Dine's IM 25 Lagoon Office Tank

Dine · Feb 27, 2023

Welcome to my build! I previously had a build with this tank but lost it all to some remodeling that crashed the tank. I knew i wanted to get it back up and running one day so i put everything in storage and i got back my motivation. I have now placed my Innovative Marine 25g Lagoon in my home office where I can keep a close eye on things. This will be a very tech heavy build, mix of zoas and SPS, with a few fish and inverts. Im terrible about documenting and recording while im working on the tank so rather than force myself to do it I will update what I have setup to date and do my best to grab pictures of future progress ( I have a lot of stuff to do still)

Equipment
IM 25g Lagoon
Sicce 1.5 return pump w/ 2x random flow generators
Apex (2nd gen?) w/ tablet display
~~Radion XR15 g3~~ Radion XR15 gen5
MP10Wqd controlled with WXM module
~~Isealife Fleece Roller~~ 2x filter floss
Tunze nano ATO
Inkbird controller w/ 2x 75w neotherm heaters (inkbird needs setup)
~~Intank refugium basket w/ IM ChaetoMax light installed on the back~~ aquamaxx skimmer w/ co2 scrubber
Trident
DOS setup for AWC

Livestock
~~2 Mocha-Storm Clowns~~ RIP (ich or velvet)
~~1 peppermint shrimp~~ RIP (vanished)
1 Midas Blenny
1 Diamond Watchman Goby
1 Blackcap Basselet
3 Trochus snails
5 Hermits
3 Mexican Turbo Snails
Assorted Zoas
Assorted SPS
1 Gonioporo (color was too pretty to pass up but not in my original stock list)

The tank was cycled with Fritz Turbo 9...really amazing stuff. It was amazing how fast this thing cycled. I have never used the bottled bacteria before and I am a true convert! I have a trident and a DOS on the way. Trident so I can track dKH so im comfortable with adding SPS and DOS for automatic waterchanges. I will add a couple more DOS when its time to dose, im thinking water changes will suffice for now. Rooms a mess from all the setup but I'll get some tank shots up and once i get the room cleaned some pictures of the whole setup.

*Edit* sorry for the terrible pictures. One of my goals on this build is to learn how to photograph these things.

blaxsun · Feb 27, 2023

Best of luck!

Dine · Feb 27, 2023

blaxsun said:
Best of luck!

Thanks, I'm going to need it!

Dine · Mar 6, 2023

Tank is mostly running good. I had a small setback and lost the female clown. Whether it was Ich or velvet I am unsure. I have setup a QT tank and have the male in there for the next couple months. Going to do a round of copper followed by prazi. In the mean time I’ll let the display sit fallow

I also added some chaeto to the refugium. PH has improved a lot with this addition. I knew that would happen but not to the degree it did. Im Losing some stability since I’m only running the refugium light for 5 hours but I will increase that gradually as I dial in the photoperiod.

Dine · Mar 29, 2023

Tanks coming along. I finally got my cabinet organized and the trident hooked up. Next project is adding a DOS pump for automatic water changes.

i also Added a diamond goby. He’s a pig and eats any and everything I throw at him. Couple zoas and a torch. I’m really only happy with one of my zoa frags (pictures below) under my lights so I’ve left the others in the sand to trade away at the next frag meet.

one of my goals for this tank is to get better at taking pictures. I’d like to get an actual camera but here are my first attempts with my iPhone and a couple filters. Any advice or recommendations are welcome!

Gumbies R Us · Mar 30, 2023

Nice torch!!

Ghostweim · Apr 8, 2023

Nice tank! I am looking pondering one of these tanks... I have a Red Sea Nano Max right now and want something more shallow with better floor space for my corals.

Dine · Apr 8, 2023

Gumbies R Us said:
Nice torch!!

Thank you. Unfortunately while I was on a work trip my filter floss clogged (had only been in 24hrs) and emptied the back chamber. ATO dumped the rodi and that torch melted in a matter of 24hours.

nothing else was effected and I’ve switched to different floss. My LFS has an even prettier torch I’ve got my eye on but a little gun shy at the moment.

