Small prop tank questions

[jdiver]

I am thinking about setting up a small 15 gallon prop tank, nothing big, but just to have room to frag and grow out corals for myself, family and friends. I have a 110w PC lighting fixture and a 15 gallon regular tank. I'm wondering what I need in terms of LR and LS in the tank, as well as what type of clean-up crew I should add. Do the same "rules" apply as for a regular reef set up? I've also read about some people adding a fish to help keep things in check. I've done some searches/reading here and on RC, but any additional info or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[tinyreef]

i'd skip the fish and the LR. just go with a sand bed (aragonite) for the buffering, dissolution of elements, and the biodiversity it can add (possible natural coral food source). you could seed the system with a couple of pieces but other than that the LR would be taking valuable light-receiving real estate. a macroalgae like prolifera or racemosa is good too. you can easily keep the growth in check since there's no LR in the way and you can really algae scrub the system. (prune or you'll get spores :x )

 

go with a long shallow tank if possible. gets the corals up close to the light and better O2 exchange. i'd go topless too allows easier access to figit around.

 

without the LR and fish there should be little bioload other than what you may feed certain corals. low bioload also translates to minimal cycle and denitrating needs.

 

the only cleanup crew i would suggest are maybe astrae or margaritas (even better). ceriths are good too but too tiny imo. turbos would be too destructive in a prop/frag tank. and hermits just know when you're trying to get a frag to attach. those little @$%&!

 

get a HOB like a aquaclear. adjustable flow with filter media chamber (in case of emergency-carbon or poly-filters). the return also aids O2 exchange on the surface.

[jdiver]

Thanks for all the info! Very helpful. The tank is 24" x 12" x 12", so it's pretty long and shallow. My first thought was that I didn't need LR for the reasons you stated, mainly the lack of any siginificant bioload, but I read several things to the contrary. Granted, they were talking about larger prop tanks (55+), so maybe that's a difference. I don't have a top for the tank, so topless works great. Thanks again for the info and suggestions.