TheWB’s IM Lagoon 50

[Fungusamongus]

Thanks, I really like the stand a lot. Alufab did a great job and I would highly recommend. I’m also happy with how the cabinet lighting came out. I’ve never used strip lights before and the installation was much simpler than I’d been expecting.

You should go for it as soon as it makes sense. I gave the lagoon a good 5 year run and it was definitely time to upgrade. Very happy I did it and got something custom designed to my specific wants and needs.
Appreciate the info about the mini fridge. I know the freezers a the real small ones leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully I can find something that works.

What woild you use the fridge part for? Defrosted food mainly? Phyto and Oyster feast like food? Just wondering. How big is that footprint where you want the fridge?

 

[TheWB]

What woild you use the fridge part for? Defrosted food mainly? Phyto and Oyster feast like food? Just wondering. How big is that footprint where you want the fridge?

I'm sure I would use the fridge section for food and other items that need to remain cold but I'm mostly just wanting the freezer section so that frozen food is close at hand instead of downstairs in the garage. Pure laziness is what's driving this. Not sure how much room I'll have yet. Need to make a decision on an ATO container first. Leaning towards using a spare 20 gal long aquarium I already have on hand. The current ATO container is only 5 gallons. The new tank has a top which should help with evaporation but it's also got that 48x8 inch open sump so there will be plenty of uncovered area. Still figuring it all out at my usual glacial pace.

 

[Fungusamongus]

Glacial is probably best, better than jumping in and regretting a set up. It probably comes with years of experience. I have used the small freezers and they work well, much better than the combo fridge freezers. Can't wait for more!

 

[tharbin]

I'm sure I would use the fridge section for food and other items that need to remain cold but I'm mostly just wanting the freezer section so that frozen food is close at hand instead of downstairs in the garage. Pure laziness is what's driving this. Not sure how much room I'll have yet. Need to make a decision on an ATO container first. Leaning towards using a spare 20 gal long aquarium I already have on hand. The current ATO container is only 5 gallons. The new tank has a top which should help with evaporation but it's also got that 48x8 inch open sump so there will be plenty of uncovered area. Still figuring it all out at my usual glacial pace.

As a point of reference, my identical-sized tank has a 10 gallon reservoir that I usually fill to about 9.5 gallons and refill at about 2 gallons so figure around 7.5 gallons between fills. I have to refill it somewhere between every 3 to 4 weeks and I'm in Arizona. So I would estimate that I have about 2.5 gallons of evaporation per week, maybe a little less.

I do have covers over my sump area though. My largest evaporative loss areas are the overflow chamber and display. I find that the other chambers of the sump don't evap nearly as much as the overflow or display. If you have your Klir in the first chamber it should help.

Hope that helps.

 

[TheWB]

As a point of reference, my identical-sized tank has a 10 gallon reservoir that I usually fill to about 9.5 gallons and refill at about 2 gallons so figure around 7.5 gallons between fills. I have to refill it somewhere between every 3 to 4 weeks and I'm in Arizona. So I would estimate that I have about 2.5 gallons of evaporation per week, maybe a little less.

I do have covers over my sump area though. My largest evaporative loss areas are the overflow chamber and display. I find that the other chambers of the sump don't evap nearly as much as the overflow or display. If you have your Klir in the first chamber it should help.

Hope that helps.

That does help. I forgot that yours is up and running so I could have just asked you how much top off water you're going through. I'm hoping that the super beefy lid on mine will keep most of the evaporation in check but I also worry that it might cause me some issues with PAR and gas exchange. If I have to I will get a custom lid made with netting instead of solid acrylic. Won't really know until it's up and running how that will play out.

 

[TheWB]

Update on the new tank build.

I have installed and wire managed the Klir-7 filter roller, the Skimmer, the heater, the Maxspect 4K and 2k gyre pumps, the green killing machine uv, one of the Neptune Sky’s and one of the EB832 energy bars.
There’s nothing else I can hook up that isn’t currently running on the Lagoon 50.
Next steps are to start rinsing the dry sand and making sure that the scape, which has been cooking in a plastic bin for several months is capable of converting 2ppm of ammonia in 24 hours to zero. This process has dragged out longer than I had hoped and I have lost track of the cycle in the plastic bin. I’ll get it back on track.

Current FTS. Not a lot of maintenance is being done as far as glass cleaning and except for zoas and one gorgonian there no other coral in the tank anymore due to Anenomes running wild. I will be soooo happy to be done with them.

 

[navada718]

Update on the new tank build.

