Bit by the bug!

[The_hobbyist]

Hello,

I have been out of the hobby for close to a decade, and decided to visit a LFS. Seeing the livestock reminded me of past tanks and decided it was time to start up again. I have had many freshwater tanks ranging from community tanks to planted discus tanks. I then moved to a 75 gallon reef tank. Unfortunately the sump leaked and the I took the tank down and sold off all equipment. I am on a limited budget and found many good reviews of IM tanks. Originally I was looking at the IM 14 gallon peninsula, but it was sold out. I decide on the IM 25 gallon lagoon, which I feel has nice dimensions for a smaller tank. So far I have purchased an AI prime 16 HD and some dry rock from BRS. I am super excited to get this tank going. I have a few pictures of my aquascape that I am pretty happy with. Let me know what you think!

 

[ludnix]

Looking great! It looks like the perfect proportion of rock!

 

[The_hobbyist]

Got a few things delivered today. Getting ready to add water and get the cycle going. I ordered a RO/DI unit from BRS that will be here tomorrow. Should have cycle going in the next few days. Picked up a food grade bucket from Home Depot for mixing salt water. Due to limited space I won't be able to set up a permanent place for RO/DI unit.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hello and #WelcometoR2R

Looking good so far. Once you have a tank, you always want a tank. Keep us update so we can see how it comes out.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Welcome back to the hobby!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Hello,

I have been out of the hobby for close to a decade, and decided to visit a LFS. Seeing the livestock reminded me of past tanks and decided it was time to start up again. I have had many freshwater tanks ranging from community tanks to planted discus tanks. I then moved to a 75 gallon reef tank. Unfortunately the sump leaked and the I took the tank down and sold off all equipment. I am on a limited budget and found many good reviews of IM tanks. Originally I was looking at the IM 14 gallon peninsula, but it was sold out. I decide on the IM 25 gallon lagoon, which I feel has nice dimensions for a smaller tank. So far I have purchased an AI prime 16 HD and some dry rock from BRS. I am super excited to get this tank going. I have a few pictures of my aquascape that I am pretty happy with. Let me know what you think!

I like it!

 

[Alanna102499]

Looks good! Welcome to R2R!

 

[WIReefer]

Welcome back to the hobby looking great so far!

 

[The_hobbyist]

Thanks for the replies! I am excited to say I was able to get the tank filled today! Need to dial in temp. and salinity. Hoping to start fishless cycle tomorrow.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Welcome to the community, and back to the hobby! The tank looks very nice. I cant wait to see it filled!

 

[The_hobbyist]

I was able to get some water tests done today, and start cycling the tank.
Specific Gravity 1.025 Refractometer
PH 8.2 API
KH 11.5 Red Sea
Ca 460 Red Sea
Mg 1440 Red Sea

I'm using Red Sea Coral Pro salt. KH and Ca seem to be right where they should be. Magnesium is on the high side, so I may need to re-test. Used MicroBacter QuickCycl and MicroBacter Start XLM for cycle. Looks like Ammonia is about 2 ppm. I will update in a few days on cycle progress. So far I am planning on adding a clown fish pair, and some kind of wrasse. Any suggestions would be great! Also, I would like an ORA captive bred madarin later when the tank is established. Anyone have experience with them as far as feeding goes, and if they would be a good fit in a nano?

 

[The_hobbyist]

Not much to update. Tank is moving along through the cycle.

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[The_hobbyist]

Just a quick update. Have a had 100 degree + days here so I ordered an Inkbird controller and some fans. This is my first experience with Inkbird, so I will see how it works out.

 

[The_hobbyist]

I’ve already had some ups and downs with this tank. I was having an issue with cloudy water. I ordered a UV light from IM and it has done a really good job of clearing up the water. I ordered a clownfish pair from LA and sadly lost the male after about a month. Tried treating him, but never got him to eat since day one. Good news is, the female is doing really well.

 

[The_hobbyist]

Picked up my first coral a couple days ago. Seems to be doing well.

 

[saltysailor]

I have a 25 lagoon that I started at the same time using the same salt so I’ll be watching!

 

[The_hobbyist]

Nice! I will definitely follow your build thread.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Welcome!

 

[The_hobbyist]

I haven't updated the thread since there wasn't much to update until now . The tank continues to mature, and has been going through the different stages of algae. I added some equipment to help with tank stability. Picked up some more livestock as well. I will post pictures soon.