Starting Frag Tank - Advice Needed

[Nick Kohrn]

Hello everyone,

 

I have been killing myself lately over starting a tank with my IM 10-gallon. I have decided that since I will be moving in the near future and changing careers, the uncertainty has me rethinking a full-blown reef system where corals will be placed to grow out on the rocks.

 

With that said, I have decided to turn my tank into a frag tank so that when my life settles a little I will have some larger pieces to place into my tank. This will also help curb the feeling that I need to fill my tank quickly and let them grow out. I will be able to really seek out pieces that I want in my future display and take my time doing so.

 

I really want a nice, clean frag tank that looks like I put a little thought into it. It will also likely be fish-less and house soft, LPS, and SPS corals.

 

I have a few questions that I would really appreciate some insight to:

 

1 - Should I just use rock rubble in the bottom of the tank and ensure that I have adequate flow throughout?

 

2 - How often should I feed with pellets, mysis, and other foods, such as Reef-Roids? With it being fish-less, I know that I need to feed more often.

 

3 - I will be performing weekly water-changes, but what percentage?

 

4 - What frag racks do you have experience with that look nice and are sturdy? The ones that I have seen on BRS have a lot of negative reviews. Would magnetic-mount racks or shelf-styled racks be better? I don't prefer plain eggcrate, but will definitely use it if it's easier.

 

My equipment list is:

 

- Innovative Marine 10-gallon

- 50-watt NeoTherm heater

- VorTech MP10wQD

- VorTech Battery Backup

- Radion XR15w Pro

- Bare-bottom tank for a high-flow environment

- inTank filter floss holder for mechanical filtration

- Tunze Osmolator nano

- ReefKeeper Lite

- Seneye for measuring PAR

- ReefLink for enabling night mode on my VorTech

- SpectraPure 90 gallon-per-day RO/DI

- Red Sea Coral Pro salt

- 30 pounds of dry rock in storage to choose from

 

Thanks so much for your time and help!! I'm very greatful for all of the amazing people on this forum!

[Rural]

1 - Should I just use rock rubble in the bottom of the tank and ensure that I have adequate flow throughout? no, go bare bottom and use similar to a IM frag rack system.

 

2 - How often should I feed with pellets, mysis, and other foods, such as Reef-Roids? I would say LESS often. Not more. your tank params will tell you. having a good clean up crew will def be needed. reef roids would be fine and then MAYBE pellets or eggs to supplement the CUC.

3 - I will be performing weekly water-changes, but what percentage? 30% is fine

 

4 - What frag racks do you have experience with that look nice and are sturdy? http://www.innovative-marine.com/auqa-gadget/reefrack-50.html

 

My equipment list is:

 

- Innovative Marine 10-gallon

- 50-watt NeoTherm heater

- VorTech MP10wQD

- VorTech Battery Backup

- Radion XR15w Pro ---- LOVE IT

- Bare-bottom tank for a high-flow environment

- inTank filter floss holder for mechanical filtration

- Tunze Osmolator nano

- ReefKeeper Lite

- Seneye for measuring PAR

- ReefLink for enabling night mode on my VorTech

- SpectraPure 90 gallon-per-day RO/DI

- Red Sea Coral Pro salt

 

Thanks so much for your time and help!! I'm very greatful for all of the amazing people on this forum!

 

the thing I see missing is surface area. specifically for your bacteria to grow and tank to stabilize. look into ceramics and other ideas (such as rubble in the back of the AOI but know they can trap detritus, consider purigen additive for surface area and other similar products too).

oh and the PAR meter is probably overkill...

[Nick Kohrn]

 

the thing I see missing is surface area. specifically for your bacteria to grow and tank to stabilize. look into ceramics and other ideas (such as rubble in the back of the AOI but know they can trap detritus, consider purigen additive for surface area and other similar products too).

 

oh and the PAR meter is probably overkill...

Would it be feasible to use something like a block of MarinePure in the bottom of the tank for a very highly porous media? I could then set the frag rack on top of that since it's flat-surfaced. It would be very easy to remove and rinse out in tank water during water changes to remove any detritus.

[Tamberav]

Why don't you just put media to act as live rock in the middle chamber in a bag and run floss, ect in the first chamber. This is how I set up mine and it stays free of debris since the floss catches it.

 

I don't see skimmer or reactor on your list so I am assuming the middle chamber is free.

[Nick Kohrn]

Why don't you just put media to act as live rock in the middle chamber in a bag and run floss, ect in the first chamber. This is how I set up mine and it stays free of debris since the floss catches it.

 

I don't see skimmer or reactor on your list so I am assuming the middle chamber is free.

That sounds easy enough. I'll grab a plate of MarinePure and cut a few strips off to fit in the middle chamber. That will definitely keep maintenance easy in the display area. I may just go with eggcrate because it will be easy and much cheaper to create a custom setup.

 

Also, can I ask how one should handle frags when they start to encrust and grow onto the frag rack? As I don't know when I will be setting up an actual display tank, I want to know how to keep corals in check as they grow onto the rack.

[Rural]

Also, can I ask how one should handle frags when they start to encrust and grow onto the frag rack? As I don't know when I will be setting up an actual display tank, I want to know how to keep corals in check as they grow onto the rack.

 

so, I think it would be best to get the plate square frags. when they are beside each other they would touch and the coral would never "see" the frag rack, it would just encrust another plug.