Frag tank questions

[Guttersnipe]

Hi reef2reef! I have a few questions about setting up my frag thank.
What do you recommend I use for biological filtration? I was considering marine pure or brightwell aquatics xport blocks but I see reviews of them crumbling after being wet for not too long. Are there any other rock alternatives I don’t know about? My tank is a 4x2 lowboy How much filtration do you think I need? I was thinking of covering the the whole bottom of the tank with marine pure.
Do any of you guys have your frag tank set up in the garage hooked up to a chiller? I’m in SoCal so it gets pretty hot in my garage. if I hook it up to a chiller I’m going to have to vent out the hot air coming out of the chiller, right?

 

[cFloor]

I really like Seachem Matrix. I used it for years until my reactor broke a year ago. When I removed it, my tank had a negative reaction. You don't have to use reactors, you can put it in baskets or bags in your sump. Just keep it clean and it works great.

 

[Big E]

I have Siporax mixed with some live rock in my display and frag tank that are plumbed separately.

My 60g frag tank(48x24x12) has less than 10 lbs of rock and a bag of Siporax in the sump. It supports Dejardini tang. two clowns and a damsel. The tank is packed with a 7" malu anemone, and many species of Acros, some zoa, acans and favias as well

The Siporax comes in a bag so I just laid the bag on the rocks.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Thanks for chiming in. I will both the matrix and siporax sound like good choices. What are you guys using for powerheads?

 

[X-37B]

I just use live rock in my 36x24x12 45gal. I use about 15lbs left over from my nano that was up for 2 years.
I have siporax if needed. All rock and siporax will be in the 40 breeder sump.

 

[Big E]

Thanks for chiming in. I will both the matrix and siporax sound like good choices. What are you guys using for powerheads?

I exclusively use Tunze as you can aim them and the newer versions have controllers with each pump. Only one needs to be controlled, the rest can be standard Tunze pumps if you want to save some money.

I've gone through my share of cheaper pumps like Korellia and Jaebo and most are dead. I've got at least four Jaebos that are all dead. The longest one lasted was maybe 2.5 years. Even if they last the impellers need to be cleaned every few weeks as they get a slime of bacteria, slip and lose power until cleaned.........this doesn't happen with Tunze.

Tunze will last a lifetime.

 

[ReefRondo]

Siporax is great but I find when in a bag it can be a bit messy looking. I set my frag tank up about 6 months ago with the Maxspect Nano blocks and they have been amazing so far.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I would use some clean live rock for bio filteration, best option out there if you can get some. Check the local club forums and CL for someone selling rock. Pretty easy to find someone selling some or breaking down a tank. As for the chiller being vented, yes you need to vent the hot air coming off the chiller out side. If you dont it add heat to the room and baxk into the tank that you are trying to cool. IMO the best way to do it is to have the chiller setup outside and run PVC pipe to connect it to the tank inside.

 

[rossco]

Marine Pure block for me. The 8 x 8 x 4 one in the sump of my 2’ x 6’ x 12 inch high frag tank. I have it set on edge on 4 upside down frag plugs like little legs so I get maximum water flow through and around it. No problem with it crumbling.

Seed it in the sump of your display for a couple weeks. It does a great job, I initially added it to take care of a nasty toxic Dino outbreak which It did take care of in a little over a week.

I use MP10’s for flow.

 

[Bpb]

I exclusively use Tunze as you can aim them and the newer versions have controllers with each pump. Only one needs to be controlled, the rest can be standard Tunze pumps if you want to save some money.

I've gone through my share of cheaper pumps like Korellia and Jaebo and most are dead. I've got at least four Jaebos that are all dead. The longest one lasted was maybe 2.5 years. Even if they last the impellers need to be cleaned every few weeks as they get a slime of bacteria, slip and lose power until cleaned.........this doesn't happen with Tunze.

Tunze will last a lifetime.

