Debating setting up a frag tank. Advice?

[mim37204]

I'm debating setting up either a 10 gal or a 20L frag tank. It will be mostly for zoas and LPS corals, with one or two SPS pieces.

 

The biggest question I have is along the lines of what all I should include in this setup. The main tank will probably have a thin layer of sand under the egg crate, and nothing else. Was thinking of using a rubbermaid tub as the sump along with some chaeto and 10lbs of LR rubble and a few inches of sand. Running a skimmer isn't an option at the moment(wish it was, but the bank account says no for a few months), but I can run bags or reactors of carbon, chemipure, phosban, and possibly even bio-pellets if the need calls for it. I had also contemplated keeping a few mollies in the main tank along with a CUC to help kind of keep up with any housekeeping needed there.

 

 

So that's it that I can think of. Now i turn it over to those with the experience of you all. Pitfalls to look out for? suggestions on the setup? General advice that some of you find useful or mandatory with yall's setups?

[ericm1205]

sounds good. but dont use sand. it will make a mess and if your not skimming then it will be a nitrate factory. other than that your good.

[paradox_of_reef]

I personally think that sand is a good thing to have but i might just be crazy. What kind of light are you using?

I'm going to start a frag tank as well soon and i was looking for information on what other people do with there setups?

[jaynkeel]

Like eric said sand is not really desirable in a frag tank due to the amount of water movement, normally shallow tanks, and because of maintenance feeding and keeping clean, just becomes a hassle and detritus magnet. Remember with a frag tank your constantly in there moving things about well more so than a display tank. But I myself like to go against some of the other logics and prefer to use live rock in the frag tank as I hate looking at eggcrate, just to sterile for me. Either way have fun with it and good luck when you decide to take the plunge, and start a build thread with lots of pics!!! As a side note look on ebay as there are alot of nice acrylic frag tanks of the small size that are pretty good priced, plus you can go shallower than a standard 10gal and have more usable space as depth isn't really required. All depending on budget of course.

[Captain Hook]

Like eric said sand is not really desirable in a frag tank due to the amount of water movement, normally shallow tanks, and because of maintenance feeding and keeping clean, just becomes a hassle and detritus magnet. Remember with a frag tank your constantly in there moving things about well more so than a display tank. But I myself like to go against some of the other logics and prefer to use live rock in the frag tank as I hate looking at eggcrate, just to sterile for me. Either way have fun with it and good luck when you decide to take the plunge, and start a build thread with lots of pics!!! As a side note look on ebay as there are alot of nice acrylic frag tanks of the small size that are pretty good priced, plus you can go shallower than a standard 10gal and have more usable space as depth isn't really required. All depending on budget of course.

 

 

sweet display pic..I dig man..the dude abides

[Gerber77]

I have a friend who uses sand in his frag tank and he has the best coral I have ever seen! I'm gonna try it in mine because of the denitrifying benefits.

[paradox_of_reef]

I have to agree with this i dont see a real reason why having sand in a frag tank is a bad idea. A frag tank is really no different than a display tank in terms of upkeep. either way you want as much growth as possible. As long as you keep the appropriate CUC for having a sandbed then it shouldn't pose any problem.

[xxbrianxx]

I have a friend who uses sand in his frag tank and he has the best coral I have ever seen! I'm gonna try it in mine because of the denitrifying benefits.

 

but that only happens when you have a dsb....shallow sand beds don't have any denitrifying benefits.

 

I have to agree with this i dont see a real reason why having sand in a frag tank is a bad idea. A frag tank is really no different than a display tank in terms of upkeep. either way you want as much growth as possible. As long as you keep the appropriate CUC for having a sandbed then it shouldn't pose any problem.

 

and well maybe there isn't too much negative. but then again what's the purpose of having a sand bed in a frag tank unless it's a dsb? you could house so much more bacteria with just LR or some other type of bio media. at least for me the only reason I'd include a sandbed is for looks, but in a frag tank it's not gonna add much anyways. just my .02.

[paradox_of_reef]

Well personally i don't even consider it a sand bed unless its actually a DSB and that's what i was referring to. There isn't really a reason to do anything just for looks in a frag tank. anyway I'm doing Live Rock in my frag tank which is just about to get its first coral.

 

Do you run a frag tank? i'm trying to gather advice just like the guy who started the thread.

[xxbrianxx]

i see, but in a shallow tank it'd be hard to have a dsb...

 

and yea i do. I'm sort of limited in terms of space so i have an all in one 20L. I siliconed in a piece of acrylic for about 1/3 of it and put a 2" sand bed for my sixline. But the rest of it is BB and it definitely does help to keep the tank clean.

[paradox_of_reef]

The one i'm using is a ten gallon which i technically share but we both use it for frag growing. we have both LR and LS even if its not quite a DSB i don't want to get rid of it unless it becomes a problem to the tank. what kind of things do you grow in your frag tank?

[ReefTaco]

But I myself like to go against some of the other logics and prefer to use live rock in the frag tank as I hate looking at eggcrate, just to sterile for me

 

this is interesting

 

 

http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/fis...psFragCave.html

[xxbrianxx]

i keep mainly stony corals. a bunch of acros, a couple montis, and some chalices and acans. I keep the water cleaner for sps but I spot feed all my lps to make up for it.

 

this is interesting

 

 

http://www.petsolutions.com/storefront/fis...psFragCave.html

 

lol i actually like the organized look of eggcrate and a fully stocked frag rack. looks like an underwater garden but yea i agree most people definitely don't prefer the look of egg crate

[paradox_of_reef]

I've seen those but they aren't really meant for frag tanks. they want you to use it to mount plugs in you display tank and i think it looks a little too fake for my tastes. i agree egg crate looks sterile and unattractive but thats why its a frag tank not a display tank. now even though i have some eggcrate in my display let me say i hate people who do that(myself included) but by next week i'll be able to put those frags in a proper frag tank for growth

[herranton]

With zoas and LPS you probably will do better without a skimmer, but if you ever start getting into sps, you can get a used skimmer on CL for a lot cheaper than a new one. I was looking at a CPR bakpak skimmer a couple of days ago for $35. I'm sure that would work pretty well on a 10-20gallon.

[jaynkeel]

Actually I should rephrase what I typed before about eggcrate. If it's painted black and used to elevate things off the bottom by an inch or so then I don't mind the look. It's when I see it unpainted in tanks 8 inches off the bottom is when it for some reason annoys me personally. Pet peeves I guess, but it is a very versatile material and have seen it used creatively many times over.