Sara’s IM 25g Lagoon
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- Thread starter saramachen
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OP
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saramachen
Active Member
It's a well know shop in Mississauga. I have thought about it some more, and my gut is telling me the "advice" I got was more of a personal beef then anything. The person who warned me, I have talked to quite a bit over the last month, but I really have no reason to take his word over all the positive reviews. The shop sent out an email saying all inverts and corals are on sale this weekend, so I placed a pick up order for a bunch of snails and some dry goods (including the Cal & Mg tests). I will go down tomorrow and see for myself.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
While feeding just now - I thought i had my first casualty. I saw what appeared to be a dead emerald crab at the back of the tank. I was pretty upset, and worried about why it may have died, and would that also take out my clowns, when out of the corner of my eye I see something move. He must have molted (which I didn't really realize emerald crabs did) HE'S HUGE NOW! So relief for the crab being alive & relief for the safety of my other inhabitants.
I swear I have dead fish PTSD.
I swear I have dead fish PTSD.
JoshH
Tank Status: Wet...ish, growing things....
If you are talking about Candy Corals, Afnan is fantastic to work with! He is one of only two shops I will order anything livestock wise from. In saying that, I am sure that not everyone has had a perfect experience as let's be honest, nobody is perfect and mistakes happen.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
It was. Like I said so many people say he's amazing, why should one bad "review" outweigh that?
Im headed there tomorrow to pick up my snails. He has Bengaii Cardinals according to the site, so i will take a look at them. Fragbox called me today to process the refund to my Visa for the deposit on the PAR meter, i asked if they ever get Bengaii in but he said no.
Changed 4g of water today. And for *some* reason my salinity dropped. I convert gallons to liters and then multiply by 37g (as per TM's instructions) and weigh out my salt when i mix it. This is the first time thats happened. I will check it again in a bit, but i might need to make some more saltwater to bring it up.
Tests after WC
Salinity - 33pm
Alk - 7.16 It decreased from yesterday which i find odd with the water change.
I watched BRS's youtube about 2 part, and I can get their Pharma line from Fragbox, so i will likely do that. I will keep my eye out for a used doser - but for now it will be manually.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
What ended up happening was I made the RO/DI in a 5 gallon pail, but didn’t fill it all the way, and needed to figure out how much water I had. I used a 2L measuring cup, and I knew I had 15L. When I said 4 gallons I had actually converted the other way using google just for easier reference.
JoshH
Tank Status: Wet...ish, growing things....
Makes sense, If you are ever in home depot they sell measured 5 Gallon pails. They are semi-see through white pails that have measurements on the sides.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
I was looking at those, I. went with the canadian tire pails as they said food grade. I can't remember about the HD pails now you mention it tho.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
I picked up my snails and a feather duster today. Along with some dry goods.
They had the Bengaii Canrdinals. They were perfect - it was ALLLL I could do to leave with out them, but I need to give the tank a bit longer to make sure the bio load can keep up.
The shop was VERY NICE. And the girl who assisted me was awesome. She asked about what size snails and what feather duster I wanted. I told her I didn’t really care about the snails, it if any had some coralline I’d like to attempt to seed my tank, and she took the time to pick out a couple that were 1/2 pink. A couple dead fish in the tanks, but that happens everywhere.
My feather duster came right out of hiding once added to the Tank. I sorta feel that speaks to the health of the invert and that my tank must be doing something right.
I will go back in a couple weeks for the cardinal fish. The girl assured me they often have them.
They had the Bengaii Canrdinals. They were perfect - it was ALLLL I could do to leave with out them, but I need to give the tank a bit longer to make sure the bio load can keep up.
The shop was VERY NICE. And the girl who assisted me was awesome. She asked about what size snails and what feather duster I wanted. I told her I didn’t really care about the snails, it if any had some coralline I’d like to attempt to seed my tank, and she took the time to pick out a couple that were 1/2 pink. A couple dead fish in the tanks, but that happens everywhere.
