300 g SPS/LPS propagation build

[Cac986]

I have been in the hobby for 20 years and now its time to build a propagation system. Thanks to all of you that gave my brother and I input/advice on reefcentral, please we are open to any suggestions and advice. This will be a slow build so bear with us. Overall goal of our system is to experiment with different techniques of aquaculture, and to trade/sell frags to others in the hobby. We will only be using frags from my current 300 g display tank and other aquacultured frags from others in the hobby. We will not be fraging from any wild sps/lps colonies to sustain and not further damage the coral reefs throughout the world.

First off my brother is a part owner of a hydroponics store in Phoenix. So naturally we are using as much equipment from the hydroponics industry as possible. So today we purchased 3 separate tanks:

Tank one (SPS/LPS) frag runway: 96" x 48" x 7" (~120 US g)-white tank in photo

Tank two (parent colonies): 36" x 36" x 12" (~60 US g)-black tank in photo

Tank three (live rock/macro algae/live sand/misc corals): 48" x 48" x 12" (~120 US g) - white tank in photo in truck


Here are some photos of the parent colonies from my DT:

View attachment 219408

We have a lot more to come: tank set up, plumbing, lighting, filtration, etc.....
We are still deciding on lighting and what size/type protein skimmer and ca++ reactor to use (large enough so we can add more tanks to the system and not have to worry about purchasing a larger skimmer etc..)

 

[dsmhero]

I am looking forward to your build. Been doing a lot of research on propagation and how viable it is as a full time business. Please keep us updated.

 

[organism]

Interesting using hydro trays for corals, really looking forward to seeing how this one shapes up. Loving the long raceway!

 

[JVJordan]

I've considered using those trays before. Do you feel they are well made and durable? I haven't handled them in person.

GL with the build.

 

[Cac986]

They seem to be very durable. They are made well in my opinion (not cheap plastic nor flimsy), there made to withstand alot of abuse for hydroponic systems. Not many have used them for coral prop. so only time will tell. I will make sure to keep you guys posted. We are building the stands soon and will drill the bulk heads this weekend.

 

[cracker642]

Ill be watching the pic of the dt look awesome can't wait to see what you do with frag tank

 

[fishyguy7]

Im also setting up a system like this. I am using very similar tanks, they are 81x30x14.

 

[mic209]

There's actually a store in the Phoenix area that uses those trays for their coral display. They work pretty well.

 

[Cac986]

Whats the name of the store that uses them. I would like to check it out. Thanks

 

[coralreefdoc]

The Aquarius in Tempe, Arizona

Owners name is Carlos. Well informed, pleasant guy to have an intelligent, especially reef related, conversation with ...

Highly recommended if you're looking for a small niche store with hands on/informative ownership !

 

[Cac986]

So today we moved my brothers 300 g planted aquarium aside (back breaking work) and began setting up the stands for the prop. tanks. Nex week we will start the plumbing (just bough 8 3/4" and 2 1 1/2 bulk heads). Here is a few pics.

My wife would love the fact that I put 40 concrete blocks in her SUV


Stand (quickest stand ever built)



8' x 4' raceway


4' x 4" tank and 120 g sump


Thanks for looking

 

[Almondsaz]

Carlos uses a set of smaller trays (grey) and they really are nice. You can see the coral clearly - the depth of the tray does limit the size of the frag. Your trays appear deeper. The Aquarius is located just around the corner from Reef Culture. I am looking forward to your build - tagging along.

 

[coralreefdoc]

Would you please elaborate on the other important specifications of this system, if they've been finalized i.e. lighting, flow, humidity control (even in AZ), etc ...

 

[Cac986]

At this point nothing has been finalized. We are going to be using MH on a light rale for the 8x4 raceway using vented sunlight supply hoods to control heat (often used in hydroponics). Humidity control is still an issue that we are discussing. We have a system that we purchased that will kick on a fan when the room reaches a set humidity point, however we are not sure yet. We are going to use T5 lighting (ATI) for the 4x4 black tub for large LPS colonies (those that require less intense lighting). Our sump will be have (1) 400 W MH. We still have not agread apon the color temp of the MH lights and supplmental lighting for dusk and dawn effects, but we will keep you posted. The 8x4 raceway will have 8 (3/4") overflows that will feed into the black tub through filters socks and then will overflow into our sump via (2) 1 1/2" bulkheads. Circulation is TBD. We will keep you posted. Any suggestions are always welcome.

 

[naldopr]

interesting build subs!

 

[Cac986]

Plumbing

Plumbing

Sorry it's been awhile since my last post. Work, family etc.... Today we started our plumbing project. Home depot is the place I find my self aimlessly wondering the plumbing section trying to visualize which parts I need. But, I think we did alright. So we drilled eight 3/4" bulkheads in our 4'x8' raceway and one 1 1/2" hole in our 4'x4' LPS frag tank and one 1 1/2" hole in our sump.
This was not as easy as we thought. The trick to drilling holes in plastic is to go slow as to not melt the plastic. Then it hardens and it is a pain the sand it out so the bulkheads fit flush. We also purchased a reeflo dart 4000/3000 gph return pump. Each corner of the raceway will have 1 return and one durso stand pipe. Thats a total of 4 returns and 4 stand pipes. Hopefully this will give us plenty of flow. If not, then we can also add external powerheads for better flow.

 

[Cac986]

More pic's

More pic's

Im going to have alot of lime green ora digitata, orange montipora (getting way to large for my DT 2' x 2', and pink ora birds nest to start fraging from my DT. I also attatched a pic of all of the plumbing supplies, and our humidity/Temp control system. Have a good one!

 

[naldopr]

nice where did you find those 4'x8' raceway? and how much did you pay?

 

[Cac986]

I bought the raceway from a hydroponics store in phoenix. Around $300 is the the MRSP. You can also find them online.

 

[naldopr]

thanks!!