I have installed and wire managed the Klir-7 filter roller, the Skimmer, the heater, the Maxspect 4K and 2k gyre pumps, the green killing machine uv, one of the Neptune Sky’s and one of the EB832 energy bars.
There’s nothing else I can hook up that isn’t currently running on the Lagoon 50.
Next steps are to start rinsing the dry sand and making sure that the scape, which has been cooking in a plastic bin for several months is capable of converting 2ppm of ammonia in 24 hours to zero. This process has dragged out longer than I had hoped and I have lost track of the cycle in the plastic bin. I’ll get it back on track.

Current FTS. Not a lot of maintenance is being done as far as glass cleaning and except for zoas and one gorgonian there no other coral in the tank anymore due to Anenomes running wild. I will be soooo happy to be done with them.

Nice update. Happy to hear things are moving along. I'm looking forward towards future progressions updates.

 

[TheWB]

Nice update. Happy to hear things are moving along. I'm looking forward towards future progressions updates.

Thanks, me too, lol. I’ve really got to get things moving along. The new tank was supposed to be wet back in January but life got in the way along with my general mode of not doing things very quickly.

 

[tharbin]

Update on the new tank build.

I have installed and wire managed the Klir-7 filter roller, the Skimmer, the heater, the Maxspect 4K and 2k gyre pumps, the green killing machine uv, one of the Neptune Sky’s and one of the EB832 energy bars.
There’s nothing else I can hook up that isn’t currently running on the Lagoon 50.
Next steps are to start rinsing the dry sand and making sure that the scape, which has been cooking in a plastic bin for several months is capable of converting 2ppm of ammonia in 24 hours to zero. This process has dragged out longer than I had hoped and I have lost track of the cycle in the plastic bin. I’ll get it back on track.

Current FTS. Not a lot of maintenance is being done as far as glass cleaning and except for zoas and one gorgonian there no other coral in the tank anymore due to Anenomes running wild. I will be soooo happy to be done with them.

It is really coming together nicely.

 

[TheWB]

Today I drained the old tank, moved it across the room and put it in its temporary home and refilled it. It will run until I can transfer the fish to the new tank. Then it will be broken down and the anemones will be re-homed.

The new tank is now parked in its new home. I need to move it one more time to get a yoga mat or something under the plywood platform it’s going to sit on so I don’t scratch up the floors. The plywood platform is covered in the same LVP flooring as the rest of the room so it should blend in well. This will make more sense next time I post pictures.

Finally one step closer to getting the new one up and running.

 

[navada718]

Today I drained the old tank, moved it across the room and put it in its temporary home and refilled it. It will run until I can transfer the fish to the new tank. Then it will be broken down and the anemones will be re-homed.

The new tank is now parked in its new home. I need to move it one more time to get a yoga mat or something under the plywood platform it’s going to sit on so I don’t scratch up the floors. The plywood platform is covered in the same LVP flooring as the rest of the room so it should blend in well. This will make more sense next time I post pictures.

Finally one step closer to getting the new one up and running.t

Today I drained the old tank, moved it across the room and put it in its temporary home and refilled it. It will run until I can transfer the fish to the new tank. Then it will be broken down and the anemones will be re-homed.

The new tank is now parked in its new home. I need to move it one more time to get a yoga mat or something under the plywood platform it’s going to sit on so I don’t scratch up the floors. The plywood platform is covered in the same LVP flooring as the rest of the room so it should blend in well. This will make more sense next time I post pictures.

Finally one step closer to getting the new one up and running.

Nice update

 

[TheWB]

Nice update

Thank you. I might have another nice big update tomorrow. Hoping to anyway.

 

[tharbin]

Today I drained the old tank, moved it across the room and put it in its temporary home and refilled it. It will run until I can transfer the fish to the new tank. Then it will be broken down and the anemones will be re-homed.

The new tank is now parked in its new home. I need to move it one more time to get a yoga mat or something under the plywood platform it’s going to sit on so I don’t scratch up the floors. The plywood platform is covered in the same LVP flooring as the rest of the room so it should blend in well. This will make more sense next time I post pictures.

Finally one step closer to getting the new one up and running.

Well, it's about time...

Looks really good. The black stand is rather elegant and you did a great job with the controller setup. I forget on the castors, do they have a foot for when you don't need to move it?

 

[TheWB]

Well, it's about time...

Looks really good. The black stand is rather elegant and you did a great job with the controller setup. I forget on the castors, do they have a foot for when you don't need to move it?

