cheap mini colonies of Zoas just to make sure my water parameters were stable.  I've got them all on the same rock so I can start a Zoa garden.  Then I added a Hammer, 2 Ricordeas, and the Maxi Mini Anemone.  I'm glad the Sexy Shrimp found it because they tend to annoy the Zoas. 

 

The first coral show I'll ever attend is happening this Saturday so I hope I can find some good deals.  Anyone been to the Coral Farmers Market before?  It looks like they've had these shows in multiple cities.

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