Advice / suggestions for crypic zone?

[lolgranny]

:wavehand:

I have some spare room under my frag tank for a 40g brute trash can and im thinking about having the frag tank drain into the container filled with live rock which would overflow into my 125g sump on my 180g. I was thinking of having a bunch of live rock with a lid on it and calling it a day.

Any thoughts on this idea?
Would it be best to start with dry rock?
Would i want to add anything to the cryptic zone? ie. snails / sponges...ect?

TMZ this is where i want you to chime in, i know you have something similar

Thank you for your suggestions fellas! Hope everyone is having a swell day.

David

 

[Agu]

Did that many years ago but then we moved and it wasn't set back up.

Raise the rock a few inches off the bottom of the container. That way you can remove detritus that will accumulate there.

Cut a hole in the lid about 1/2 the size of the lid. That way the lid works like Eurobracing but you'll still get air exchange and some ambient light.

Base rock would be fine but seed it with some uncured rock if possible. When I read Tyree's book about cryptic zones (first or second edition) I noticed he was using this filtration on holding tanks for newly imported coral frags. I suspect the introduction of numerous hitch hiker organisms on the frags/rock was part of his success.

 

[lolgranny]

Hey Agu!

I was thinking of putting the drain all the way to the bottom to hopefully make it so if there is any detritus that settles it will move it. I was going to have the drain of it near the lip (just a bulkhead and a line drained to the tank)

I dont think much debris will get collected in my frag tank because it will be feed with a pump after the filter sock / be bare bottom so if any does settle i will siphon it out.

Do you think this will become a trap for smaller debris and become a issue? I already have a fuge so its not needed, i just thought i could add some more water volume and live rock to the system as i dont want a "rock wall" in the display

Thank you
Dave

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have pretty extensive cryptic zones in Brute cans filled with live rock. I have the water enter at the bottom and exit by surface skimming at the top. I have 3 of these on my system. I have a powerhead on top of each rock pile, and in the 3-10" of water on the top I grow macroalgae.

I'm sure there is a pile of mud/detritus on the bottom, but I do not really care.

 

[lolgranny]

I have pretty extensive cryptic zones in Brute cans filled with live rock. I have the water enter at the bottom and exit by surface skimming at the top. I have 3 of these on my system. I have a powerhead on top of each rock pile, and in the 3-10" of water on the top I grow macroalgae.

I'm sure there is a pile of mud/detritus on the bottom, but I do not really care.

Sounds exactly like what I was planning on doing aside from the algae at the top. I will be having a 25x25x9 refegium so I will keep the macro in there. The powerhead is a good call I didn't think of that. Randy did u use live rock in them when u put them up? Happen to have any photos?

Thank you guys your quite the helpers