You know...I hate to disagree with someone who has had so much success and is a respected figure on the forum. And I guess when it boils down to it, I'm not necessarily disagreeing with your experience on them...It is just different from my own. I agree Jebao pumps need frequent cleaning. Monthly ideally or more. But, my only experience with Tunze pumps has lead me to a dead motor and two cracked propellers on a pair of 6105 units I purchased. The US rep said I'd need to pay postage, to and from, as well as a $90 repair for the motor.

The propeller on each cracked as well and would no longer spin. Not the magnet which is the common failure point, but the actual plastic fan blades both cracked where they're connected to the propeller so the magnet just spins and the propeller blades dont. All just outside of 2 years of original purchase. Yet I've got a pair of original first gen WP40's from late 2013 that are still running today.

While this may very well be a complete anomaly, it is the experience ive had with the two brands. I use neither on my present display tank. I wish my experience with Tunze was in line with others. They were extremely powerful pumps. Based on their stated GPH they moved more water than any other brand I have experience with, and were 100% dead silent even on 100% power and dirty. They worked fantastic until they didnt.

 

[X-37B]

I have virtually all tunze equipment.
No issues so far. You can get good or bad with any brand. I spent $450 for 2 tunze 6095's and less than $100 for 2 jebao ow-25's. They were all added at the same time and run on pulse mode. Wanted to see how they were and how long they last. Clean all once a month as it is quick and easy.
Not a big fan of the chinese stuff but wanted to see how they perform and last.
I keep a couple backup of each just in case, as no lfs in my area carry tunze of jebao.
If the jebao's dont last they will get replaced with tunze.
I do know a few who have had tunze running many uears and a few older jebao's running over 3 years but they also clean them once a month. Some of the tunze are so encrusted and they still run with reduced flow.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Marine Pure block for me. The 8 x 8 x 4 one in the sump of my 2’ x 6’ x 12 inch high frag tank. I have it set on edge on 4 upside down frag plugs like little legs so I get maximum water flow through and around it. No problem with it crumbling.

Seed it in the sump of your display for a couple weeks. It does a great job, I initially added it to take care of a nasty toxic Dino outbreak which It did take care of in a little over a week.

I use MP10’s for flow.

Thank you for your input. I like this idea.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

If your using media keep it in a place where it’s easy to clean detritus off, the bottom of the tank might make that hard especially with a frag rack overtop. Also the bottom is where the detritus will collect and the media will just trap it there.
If you use a chiller you don’t have to vent the air if it’s a decent size garage and just a small chiller for a small tank that only runs every now and then. Fans help more than most think anyways.
Pumps are another thing. Tunze is one of the best with the few others your aware of I am sure. The probably going to have to experiment with smaller pumps because of the low 12” tank larger pumps will make areas in front of them where no corals can be placed. Gyre pumps will probably just suck air too. I would use something with wide dispersed flow patterns like the newer pumps that are out. This will allow you to place more coral in the tank without worrying about corals getting flesh blasted off.

 

[SeaDweller]

Regarding Jebao pumps, I have a WP15 or whatever from like 2011-2012 that still runs up until a few months ago when I tore down my frag tank; it never had a cleaning. That Jebao pump was an anomaly though: I've had more die on me than last more than 1.5 years so I stopped buying them. I have a few SOW whatever as back ups just in case I ever need them, but I've switched to all Tunze.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Wow that’s crazy, 2012??? Anomaly for sure, I have a 10 falling trash bag full of Jebao pumps and parts that all had issues. Most of mine would loose a lot of power if not cleaned every 3 or 4 weeks, that’s the main thing that bothered me. I think in a very clean tank they will probably last a lot longer.

 

[Bbfishb81]

I use live rock and matella in my sump of my frag tank for filtration. Skimmer, and always running carbon, as it pretty full. Lol I keep a filter sock on the end of my over flow pipe, to avoid the potential of coral hitch hikers getting into my sump. I do always dip, but have dealt with AEFW in the past and know how much it sucks if it gets in your entire system.