IM 50G Lagoon AIO

[Bsnow0053]

Fully extended out

 

[evo187]

I have 2 AI primes over my 50 as well. I was thinking about making extension arms for mine to push them out about 3 more inches, but I've situated my rock work so that the tallest rock formations are towards to back for SPS to compensate for it. SPS on the taller rocks get most of the light, and the LPS appreciate the lower light being towards the front of the tank.

 

[TheWB]

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.

I think you’ll find that once you start using them it’s not going to matter. I’d try it first before spending a bunch of money on a different mounting option. If I had those lights I would probably spread them a little further apart and maybe angle them in some. I think you’ll get better coverage that way and eliminate some side shadowing.

 

[Bsnow0053]

Yea that's actually how I compensated forine as well, like Evo said I just have tall parts of my rock work right under the lights and the rest pushed out to the front lower in the tank, and like WB said I'd spread them alittle and angle in that how I have my just slightly angled towards the center of the tank. Less light spill and good even distribution.

 

[Caleb123]

The elusive Cadlights PLS-50 Elite II skimmer arrived today. I don’t plan on adding it to the tank until further down the road after dealing with bottomed out nutrients on a newly established tank in the past. I went ahead and ordered it after reading some other folks having to wait a while to receive one. I received this one about 1 week after ordering, so I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Caleb123]

I was seriously debating ordering some extruded aluminum rails to mount the lights closer to the center of the tank. I think I could do it for roughly $100 by ordering the parts from Amazon.

After some further thought, I reverted to the thought of wanting to keep this tank simple. Most of the corals that I will be keeping shouldn’t mind the lower light areas too much. I plan to spread the lights and angle them inward as suggested. If it becomes too much of an issue, I will add a supplemental LED strip or an additional Prime/Kessil for better coverage but I don’t expect that to become a need. Thanks to everyone for the input on the lighting situation!

 

[MaD_ReefeR]

Following

IM is having a sale currently and I jumped on board and got the 50g Lagoon. Currently have a 20g peninsula I found used locally that I was about to start cycling but I got stuck at the aquascaping and after getting frustrated I came up with the only logical solution, I needed a bigger tank Tank should be here next week, I also have 2 - AI 16HDs I was going to use with the 20g that I've been debating on just selling and getting a Reefbreeders Photon 24-V2. For now I'll be stalking you guys with your posts and seeing what other equipment will work well with these tanks. Not sure about the whole controller setup just yet, those seem a little intimidating for me just yet.

 

[Caleb123]

Following

IM is having a sale currently and I jumped on board and got the 50g Lagoon. Currently have a 20g peninsula I found used locally that I was about to start cycling but I got stuck at the aquascaping and after getting frustrated I came up with the only logical solution, I needed a bigger tank Tank should be here next week, I also have 2 - AI 16HDs I was going to use with the 20g that I've been debating on just selling and getting a Reefbreeders Photon 24-V2. For now I'll be stalking you guys with your posts and seeing what other equipment will work well with these tanks. Not sure about the whole controller setup just yet, those seem a little intimidating for me just yet.

Congrats! Just my luck the tank goes on sale right after I buy it lol. You will be very happy with it, it’s a beautiful tank and I love the dimensions. Have fun with it and take your time getting things set up the way you want them!

 

[MaD_ReefeR]

I had it in my cart for a while and was just waiting for payday. They were offering a $200 gift card to top shelf aquatics when I first started looking at it and then they took the gift card away and just discounted the setup so if you were able to get the gift card it pretty much came out about the same.

 

[Bsnow0053]

Congrats! Just my luck the tank goes on sale right after I buy it lol. You will be very happy with it, it’s a beautiful tank and I love the dimensions. Have fun with it and take your time getting things set up the way you want them!

Yup same thing happened with me, got the 50 lagoon int overflow, but through saltwater aquariums and literally the next day was on sale at IM website with the 200$ gift card. Was so mad at myself haha

 

[iquitreef]

Looks like a great start!!

