The Perfect Frag Tank

[jharding08]

I want to implement the perfect frag tank for my house. I have a nice display with some decent sized colonies and would like to grow out some frags. I will be doing mostly SPS and LPS.

I currently have a 3'x1'x1' tank with a 20 gallon sump for my frag setup. Its too small for the stand

It will be a standalone system and the stand I have is this oneL: http://www.petco.com/product/101395/...ium-Stand.aspx

it is 19.37" L X 37.37" W X 28.25" H. I would like to make the tank span the entire length and width. My father in law can make anything out of acrylic so I am looking for a tank and sump for this application.

For the tank, here are some questions:
- How tall for the tank?
-What kind of overflow?
-What kind of frag rack? Stairs? one rack on the bottom?
-What kind of flow and how much?
-What kind of return? I currently have a sicce synchra silent 2.0 (569 GPH) for my current implementation with a SCWD for alternating water flow
- What kind of lighting? I am using a Rapid LED Onyx Dimmable LED fixture right now (80 degree optics) I have it hooked up to my main display Apex system. The display has 2 onyx units which grow SPS nicely.

For the sump,
I want to make the same design that I used for the display, with a return section, filter socks, in sump skimmer, maybe a section for live rock and a return section big enough for water siphon on feeding/power outage.

THis is for my display -


I run a bean animal on my display and a 1.5" durso on my current frag setup with an emergency. For the 568 GPH, the 1.5" handles it quietly.

I'd like to keep my hardware (sicce 2.0, reef octopus in sump - rated for over 400 gallons , onyx LED and stand) but can design all new tank and sump and frag racks. I can even add another Onyx if necessary.

So , what do you think? Oh, I also have a pair of black and white ORA ocellaris that will live in this tank, so I'd like to be able to remove detritus as easily as possible (depending on the frag rack setup)

Thank you for your feedback

I

[phk36]

Bump I also want something like this on a larger scale

[jharding08]

I moved the post to the DIY forum - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2527429

[nuxx]

We just setup our 150 gallon frag tank.

60x36x16" Starphire built by A.G.E.

Coast to Coast external overflow with Bean Animal drains. 75 gallon sump. 29 gallon ATO.

Running two Jebao RW15s and two Jebao DCT4000 returns.

Massive skimmer (RO DCS300) on it, but will be putting a smaller skimmer on soon.

Also just switched to 3 Cheap Chinese 165 watt full spectrum dimmable fixtures.

Here's the build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2472158

[jharding08]

Originally Posted by nuxx

We just setup our 150 gallon frag tank.

60x36x16" Starphire built by A.G.E.

Coast to Coast external overflow with Bean Animal drains. 75 gallon sump. 29 gallon ATO.

Running two Jebao RW15s and two Jebao DCT4000 returns.

Massive skimmer (RO DCS300) on it, but will be putting a smaller skimmer on soon.

Also just switched to 3 Cheap Chinese 165 watt full spectrum dimmable fixtures.

Here's the build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2472158

I like the look of it. I wish I had space for that large of a frag tank. If I was to scale that down to my size, 37" W x 19"D, how tall should I go? 12", 14" or 16"? I'm kind of sold on the C2C overflow with Bean Animal, but i'm thinking of using 1" plumbing all around. I dont have a ton of room and want to make the box as small as possible so the drain from the overflow into the sump on feeding/power outage isnt going to overflow my sump.

[nuxx]

Yeah I'd do 12-14" with 1".

1 1/2" made it very cramped as well

[jharding08]

Do I need a bean animal overflow (3 drains) for only 568 GPH return?

[nuxx]

Originally Posted by jharding08

Do I need a bean animal overflow (3 drains) for only 568 GPH return?

It's more a safety thing, not really for GPH

[jharding08]

My current frag tank has a open channel and an emergency. Is that a Herbie setup? Its pretty quiet. 1.5" pipe though

[codyreed29]

three filter socks? not wanting to change these much huh?

[jharding08]

i have three socks in the sump of my display and change them out about every week. If I wait two weeks, then the water will back up and go over the top.

