eclipse522 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 So, I have decided that it is time to revamp my 55 gal freshwater tank. I want to convert it to a saltwater lagoon. The plan is to have a variety of macroalgae and a few soft corals. It will have a 30 gal tall sump without skimmer. Yes, a skimmerless tank. I Know lagoons have low flow but how low is low? Since the tank is not empty yet, I will figure it out later. I think the sand bed will be deep because lagoons do not have a lot of rock. I will put as much live rock into the sump as i can. There will be three to four silver utility lights hanging over the tank. I may spray paint them black depending how they look over the tank. They will have LED bulbs in them. I know Lagoons have a lot of feather dusts, marcoalgae, and soft coral. I am having a hard time finding information on what fish tend to live in lagoons, other than juvenile fish. So, I would love to get suggestions on fish. Seahorse will go well in a tank like this but no seahorses. This tank may become a dragonface pipefish breeding tank, so I would need pipefish safe fish and invertebrates. I am not heart set on breeding the dragonface pipefish due to difficulties of rearing the fry. If I do have pipefish fry, they will be moved to the sump. I can have fish that will eat the fry. On to the sump. More than likely, I will not drill the tank to the refugium. The sump will have three chambers. I already have installed the baffles in the sump. I will put live rock in the first chamber and possible the cancer of tanks, pulsing Xenia for added filtering. There is not much room under the stand with the sump, so lighting is the determining factor for Xenia. The second chamber will house macroalgea to help balance the PH. The third is the return +/- live rock. I hope to start cycling the tank by summer or late spring. I still have to remove the last 5 fish, clean the tank, buy LED lamps, return pump, and water fans. If I am not too lazy, I will remove the fish and clean the tank this weekend. I think I will control this tank with an apex. If anyone have any good photos of lagoons, please do post them or pm me. I am having a hard time finding good underwater lagoon shots for inspiration. There is not much in underwater photos of lagoons. Feel free to give stocking ideas as well. This will be my lagoon build thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) This book is a bit technical, but lots of good information on various biotope aquariums. Here it is on a .PDF file. I have some other references, and will look for them later. http://share.luisquerido.com/Dynamic%20Aquaria.pdf Here are a couple of excellent articles. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/sl/index.php http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/sl/index.php Some Suppliers http://www.floridapets.com/ Awesome live rock...talk to them and let them know what you are looking for on the rock..gorgonians, plants, etc. Fresh off the reef. Lots of diversity of marine life!! They also carry some "cured" rock that has been in holding tanks awhile. http://floridaliverock.com/ *You can always let us know when you have pipefish fry. Would be glad to return some that grow out! Edited March 28, 2015 by JManrow 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisQ Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Cool idea! I want to do something like this one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisQ Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Here's the video 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) Julian Sprung's Tank Tour - Featuring His Bonsai Mangrove Tank. (@ 4:30) Edited March 28, 2015 by JManrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 cool biotopes for sure. One does wonder about the smell:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse522 Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Thanks everyone for the information. I have seen all of those articles, videos, and a few of the pictures. I did re-read the articles a little more carefully. Now I am off to clean out the tank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 This book is a bit technical, but lots of good information on various biotope aquariums. Here it is on a .PDF file. I have some other references, and will look for them later. http://share.luisquerido.com/Dynamic%20Aquaria.pdf Absolutely awesome link. That'll keep me reading for months! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 That books is amazing, John. Adding the hardcover to my wishlist... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 That books is amazing, John. Adding the hardcover to my wishlist... I bought my copy of "Dynamic Aquaria: Building Living Ecosystems" by Walter H. Adey and Karen Loveland as soon as it was published back in 1991. It is currently in it's 3rd Edition. There's a good number of affordable copies available online @ amazon.com There are many associated links at Dr. Adey's website. http://www.walteradey.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Virtual Tour of the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit http://www.sms.si.edu/SMEE/virtual_tour.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Virtual Tour of the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit http://www.sms.si.edu/SMEE/virtual_tour.html The video feed of the Virtual Tour seems to be no longer active, but here is still a lot of good info at the site. There is also a current Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianSMS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse522 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Thanks JManrow for the info. I just re-realize there is a spot on the forum for tank builds. I will start a tank build thread in the right area. On a side note, I finished cleaning my tank out and have all the lights I need for it. I think i will go the mostly dry rock route again. I will seed the dry rock in my other tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Thanks JManrow for the info. I just re-realize there is a spot on the forum for tank builds. I will start a tank build thread in the right area. On a side note, I finished cleaning my tank out and have all the lights I need for it. I think i will go the mostly dry rock route again. I will seed the dry rock in my other tank. Looking forward to the build thread! Will you be using Par38 LED Flood lamps? I'm really happy with the one that I'm using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse522 Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Not sure what lamps I am going to use yet. It is a high possibility that they will be LED. I will have one led fixture in the middle and 2 ultiliy lights on neither side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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