Lagoon vs Standard tanks comparisons

[Argos02]

Hello everyone,

I will be starting my very first saltwater tank within the next year or so (hopefully) and have been doing a lot of research. I'm trying to narrow down my shopping list to the actual tank I will use and have recently discovered "lagoon" tanks. I will probably most likely go with an Innovative Marine EXT 100-150 gallon (not the INT so I get the full volume) as I will want to do my own sump creation.

Initially I didn't really like the lagoon style tanks as it seemed to shallow for both corals and bigger fish. But after looking at them more, the more I seem to like them as they look more natural to my eyes.

Prospective reef tank:
(100-150 gallon reef tank, with soft or lps; and I think the biggest fish on my "list" would be a yellow tang and was going to do LED lighting just in case that information helps)

Main concerns would be (with a lagoon):
More cost for lighting as you would need more LEDs? (more spread)
Enough swimming room for larger fish like yellow tangs etc.
Flow through the tank harder to do/or need for power heads?

Does anyone have some insights into comparisons between the two? Pros and cons of each?

Thanks for any information!

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

No personal experience with lagoons but I too love the look and would consider one for my next build. I imagine aquascaping/lighting it would be challenging. I would also thinking stocking would be quite limiting...

 

[ClownWrangler]

I never heard of a lagoon tank, but I think I have what you might consider a lagoon nano tank. A 20gallon long aquarium for $20 from Petco. I love looking down through the water at the fish. I found that viewing at a 45deg angle down on a tank is optimal and the top of the tank is best at hip level for viewing. The clownfish love it. The flame hawk is happy and perches frequently in his favorite spots. Even a flame angel seems happy enough and swims through its caves and rocks all day greeting me along with the flame hawk fish every time I come to the tank. Most small reef fish don't need deep water as they rarely stray far from the floor for fear of predators. (this won’t work well if you have a cat). IMO, they actually feal more secure and confident in this setup and hardly ever hide.

Light:

The only issue I had initially is that you will have a tendancy to over light the tank because the light will sit closer to the animals. I have an Aqua knight V2. I had to turn my light down to 60% power for the BTAs to not hide from it. there is an intensity gradient across the tank that you can take advantage of. Right now I have the BTAs right under the light and forests of flame algae to the sides. Some macro algae tend to wash out and get dull if they have too much light, so its perfect. The same thing with corals. There are high light and low light ones, so you can easily set up the tank accordingly.

Flow:

Shallower tanks and particularly long shallow tanks are great for flow. I have a Aqua Clear 70 hang on basket filter on the side of the tank sending flow across the back wall and there is a "rip tide" flow coming back the other direction across the front. It’s perfect for the BTAs. They sway gently in the current and form nice bubble tips. I don’t have filter media in the basket filter, just sponge filters rigged to the intake. I will be putting chaeto in the media compartment with a small light to help with nitrate removal if the flame algae can’t keep up, but so far, it’s doing the job because I added a lot.

The only thing it is missing is a small skimmer which I will add at some point.

 

[Tjm23slo]

for the lagooners, what do you like about the idea of a lagoon?

I want a hybrid but this is difficult in my dwelling. Ideally it’s 3’x5-6’ and 2’ high. Is like it a peninsula or all 4 visible. I like the depth of the lagoon but the height to me is limiting.
Run a 40B or a 45 cube for a foray into lagoon. 16”-18” isn’t a lot of growth space.

 

[ClownWrangler]

for the lagooners, what do you like about the idea of a lagoon?

I want a hybrid but this is difficult in my dwelling. Ideally it’s 3’x5-6’ and 2’ high. Is like it a peninsula or all 4 visible. I like the depth of the lagoon but the height to me is limiting.
Run a 40B or a 45 cube for a foray into lagoon. 16”-18” isn’t a lot of growth space.

I Have a bearded dragon in a 40B and I looked at her with a cynical smile like I was about to evict her to repurpose her home. She knew something was up and gave me the stink eye so I reconsidered. But I think a 33 long would be better. It has the footprint of a 55 gallon which gives fish more perceived swimming space and allows for better view of aqua scaping, which is what I like about the 20g long. It would need a bar light though or several regular lights. However I think the OP was considering a much larger settup.

 

[RevAequitas]

Any input on those INT/EXT 150s etc. with a 20" height? Asking for a friend...

 

[Oscar47f]

Hello everyone,

I will be starting my very first saltwater tank within the next year or so (hopefully) and have been doing a lot of research. I'm trying to narrow down my shopping list to the actual tank I will use and have recently discovered "lagoon" tanks. I will probably most likely go with an Innovative Marine EXT 100-150 gallon (not the INT so I get the full volume) as I will want to do my own sump creation.

Initially I didn't really like the lagoon style tanks as it seemed to shallow for both corals and bigger fish. But after looking at them more, the more I seem to like them as they look more natural to my eyes.

Prospective reef tank:
(100-150 gallon reef tank, with soft or lps; and I think the biggest fish on my "list" would be a yellow tang and was going to do LED lighting just in case that information helps)

Main concerns would be (with a lagoon):
More cost for lighting as you would need more LEDs? (more spread)
Enough swimming room for larger fish like yellow tangs etc.
Flow through the tank harder to do/or need for power heads?

Does anyone have some insights into comparisons between the two? Pros and cons of each?

Thanks for any information!

Hey! I have 2 lagoon style tanks and I love them I have a 50 lagoon and 25 both from innovative marine... I currently have a yellow tang in the 50 there’s more than enough swimming space for the little guy in there until I can upgrade... the benefit of lagoon tanks is you don’t have to have or use the strongest or best LeD lights to achieve your goals because they are shallow I would go with hydras or even a whole bunch of AI primes on a hanging rail spaced out a good amount for better spread... I use the hydras on my lagoon... anyways what lagoon tanks lack in height they make up for in length and width so there should be ample swimming space for fish and you don’t have to struggle to reach the bottom with them...

 

[Oscar47f]

Also it’s actually not too challenging to aqua scale it’s similar to any cube tank where you have a lot of depth to play with it’s awesome in my opinion... in a 100-150 lagoon you should be able to keep a slew of thing fish dont neeed so much vertical swimming space but they do need horizontal space