Confused about Frag tanks

[FishyFishFish]

I have just ordered a small (5 gal) tank to use as a standalone frag tank. The idea was mainly to learn how to frag and also to have a duplicate set of frags in case of a disaster in my main tank. This process may have been accelerated for unplanned reasons; I have just found a couple of Zoa spiders and the Zoas may also have pox, so they need to be removed from the DT and treated.

My question concerns cycling. Does a frag tank need to be cycled? The only bioload will be the corals unless I add something else. Can I even run a coral tank long-term with nothing else in it?

Common advice seems to be not to add corals to a system until everything has stabilised. How does this work in a coral only tank?

I am not planning any rock (live or dry), unless it is required, but am intending to use Seachem Matrix as the filtration media.

I am grateful for any advice.

 

[Spare time]

I would just add a bottle of microbacter7. You will need to feed the corals (something like aquavitro fuel may be handy

I have a coral QT with a little macroalgae, a HOB filter, a green machine (I had a spare one lying around), biomedia, and carbon

It could be helpful to have some sand.

 

[FishyFishFish]

I would just add a bottle of microbacter7. You will need to feed the corals (something like aquavitro fuel may be handy

I have a coral QT with a little macroalgae, a HOB filter, a green machine (I had a spare one lying around), biomedia, and carbon

Thanks.

Silly question but what is the need for the microbacter (or any cycling). Presumably there will be little/no ammonia in a coral only tank and even if there is, is it harmful to corals?

 

[davidcalgary29]

It all depends on what type of tank you want (or need). I've just set up a quarantine tank for incoming frags: they'll be in there until the 45-day fallow period has passed, as the vendor has confirmed that they did not quarantine in advance. There's no need to cycle, and I'm not adding substrate or anything but a heater, light source, air stone, and ammonia badge. My incoming corals do not need supplemental feeding, but I may feed the acan frags (two). It'll be easy enough to do that while vacuuming up any waste that is produced. If I do get an ammonia spike, I'll take care of it with a water change.

My goal here is not to grow the corals, but just quarantine to kill off any parasites.

A "frag tank" is a different beast, is often permanent, and yes, will begin to cycle on its own. I would add supplemental bacteria, and monitor it carefully, as cycling throws a bunch of parameters out of whack. My pH went down to 7.5 at one point in one of my builds, and I'm not comfortable holding corals in that. Many people also add some inverts or a small fish in the tank to provide nutrients for the coral, unless you're going for a really clean build. If that's the case, I'd cycle the tank before adding corals, and probably use live rock, too.