My New IM Lagoon (LPS and SPS Reef)

Brian Goldstein · Aug 15, 2018

Hey Reefers!

I just sold my RedSea Reefer 250 and will be downsizing to a 25 gallon lagoon. I will be attending graduate school next year for Marine Biology, so I needed something a bit smaller for my new room.

Anyways, the tank and APS cabinet will be here tomorrow, along with most of the equipment. I' am excited to document and share this tank with everyone! I will start posting pictures tomorrow.

Here are the specs:

-Innovative Marine 25 gallon Fusion Lagoon
-Nuvo APS stand (wood)
---------------------------------

Lights:
-Radion XR30w G4 Pro LED (w/ RMS mount)

Filtration:
- 2x Sicce 1.5 Return Pumps
-Eshopps Nano Protein Skimmer
-Vortech MP10
-Jebao RW4
-IM MiniMax Media Reactor (will be running rowaphos)
-InTank Media Basket ( w/ polyfilter floss)

Substrate:
-Tropic Eden Reef Flakes (30 lbs)
Heater:
-Cobalt Neotherm Heater (100w)

-Will be adding a dosing system in the coming weeks. ( would be happy to hear recommendations)

Thanks all!

-Brian Goldstein

Diesel · Aug 15, 2018

Any pics of you old system?

Brian Goldstein · Aug 15, 2018

The Reefer was only up for about 5 months (4 months with livestock), so I didn't get too many pictures. Needed more live rock and a re-scape as well; Nowhere near where I wanted it.

-BG

JBKReef · Aug 15, 2018

Are 2 1.5 returns going to fit? That’s going to be snug with also getting a neotherm in there...

I’m still piecing together my 25. I’m going for a softie tank so much less light and flow but I’m digging the build!

Looking forward to following along!

Brian Goldstein · Aug 15, 2018

Yeah, it will be snug. I may drive both nozzles with just the one 1.5 if it doesn't fit (i've seen a few people with lagoons do this) ... or I can run 1x - 1.5 and 1x - 1.0 .

Looking forward to seeing your build as well!

-BG

Brian Goldstein · Aug 16, 2018

well, I didn't receive what I expected to today. The tank and APS cabinet will 100% be here tomorrow, along with some more equipment.

However, the sicce 1.5 return pump and Tropic Eden: Tonga Reef Flakes arrived today.

Has anyone had a good experience with the Reef Flakes? I've only heard good things.

Updates to come soon!

-BG

Brian Goldstein · Aug 17, 2018

Tank and Stand have arrived ! Eshopps Nano Skimmer also came

Putting together the APS stand was a lot more difficult than I anticipated lol. Took me awhile to get everything secured and leveled. Overall, I am pretty happy with the quality of the cabinet. I haven't decided if I will keep the tank and stand where it currently is; although I kind of like the corner spot in my room.

I have to go to work right now, so I will be putting sand,water, and additional equipment in tomorrow afternoon. More updates to come!

Happy Reefing

-BG

Brian Goldstein · Aug 22, 2018

UPDATE:

All equipment has arrived. Lagoon has finished cycling in 4 days. (I seeded with live rock from my reefer and added some live nitrifying bacteria to supplement)

I will start gradually adding livestock in a few days and corals in another week or so.

In the meantime, I have placed the XR-30's over my 13.5 gal quarantine system. Since I don't have much to show on the Lagoon, I thought I'd show you how all of my corals/fish are doing. I can already see an improvement in color with the Radions; extremely satisfied with the purchase so far.

More updates to come.

Happy Reefing!

-BG

Brian Goldstein · Aug 22, 2018

Okay, maybe I should go to a different reefing forum where I can get some views/ feedback :/

NY_Caveman · Aug 23, 2018

Brian Goldstein said:
Okay, maybe I should go to a different reefing forum where I can get some views/ feedback :/

Well, we all have different schedules. I am seeing the alert at 1am as I work nights. Patience in reefing is key.

I will say, it is tough. There is a huge volume of posts on R2R and many great ones get pushed down. Your build thread has been excellent. Keep with it and it will gain traction. Mine progressed the same way.

I see you cycled quick with live rock. I did the same thing as well. Just remember to move slow adding while it continues to mature.

Brian Goldstein · Aug 23, 2018

NY_Caveman said:
Well, we all have different schedules. I am seeing the alert at 1am as I work nights. Patience in reefing is key.

I will say, it is tough. There is a huge volume of posts on R2R and many great ones get pushed down. Your build thread has been excellent. Keep with it and it will gain traction. Mine progressed the same way.

I see you cycled quick with live rock. I did the same thing as well. Just remember to move slow adding while it continues to mature.

Thanks for the support! I will continue to post , even if that means a ghost thread for the time being

Thanks again,

BG

NY_Caveman · Aug 23, 2018

Brian Goldstein said:
Thanks for the support! I will continue to post , even if that means a ghost thread for the time being

Thanks again,

BG

LOL. It is August too and I bet a lot of folks are vacationing. I am getting about half the number of alerts I usually get. Your tank is looking great!

Brian Goldstein · Aug 30, 2018

Quick Update:

Even though the lagoon is cycled, I've decided to let it run without livestock for a little while longer. I will be putting my fish in on Saturday.

I picked up a few (rather pricey) new frags, but I got a great deal on them; extremely excited to see them develop. Snapped a few shots of them, but they're still recovering a tad from the dip.

-Melter Chalice
-Walt Disney Acropora

Melter Chalice

Walt Disney Acropora

Brian Goldstein · Sep 15, 2018

Well, its been 2 weeks since I've done an update on the progress of the Lagoon. Things are coming along nicely. I have finally gotten the tank stable and all of my fish and coral are now transferred over from my quarantine system. The Calcium/Alkalinity usage is going to shoot up, so I will have to monitor the tank closely and increase dosing as needed.

Tomorrow, I plan on actually arranging my corals and changing the aquascape to open things up a bit. I didn't have much time last night, so I kind of just threw everything in.

Here are some quick shots I took. (don't mind the micro bubbles

)

Happy Reefing.

-BG

OffTopic · Sep 15, 2018

Impressive tank, I really like your equipment selection, seemingly preferring quality parts! Sorry I missed this thread, I know you mentioned you wanted more forum feedback, I get that! Great tank/corals I am following along

Brian Goldstein · Sep 15, 2018

OffTopic said:
Impressive tank, I really like your equipment selection, seemingly preferring quality parts! Sorry I missed this thread, I know you mentioned you wanted more forum feedback, I get that! Great tank/corals I am following along

Thank you very much! It's always nice to hear feedback. This is my first actual build thread (and second year of reefing), so I will do my best to keep things interesting and take some quality pictures of the growth/progression of the corals and the tank in general.

Thanks again,

-BG

Brian Goldstein · Sep 15, 2018

I've rearranged my scape and organized most of my corals,

I am pretty happy with how it looks so far.. Corals are still acclimating/recovering (especially SPS), so colors are still coming back.

Happy Reefing.

-BG

OffTopic · Sep 15, 2018

Looking great, how is the one Radion XR30W working for you? Any noticeable dark spots or is it giving good spread? Your corals are looking great!

Brian Goldstein · Sep 15, 2018

OffTopic said:
Looking great, how is the one Radion XR30W working for you? Any noticeable dark spots or is it giving good spread? Your corals are looking great!

I absolutely love my XR-30's ... No dark spots at all. I purposely made shaded areas for my LPS. I know I went a little overboard on the lights, but I never have to worry about PAR and can run them at very low power (and keep them and the tank cool)

They're turned down to 20% right now; running the Coral Lab SPS AB+ with whites/reds/greens turned slightly down.

-BG