 

[dedragon]

Yup same thing happened with me, got the 50 lagoon int overflow, but through saltwater aquariums and literally the next day was on sale at IM website with the 200$ gift card. Was so mad at myself haha

haha same, but imagine people also bought them from bulk reef supply and they charge an additional 300 for drop ship compared to freight shipping for $100 from innovative marine. that wud really suck

 

[thelonereefer1]

haha same, but imagine people also bought them from bulk reef supply and they charge an additional 300 for drop ship compared to freight shipping for $100 from innovative marine. that wud really suck

i agree with this. i had a buddy who made this mistake. he ended up contacting BRS and brought this to their attention. they docked it up to an "error" and returned $200 of that. whether or not its an actual error or they just do it and roll with it unless its brought up i have no idea. i do find it very interesting though that others have had a similar experience so maybe its not as much of an error as i once thought

 

[dedragon]

i agree with this. i had a buddy who made this mistake. he ended up contacting BRS and brought this to their attention. they docked it up to an "error" and returned $200 of that. whether or not its an actual error or they just do it and roll with it unless its brought up i have no idea. i do find it very interesting though that others have had a similar experience so maybe its not as much of an error as i once thought

that is weird, unless they try to fix it, that is a scam

 

[Caleb123]

I haven’t been able to post for a while now due to life. Although it’s been busy, I have managed to make a little progress on the tank. I went ahead and spread the AI Primes apart and slightly angled them inward. So far I think I will be happy with that. I added an InTank media basket to replace the filter sock and 40lbs of Fiji Pink sand.

 

[Caleb123]

I wanted to use live rock for this build. Aside from the benefits of using established rock, I enjoy finding all of the things that come out of the rock once in the tank. After checking with a few places, I came across Gulf Live Rock. I liked the reviews, price, and they offered overnight shipping to my door since I am not near an airport. I ordered 35lbs and it was shipped out on Monday and arrived today (Tuesday). The rock has plenty of life on it. There are macro algae, starfish, some kind of cucumber, and a few aiptasia. Overall, I’m happy with the rock and the quick turnaround time.

For now I just laid the rocks inside but I plan to do somewhat of an aquascape once I get some more time. I also expect to want more rock, which I will pick up from my LFS.

 

[Caleb123]

Here’s the rock:

 

[TheWB]

Here’s the rock:

That looks great. I’ve been thinking about getting Gulf Live Rocks nano package just to seed my next build.

 

[thelonereefer1]

Looking good!

 

[Caleb123]

Well I guess it's time for a long overdue update...

The tank is coming along nicely. Aside from some minor algae blooms, the tank hasn't missed a beat so far. I have had high phosphate in the tank since day 1. It usually runs around 0.25-0.3 ppm. Although this is higher than what I would like, I do not plan to make any specific changes for this other than my weekly water change and I am running chemipure blue in the filter baskets. As long as everything in the tank seems happy, I feel much more comfortable with high nutrients than low.

I have a lot of things in this tank that I am very pleased with, but just to top the list my LFS was able to source a healthy blue spotted jawfish for me. He has been with me for nearly a month now and seems to be content. He has expanded his tunnel to have multiple entrances now and his favorite one seems to be front and center of the tank. I purchased a nice sized Colorado Sunburst anemone from a reefer here on R2R. I am absolutely in love with this nem, it is so bright and my clownfish seem to be gradually taking an interest in it.

This week I am in isolation from COVID, so I figured I would take advantage of my time at home (& 4th of July sales) to receive some packages. First, I ordered some more clean up crew from @reefcleaners which should be arriving tomorrow.

I have been wanting a very small tang, partially for enjoyment and partially for algae control. Ultimately I decided to buy one of the tiny captive bred guys from @Biota_Marine. I ordered a yellow tang, a neon blue cleaner goby, and a captive bred mandarin! This order should arrive tomorrow as well. On the Biota website they list the foods that the mandarins are feeding on so I ordered several of them to insure I have multiple options for it. I also added multiple jars of copepods from Reef Nutrition and Algae Barn a while back and have been dosing phyto.

Lastly, I couldn't resist ordering some coral. I placed an order with a smaller online vendor that I have used previously and was very pleased call Lowcountry Coral Boys. They specialize in zoanthids and run fantastic sales. I picked up some scarlet fever, seduction, pikachu, rainbow yoda, JF acid reflux, Chiquita, and Illuminati.

I still have not added the Cadlights skimmer to the tank. Partially due to laziness, and partially due to the fact that I am loving the simplicity of this setup. I am running filter floss on each side and chemipure that needs to be changed once a month, along with weekly water changes.