I plan on doing two in the frag sump, but that is mostly because of the depth I am working with in the stand. The more the better I say. I have a whole box full of replacements and wash them in the washing machine with bleach when the bucket is full of dirties.

[jharding08]

I'm thinking of a 37"Wx19"Dx14"H frag tank with a coast to coast overflow on the back just wide enough to house 1" bulkheads in the bottom and tall enough to house two street elbows, one in the other in the bulkhead. I can cut the open end to allow just enough room for water to flow in it. I want the overflow box to be small so that there isnt a ton of water flowing in to the sump from teh siphon on power outage.

This way I can make the return section of the sump smaller, not having to worry about using the entire return section water volume to fill up the overflow box on power startup and siphon start.

Is there any general relationship between the overflow box size of a bean animal setup and the sump return section volume? Meaning, how much water should the return section be able to store so that on startup, the water can be pushed up into the display and into the overflow and have the siphon start before the return section runs out of water? I see a lag in my display with water going into the display before the return section gets to its normal level.

[jharding08]

Here are my first drafts of the tanks.

For the main frag tank, I am doing an external coast to coast with three 1" bulkheads for bean animal overflow.





The size is big enough to just fit on my stand with enough room for plumbing behind the tank and under the overflow.

The sump, I am still working on the right dimensions -



At 14.50" deep, i could do three 4" filter socks, but two should be fine for this implementation.

There is enough width in the skimmer section for the Reef Octopus Classic 110, which has a footprint of 7.8"x6.1". Recommended water height is 7-8" so I'll make it 8" and use egg crate if I need to raise it 1/2" or so.

I decided to only do two baffles before the return section. I am going to put live rock in the section between the skimmer and return. I want to make sure that I have enough water in the return section to fill the C2C overflow of the frag tank before the siphon starts.

Can some explain the differences in sumps that use 3 baffles before the return section vs. 2 baffles vs. 1 (raised off the bottom)? If the baffle is raised off the bottom and the water goes underneath, is that only to allow more water for the return without it running dry? Why use one at all at that point? Why not just one big return section?

[nuxx]

Looking good

For our frag tank is just had two baffles, super simple.

Our big 200 gallon sump has like 5 compartments, will tons of different baffles haha

I really like the simple one more :P

[reidcrandall]

One thing I wish I'd done in my sump is put the baffles further apart so there is enough room to comfortably get my hands to the bottom. Just a thought.

[nuxx]

Originally Posted by reidcrandall

One thing I wish I'd done in my sump is put the baffles further apart so there is enough room to comfortably get my hands to the bottom. Just a thought.

LOL yeah, we made ours just enough to get a thicker filter pad in.

[jharding08]

I have 1" spacing in my display sump baffles. I can get a turkey baster in there to blast the detritus further down the line and out. I've also had the fun experience of chasing a blue green chromis around with a net throughout the baffles for about an hour.

the more I think about it, the more a single baffle between the return section and the live rock section makes sense. I can either space it 1" off the bottom or put holes in the baffle and have it on the bottom. Any benefits to either?

At least when I need water to get my overflow siphon started, I am just draining my live rock section and wont run out.

I'll make the baffle about 1-2" higher than the return pump height and will set the ATO float switch to keep it that high. With a larger area, it will take more ATO water, but it should take longer to evaporate and trigger the ATO.

Here is my latest draft-


The Sicce 2.0 is only 4.13" high, so 6" should be enough, although I could do 8", wont hurt anyone since its got the holes at the bottom. I could put the heater on that wall. If I need more flow, I have a sicce 5.0 (its only 4.65" high)

[jharding08]

Next question, in a 14" deep tank, should I do a tiered frag rack or just one level piece of egg create on the bottom?

[jharding08]

Alos, should I do the returns coming out of the overflow with two more bulkheads?

I am using 3/4" flex PVC for return line from the Sicce 2.0. Is 568 GPH enough for this tank? its bare bottom and will have powerheads for flow, no more SCWD. I will still have two return lines from the sicce 2.0, is that necessary? Could I do one 1" return line or even one 3/4", if it isnt for flow?