I'm starting to think about a frag tank so I can grow out some stuff to sell and trade. I would like to propagate both soft, lps and sps. So I'm looking into buying a 20L and building a middle section to filter the water. One section could house all of the chemical warfare types (ie leathers) and the other could have sps. Something like this:
Click to view attachment

Both sides would overflow into the middle chamber, then the water would flow underneath the first partition and up through some filter media (chemipure elite, gfo, etc) then over the top of the second partition into the pump section. The pump section could house a higher flow pump for the sps section and a lower flow one for the softies section. Could also use two different lighting setups on each side.

Any thoughts on this idea? Should I even worry enough about chemical warfare from corals like leathers to have two sections?

If it was me I would skip it and not worry about it. Keeping in mind I am not a biology expert. I have read some about the 'chemical warfare' that can take place between the corals but I cant imagine that doing it the way you have illustrated versus just running a canister or HOB with media would make that much of a difference. Just my thought.

Jerome

its a cool idea
i dont think you really need to separate the corals
thats why we use carbon, it absorbs most compounds

This is extremely similar in design to a tank I tried to have built once.
Obviously I like the concept.
It's a hard call on whether or not you should separate the SPS and Leather Corals.
I do think that Coral Warfare is something that not enough people take into account, and you are to be commended in that you have considered it.
If you do go with the separated design, you'll probably have to use something like a 70w or 150w MH over the SPS side.
I think the lighting is one of the most difficult parts of the design, on a tank of that size.

I like the idea. If nothing else, just keeping the two physically distant, even if not completely apart, should help. I've seen my zoas get POed just because a mushroom decided that it wanted to come live next door to it. Given that zoas are hardier than SPS when it comes to these things, the more separation, the better!

This is such an awesome idea. Its a really clever way to have a set-up so that it divides the tank into two seperate tanks. I'm thinking more for the sake of a Harley Habitat on one side and a Starfish Habitat idea on the other... Either way, if this idea of yours comes to fruition, please keep us updated. I'm following along.