Clown's 25 lagoon build

[clown and friends]

Hey guys,

Just got a super good deal on a used 25 lagoon which I drove 3 hrs on a whim to pick up. Came with the tank, stand, MP-10, heater for $325. Anyways, I will be transferring things from my current biocube 16 in about a week and I was looking for advice on how to do this and just wanted to update progress on this build thread! Any comments or helpful tips on transferring tanks is appreciated!!

 

[clown and friends]

Here is the biocube from which everything will be transferred:

And here is the 25 they will be moving to:

 

[clown and friends]

Prepping for the transfer this week. Trying to decide if I should bring the sand from the cube over to the new tank. What is the standard procedure on this? I know it can trap a bunch of crap and moving it can shoot your nitrates but doesn't new sand go through a cycle again too? Any thoughts?

 

[clown and friends]

Transferred everything over Friday and things seem to be settling in today! Still playing with the MP-10 and think I have settled on the reef crest mode after reading a lot of opinions. Only running at 25% right now since I am trying to acclimate the corals to the new amount of flow following my tiny flow in the biocube.

 

[gfox]

Looks good.Did you end up with new sand?

 

[clown and friends]

Looks good.Did you end up with new sand?

Yup, fiji pink sand! Everything I read pointed me toward it. I seeded it with a little bit of my old sand though to try to reduce cycling.

 

[clown and friends]

Swapped the prime out for a hydra 26 that I got on this forum. Coverage looks better to me! I had my firefish jump out through a small crack in the screen top...so looking for suggestions for a replacement. I am thinking maybe a clown, pajama cardinal, valantini puffer or a McCoskers Wrasse. Not sure about the wrasse since I have a 6-line already in the tank and I worry they will fight. My LFS says otherwise but I thought I would see what people thought here! Any other opinions or suggestions for a replacement fish??

 

[clown and friends]

Weekly update! Added a diffuser to help out with disco ball effect and think it makes the shimmer so much better! Now I am looking to bump up the CUC numbers since I am getting some algae build up on the sand and it isn't NO3 related since that was measured at 0 today. Right now only have 5 hermits and a pistol shrimp. Thinking of adding 2 conchs. Any thoughts on how best to boost the CUC numbers in favor of sand sifting?

 

[Twodogsnnc]

Where did you get the diffuser for the hydra 26? Thanks.

 

[clown and friends]

Where did you get the diffuser for the hydra 26? Thanks.

https://3dreefing.com/
I like it a lot I think it makes the colors blend more, takes some par off for sure but not too bad. You can even see the difference in the pics from before and after adding the diffuser.

 

[Twodogsnnc]

https://3dreefing.com/
I like it a lot I think it makes the colors blend more, takes some par off for sure but not too bad. You can even see the difference in the pics from before and after adding the diffuser.

Thanks!

 

[clown and friends]

A little update on the tank. Added a used apex classic from a fellow reefer on here and think its killer. Love all the functionality and have some BRS dosers on the way because I am having trouble manually keeping up with the alk and will be getting a clam soon! Think I am all maxed out on fish after the additions since the transfer, but am excited to see the reef (and clam) take shape.

 

[clown and friends]

After a major dino outbreak and fight to get them controlled the tank is now back to looking nice so I decided to update my build thread. Have added 2 clams (maxima and crocea) and bought some zoas I decided I am going to propagate for fun! The bucket holding the clams will be removed soon I just wanted them to foot so my pistol shrimp would stop trying to drag them down to his lair as building materials.

 

[clown and friends]

Been a while since an update so I thought it was time! I added another clam and all 3 are doing great! I have tried to find a balance with my nitrates and have resorted to dosing. After my dino crash I tried getting them up every natural way and it just didn't happen. I thought this was weird since I have 6 fish in this little tank which is way packed. So I have begun dosing tiny amounts of KNO3 and things have really perked up. I think they were starving from the lack of nutrients. Here is how the tank looks as of today!

 

[Ebslinger]

Question: Looks like you started with an 8 gallon and have now moved up to a 25... "Where will it end?"

Does your future hold a 300 gallon?

BTW: Love the tank

 

[clown and friends]

Question: Looks like you started with an 8 gallon and have now moved up to a 25... "Where will it end?"

Does your future hold a 300 gallon?

LOL the golden question isn't it? What's enough? I actually went from a 16 biocube to this 25. The main driver for that was to get the tank off my desk not necessarily size so when I found this deal on FB I just had to. I had also always liked the lagoon for the extra footprint but didn't realize what a ***** it would be to scape. I would love a 300 in the future but that is far off for me (med student) and have told my current GF I would love an in wall tank in my future house to which she rolled her eyes. But for now the 25 will have to do for the next few years. I'm having fun growing stuff out and am hoping the clams will be 10"+ by the time its upgrade time! They're actually growing too which is super fun to see!

 

[PR_nano]

How much sand you have in the tank?

 

[clown and friends]

How much sand you have in the tank?

I put a bag and a half of fiji pink in it. I was planning on 2 but I thought it would be too much as I was pouring the second. The sand bed is probably 1.5-2in deep which I think is a nice depth and lets my ywg/pistol pair do their thing!