Potential Frag Tank

[Reef1121]

Hey all,

So in August I will be tearing down my 100g reef system and selling all of its contents because of a possible PCS (Permanent change of station) to a new base. However if I were to remain at my current duty sation I was wanting to get back into the hobby but to not do another giant system because of the uncertainty of deploying or going TDY with my new job. :( So given all the factors and not wanting to neglect any potential fish species I've opted to go to a much smaller frag tank.

I was thinking of either setting up a 20g long or a 40g breeder.

If I do the 20g long this is what I would do as far as setup goes:
20g long
t5 retrofit 4 bulb kit
marineland 350, running a bag of chemipure elite and ROWAphos
small auto temp heater (78*)
frag tile bottom

40g breeder
home made stand
20g long custom sump w/ bean animal c2c overflow
t5 retrofit lighting kit
100w heater
small cone skimmer
small phosban reactor with biopellets

the main point of the frag tank is to remain highly mobile and give me something to do on my free time that doesnt consume all of my time. I was going to just do high end zoas and maybe some acans or chalices. I figure those would be the easiest to grow. I guess my question would be given the nature of my job (military) and lack of time to spend on the tank every day, which system would be the best pick for me?

[Kdawg_69]

being military myself I would do the 40b because bigger tanks are more stable as far as water parameters go n u could setup maintenance on the system to be easier on urself


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[reeftanknewbie]

I would agree with the 40 breeder. Being ex Air Force I can relate the the deployment issue while having a tank. I had a 60 long and my roommate had no interest in caring for it which lead to many crashes.

[Reef1121]

I would agree with the 40 breeder. Being ex Air Force I can relate the the deployment issue while having a tank. I had a 60 long and my roommate had no interest in caring for it which lead to many crashes.

Thats my exact problem. My current tank I run at ULNS and is mostly SPS with a few choice LPS and zoas. Along with the 2 species of anthia that I have and my hungry hungry hippo of a purple tang I would just be worried if I were to leave the tank would go to ruin and I would lose all of my tank to death. So I'd rather op to sell it all, knowing everyone is going to a happy home. Then set up the breeder and the most that will be in it would maybe be a pair of clowns. But as of right now I was just going to stick with corals and maybe a small CUC.

Is a 20g long going to be a good choice for a sump for the breeder, given that I wont be having fish in the system. Or should I go with something that holds more water like turning a rubermaid container or two into a sump? Also what are your opinions on adding a small fuge to the system? (was thinking a few inches of miracle mud, topped with some coral rubble and chaeto)

[reeftanknewbie]

I hear you on this issue. A 20 gallon long would be perfect for a 40 breeder tank. I believe there is a military thread on here committed to help each other out and tank sit while you are deployed. It's a mix of active duty and vets willing to help

[Reef1121]

I hear you on this issue. A 20 gallon long would be perfect for a 40 breeder tank. I believe there is a military thread on here committed to help each other out and tank sit while you are deployed. It's a mix of active duty and vets willing to help

I'll for sure look into it if I do indeed get deployed, either way though the big tank has to go due to lack of time to care for it properly :( But I think the addition of the frag tank will be enough to keep me busy but not too busy. Just enough to stay satisfied, and maybe make a few bucks that I can recoup the costs of the build or feed the addiction and buy more corals :p

Would the bean animal silent-overflow be an overkill for the tank? I was uncertain in regards to its overflow capacity. From reading over the original thread to his creation it says it can handle up to a 1,500 GPH rate (a bit overkill for what I need) but does it also handle anything in between? I was thinking of picking out a pump that with head pressure be able to turn the tanks water volume over 15-20x's per hour which would be 600-800 GPH. (for those of you not so great with math :p )

In which case I was looking for a dead silent or near dead silent pump that would be able to perform under these circumstances at 3-4 ft of head pressure. I looked at the sicce syncra silent 4.0. Does anyone have any other suggestions given the requirements of running dead silent? I wouldnt mind getting a larger pump either and running a reactor and recirc skimmer off of it as well. Would save room in the small sump which I was planning on doing 2 small filter socks for the full siphon and air siphon lines (no bag for the emergency line) in the main area with the skimmer and reactors (bio-pellets) then a bubble trap and return pump section.