I am putting a frag tank together so I thought why not make a post about it. I welcome any suggestions or input anyone has as this is the first time I have tried to build a frag tank.
11/17/2022 Overview/Planning Stage
Tank
I am using a 50 gallon lowboy I purchased used. They were going to build a frag tank but changed their mind. The tank came drilled for an external overflow on one of the long sides and an Eshopps Eclipse M overflow box. I traded them some coral frags and $50 for the tank so I feel like I got a good deal. I was planning to put the overflow on one of the short sides so I could pipe the return to the opposite side so any trash or surface scum would be pushed towards the overflow. This positioning will work too though.
Here is a picture of the tank on the table. It is a bit messy at the moment, but once I am done it should look okay.
Stand
I acquired a really nice stand from a member that I think will work perfectly. They were using the stand for a 50 gallon low boy frag tank, so it was a great fit. The table is 4' long by about 30" wide. I have the tank pushed to the back so I have about 6" of table on the front side that I can use to hold things when I am doing tank stuff. I took their suggestion and kept the plastic they had under the tank to help protect the wood table from water.
Sump
I have an Eshopps Oceana 300 sump that came with a tank I recently purchased that I am planning to use on this tank. It is oversized, but in my brief time reefing I have come to believe that a bigger sump is better than a smaller one. The sump on my DT is completely packed with gear. This sump is a bit larger than the one on my DT so I hope it will be able to hold all the gear I plan to use comfortably.
In the sump I will have:
Eshopps X-200 skimmer,
Skimz MBR157 Algae Reactor
Ecotech Vectra M1 Return Pump
Maybe some live rock and/or bio media of some sort
Lighting
For lighting I have two Radion XR15 G2 lights and two 24" T5 two bulb fixtures. I have not decided on what the lighting arrangement will be yet. I imagine the XR15's alone could be enough for the entire tank, but I thought I would do T5 lighting over one half of the tank and LED over the other just to see how they differed. Another possibility is installing the XR15's to cover the entire tank and have the T5's for supplemental lighting. Any ideas about this would be appreciated.
I am planning to use 2020 extruded aluminum to build a light mounting system. I am thinking of running one stick of 2020 over the tank and build a bracket for each light to attach it to the main support. The main support would be supported on each end by T slot that attaches to the side of the table. I plan to build in a bit of adjustment on the brackets so I can move the lights closer or farther from the tank as needed. The T slot material is smaller than I imagined but it is stiff enough to handle the weight of these lights and then some with almost no deflection.
Plumbing
I am going to install a Herbie overflow thanks to some good advice from a member. The overflow box has 1" bulkheads so I will run 1" pipe from there to the sump. I have a gate valve ready to go and plenty of unions to make it easier to take the piping apart if I have to. I will be running the return line to the left side of the tank when you are facing the tank. I am not sure yet what nozzle to use on it a wide fan style one or a round one. I am thinking a round one but I have not decided yet. I will install a horizontal header in the return line with valves for the UV sterilizer and a couple of extra just in case.
Here is a picture of the plumbing so far. It has not been glued yet other than the reducers in the sump bulkheads. I want to get the return mocked up before I glue all of the pipes together.
Inside the Tank
I saw someone online cut some short discs of 2" PVC pipe and place them in the bottom of the frag tank to hold up the egg crate and I am planning to give that a try. I will have several removable sections of egg crate so I can easily remove a section if I need to for cleaning.
I will install a couple of power heads in the tank. I am thinking of putting one on each short side to circulate the water around the tank. I do not know what power heads I want just yet but I have a Tunze one that I really like so I may go with two of those. Any suggestions would be appreciated here.
Tank Automation
I purchased an Apex Classic for the tank which I will use to monitor pH and temperature and to control my heater. I will be installing an ATO system that I will run through my Apex as well. Most likely I will get one of those pet food containers some people like to use for the ATO tank.
The G2 XR15 lights can be setup using my laptop but I may eventually get a Reeflink for them to make that easier.
Salt Mix/Dosing
I will be using Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt mix. I use it in my other tanks and I do not want to try to use a different salt on this one. I plan to dose Tropic Marin NP Bacto Balance daily and Tropic Marin All for Reef as needed once the tank is established.
Livestock
I will have some CUC critters in the tank like snails and hermits. I am also researching fish that are good for frag tanks like lawnmower blennies, wrasse, and tangs. If I go with a wrasse I will add a small container of sand for it to bed down in. I may have a section partitioned off with egg crate for anemones. I have been trying to remove the extras from my other tanks lately so I can put them all in a coral for future sale or trade.
