Sps frag system questions

BranchingHammer · Jun 8, 2020

Hello everyone,
I am planning to setup a 50g sps frag system. I will modify a low boy frag tank with black acrylic to make an AIO filtration system. I was currently planning on having a refugium and a chamber full of live rock, and not a skimmer. I know that sps tanks can be run without skimmers, and this tank will probably have a low fish bioload, so would it be necessary for me to have a skimmer? I don’t want the corals to starve of nutrients and I will probably end up dosing nutrient anyway... The coral portion of the tank will be bare bottom with travertine tiles as the growing medium for the acros. In addition, if I seed this tank with live rock from my DT and bottled bacteria and live sand, and I let it cycle, how long should I wait before adding acros? I know that they hate new systems, but I have seen a few people be successful with younger tanks...

jda · Jun 8, 2020

Acrylic does not stick all that well to glass - consider glass for your filter section. Skimmers do more than "remove nutrients" - they also remove heavy metals that attach to organics and also do gas exchange. You can just put a skimmer in the main section since it is not all that tall.

When you get some coralline, then add some acros.

BranchingHammer · Jun 8, 2020

Ok. The reason I was going to use black acrylic was to hide the filter section and also to block the light from the refugium... How strong is the bond? The only problem is that I’m on a budget and I wasn’t planning on adding a skimmer. What skimmer would you recommend for the tank? And thanks for the coralline tip! I assumed that but now I know for sure.

BranchingHammer · Jun 9, 2020

Anyone else have any opinions?

BranchingHammer · Jun 10, 2020

Ok, I wanted to review my entire grow out tank setup before I start building, so that I can get some advice from you sps masters out there! The tank itself is a 50g lowboy. The dimensions are 24x48x10. I am planning on using black acrylic to partition off a 1 foot by 2 feet filtration section. @jda chimed in on how the bond between acrylic and glass is weak. The only reason I’m using black acrylic is to block the light from the refugium and also to make it more appealing to the eye. Is it weak enough that it would break easily if bumped? I’m planning on using clear aquarium silicone sealant. Here is the following layout of the tank so far:

The water will flow from the grow out tank to the filter media section through surface skimming teeth or just ban opening at the surface. I don’t have much cutting equipment so how would I cut these teeth? Could I use a Dremel? Or would an opening without teeth be better? I’m planning on having a light fish load, so could they fall into the filtration section? Then the water flows out of the filter media section through a space in the bottom of the baffle. The wafter then exits the refugium through teeth/a strainer on the top of the baffle. The water exits the live rock section by a hole made in the baffle. The water returns to the tank through a return pump and a hole drilled in the large baffle.

I will have a coral quarantine tank to eliminate the issue of serious pests like AEFW and red/black bugs in my system. The growing medium will be 3in and 4in travertine tiles. Which tile brand do you guys prefer? I see listings for “Jeffery court”, MSI chiaro, and others. They all look the same, so I would assume they would all work. I will be soaking the tiles in RODI for two weeks+ and then curing them in the tank during the cycle. I will use chaeto in the fuge, with a substrate of crushed coral or sand. I will use crushed coral/sand and live/dry rock for the live rock section. The growing section of the tank will be bare bottom except for the travertine tiles.

Equipment:
Jebao return pump
Jebao 4 channel dosing pump
2 reef Breeders rpm pumps for flow
Reefbreeders ATO
Reefbreeders photon v2+

Planning to cycle with a raw shrimp and bottled bacteria in addition to seeded live rock from my humble DT. Also, I had this weird idea... If I put aluminum foil on the underside (outside) of the tank, would the light reflection help reduce shading by growth? I’ve seen it before in hydroponics... Otherwise I will probably paint it black. This would also not ruin my eyes every time I looked at the tank...
Do you guys have any tips on making my tank established quickly so that it is coral ready?

Sorry, one more thing... is the crushed coral from nature’s ocean ok for this use? Found some lying around my uncle’s basement...

BranchingHammer · Jun 10, 2020

Bump. Also, would you guys recommend I place the tiles on top of an egg crate platform or straight in the bottom glass? Will placing the tiles on the egg crate help to disperse flow (flow goes under the platform)?

Sallstrom · Jun 10, 2020

If you start up with LR from your other tank and as much water as possible from that tank too, it’s good to go from day one IMO. But you will have to be ready for bumps on the road. Algae will grow on all new surfaces, nutrients might go low if you don’t feed etc.

If you do “legs” for the egg crate you can put a pump or two under it, blowing along the bottom. That keeps food and particles up from the bottom and no direct flow goes onto the corals.

I would add a couple of urchins and a Ctenochaetus tang for grazing algae and to add some nutrients.

BranchingHammer · Jun 10, 2020

Thanks for the reply! Would going without legs on the tiles also be okay? My only worry is the flow will be too harsh, but at the same time, I want more room for growth... I was thinking of moving my six line wrasse into the tank as well for pest control in the future. I already have a kole tang, so what other tangs would be good for the job? Not a fish expert

Dipan Desai · Jun 10, 2020

I just set up a 50g Lowboy. Any reason you dont want to just plumb it into the main system? Probably a lot cheaper and easier to manage. Here is what my set up looks like. I have a 1/2 in line for return plumbed to the manifold and a 1in line for overflow.

BranchingHammer · Jun 10, 2020

Nice setup! Only reason I don’t want to plumb it into the tank is that I have no more room in the room where the DT is for another tank. I could plumb it between rooms but it would get a lot more complicated I guess. Thanks for the idea

Dipan Desai · Jun 10, 2020

BranchingHammer said:
Nice setup! Only reason I don’t want to plumb it into the tank is that I have no more room in the room where the DT is for another tank. I could plumb it between rooms but it would get a lot more complicated I guess. Thanks for the idea

That makes sense.

BranchingHammer · Jun 11, 2020

Bump...

sharpimage · Jun 11, 2020

Your plan is fine. I would skip the crushed coral and sand and put in a marine pure block or similar. Also, I would skip the tin foil. In theory sounds good, but the aesthetics would drive me nuts.

If you transfer rocks from your established DT, no shrimp or cycling should be necessary.

BranchingHammer · Jun 11, 2020

Thanks for the feedback and also for reading through the entire post! If I were to use crushed coral, would the brand “nature’s ocean” work well? Also, how should I cut the teeth in the overflow? Would a Dremel work? Or should I just go without teeth?
thanks again!