My feather duster came right out of hiding once added to the Tank. I sorta feel that speaks to the health of the invert and that my tank must be doing something right.
I will go back in a couple weeks for the cardinal fish. The girl assured me they often have them.
Last edited:
AnotherReefHobbyist
Well-Known Member
Feather duster looking great!I picked up my snails and a feather duster today. Along with some dry goods.
They had the Bengaii Canrdinals. They were perfect - it was ALLLL I could do to leave with out them, but I need to give the tank a bit longer to make sure the bio load can keep up.
The shop was VERY NICE. And the girl who assisted me was awesome. She asked about what size snails and what feather duster I wanted. I told her I didn’t really care about the snails, it if any had some coralline I’d like to attempt to seed my tank, and she took the time to pick out a couple that were 1/2 pink. A couple dead fish in the tanks, but that happens everywhere.
My feather duster came right out of hiding once added to the Tank. I sorta feel that speaks to the health of the invert and that my tank must be doing something right.
I will go back in a couple weeks for the cardinal fish. The girl assured me they often have them.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
Todays fun thing:
I bought a dozen empty shells for the hermit crab (hoping it would keep him from eating any of the 11 snails I introduced) and my daughter noticed him switching shells tonight. He’s moving from the dark she’ll into the larger white shell (which was empty and not a snails house lol)
I bought a dozen empty shells for the hermit crab (hoping it would keep him from eating any of the 11 snails I introduced) and my daughter noticed him switching shells tonight. He’s moving from the dark she’ll into the larger white shell (which was empty and not a snails house lol)
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
I asked on a FB group and this was recommended- so I picked up a tub of the powder Sunday
I have some fresh RODI water waiting and a stirrer arriving from Amazon tomorrow. I plan to manually dose for now, although I’m looking at the Kamoer X1 doser.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
Thank you!
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
To switch salt or not switch salt…
Bought a 25kg bucket of Tropic Marin Reef Pro after researching salt, when I set up the tank. So this bucket will last me FOREVER. It’s Turkey made salt. I don’t have brown sludge, yellow water, or funny smell, It mixes beautifully clear. I have only 2 fish in the tank, a few inverts and a zoa frag. Everyone seems happy. I still am concerned about the salt. Do I switch before I add anything else to the tank? I am tempted, but again I personally am not seeing any of the issues - I’m not doubting they exist tho.
Bought a 25kg bucket of Tropic Marin Reef Pro after researching salt, when I set up the tank. So this bucket will last me FOREVER. It’s Turkey made salt. I don’t have brown sludge, yellow water, or funny smell, It mixes beautifully clear. I have only 2 fish in the tank, a few inverts and a zoa frag. Everyone seems happy. I still am concerned about the salt. Do I switch before I add anything else to the tank? I am tempted, but again I personally am not seeing any of the issues - I’m not doubting they exist tho.
AnotherReefHobbyist
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be so worried, especially if you are not seeing any of that stuff currently. I don't believe it has been known to kill fish, mostly just a pain to deal with the brown sludge and yellow water looks bad.
OP
OP
saramachen
Active Member
Thanks. I have heard of unhappy Corals - tho mostly it seems to be SPS, which is not my intention.
It seems silly to throw away $100 in salt, especially when I am not seeing issues. I’m going to dig deeper in the threads and see if anyone with mostly Soft coral are seeing any health declines.
Mjl714
Valuable Member
Really enjoying your build thread. I have an IM 30l AIO, which we set up in April, 2018. We really like it for our kitchen viewing tank. I’ve grown to love the shallow height for many reasons especially easy cleaning and direct feeding of my cleaner shrimp and others. You mentioned the top frame corrosion risk, mine is plastic so no rust and has held up very well. I removed the original netting and replaced with a thinner less light blocking material. I don’t use a skimmer, just water changes and normal cleaning maintenance. My challenge is keeping nutrients up to desirable levels. Your rock work looks beautiful I really like the depth and openness of your design.
I could go on, but suffice it to say great job, and good luck with your system.
I could go on, but suffice it to say great job, and good luck with your system.
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