DurTBear's 10 gallon frag tank

DurTBear

DurTBear

Member
Well, as you can see from my most recent tank pic (see below), I'm in need of a frag tank. Eggcrate hanging from every possible edge of the tank doesn't look that good. I currently have a 20gal AGA mixed reef tank that has been up and running for 1.5 years. I have a 24" 150W Sunpod 14K Phoenix fixture and an Aqua C Remora skimmer. For flow, I have two Koralia 1's.

My plan is to plumb a 10 gallon AGA tank to my current tank to store and grow out frags. I believe there is enough room in the bottom of the stand to put the frag tank. This is what I have so far:

-10 gallon AGA tank.
- 50W heater.
- Tunze 6025 nanostream.
- Eggcrate for the rack.

What else would I need? I'm debating what lights to put over it but for simplicity, I might put a 20" 150W Sunpod over it so the lights match my dispaly tank. T5's are the alternative.

I think I will get a HOB external overflow (probably a lifereef) but I have no experience with plumbing so I'll probably need a lot of help. What pieces of pvc will I need? And should I drill the 10 gallon frag tank? Can I just use a simple maxijet as a return pump back into the main display?

And would I need to put live rock/sand in the frag tank if I already have it in the display? I'll probably put one or two fish in there but I'm not sure which fish. Maybe a blenny of some sort.

Anyway, I appreciate any help from all of the experts out there. Thanks in advance. Looking forward to this mini-project!

Fishtank395.jpg
 
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Pretty full there, Durwin! :)

Is going to a larger tank out of the question because of room? You may be able to get away with one halide with a 3 foot tank or two halides with a 4 footer.
 
Yeah...I thought about upgrading to a bigger tank and turning my current 20 gallon into a frag tank but I just don't have enough room in my apartment. Maybe I'm lazy too and think it would be too hard to start and transfer to a bigger one now. I figure when I am able to get a new place, I can start a 100+ gallon tank and do everything the right way then instead of doing a minor upgrade now and another upgrade later down the road.
 
I'd buy the halide for the frag tank if you want to grow the frags out as quickly as possible. BTW I really like your green monti
 
I'll probably go for the halide in the end.

Thanks! It's a Leng Sy Cap and I got it from Mike (Nuuze). Definitely one of the fastest growers in my tank.
 
that tank is beautiful!

I would go with a 150w MH for the 10g frag tank and put the light about a foot off the surface. this way, whenever you decide to upgrade, you will have 2 MHs already and all you would need would be maybe 1 mre and a few actinics...
 
Thanks for the kind words guys.

Ok...I'll probably go with a 150W MH for the frag tank. I kind of want to mount a pendant inside of the stand but it might be too much trouble. Another Sunpod would be pretty easy but probably more costly.
 
Hey DurT!
New project eh!?
I'd definitely with a SunPod as well (mine is coming tomorrow)!
I was just thinking though, that if you plumb the ten gallon down below, would it go in your stand, or next to your tank? Because if it is going to go into your stand, how will you keep the water in the tank cool with a 150 MH over it? And overall circulation in the stand?
 
Yeah, it's going to get pretty hot so I might have to have a permanent fan down there. I plan on taking the front door of my stand off to help with air circulation.
 
And drilling in the side of your stand and installing a 4" fan into the side? :)
You know you want a bigger tank! Let me know how your project goes!
 
Believe me...I REALLY want a bigger tank. Just can't realistically do it yet.

So do people think it's worth drilling the frag tank for the overflow from the main tank draining into the frag tank? Or should I just run the plumbing into the frag tank? Also, what's the best way to do the plumbing for the return? Is it sufficient enough to just hang the return using a U-tube from the tank and anchoring the pump in the frag tank down?
 
Any updates DurTBear? I'm thinking of starting out a small frag tank as well, so I'm coming along for the ride.
 
Thanks Moonstream...that's kind of my thinking too. Do I need a union and a ballvalve between the overflow and the frag tank? What about the return from the frag tank? Do most people use flexible vinyl tubing connected to a u-tube that I can hang on the main tank?

MYG24, not much to update yet. Waiting on the overflow before I purchase all of the plumbing equipment. I'll be sure to update with pictures once I start putting everything together.
 
Sorry I haven't had time to work on this little project but I should finally have some time in the coming weeks. Got the nano Lifereef overflow and have picked up a few parts for the plumbing. I'm thinking my plumbing from the overflow will look like this:

Overflow->slip-union for easy disconnect->ball or gate valve to control the drain->frag tank.

For the return, I'm thinking of this:

Eheim 1250->slip-union->ball or gate valve to control return->loop the pvc over the main tank and have the return attached to locline or something like that (I'd also make sure to drill holes just below the surface of the water to prevent flooding).

This might be a stupid question but can Eheim's be run in and/or outside of the tank? It's kind of big for a 10 gallon so I was wondering if I could save some space inside the tank by plumbing it outside. And I guess I would need adapters to connect the pvc to the Eheim, right?
 
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