Well this is all for now. Please do comment on what I am proposing to do. I welcome all input and critiques!
11/17/2022 Overview/Planning Stage
Tank
I am using a 50 gallon lowboy I purchased used. They were going to build a frag tank but changed their mind. The tank came drilled for an external overflow on one of the long sides and an Eshopps Eclipse M overflow box. I traded them some coral frags and $50 for the tank so I feel like I got a good deal. I was planning to put the overflow on one of the short sides so I could pipe the return to the opposite side so any trash or surface scum would be pushed towards the overflow. This positioning will work too though.
Here is a picture of the tank on the table. It is a bit messy at the moment, but once I am done it should look okay.
Stand
I acquired a really nice stand from a member that I think will work perfectly. They were using the stand for a 50 gallon low boy frag tank, so it was a great fit. The table is 4' long by about 30" wide. I have the tank pushed to the back so I have about 6" of table on the front side that I can use to hold things when I am doing tank stuff. I took their suggestion and kept the plastic they had under the tank to help protect the wood table from water.
Sump
I have an Eshopps Oceana 300 sump that came with a tank I recently purchased that I am planning to use on this tank. It is oversized, but in my brief time reefing I have come to believe that a bigger sump is better than a smaller one. The sump on my DT is completely packed with gear. This sump is a bit larger than the one on my DT so I hope it will be able to hold all the gear I plan to use comfortably.
In the sump I will have:
Eshopps X-200 skimmer,
Skimz MBR157 Algae Reactor
Ecotech Vectra M1 Return Pump
Maybe some live rock and/or bio media of some sort
Lighting
For lighting I have two Radion XR15 G2 lights and two 24" T5 two bulb fixtures. I have not decided on what the lighting arrangement will be yet. I imagine the XR15's alone could be enough for the entire tank, but I thought I would do T5 lighting over one half of the tank and LED over the other just to see how they differed. Another possibility is installing the XR15's to cover the entire tank and have the T5's for supplemental lighting. Any ideas about this would be appreciated.
I am planning to use 2020 extruded aluminum to build a light mounting system. I am thinking of running one stick of 2020 over the tank and build a bracket for each light to attach it to the main support. The main support would be supported on each end by T slot that attaches to the side of the table. I plan to build in a bit of adjustment on the brackets so I can move the lights closer or farther from the tank as needed. The T slot material is smaller than I imagined but it is stiff enough to handle the weight of these lights and then some with almost no deflection.
Plumbing
I am going to install a Herbie overflow thanks to some good advice from a member. The overflow box has 1" bulkheads so I will run 1" pipe from there to the sump. I have a gate valve ready to go and plenty of unions to make it easier to take the piping apart if I have to. I will be running the return line to the left side of the tank when you are facing the tank. I am not sure yet what nozzle to use on it a wide fan style one or a round one. I am thinking a round one but I have not decided yet. I will install a horizontal header in the return line with valves for the UV sterilizer and a couple of extra just in case.
Here is a picture of the plumbing so far. It has not been glued yet other than the reducers in the sump bulkheads. I want to get the return mocked up before I glue all of the pipes together.
Inside the Tank
I saw someone online cut some short discs of 2" PVC pipe and place them in the bottom of the frag tank to hold up the egg crate and I am planning to give that a try. I will have several removable sections of egg crate so I can easily remove a section if I need to for cleaning.
I will install a couple of power heads in the tank. I am thinking of putting one on each short side to circulate the water around the tank. I do not know what power heads I want just yet but I have a Tunze one that I really like so I may go with two of those. Any suggestions would be appreciated here.
Tank Automation
I purchased an Apex Classic for the tank which I will use to monitor pH and temperature and to control my heater. I will be installing an ATO system that I will run through my Apex as well. Most likely I will get one of those pet food containers some people like to use for the ATO tank.
The G2 XR15 lights can be setup using my laptop but I may eventually get a Reeflink for them to make that easier.
Salt Mix/Dosing
I will be using Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt mix. I use it in my other tanks and I do not want to try to use a different salt on this one. I plan to dose Tropic Marin NP Bacto Balance daily and Tropic Marin All for Reef as needed once the tank is established.
Livestock
I will have some CUC critters in the tank like snails and hermits. I am also researching fish that are good for frag tanks like lawnmower blennies, wrasse, and tangs. If I go with a wrasse I will add a small container of sand for it to bed down in. I may have a section partitioned off with egg crate for anemones. I have been trying to remove the extras from my other tanks lately so I can put them all in a coral for future sale or trade.
Well this is all for now. Please do comment on what I am proposing to do. I welcome all input and critiques!
