60 gallon lagoon tank build

[Lorien]

My first saltwater tank! I am so excited. Thanks KimP!

I am still assembling pieces while I wait for the cycle to be done. So far I have a PAR 38 LED 20,000K on one third. I have ordered two 6500K CFLs for the other two thirds of the tank. My eventual plan is to have BTAs under the LED bulb and macros under the 65s. Right now it is pretty much a pile of rocks cycling while I move them around every few days. Today I added 20 lbs of live rock to the large amount of dry rock (limestone) that has been hanging out in there for a couple of weeks. Not much yet, but it is coming together slowly. It gives me plenty of time to research as I go.

[Lorien]

Renamed: Dr. Seuss tank plan - 60 gallon lagoon build

Thank you for your interest and advice. I am so excited about my new hobby!

My main goals for this tank are:
1) as completely contained ecosystem as possible
2) Whimsical artistic tank with plays on perspective and scale (I am never going to be able to stick with "reef" or "lagoon" or anything kind of traditional. Just the way I roll.
3) Very small budget and minimal maintenance keep it simple (and lightly stocked)
4) Creatures that can survive some "darwin" tank management practices. I have two small kids and sporadic time to 'fuss' with my tank.

Stocking plan:
Fish:
Mimic Filefish, is ordered and will be staying in a friend's tank until mine is stable and running well.
Assorted mollies 3-5, eventually will replace with Bubble tip anemones and clownfish
Yellow watchman goby

CUC must have: hermit crabs and brittle star or serpent star

Macro algae
Giant Pulsing Xenia in front left of tank 6" stalks people! http://www.aquascapers.com/store/soft-coral/270-vargas-giant-pom-pom-xenia.html
"nano island" in middle (ish) of tank with as close as possible duplication of large island on the left small species pulsing Xenia (from Kim)
Similar duplication and scale of macros in the center and right side of tank

Considerations and questions:
1) I have a skimmer, but would love to tweak this to go as low tech as possible. Should I use the skimmer at first and figure out how to balance my tank before I remove it, or try to get the system going without using it?
2) What is the difference between a brittle star and a serpent star? Do I care which one I stock other than avoiding the green/red ones?
3) The Xenia aren't filter feeders, and my system obviously will need some if I am going to try skimmerless. Any suggestions of what to add to my stocking list that can hold it's own with Xenia and be prolific enough to bounce back from anemone stings if the BTAs go for a walk?
4) Which Macros would be easiest and be visually balancing to pulsing Xenias?
5) Do I have the potential to get a balanced ecosystem with this list? Please discuss.


Thanks again, I look forward to your opinions and insight!
Lorien

[+Grog]

Since no one else is chiming in.... Here is my .02 regarding your questions.

1.) I don't run a skimmer. I don't find it necessary in the tanks I have. Some like it as extra insurance but I'd rather spend my money on other stuff. With the stocking plans you are listing, I would not consider it to be a must-have item.

2.) one has spiky bits on its legs, and the other is smooth and snake-like. I have both. Do they help or do anything? ??? Dunno, they are always hiding. In theory they are eating detritus....

3.) I'm not a BTA fan. I have only rock and condylactus nems now. I grew tired of the endless splitting of the BTA. Unless you are dead-set on a BTA, I'd recommend re-evaluating this addition.

4.) I am partial to Caulerpa Paspaloides. You may want to look at that as a side-kick for the Xenia. Green about 6"-8" and the fronds are not 2x but 3X symmetry along the stem. (think like the feathers on an arrow....) It spreads via runners and I've found it to be hardy but doesn't like pruning (or at least when I've pruned it.) I've got a bunch in my fuge; it is my only fuge macro at the moment. The pink and green would be a good contrast.

5.) You can make it balanced. Whole threads can be done on this topic alone.

With your given theme name.... This fish could change your tank's budget significantly

http://reefbuilders.com/2012/10/19/dr-seuss-fish-video-shows-incredible-belonoperca-pylei-close-personal/

Grog

[Lorien]

Thank for the response. It is really helpful for me to write this stuff down and kick it around.

I am not set on BTA, but I am a bit afraid of killing stuff with my beginnerness. I would love to justify a carpet somehow. Maybe after I practice on a BTA. I am definately putting Caulerpa Paspaloides on the stocking list.

