ktaylor660
Active Member
So we are finally about to setup a frag tank. I'm curious if I should run it inline with my DT or if it should be it's own system. I'm thinking a 40G breeder will be my tank of choice.
Frag tank - Inline or seperate
- Thread starter ktaylor660
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kschweer
Moderator
There are pros and cons to both ways. Pros for inline in my opinion would be:
-easier maintenance
-great water volume (easier to keep stable)
-less equipment
Cons:
-if something goes wrong with one it also goes wrong with the other
-if there are pests in one eventually there will be pests in the other
Pros for separate
-give you a place to keep frags from your display tank if something goes south in the display
-place to put new acquisitions to make sure they are healthy before putting in display
Cons
-more equipment
- less water volume
I'm sure there are others as well just what I came up with off the top of my head
I decided to run my frag tank as its own system. It did pay off for me when sandy hit. My display was a 90% loss however my frag tank faired much better. I believe it was due to the lack of fish in the frag tank. There were only 2 fish in there. The display had about 10 and when they died they really polluted the tank.
-easier maintenance
-great water volume (easier to keep stable)
-less equipment
Cons:
-if something goes wrong with one it also goes wrong with the other
-if there are pests in one eventually there will be pests in the other
Pros for separate
-give you a place to keep frags from your display tank if something goes south in the display
-place to put new acquisitions to make sure they are healthy before putting in display
Cons
-more equipment
- less water volume
I'm sure there are others as well just what I came up with off the top of my head
I decided to run my frag tank as its own system. It did pay off for me when sandy hit. My display was a 90% loss however my frag tank faired much better. I believe it was due to the lack of fish in the frag tank. There were only 2 fish in there. The display had about 10 and when they died they really polluted the tank.
PaulKreider
Valuable Member
If I ever add on a frag tank I'd do it inline, just due to convienience, personal preference really.
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ktaylor660
Active Member
Ok, so either is fine then, just a matter of preference. Next question....bare bottom with nothing there or should I try and find that starboard stuff? I'm guessing I'll use eggcrate for shelfs, but not sure yet.
kschweer
Moderator
Mine is bare bottom with nothing in there I painted the bottoms of the tank to make it look better. A bit of sand and live rock in my sump. I went with nothing on the bottom because it is easier to keep clean. I have a small korilla powerhead pointed under the racks to keep any detritus from building up on the bottom. I started out with the eggcrate but really didn't like the look of it. I wound up going with the blue glow classic 17" racks and I am very happy with them. They look great and hold something like 300 frag
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ktaylor660
Active Member
So I came up with a 29g acrylic tank today. It is 35x12x16. I'm thinking that I should run LEDs, since that's what I have on my tank now. It has 2 openings on the top, so its either 2 fixtures or attempting a DIY setup. Ideas, thoughts, suggestions?
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ktaylor660
Active Member
fragmatic
retired reefer
My vote is you tie them together and increase your water volume and diversity. The more diversity in species we can muster the more stability we gain. With more tanks in a system the water flow gets exposed to more of the diversity.
Plus you can have life forms that are not compatible in the same tank in different tanks but still share the same nutriments, heaters, skimmer, reactors, trace elements, pods, water changes and such. It is so much less complex, takes a little different plumbing but far less hardware.
Plus you can have life forms that are not compatible in the same tank in different tanks but still share the same nutriments, heaters, skimmer, reactors, trace elements, pods, water changes and such. It is so much less complex, takes a little different plumbing but far less hardware.
fragmatic
retired reefer
Not necessarily, if you use isolation ball valves (you should!) and I have my circulation pump and heater in my change water tanks ready to use as back-up if that ever shows signs of happening.
But yes that is the risk... and IMO the benefits out weigh the odds of me not catching a crash in either tank. The same risk is present in a tank, sump, refugium (and in my case a 2nd display refugium) system, and many of us have loads of life forms in the sump and refugiums. You have only added one additional tank.
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robby2782
Well-Known Member
To each their own, but there are too many variables at my personal home to justify separate systems. I already had tainted carbon crash my frag system last year, and accidentally overdosed my display a few months ago with Brightwell's liquid mag which seems their dosing directions are inaccurate.
Not mention a toddler running around who if will be anything like I was 25 years ago, is bound to crash one of them. I know several people who either had a child,spouse, or friend do something to nuke their system. I personally wiped out my father's system by dumping a can of food in his tank when I was 3 or 4 years old.
I know you're on here all the time posting and you're knowledgable too, but my opinion is justified as is yours. I'll never tie the two together as that defeats the purpose for what I'm trying to do. (Quarantine, Bank corals, keep different animals with different demands, etc)
Not mention a toddler running around who if will be anything like I was 25 years ago, is bound to crash one of them. I know several people who either had a child,spouse, or friend do something to nuke their system. I personally wiped out my father's system by dumping a can of food in his tank when I was 3 or 4 years old.
I know you're on here all the time posting and you're knowledgable too, but my opinion is justified as is yours. I'll never tie the two together as that defeats the purpose for what I'm trying to do. (Quarantine, Bank corals, keep different animals with different demands, etc)
fragmatic
retired reefer
yep... no wrong answers... all tanks are different... as are each of us.. we just openly share our opinions... and this provides a rich resource of choices.... 
Robby, I enjoy your posts, and always look forward to reading them. I ain't done learning yet!
Robby, I enjoy your posts, and always look forward to reading them. I ain't done learning yet!
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jgraz
Valuable Member
I'll be going inline with mine. I built a 15"x15"x12" cube to use as a nano but I'm going to change it to a frag tank instead. I figure I'm going for stability so that's the best way I can figure.
robby2782
Well-Known Member
yep... no wrong answers... all tanks are different... as are each of us.. we just openly share our opinions... and this provides a rich resource of choices....
Robby, I enjoy your posts, and always look forward to reading them. I ain't done learning yet!
We're also in the same area. You've got great insight, and there's no wrong answer here...
