25g SPS lagoon

[JerryB1232]

First R2R post! Series of moves caused me to break down and sell multiple short term tanks. Now that I am settled into one place for awhile, I am going to give SPS, and more importantly clams a try. Follow along to see my failures and successes. Everything for the tank is being shipped and I will be building the stand this weekend. Pictures to follow soon

Equipment

Tank: 25 NUVO Fusion AIO Lagoon
Return: 2x 130 GPH DC Return Pumps
Heating: 3x EHEIM thermocontrol e50
Lighting: 2x Kessil A360XE Tuna Blues
Flow: AI Orbit 2, Ecotech MP40
ATO: XP Aqua Duetto 2
Sand: Carib Sea Ocean Direct/Florida Crushed Coral
Rock: MarcoRock The Perfect Mix
Salt: Red Sea Blue
Filtration: Floss in cups/None

 

[JerryB1232]

If anyone has any tips on keeping clams or SPS in a nano, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tahoe61]

Welcome to R2R.

I have had 3 IM AIO, never the lagoon though. I absolutely loved my 20.
Your lighting choice sounds great for clams.
A good ATO is going to be a must, I am still searching for one myself. Typically every ATO I purchase last about a year.
Once clams start to grow, and or you acquire multiple clams you might need to begin dosing the big 3. Two part products usually work well for me.
The bigger the clam you can get the better. Two inches at least is ideal in my experience.

Congratulations on your new system.

 

[JerryB1232]

Welcome to R2R.

I have had 3 IM AIO, never the lagoon though. I absolutely loved my 20.
Your lighting choice sounds great for clams.
A good ATO is going to be a must, I am still searching for one myself. Typically every ATO I purchase last about a year.
Once clams start to grow, and or you acquire multiple clams you might need to begin dosing the big 3. Two part products usually work well for me.
The bigger the clam you can get the better. Two inches at least is ideal in my experience.

Congratulations on your new system.

Thanks for the advice! My last tank was a second hand IM 20g. I thought it was a sleek tank, so when this one went on sale I had to grab it. I haven't been able to keep a tank much longer than a year and I always went with the inexpensive amazon ATOs. This time around I went with the duetto, because I like the idea of redundancy. It does come with the inexpensive amazon ATO pump so I might look into swapping that out to try to get more run time out of it. What typically failed on your ATOs? I went down the rabbit hole with lighting and struggled choosing between the ghl mitra and the kessil. I landed on the kessil, which might give me the ability to create a hotspot on purpose so I can have high par in the center and lower par on the edges. Since it is a lagoon I won’t have much par decrease from water depth, so I figured this was a good way to stagger par in the tank. Just a theory but we will see. I haven't figured out how I am going to dose the big three yet kalkwasser sounds like a bother and all for reef is expensive. Two part might be the way to go.

 

[dansyr]

Thanks for the advice! My last tank was a second hand IM 20g. I thought it was a sleek tank, so when this one went on sale I had to grab it. I haven't been able to keep a tank much longer than a year and I always went with the inexpensive amazon ATOs. This time around I went with the duetto, because I like the idea of redundancy. It does come with the inexpensive amazon ATO pump so I might look into swapping that out to try to get more run time out of it. What typically failed on your ATOs? I went down the rabbit hole with lighting and struggled choosing between the ghl mitra and the kessil. I landed on the kessil, which might give me the ability to create a hotspot on purpose so I can have high par in the center and lower par on the edges. Since it is a lagoon I won’t have much par decrease from water depth, so I figured this was a good way to stagger par in the tank. Just a theory but we will see. I haven't figured out how I am going to dose the big three yet kalkwasser sounds like a bother and all for reef is expensive. Two part might be the way to go.

This looks like a fun build! Chiming in on the 2-part vs kalk, I suggest starting with kalk and switching off to kalk over time. I have 4 clams in a 20g currently (they eat alk, let me tell you). I ended up switching to 2-part before I added the first clam as I already needed more than kalk, but I got by awhile on just kalk in topoff. that said I'm in Cali and I suspect humidity here never even gets as high as your driest day

Kalk isn't that bad if you don't focus on oversaturating, and there's no waste ions. 2-part is great, but the excess Na and Cl buildup is something you have to worry about in back of mind. 0.5-0.7X concentrated kalk on a doser or in topoff is pretty low maintenance, doesn't cause much buildup, and adds a fair amount of calcium. plus the ph boost is nice.

For context I was OK in a 20g on water changes alone for about 6 months, kalk for 6 months, then had to switch to 2part + infrequent kalk (still in this phase).

 

[Tahoe61]

Thanks for the advice! My last tank was a second hand IM 20g. I thought it was a sleek tank, so when this one went on sale I had to grab it. I haven't been able to keep a tank much longer than a year and I always went with the inexpensive amazon ATOs. This time around I went with the duetto, because I like the idea of redundancy. It does come with the inexpensive amazon ATO pump so I might look into swapping that out to try to get more run time out of it. What typically failed on your ATOs? I went down the rabbit hole with lighting and struggled choosing between the ghl mitra and the kessil. I landed on the kessil, which might give me the ability to create a hotspot on purpose so I can have high par in the center and lower par on the edges. Since it is a lagoon I won’t have much par decrease from water depth, so I figured this was a good way to stagger par in the tank. Just a theory but we will see. I haven't figured out how I am going to dose the big three yet kalkwasser sounds like a bother and all for reef is expensive. Two part might be the way to go.

Unfortunately the Duetto failed me as well. I think I am going back with the Tunze 3152 because the pumps are easily replaced.
I don't think you can really go wrong with Kessil.
My favorite light for the IM 20 was the ATI 24, 4 bulb T5. That light can really grow the corals and clams.
Two Fishes 2 part is not too bad price wise, a decent product and easily had. Kalk, is always my fall back to. It swings too much for sensitive sps in smaller tanks, but larger clams seem to really benefit from it.

 

[JerryB1232]

This looks like a fun build! Chiming in on the 2-part vs kalk, I suggest starting with kalk and switching off to kalk over time. I have 4 clams in a 20g currently (they eat alk, let me tell you). I ended up switching to 2-part before I added the first clam as I already needed more than kalk, but I got by awhile on just kalk in topoff. that said I'm in Cali and I suspect humidity here never even gets as high as your driest day

Kalk isn't that bad if you don't focus on oversaturating, and there's no waste ions. 2-part is great, but the excess Na and Cl buildup is something you have to worry about in back of mind. 0.5-0.7X concentrated kalk on a doser or in topoff is pretty low maintenance, doesn't cause much buildup, and adds a fair amount of calcium. plus the ph boost is nice.

For context I was OK in a 20g on water changes alone for about 6 months, kalk for 6 months, then had to switch to 2part + infrequent kalk (still in this phase).

Glad to see you are keeping clams successfully in a 20 gallon. You just reminded me to update my profile lol. I am now in the desert of west texas where humidity isn't heard of. My plan is kind of similar to what you did. I plan to get by off of weekly water changes as long as I can. Then switch to dosing the big 3 when water changes cant keep up. I really like the benefits of kalkwasser, but I was worried about it being difficult to balance with my evaporation. Can it be mixed under the saturation point in a bucket then transferred to the ATO reservoir with a normal ATO pump or do you need to use a dosing pump for the ATO?

 

[JerryB1232]

Unfortunately the Duetto failed me as well. I think I am going back with the Tunze 3152 because the pumps are easily replaced.
I don't think you can really go wrong with Kessil.
My favorite light for the IM 20 was the ATI 24, 4 bulb T5. That light can really grow the corals and clams.
Two Fishes 2 part is not too bad price wise, a decent product and easily had. Kalk, is always my fall back to. It swings too much for sensitive sps in smaller tanks, but larger clams seem to really benefit from it.

Oh no, well I hope I have better luck with the duetto. The tunze was my second choice. I have always wanted to try a T5 setup. They years of proven results with growing corals. T5 might make an appearance if the kessil doesn’t work out.

 

[dansyr]

Glad to see you are keeping clams successfully in a 20 gallon. You just reminded me to update my profile lol. I am now in the desert of west texas where humidity isn't heard of. My plan is kind of similar to what you did. I plan to get by off of weekly water changes as long as I can. Then switch to dosing the big 3 when water changes cant keep up. I really like the benefits of kalkwasser, but I was worried about it being difficult to balance with my evaporation. Can it be mixed under the saturation point in a bucket then transferred to the ATO reservoir with a normal ATO pump or do you need to use a dosing pump for the ATO?

