attached frag tanks

[ReefQueen]

For those of you who have frag tanks connected to your displays, how did you do your plumbing? Gravity fed or pumps? Do you prefer to have them connected to your DT, or do you wish you had made it its own system? I like the idea of being able to have everything connected and not having 2 of everything, but that means if something happens in the DT, it's also going to effect the frag tank. Thoughts?

 

[Harry_Y]

I have a basement sump and my frag tank is fed by a seperate pump in the sump
Then drains back into the sump. As you stated it is a risk being on the same system.

See my build thread. My frag tank is a stock tank.

 

[hybridazn]

I run my frag system seperate, in case something were to happen to either tank you will have frags one way or the other. I'm living g proof that this is a good idea, last year my display had major issues and I kept some pieces in the frag system so I wasn't out completely.

 

[Anthony Wood]

Mine drains into the DT sump and is fed by its own pump. My frag and nem/macro tank both drain into the DT sump in a seperate room.

 

[mcarroll]

Done correctly (which is expensive up-front and long-term) UV can do a good job of isolating one tank on a system like that. The question is always worth. Like in real life, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

• If you're stocking your tank slowly and buying from known, trusted sources...there's your ounce of prevention.
• If you're dealing in animals from here and there all the time, you are a high-risk reefer...better plan for that pound of cure.

It may also just mean that the "hassle" of a separate system is worth it.

If you decide to try UV, I'd recommend Emperor Aquatics (bought out by Pentair now).
http://pentairaes.com/emperor-smart-uv-sterilizers-31295.html

Call them or chat thru the website and get their recommendation for THE MOST CONSERVATIVE rated system they'd recommend. This basically means the highest watts per flow so you can target the largest pathogens.

• This UV dosage guide is a starting point, but it doesn't go all the way to recommending a specific unit/installation and the units the doses are expressed in don't appear to be the same units as the UV filters are rated in..mJ/cm vs µWS/cm:
  http://pentairaes.com/learn-about-aquaculture/uv-resources/uv-harmful-pathogens

• According to this link, 1000 µWS = 1 mJ:
  http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/uv-dose-chart.php

• If stopping Vibrio were interesting, for example, it looks like you'd need abour 160 mJ or 160,000 µWS.

• Pentair's $365, 25-watt, 1-bulb SMART-UV unit gives you 30,000 µWS at 8 gallons per minute flow rate.

• 8 gpm = 480 gph

• You can either slow down the flow or increase the UV power to get up to the 160,000 µWS you'd need....about 100 gph would do it, but a little less would be better.

• The kicker is that you need 100% of your flow to the frag tank to get that dose. Unless your frag tank is around 15 gallons or less, you'll need a bigger sterilizer than the one I used for the example. (Their 71", 65-watt SMART-UV model, for example....$510.)

Chatting or calling Pentair-Emperor would still be the way to go to get the best recommendation for product and setup.

But an ounce of prevention (or separate tank) seems like a pretty good option in that light.

 

[Piranhapat]

If you maintain the DT it is a lot easier to have Frag tank connect to DT. Besides the extra cost of equipment. Plus more outlets. It alot easier to maintain one tank than two. I try both ways and find joining two worked better. Main reason was on frag tank I was getting algae and needed to add another doser. The water wasn't as stable because it was a smaller tank. I use DT pump to pump water to frag tank. Waste line connects to sump. We can discuss this for hours and both sides will have its good points. Another reason I run a QT tank which can QT any new coral.

 

[Jainc]

My frag tank is separate from my main tank. When I do water changes in my tank I pump the water out of the frag tank and then add water fron my main tank to it. This way the corals get everything they need as I dose the main tank. Works great so far!

 

[Pola0502ds]

For those of you who have frag tanks connected to your displays, how did you do your plumbing? Gravity fed or pumps? Do you prefer to have them connected to your DT, or do you wish you had made it its own system? I like the idea of being able to have everything connected and not having 2 of everything, but that means if something happens in the DT, it's also going to effect the frag tank. Thoughts?

Did you ever decide on what you wanted to do? I am going to be doing the same thing in the coming months and im
Not sure how i want to plumb it.

 

[ReefQueen]

Did you ever decide on what you wanted to do? I am going to be doing the same thing in the coming months and im
Not sure how i want to plumb it.

Nope. I upgraded and ran out of room lol