Wow…shots fired, lol
Thanks, I really like the way it’s turning out so far. Lots to do still.
The castors actually sort of retract so there is a solid foot on each of them. I’m not sure it will be possible to lower the castors while the tank is full, probably not, so I’ll just have to make sure I’ve got it where I want it before I start filling it up.
Filling it up might start as soon as tomorrow. Just need a pump and an extra heater because I’m adding a bag of ocean direct sand and I’ll need to keep the water heated and moving while I’m making more water. I don’t have enough storage capacity to completely fill it up in one shot to the point where I can run it off the return pump alone.
I also need to find a 7” filter sock. I don’t want to run the filter roller at the beginning because of the fines from the sand. Totally forgot about this. Maybe I can just make something out of knitting screen and a regular filter pad. All these small things start to add up on the to do list.

 

[tharbin]

Wow…shots fired, lol
Thanks, I really like the way it’s turning out so far. Lots to do still.
The castors actually sort of retract so there is a solid foot on each of them. I’m not sure it will be possible to lower the castors while the tank is full, probably not, so I’ll just have to make sure I’ve got it where I want it before I start filling it up.
Filling it up might start as soon as tomorrow. Just need a pump and an extra heater because I’m adding a bag of ocean direct sand and I’ll need to keep the water heated and moving while I’m making more water. I don’t have enough storage capacity to completely fill it up in one shot to the point where I can run it off the return pump alone.
I also need to find a 7” filter sock. I don’t want to run the filter roller at the beginning because of the fines from the sand. Totally forgot about this. Maybe I can just make something out of knitting screen and a regular filter pad. All these small things start to add up on the to do list.

Just kidding, glad to see it coming together.

How about a piece of eggcrate over the sock holder plate and a piece of filter pad over it during break in?

 

[TheWB]

Just kidding, glad to see it coming together.

How about a piece of eggcrate over the sock holder plate and a piece of filter pad over it during break in?

I’m going to do something like that, but with the knitting screen instead of the egg crate, just because the knitting screen is a lot thinner.

 

[tharbin]

I’m going to do something like that, but with the knitting screen instead of the egg crate, just because the knitting screen is a lot thinner.

Ah yes, now I understand. I forgot what knitting screen looked like.

 

[TheWB]

Today I put the platform that the tank will sit on in place and moved the tank and stand into position.
The platform is 3/4” plywood with LVP flooring boards glued down on top.

The idea is to keep the stand off the floor in case the casters can scratch it. Now when we move again eventually I won’t have to worry about it. I’m also hoping that the platform will distribute the weight over a wider area instead of just on the casters. I’m no structural engineer but I think this will help. The platform sits on top of 4 joists under the floor there. My house is new construction from 2 years ago so I should be good but just wanted to take a little extra precaution because it’s the second floor. That’s also why I only went 48” wide instead of 60”. Trying to keep the weight down. Probably unnecessary but honestly this thing is a beast at 48x30 footprint. Anything bigger would have been too much.

I need to figure out some quarter round or other type of trim for the platform but even with nothing there it doesn’t look too bad.

 

[navada718]

Today I put the platform that the tank will sit on in place and moved the tank and stand into position.
The platform is 3/4” plywood with LVP flooring boards glued down on top.

The idea is to keep the stand off the floor in case the casters can scratch it. Now when we move again eventually I won’t have to worry anbout it. I’m also hoping that the platform will distribute the weight over a wider area instead of just on the casters. I’m no structural engineer but I think this will help. The platform sits on top of 4 joists under the floor there. My house is new construction from 2 years ago so I should be good but just wanted to take a little extra precaution because it’s the second floor. That’s also why I only went 48” wide instead of 60”. Trying to keep the weight down. Probably unnecessary but honestly this thing is a beast at 48x30 footprint. Anything bigger would have been too much.

I need to figure out some quarter round or other type of trim for the platform but even with nothing there it doesn’t look too bad.

1 step at a time. Glad see to things moving in the right direction. I heard arcylic scratches easy, what king glass cleaner do you intend to use?

 

[TheWB]

1 step at a time. Glad see to things moving in the right direction. I heard arcylic scratches easy, what king glass cleaner do you intend to use?

Acrylic does scratch easily. I’m not sure yet what I will be using although I’ve heard good things about the basic Magic Erasers. I know @tharbin mentioned a couple of things in his thread the other day that I will also look into. I had an acrylic tank once before that was pretty badly scratched by my young children who were fascinated with the magnetic cleaner and got sand stuck between the cleaner and the acrylic. Luckily for as bad as those scratches were they were very difficult to see from normal viewing distance. While it will bother me if the tank gets scratched I know from that previous experience that it won’t be the end of the world. Stuff happens but I’m going to try and avoid it if I can. No small children in the house anymore so that will help.