Ha ok then welcome to the arid reefing club! Probably dryer where you are than I am then.

You could do that. I normaly mix 1 gal or 1/2 gal at a time because that lasts me a bit, and it's relatively easy to shake-mix in a jug. Settle overnight, refill topoffs next morning by pouting without disturbing any precipitate at bottom of jug. Pouring ("decanting") is easiest for me but if you set pump or intake height right you're fine.

 

[JerryB1232]

Worked on building the stand these past two weekends. It isn't the prettiest stand in the world but I learned a lot about wood working and the next one will be better. Here is a few pics of the stand building process and the finished product. Getting ready to fill it up with water, but it seems like everyone that sells real live sand is out of stock. I am guessing it is a seasonal thing.

 

[JerryB1232]

I filled the tank last week and added a royal gramma to get things started. To say I got a shy one would be an understatement. It found this spot where the flow pushes him up against a rock and has made it its home. He is eating great but as long as I am making movements in the room he will not leave his hiding spot. When I leave the room for awhile I slowly peak my head in and I can see him swimming around and looking at the door! As soon as he catches a glimpse of me he goes right back to his hiding spot. I added Dr. Tim’s one and only when the gramma went in and now I am letting things cycle. I have the kessils on 3% intensity, until I add pods and coralline, to prevent things from growing. Even though I started the tank pretty much sterile, and I don’t expect anything to grow, its better safe than sorry. I also found out that 100w of eheim thermocool was not enough to raise the tank temp above 76 with the room fan on. I decided to get a third 50w for a total of 150w, so I will not have to worry about the tank temperature if the room cools down. Overall I am really happy with the tank. The kessil shimmer is amazing and I am capable of making way more flow than I believe I could use. I am excited to get some corals and a clam soon

 

[Northern Flicker]

I filled the tank last week and added a royal gramma to get things started. To say I got a shy one would be an understatement. It found this spot where the flow pushes him up against a rock and has made it its home. He is eating great but as long as I am making movements in the room he will not leave his hiding spot. When I leave the room for awhile I slowly peak my head in and I can see him swimming around and looking at the door! As soon as he catches a glimpse of me he goes right back to his hiding spot. I added Dr. Tim’s one and only when the gramma went in and now I am letting things cycle. I have the kessils on 3% intensity, until I add pods and coralline, to prevent things from growing. Even though I started the tank pretty much sterile, and I don’t expect anything to grow, its better safe than sorry. I also found out that 100w of eheim thermocool was not enough to raise the tank temp above 76 with the room fan on. I decided to get a third 50w for a total of 150w, so I will not have to worry about the tank temperature if the room cools down. Overall I am really happy with the tank. The kessil shimmer is amazing and I am capable of making way more flow than I believe I could use. I am excited to get some corals and a clam soon

I would reccomend a lot more rock, and also some of those barnacles. Mine loves his barnacle!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I filled the tank last week and added a royal gramma to get things started. To say I got a shy one would be an understatement. It found this spot where the flow pushes him up against a rock and has made it its home. He is eating great but as long as I am making movements in the room he will not leave his hiding spot. When I leave the room for awhile I slowly peak my head in and I can see him swimming around and looking at the door! As soon as he catches a glimpse of me he goes right back to his hiding spot. I added Dr. Tim’s one and only when the gramma went in and now I am letting things cycle. I have the kessils on 3% intensity, until I add pods and coralline, to prevent things from growing. Even though I started the tank pretty much sterile, and I don’t expect anything to grow, its better safe than sorry. I also found out that 100w of eheim thermocool was not enough to raise the tank temp above 76 with the room fan on. I decided to get a third 50w for a total of 150w, so I will not have to worry about the tank temperature if the room cools down. Overall I am really happy with the tank. The kessil shimmer is amazing and I am capable of making way more flow than I believe I could use. I am excited to get some corals and a clam soon

Great choice for your first fish!

 

[JerryB1232]

Par’d out the tank mostly 300-330 on the rockwork and 200-250 on the sand bed. I was expecting it to be hard to get good par out of these lights due to what I have read, but these numbers were only at 20% intensity. I also discovered that the royal gramma is not shy he just hates flow. When I turn all the pumps off he is out and about not scared at all.