That Dr. Seuss fish is cool, but the $ ouch. Really? Why do people do that? LOL.

Thanks!

Lorien

[Planeden]

hey, congrats on the new tank. good luck with it. i'm new too, so just a couple of my thoughts to not take terribly seriously .

1. i also have opted to go skimmerless. i figured it is best to leave it off from the start. i figure if i'm trying to build up natural pollution control, i may as well have it start in the cycle when nothing is risked. otherwise, your natural stuff will be competing with the skimmer.

4. i can count, just don't have answers for 2 and 3. i like red macros, too. like dragon's breath and gracilara hayi. check out live-plants.com and some other sites for cool ones. i also have some feather caulerpa in my DT and caulerpa prolifera in my fuge.

[Lorien]

Updates: FTS after light installation and Limestone rock shelf that I hope to take to Patrick's one day soon. My cycle finished and I now have a few hermits, snails and mollies hanging out in there. YAY!

Thanks for the link Planeden, I will be making an order there for my next step, I think!

[Lorien]

Oh and please ignore the hair algae, it is all I had at the time. Wow those mollies are awesome grazers!

[subsea]

Oh and please ignore the hair algae, it is all I had at the time. Wow those mollies are awesome grazers!

Lorien,

Glad that you made it out to Bear Creek. It was enjoyable. I will follow the progression of your build and contribute. The ARC community is a big family. Seek advice. It is a marvelous complex world of beauty that you have taken on with the hobby. Because of diverse needs of specific tank inhabitants, it is most important to start with the concept of what exactly do you want to create in your eco-system. I have heard this next advice from members on this forum, find a biotheme tank that you like. Learn everything about how it works. Emulate the tank. I think that whimsical fits within that world.

Laissez la bonne temps roulee,

Patrick

[Lorien]

Thanks so much Patrick, we had a blast! I am almost finished putting things in place after both your macros and the awesome gifts at the meeting, I have had a lot of work to do. I hope to have updated pictures this evening. Everything looks great and is growing fast.

[Timfish]

I certainly haven't had problems going skimmerless so I don't feel it's necessary. Considering all the pests that come in on live rock the animal that has by far caused me more grief are BTAs. Your tank is relatively small so you should be able to remove the excess "relatively" easy or if you don't mind ending up with a BTA tank go for it. Someone else here on ARC talked about that last year but I don't remember off hand who it was. Looking forward to watching your tank develop!

[Lorien]

Updates! Some of the things that are going on over here... Everything is growing fast. Even the huge waving hand xenia is, although it is still pretty pissed. It is starting to fill in where I assume there was once a rock in its former home.

1) FTS

2) Patrick's macros are working well and I think I finally found places where all of them are happy.

3) I love my black spotted orange molly pair, but they swim to fast to get good pics. I will keep trying.

4) These yellow whatsis (?) have already doubled in size and spread to new places!

5 and 6) Today's new inhabitants two more hermits, two giant snails and two tiny starfish (my faves).

I am having such a blast! Tomorrow I am going to beef up the contents of my filters and see about polishing the water a bit.

Lorien

[+KimP]

That's looking really good. I love it with the addition of macros! You can put something like fiberfill batting in the canister filter to clear up the water, you just have to change it out pretty frequently a it clogs up.

[Planeden]

looking good lorien.

[Lorien]

My children named my sea urchin Spikey. It has decided to wear a xenia frag - an angry xenia frag, some Cheato and some crushed coral. I need more urchins.

[+KimP]

Wow! That is an interesting choice of camouflage. Lol.

[Planeden]

Well, after you pulled him from his macro hidey hole he had to come up with something better.

[+Grog]

If you like critters that rearrange frags and wear them.... Decorator crabs will glue polyps, macro, whatever to themselves. They can really do themselves up.

Some folks hate that but I find it amusing.

Unfortunately, I have bad luck with decorator crabs. Something in my tank finds them tasty.

[Planeden]

If you like critters that rearrange frags and wear them.... Decorator crabs will glue polyps, macro, whatever to themselves. They can really do themselves up.

Some folks hate that but I find it amusing.

