1 system 2 displays

anarchy

anarchy

Active member
The wife who hates my tanks and the money I spend on them decoded to get me this bad boy. Not sure how to set up a frag tank so advice would be appreciated.
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I always try to tie my frag tank in with another established tank. If you can do that it will reduce setup cost and allow you to start stocking right away
 
If you're looking for a fast setup then tying it into an existing system is fine. For me personally, a frag tank is more for redundancy than for profit. I prefer to have my frag tanks set up totally independently of the main system. Then I can house frags of my corals that I really like there and if anything happens to the main display, I have instant replacements.

As far as setup, it's just like any other tank but I like to minimize pest hiding space so I would run something like k1 instead of live rock. Also, frag tanks are purpose driven so I like purpose driven fish. For that tank I would house a single coris wrasse as maybe a small kole/bristletooth tang. That would deal with pests and algae.
 
No I Def want an independent system. If something breaks out like the past couple weeks then I only want it in one system and not 2
 
You should probably do a little research on this site and others to determine what you think you want and then come back with that. There are about a billion different ways to spec out that system. Not only that, but you need to determine the type of frags you want to keep. SPS/LPS/Zoas/Softies all require different things. Tiered systems can be successful as well depending on rack placement. Do you intend to just use egg crate frag racks or some other method of holding frags in place?

Since you asked about a specific pump though that's a good place to start. The Koralia 550 will definitely be too little flow though. It's a 24" cube, you'll want to look into something along the lines of 2xMP10 or 2xWP10 or 2xRW4/8 or any combination of those. You could probably get away with a single larger pump too depending on how you place specific frags.
 
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This is my first frag tank but here's my thought. Please correct anything that's wrong. Also this is kinda a budget build haha damn expensive hobby.

10 gallon sump (because I have one laying around)
With fuge section
Super skimmer 65 (because it's cheap and works good on my 29)
Koralia 550 because I have one here
Get a fluvial sea cp1
Not sure what size return pump to use
 
anarchy said:
This is my first frag tank but here's my thought. Please correct anything that's wrong. Also this is kinda a budget build haha damn expensive hobby.

10 gallon sump (because I have one laying around)
With fuge section
Super skimmer 65 (because it's cheap and works good on my 29)
Koralia 550 because I have one here
Get a fluvial sea cp1
Not sure what size return pump to use
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trackfast said:
Also think about how much you want to spend on the different components.
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This is a huge one. Honestly, I was just looking through some of your posts/threads/etc, and at the risk of sounding like a huge edit, I wouldn't even set this tank up yet if I were you (unless it was going to be a total replacement for one of your current tanks). One of the biggest mistakes new reefers make is to go to fast. You've been in the hobby for a relatively short period of time, are still having quite a few new reefer/new tank issues, and having three totally independent systems is a LOT of maintenance.

If I was in your position, I would either dump one of your current tanks into this one and re-scape so it's something new for you, or stick this one in the closet until you really really really really know that you want to be doing three separate water changes, maintaining three separate sets of equipment, etc.

Also consider the question "do I really need a frag tank" before setting one up. Do you plan to sell your frags? Do you have anything in your display tanks that is so overgrown that it needs to be fragged? Do you have anything in your display tanks that is expensive enough to warrant the added cost of having a system to keep a separate piece of it (cost of electricity, salt, water, etc.)?

Edit: I just saw that your 27g doesn't even have water in it yet. Sell that thing and just set up this 30 as a display tank.
 
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Trust me I wouldn't have bought this tank. The wife got it for me today. I haven't even re setup the 27 cube. The 29 is about to get flatworm exit and the aiptasia is almost taken care of. Everything is getting dipped after the 27 cycles and swapped over. I don't take offense to anyone's suggestions and opinions. But in order for me to do the hobby the right way I need the tanks. As of now I have no quarantine which is what the 30 will probably start out as until I completely stock my tanks. Everything will be dipped from here on out so I avoid these issues as much as possible.
 
anarchy said:
Skimmer? Size sump? Fuge? Is the koralia 550 enough circulation? Return pump? Media?
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+1 on the research. Lot of ways to skin this cat.

At first glance:
Skimmer: SCA 301 or 302 if your sump is large,
Sump: the biggest you can fit in the stand. Maximize water volume
Fuge: yes should be part of the sump, maybe use a 40b and build Fuge/ sump
Circulation: what Ted said
Return: DC 3000
Media: run k1 or hel-x media
 
anarchy said:
Trust me I wouldn't have bought this tank. The wife got it for me today. I haven't even re setup the 27 cube. The 29 is about to get flatworm exit and the aiptasia is almost taken care of. Everything is getting dipped after the 27 cycles and swapped over. I don't take offense to anyone's suggestions and opinions. But in order for me to do the hobby the right way I need the tanks. As of now I have no quarantine which is what the 30 will probably start out as until I completely stock my tanks. Everything will be dipped from here on out so I avoid these issues as much as possible.
Click to expand...

You said you have a 10g laying around, that's a perfect QT tank for anything that will fit in your 27g or 29g anyway. If you really really really really thought about the questions I asked and decided, "I need a frag tank", then this is good info:

Siebo said:
+1 on the research. Lot of ways to skin this cat.

At first glance:
Skimmer: SCA 301 or 302 if your sump is large,
Sump: the biggest you can fit in the stand. Maximize water volume
Fuge: yes should be part of the sump, maybe use a 40b and build Fuge/ sump
Circulation: what Ted said
Return: DC 3000
Media: run k1 or hel-x media
Click to expand...
 
anarchy said:
Trust me I wouldn't have bought this tank. The wife got it for me today. I haven't even re setup the 27 cube. The 29 is about to get flatworm exit and the aiptasia is almost taken care of. Everything is getting dipped after the 27 cycles and swapped over. I don't take offense to anyone's suggestions and opinions. But in order for me to do the hobby the right way I need the tanks. As of now I have no quarantine which is what the 30 will probably start out as until I completely stock my tanks. Everything will be dipped from here on out so I avoid these issues as much as possible.
Click to expand...

If you plan to QT with copper in the 30 don't plan on using it for coral and inverts. You will most likely have issues with stuff dying from the copper left behind. After you swap everything over from the 29 to the 27 use the 29 as your QT. IMO once a QT tank always a QT tank.
 
Siebo said:
If you plan to QT with copper in the 30 don't plan on using it for coral and inverts. You will most likely have issues with stuff dying from the copper left behind. After you swap everything over from the 29 to the 27 use the 29 as your QT. IMO once a QT tank always a QT tank.
Click to expand...
When you dip coral does it kill off inverts such as mini bristle starfish
 
Thinking once the pests are taken care of I'm going to break down the 29s. Turn the 29 dt into a sump fuge like I did the other one. And run the 2 cubes
 
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