My Frag Tank

rsteagall

rsteagall

New member
Well... here are some pictures of the project I've been working on the past few days.

Its a 36x18x12 acrylic with overflow. 2x96W PC lighting. Mag7 w/penductor return. Sump is an 18gal storage container. The whole setup is on wheels and I am actually able to roll it around. :)

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More pictures including the sump can be found here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rsteagall/Frag_tank

The rock is well seasoned and will be going to the sump as soon as I'm done messing around down in there. I'll also be putting the egg crate on legs. :) Thoughts? Anything you'd change?
 
Looks good. That little pump looks like its moving some water. Itll be full of frags in a couple of weeks huh.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11555266#post11555266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eyebedam
Looks good. That little pump looks like its moving some water. Itll be full of frags in a couple of weeks huh.
Click to expand...

I don't know if it'll be full. heh. Like I said... $200 doesn't go as far as I'd like it to. I think I'm going to put this aquafuge PS that I have actually in the sump if I can figure that one out. Tomorrow I suppose I'll go to petco and pick up a few green chromis to "feed" the tank. I definitely don't want to get a heavy bio-load at all in this tank... How many do you think would be enough or would a different kind of fish be better? Maybe a wrasse of sorts would be more beneficial?
 
If you want to get out cheap they got 3 for $9.00 Damsels right now you could always dump them when your done or give them away to somebody new. . Id prob get 3 or 4 chromis & just forget about it. They should live & when you set the 240 up you can toss them in there.
You know I still got them Chromis from when we went to petho. The tanks prob way to new to risk losing a wrasse unless you get a six line or something really cheap.
 
I'm hoping this rock I got from Wayne will prevent a massive cycle. I'll probably just get a few chromis tomorrow... then roll through the basic 3 tests this weekend just to see what the readings are.
 
Nice setup. I was jealous at the idea of wheels.

Just a thought. Sturdy cheap fish are fine for cycling. But, in a frag tank, in the long run you will probably only want some fish that serve a purpose like munching algae off rocks.

A few years back, when I got started, I read about using cut-bait for starters. I just pulled a frozen shrimp from the freezer. Let it defrost in the water and soak until it turned to mush. Given the bacteria brought in with your live rock and the load from the natural shrimp, you'll get a spike and get your nitrogen cycle going without using fish. Maybe not as constant as having fish swimming around. Some might say that benefits by not having extra fish and also kinder to the fish. Test kits could verify the effectiveness. Maybe I'll try it again myself, as I'm always looking for an excuse to start another aquarium.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11556212#post11556212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chriis716
nice tank!!! Where did you get it at?
Click to expand...

He had it for quite sometime, then it was sitting in my house collecting dust cause I never got around to it until he starting to get the spirit again of getting things going....about time..........lol

Ryan,

I'm starting to get the 55 under control now by trying a new product that's NOT as harmful and unforgiving like the previous product. Seems to work so far after just one day of usage.....Give me a week and I'll update you on it.....You may need it too....
 
If you really want to go cheap, black mollies can be acclimated to live in salt water. Yes, its true, and I've done it in the past! Just acclimate slowly over about 2+ hours.

Dave
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11556805#post11556805 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cee
If you really want to go cheap, black mollies can be acclimated to live in salt water. Yes, its true, and I've done it in the past! Just acclimate slowly over about 2+ hours.

Dave
Click to expand...

yea... but $2.99 blue/green chromis is pretty cheap too. lol :) I'm hoping I see little to no cycle with the rock I put in. We'll see. I still gotta get that cpr aquafuge ps installed in the sump.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11556569#post11556569 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mikeyjer
He had it for quite sometime, then it was sitting in my house collecting dust cause I never got around to it until he starting to get the spirit again of getting things going....about time..........lol

Ryan,

I'm starting to get the 55 under control now by trying a new product that's NOT as harmful and unforgiving like the previous product. Seems to work so far after just one day of usage.....Give me a week and I'll update you on it.....You may need it too....
Click to expand...

Thanks. The wife actually thinks that it looks good enough to be visible in the living room. :O So, I've got it placed behind a chair and its visible from all sides.

Michael, you've done a good job getting all your algae issues under control. I need to get my mg up and keep doing water changes thus reducing PO4. What is this new thing you're doing in your 55 tank?
 
Impeller... without getting into details... yes. :) A pump runs much quieter and better when the ceramic shaft isn't broken in half. lol.

I just tested the basic 3 params... all are reading 0ppm. I guess if everything is reading 0ppm by this weekend, then the rock I got from Wayne did its thing and no cycle was needed. I got my fingers crossed on that one. I think I'm going to try and find a little bigger rubbermaid container so I can fit the aquafuge ps in-sump. It would be problematic to do otherwise. The acrylic appears to be a little hazed... but heck its a frag tank. :P I do think this is a perfect size for a frag tank though.
 
I've tested the water 3x now and the basic nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia are all still 0. So... I guess there is no cycle to take place thanks to the nicely seeded rock I received from Wayne.

I've moved all the rock to my sump and tonight I'll be taking out the egg crate laying on the bottom and making legs for it. I still only have 2x96w PC lighting across the whole tank, but might be adding one MH bulb over part of it for higher light needing corals. Can someone give me a suggestion about how tall that I should make the egg crate legs? Or make a suggestion about how far the frags should be from the light?

...remember the tank is about 12" tall, the water level is about 10" deep and the light is about 8" above the top of the water.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
Ryan, From others I have seen, you should be in good shape if you put that halide on it. what about doing 2 levels. one for the higher light corals. I saw that is the fish store in Jackson. seems to work good for him.
 
Since I'll be able to place the halide on one part of the tank or the other, I don't know if there will be a need for 2 levels. I guess I'm just going to raise it off the bottom by like 4" or so.

I wish someone would chime in over the next 5 minutes... because I'm about to start cutting.
 
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