Dine · Apr 8, 2023

Ghostweim said:
Nice tank! I am looking pondering one of these tanks... I have a Red Sea Nano Max right now and want something more shallow with better floor space for my corals.

I LOVE the dimensions of this tank. The only change I would make, is I would have done these dimensions in a custom non AIO and put in a sump.

NCsalt · Apr 8, 2023

Sorry about the torch. I am coral planning and I am gun shy about torches too. Gonna do a few softies first.

Dine · Apr 9, 2023

Fairly productive weekend. I got my AWC hooked up with a DOS unit and the apex. Currently set to do 1/2 gallon a day which should equate to about 15% WC a week. Lines got crossed while I was setting up and fine tuning and after getting it all working I just don’t have it in me to fix the cable Managment. A project for another day…

I added a Midas blenny he’s doing well but extremely shy. I’ll try and grab a picture of him as he settles in. I also added a couple sticks. Still working on the picture thing…I’ll figure it out one day.

Trukingny · May 9, 2023

Beautiful tank just got mine today. Question do you feel the single xr15 is enough light.. i wanna do mix reef (nice sps pieces) and wanna get a used gen 5 maybe if i can find a gen 6 just dont know if i should get 1 or 2?

Dine · May 10, 2023

Trukingny said:
Beautiful tank just got mine today. Question do you feel the single xr15 is enough light.. i wanna do mix reef (nice sps pieces) and wanna get a used gen 5 maybe if i can find a gen 6 just dont know if i should get 1 or 2?

Thank you.

1 xr15 is plenty of light for this tank. I have mine running about 85% and thats seeing 400+ par at the top and 150-200 on the sand. The only "downside" to the single xr15 vs a xr30 is that your corners will be lower light due to the spread. I dont see that as a bad thing as it does give you plenty of space for sps and 4 corners to choose from if you have some lower light corals. I do plan on adding an aquatic life t5/led system that has t5s across the whole tank and holds my xr15 in the middle, but im not doing it for "more" light I just think t5 supplemented tanks look better. I will likely have to turn my xr15 down a little when i convert.

Lebowski_ · May 17, 2023

How are you liking the Lagoon? I am trying to decide between this and the IM 20g which has more height. Worried about 11" tall not being great for viewing.

Dine · May 17, 2023

Lebowski_ said:
How are you liking the Lagoon? I am trying to decide between this and the IM 20g which has more height. Worried about 11" tall not being great for viewing.

I like the height BUT it’s mainly viewed from a seated position at my desk. If this was a display tank primarily viewed while standing I might want something a little taller. With that said though I would split the difference with a taller stand because I like the lagoon look.

Dine · May 17, 2023

Update. I’m terrible about these. Tank flooded. Not sure if it was a stuck ATO float switch, clogged floss and an empty chamber, or what. I left the tank unsupervised for 24 hours and came back to water on the floor and a salinity of 1.018. Corals, fish, and inverts all seem
Fine. I’m taking about a week to bring it back to 1.025.

now with that said I’m worried. Without knowing the exact cause of the ATO flood I’m jumping on a plane in the morning and will be gone 5 days. I have no choice but to fill my ATO with the correct salt water and let it top off to 1. Keep the water lvl and 2. Continue to bring the salinity up. Will it flood again? Will it survive? I genuinely don’t know. I have someone at home to feed but they will be useless beyond that….

Now to add to the fun there’s a very pricy bundle of frags arriving the day after I return. Ordered before my flood. So not only can the tank not flood again but it also has to correct its salinity issue on its own via ATO while I’m gone. Let’s hope i did that math right.

I’m sure my vacation will be relaxing…..

Dine · May 25, 2023

The tank was alive and well when I returned home. Salinity still rising via ATO. 1.023 now. Glass was covered in algae after a week away so I did a deep cleaning, a 25% WC, and mounted all my new frags. I also added a small urchin to tackle some GHA popping up. Never had an urchin before but a fun addition so far. Tank is running pretty well other than my trident started acting up. I turned it off for now but hopefully this weekend I can get it back on track.