Dryland Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 So after keeping nano tanks for a couple of years (and having successfully crammed too many corals into my little cadlights tank) it was time to upgrade. I had seen the video made by BRS about using a hydroponics tray as a frag tank and for some reason the desire hit me to do the same. My other hobby is organic gardening, so I think the urge to propagate and cultivate is one of the main reasons I enjoy reefing. I think display aquariums can be amazing, and I plan to keep one again, but for the time being I am content with just growing and fragging the coral. IMG_0264 by dryland970, on Flickr IMG_0271 by dryland970, on Flickr IMG_0269 by dryland970, on Flickr The system has been running for approximately 4 months, and has had some hiccups along the way, but things have stabilized over the past month and a half. I haven't done much fragging yet to be honest. Some softies here and there, I've split an RBTA a couple of times and I fragged out my big duncan colony. IMG_0263 by dryland970, on Flickr IMG_0268 by dryland970, on Flickr Cheers! Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 How does one intentionally "Split" an anemone? Surely not cutting it in two... Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 How does one intentionally "Split" an anemone? Surely not cutting it in two... Stab it in the face Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 What size is that hydroponics tray? Is it 2 foot by 4 foot? Link to comment
Dryland Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 How does one intentionally "Split" an anemone? Surely not cutting it in two... BTA's can be cut in half through the mouth and will heal up in about a day. Some nems don't work that way though, like rockflowers por ejemplo. What size is that hydroponics tray? Is it 2 foot by 4 foot? Yes, that is correct. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Very nice! Looks like a fun set up- maybe one day you'll be sending me a frag ?. Any plans on sps? Link to comment
Dryland Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Very nice! Looks like a fun set up- maybe one day you'll be sending me a frag . Any plans on sps? I have a few frags of sps, mostly montipora. None of them are doing terribly well. I would love to keep SPS but unless the frags I currently own start to improve, I am going to focus my efforts on keeping the corals that are performing well in the system. Evaporation is a real problem as you might imagine, but due to the broad surface area of the sump a lot of water must be lost before the ATO sensor kicks on -causing salinity swings. I have been slowly adding rock to the sump in order to decrease it's volume and lessen the amount of evaporation needed to trigger the sensor. I am currently topping off and dosing by hand, which is less than ideal. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 what ATO are you using? I have a few frags of sps, mostly montipora. None of them are doing terribly well. I would love to keep SPS but unless the frags I currently own start to improve, I am going to focus my efforts on keeping the corals that are performing well in the system. Evaporation is a real problem as you might imagine, but due to the broad surface area of the sump a lot of water must be lost before the ATO sensor kicks on -causing salinity swings. I have been slowly adding rock to the sump in order to decrease it's volume and lessen the amount of evaporation needed to trigger the sensor. I am currently topping off and dosing by hand, which is less than ideal. what ATO are you using? Link to comment
Dryland Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 what ATO are you using? I have the hydor smart level. Link to comment
Tsubatsu Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Great looking frag tank! It looks like it was quite a bit a work to setup. I really like what you did with the goosenecks and PAR30's. I'm looking forward to following along! Link to comment
Dryland Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Great looking frag tank! It looks like it was quite a bit a work to setup. I really like what you did with the goosenecks and PAR30's. I'm looking forward to following along! Thanks dude, glad to have you on board. Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Question, what is the distance between the bottom of the hydro tray and the floor? I have thought about doing something like this and have always wondered if my 40B would work as the sump/more room to grow coral. Link to comment
Dryland Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Question, what is the distance between the bottom of the hydro tray and the floor? I have thought about doing something like this and have always wondered if my 40B would work as the sump/more room to grow coral. There are 20" of clearance to the bottom bar, and more like 23" to the bottom of the tray. Link to comment
Bingo1213 Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Cool thanks! Looks great! Link to comment
Halo_003 Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 That's cool, what equipment are you using? Is that a MH light? Link to comment
Dryland Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 That's cool, what equipment are you using? Is that a MH light? The main light is a 250w MH that my friend sold me on the cheap. I know its a *bit* overpowered for my collection of LPS/Softies, but I only run it for 3 hrs a day anyhow. I'm using a hamilton 14k bulb in conjunction with my two par bulbs, one is a coral compulsion daylight reef and the other is an ebay par38, all blues. The LEDs run for 8 hrs/day. The rest is pretty basic, a couple of reactors in the sump for GFO and AC and a mag drive return. I have the hydor ATO and hydor powerheads, I would like to get their wavemaker as well. The only thing on the system that I would consider at all flashy is my apex jr. I added a pm1 and a Ph probe to it. Target Parameters: Temp- 78.6-79.6 dKH- 9-10 Cal- ~410 Spec grav- 1.025 Ph- 8.1-8.3 Link to comment
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