Unfortunately, I have bad luck with decorator crabs. Something in my tank finds them tasty.

maybe they find the polyps, macro, or whatever tasty and the crab just gets in the way. like a polyp-cream cone.

[Lorien]

I researched decorator crabs, but the seem to be kinda psycho killers. I am becoming very suspicious of crabs in general. I already have hermits that ate some snails. Yes, I have the whole tank littered in extra shells, didn't save the snails apparently.

[Lorien]

Brief tank update. Bleh.

My favorite molly appears to be recovering from whatever tail disease she got. My salinity was way high. Everything seems much happier since I fixed that. I am going to test salinity at the LFS until I get a refractometer. Two of the five baby mollies ended their lives in the powerhead last night somehow. My sea urchin appears to be stuck in the macro again. Is this a thing with them or is mine extra dumb?

On a good note, I decided I hate stacking rock. It is heavy, not very stable and can break glass and crush creatures. Plus it is a rather "serious and dignified" element and my tank is meant to be whimsical. I have a degree in ceramics. I am going to make my own 'rocks' that don't fall over and look whimsical. I have been hard at work designing and building all sorts of little homes and crannies for my critters. It goes to be fired next week, so I will update with pics when I get it back. So excited!

[+KimP]

That's very exciting about your homemade rock! I can't wait to see it. I'm glad the molly is recovering and that you found out about your salinity. I forget to check mine and if anything goes wrong, that is usually the culprit. No ideas on the urchin. I haven't put any macros in my display yet where my urchins are. Weird.

[Planeden]

glad to hear about the molly getting better. it's sad about the little ones, but to be fair, I have never had any success raising little fish into big fish. even when some seem to show up big enough to easily see, they tend to disappear at some point.

the rock thing sounds cool. looking forward to see what it looks like.

dennis

[FloridaBoy]

Hi Lorien,

Looks like we started building Lagoon type tanks around the same time. I've got a 24g Nanocube going, and am also taking a minimalist approach to equipment and a Darwinian approach to the critters. No canister filters, sumps, or skimmers etc. I'm letting the live rock and the macro's do the work. I noticed that your water seems cloudy - do you have any filter feeders in the tank to take care of plankton in the water column? The rocks I got from Patrick had about 8 clams on them, and between them and the carbon they keep my water crystal clear, and the macro's keep my nitrate readings virtually undetectable (competition for the micro algae).

I was thinking of adding a few molley's to my tank also. Where did you get yours, and how did you transition them to saltwater? (I'm going to start a build thread myself tonight, as I keep having questions...)

Your tank is looking good - making me wish I had started with a bigger tank! (I have tank envy )

Can't wait to see how your ceramics turn out!

Cheers - Steve

[Planeden]

Hi Lorien,

Looks like we started building Lagoon type tanks around the same time. I've got a 24g Nanocube going, and am also taking a minimalist approach to equipment and a Darwinian approach to the critters. No canister filters, sumps, or skimmers etc. I'm letting the live rock and the macro's do the work. I noticed that your water seems cloudy - do you have any filter feeders in the tank to take care of plankton in the water column? The rocks I got from Patrick had about 8 clams on them, and between them and the carbon they keep my water crystal clear, and the macro's keep my nitrate readings virtually undetectable (competition for the micro algae).

I was thinking of adding a few molley's to my tank also. Where did you get yours, and how did you transition them to saltwater? (I'm going to start a build thread myself tonight, as I keep having questions...)

Your tank is looking good - making me wish I had started with a bigger tank! (I have tank envy )

Can't wait to see how your ceramics turn out!

Cheers - Steve

Darwinian approach...hahaha.

just answer real quick, you can get molleys anywhere. i got mine at aquadome as i started having problems with my petsmart fish staying alive. a 4 hour drip acclimation is a pretty safe way to transition them to salt water. there are reports of people's children being helpful and dumping them straight into SW and having them survive, so 4 hours may be conservative, but you know, better safe than sorry unless you want to make sure they are strong darwinian stock to survive the rest of the approach .

[(Bio)³]

I catch my mollies right out of the river below my dock. If I do anything faster than a week long SG acclimation they die. In Austin I used outsmart mollies and they were fine with a 4 hour drip.

Also I acclimated fw killifish to sw over a week. They were neat

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk