IM 50G Lagoon AIO

[Caleb123]

I'm very excited to be setting up an Innovative Marine Nuvo 50g Lagoon! While I have not seen the tank in person yet, I have been very pleased with the pictures and feedback for these tanks. My goal for this build is to keep is as clean, simple, and low maintenance as possible. While I am (not so patiently) waiting for my tank to arrive, I have begun piecing together the equipment for this build. As of now, this is what I have:

TANK: IM 50g Lagoon Nuvo (includes return, custom caddy, lid, APS stand, IM SpinStream)
LIGHTS: 2x AI Prime 16HD
WAVEMAKER: AI Nero 3
ATO: Tunze 3155 ATO & IM 5 Gallon Hydrofill ATO Reservoir
CONTROLLER: Hydros XP8
HEATER: Finnex 300 Watt Titanium with Inkbird WiFi Controller
SKIMMER: Cadlights PLS-50 ELITE II
SALT: Red Sea Blue Bucket

OTHER EQUIPMENT:
Adaptive Reef Controller Cabinet
Sicce Ultra Zero Pump (for water changes)
Hanna DKH
Hanna Phosphate ULR
Hanna Salinity
Hanna Nitrate HR
Flipper Glass Cleaner
Will order another custom caddy or an InTank media basket (waiting to see how I like the custom caddy that comes with the tank)

Sand: CaribSea Fiji Pink
Rock: TBD (I plan to go with live rock, still unsure of supplier)

While I want to keep this build as simple as possible, I also want to have quality equipment that I can rely on to run the tank if I need to head out of town for a few days at a time. Is there any equipment that I will need/want that I haven't thought of? Any suggestions from other AIO owners?
It just feels like I am missing some things... It may just be from me having too much fun shopping!

 

[blaxsun]

Congrats on the new tank! I think you have it covered! Definitely get the InTank media basket - the stock IM caddy lets a lot of water bypass the filtration.

The SpinStreams work great, but being mechanical they can accumulate and trap gunk - so I was rinsing mine out every month or so (YMMV).

 

[Caleb123]

Congrats on the new tank! I think you have it covered! Definitely get the InTank media basket - the stock IM caddy lets a lot of water bypass the filtration.

The SpinStreams work great, but being mechanical they can accumulate and trap gunk - so I was rinsing mine out every month or so (YMMV).

Thanks! I figured I’d end up sticking with the InTank. I had seen others say similar things about the custom caddy, but I was hoping the fusion pro 2’s had corrected this issue

Thanks for the info on the spin streams. I may need to return them and just go with some RFG’s

 

[TheWB]

Thanks! I figured I’d end up sticking with the InTank. I had seen others say similar things about the custom caddy, but I was hoping the fusion pro 2’s had corrected this issue

Thanks for the info on the spin streams. I may need to return them and just go with some RFG’s

Always cool to see another Lagoon 50 get started. I’ve enjoyed mine. Following along to see what you do with yours. Post lots of pics.

 

[Caleb123]

Always cool to see another Lagoon 50 get started. I’ve enjoyed mine. Following along to see what you do with yours. Post lots of pics.

Thanks! I plan to. The tank arrived today but I was in a rush to get back to work so I did not get any pics yet. Thankfully, there was no damage that I could see from shipping.
I love the dimensions of the tank even more after seeing it in person. Can’t wait to start piecing it together!

 

[thelonereefer1]

Sounds like you have a solid plan!

 

[Caleb123]

So the tank arrived on Friday via FedEx Freight. The driver was a great guy and was very patient with me so that I had the opportunity to inspect the tank. Thankfully everything arrived with no damage.

After seeing the tank in person, I like it even more! The dimensions are great and the IM tanks are just so slick looking.

 

[Caleb123]

I did decide to return the Nuvo SpinStream nozzles and opted for the VCA Random Flow Generators. What I did not realize is that the RFGs would snap right on to the loc line that is included with the tank, so I purchased the IM adapters from VCA, which was a waste.

 

[Caleb123]

I got the stand assembled, which wasn’t all that bad. My only regret is not doing it outside. I have a feeling I will be finding tiny pieces of styrofoam across the room for a while. Overall I am pleased with the stand. It looks good and feels sturdy. My only complaint is the doors. The magnetic “pop-out” style doors seem to be very finicky. The top and bottom do not seem to want to open and close in sequence.

