10 Gallon Sumpless Frag Tank?

[kelleymc]

Hi everyone. I came across this video and wanted to see if it seems possible. Has anyone tried doing this in such a small tank?


The video is new so I can't see what the final results will be, but seems easy enough to do to grow out some frags. Thanks!

 

[Ron Reefman]

My guess would be that if it's just corals, no other inverts or fish and you do regular water changes, it could work just fine.

 

[PeterErc]

Would work fine, I would use some bio filtration media from established system whether it be live rock, sand,filter material….
No heater needed for me, stable house temp.

I also use 20g instead of a 10. HOB filter, powerhead, light. Redundancy on water movement in case either hob or powerhead fails.

People set up 1,3,5 gallon pico tanks

 

[kelleymc]

The video used Marco rock and a couple small pieces of live rock from the sump. Also soaked the HOB foam block for a couple days.

How long would rock added to a sump take to be “live”?

 

[jsargent1]

I got a standard 10 gallon, an 1/8” acrylic sheet of Amazon, a tube of black aquarium silicone and a barbed 90 with a male npt and a female line loc adapter. All together about 45 bucks for an aio and it works flawlessly

 

[jsargent1]

and filled! All I do is empty 5 gallons every week and replace it with the “waste” water out of display tank

 

[kelleymc]

Nice. What are you using for biological filtration?

 

[kelleymc]

@jsargent1 - no live rock? I didn’t think the water held much bacteria, but certainly would have nutrients.

 

[jsargent1]

Frag plugs are maxspect nano tech, that I threw in my display sump for a couple months plus the couple pounds of rock that’s in there Is from the display as well. But there is just a single clownfish in there normally

 

[kelleymc]

Great idea with the frag plugs.

I like the idea of the rock under the rack to maximize space.

 

[bradreef]

Rock under the rack will collect detritus. Just be aware you will need to lift and clean out regularly.

 

[jsargent1]

Rock under the rack will collect detritus. Just be aware you will need to lift and clean out regularly.

Yes sir, I blow it out with a turkey blaster every night and then when I do water changes I siphon anything left over out.

 

[jsargent1]

Great idea with the frag plugs.

I like the idea of the rock under the rack to maximize space.

It’s worked out really well, and 60 bucks minus the light, you can’t go wrong lol

 

[kelleymc]

It’s worked out really well, and 60 bucks minus the light, you can’t go wrong lol

Absolutely!!

 

[jsargent1]

I would go with a 1/4” sheet cause honestly the 1/8” is very flimsy

 

[kelleymc]

I think a bunch of us have stuff around that can be used to make small frag tanks.

 

[MoshJosh]

I have a Tidal 35 on my 10 gallon (previously had a DIY AIO similar to the one posted above.) I imagine the bio media you can fit in most of these HOB filters is probably enough for a small minimally stocked tank. If I were trying to go without a filter (or wanted more bio filtration) I would probably use those Marine Pure (or other brand) media plates lying flat underneath the racks making sure they were getting some flow from wavemakers.

 

[kelleymc]

I feel like the idea in the video makes sense, but ideally add cured and established live rock would be best.