Ghetto-Fabulous Frag Tank

[kput]

I'm going through rigorous QT processes on my DT to make sure my Cowfish stays disease free for life, so I needed something to QT coral and inverts. As always, I tend to go a bit overboard, so I snagged this 35g acrylic frag tank. I should have asked a few more questions, as it had a small leak in one corner, and the holes drilled in the back don't seal well with 3/4" bulkheads. Alas, I've finally got it set up the way I want, and finally found a stand it actually fits on. It's somewhat thrown together, and doesn't look the best, but it works
I plan to use it for QT, and grow-out, etc. The plumbing was a bit hard to figure out in the back without an overflow. I rigged up two Dursos and they are working great. The next battle was getting the water level in the sump to handle the backflow, but also make it up to the water line for my ATO to do its' job. I've got about 1/8" left of room in the sump when the pump goes off, lol!


I do not plan on running a skimmer, and will rely on Chaeto for my nutrient export. I don't plan on heavily feeding so I hope this will be sufficient. I need to find a neater looking ATO res, but I have very limited room in the cabinet.. it would have to be less than 4" wide, and extra tall.. hmmm

Any thougts or reccomendations for improvement?


Equipment is as follows;
Vectra S1 Return
AI Prime
EShopps Nano Sump
No-name powerhead
Amazon LED Grow-light for Cheato
Amazon $50 ATO
No-name heater

 

[kput]

I'm a super begginer with corals, so I'm looking forward to getting some growth, and things moved over to the DT.

 

[chad vossen]

Hah, that's not Ghetto
I have been using the hydroponics trays as frag tanks for years -

Amazon.com : Botanicare GT24X48X7W Tray, 2 x 4 ft, White : Gardening Tools And Accessories : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Botanicare GT24X48X7W Tray, 2 x 4 ft, White : Gardening Tools And Accessories : Garden & Outdoor

amzn.to

BRS used to sell these as a frag tank years ago, but you can still find them on amazon.

 

[kput]

Well, I went out of town suddenly for a funeral and the worst possible thing happened.. the GFCI for this tank popped and the guy watching the house didn't notice the lack of power..
I imagine the tank was off for about 2 days. Water temps were very cold, no flow at all.
My 3 anenomes dettached themselves from the rocks they'd been clinging on, which is about the only good thing that happened from this, I've been trying to get them off for a couple weeks to move to my DT LOL.

All coral seems to be doing alright. All my zoas haven't really opened back up fully as of last night, but nothing looked dead thank god. I will know more when I get home tonight.
The good news, is after the 3 day blackout, the diatoms I was fighting seemed to have gone away for the time being. I'm going to have to shorten my refugium light cycle and start dosing phos/nitrate to try and keep it under control if it isn't cleared up.

Surprisingly all of my inverts seem to have survived as well. I have a 3" Tiger Pistol I had just added a day before, as well as a small randalls, two pom-pom crabs, a peppermint shrimp, and an emerald crab.

Not sure what caused the GFCI to trip, I haven't had an issue before on this tank, and I didn't see any leaks / possible water causes.