Here are a couple of pics of the tank on the stand. I can’t stress enough how much I love these dimensions. Fits great and looks good without going too small or too large in my apartment.

 

[Caleb123]

In case anyone was wondering, the IM 5 Gallon ATO and the Adaptive Reef Controller Cabinet will both fit under the stand

 

[thelonereefer1]

In case anyone was wondering, the IM 5 Gallon ATO and the Adaptive Reef Controller Cabinet will both fit under the stand

Ouuu I might have to go this route myself

 

[evo187]

Sweet set up so far! Following a long.

The RFGs are really nice. I am ordering them myself. The one thing I found with the lock line is, while it does allow you to direct flow, when they are split they cut down the flow A LOT! They also produce a good amount of shading, so I took them off.

 

[Bsnow0053]

Looking good so far!! Definitely watching and can't wait to see how it turns out, I have the 50g lagoon with the internal overflow and I love it, the dimensions really are perfect. RFGs are definitely the way to go too specially cause you have the dual returns so you'll be able to get nice flow, I have one return and it splits with a lock line Y adapter and I hate it cause of how big and bulky it is.

Shot of my lagoon from the other night

 

[Caleb123]

Sweet set up so far! Following a long.

The RFGs are really nice. I am ordering them myself. The one thing I found with the lock line is, while it does allow you to direct flow, when they are split they cut down the flow A LOT! They also produce a good amount of shading, so I took them off.

I hadn’t thought of that I may have to do some swapping around once I get it up and running to see what works best!

 

[Caleb123]

Looking good so far!! Definitely watching and can't wait to see how it turns out, I have the 50g lagoon with the internal overflow and I love it, the dimensions really are perfect. RFGs are definitely the way to go too specially cause you have the dual returns so you'll be able to get nice flow, I have one return and it splits with a lock line Y adapter and I hate it cause of how big and bulky it is.

Shot of my lagoon from the other night

Looking good! How do you like the 2 AI Prime? I’m worried that there may be some shading and I will have to add a third light.

 

[Caleb123]

The Adaptive Reef cabinet is well made and I really like how easy it is to remove and replace the front section to access the back. I did run into an issue with the size though. It fits great under the stand, but the Hydros XP 8 turned out to be thicker than I had expected and after plugging in a few pieces of equipment I did not have enough too to close the doors on the stand.

 

[Bsnow0053]

Looking good! How do you like the 2 AI Prime? I’m worried that there may be some shading and I will have to add a third light.

The two definitely work good but yea I'd say it depends on your rock scape but I'm probably going to get a third here pretty soon or thinking I may go hybrid with t5s and the two ai primes

 

[Caleb123]

It took me a while, but the solution I came up with was to remove one of the faceplates from the control cabinet. I then took the smaller bottom faceplate and moved it up tight against the Hydros as it was partially recessed to help support it. I then resorted to good old zip ties. I used a black zip tie on each corner of the hydros instead of screws to mount it to the controller cabinet. It is not as clean looking as it would have been mounted to the original faceplate format, but I don’t mind it, and it seems to be stable for now.

 

[Caleb123]

So I got the lights mounted on the tank with the AI mounts. I’m not a fan of the distance they extend over the tank. Due to the rear filtration, they don’t reach out far enough for my liking. Has anyone else dealt with this? Any suggestions for other mounting ideas? I’ve considered an 80/20 mounting system, but I’m having trouble justifying that much money for mounting lights.

 

[Bsnow0053]

So I got the lights mounted on the tank with the AI mounts. I’m not a fan of the distance they extend over the tank. Due to the rear filtration, they don’t reach out far enough for my liking. Has anyone else dealt with this? Any suggestions for other mounting ideas? I’ve considered an 80/20 mounting system, but I’m having trouble justifying that much money for mounting lights.

Yup same issue I have, most of my rock scape is towards the back almost up again my overflow but I wish they went out further, I was thinking of just hanging them from the ceiling but I have 10ft ceilings so I feel like it would look weird, also was thinking of hanging brackets and just getting like L brackets off the wall and hanging them from them. Kinda in the same boat