Need some advice from people who have frag tank plumbed to main display.

[Hugo’s_reef]

Hey guys
I’m finally going to add a frag tank to my main system so I can remove all frags and colony’s that I constantly frag from main display. As those who have seen my tank know I only keep sps and my plan is to get a 24”x24”x? And set up next to my main tank.

The goal is to light it with a G5 Radion blue xr15.
I would like to keep cost down (of course) so I plan to provide flow with an MP10 that I already have.

This is the tank I’m planing to get …

So my questions are…

1. I believe a xr15 should be able to provide plenty of light for a sps tank that is 24x24. Would you agree?

2. Do you think an MP10 will be all I need for flow ? Or maybe too much flow?

3. Also what height would you guys recommend 10” Or maybe 12” ? I would like to keep water volume down so my sump can hold the back siphon when power is out, but I also don’t want to have the problem I have with my main display where I can’t crank up the power heads because they will suck in air or splash water out.

Oh and as far as plumbing it to my display I will just set a pump that will pull water from my sump and a return that will drain it back to the sump.

Please let me know if there’s anything I should watch out for etc…


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[tangreefkeeper]

you should get 2 frag tanks, one for each side of your display

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

you should get 2 frag tanks, one for each side of your display

Not a bad idea … it will make it really hard to access all the electrical and controllers behind that cabinet though .


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[tangreefkeeper]

matching stands and frag tanks on each side would have a clean look to it

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

matching stands and frag tanks on each side would have a clean look to it

Yup!! Definitely going to match the stand. I will eventually move this tank to a different room. I’m currently having a lot of humidity issues in the room and I made the rookie mistake of placing the tank to close to the wall where I can’t hide the power heads behind the tank and to do maintenance on equipment when I have to unplug it is a nightmare.

Eventually I’ll demo the spare room , insulate walls , maybe add an exhaust, and relocate or build a more permanent tank. EVENTUALLY


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[joseserrano]

Gyre would probably be better for flow, check valve will fix your drainage issue. 12” is better

 

[Tangwich]

matching stands and frag tanks on each side would have a clean look to it

Ooooor just go with one 8 footer and boom insta mega reef with large show fish like yours 😉👍

 

[Emac909]

A xr15 would be plenty over 24X24. You could put it at 12” high but I’d say just play with the spillage if you get to much light spill around the tank then move it down a little. A second mp10 workout be a bad idea, so you could get alternating flow patterns.

One thing I’ll say I’m not a fan of butting a frag tank up to the side of a display. For one what if you need to get to back of display tank. Then for two the glass will get dirty in between the two tanks and it makes cleaning the glass hard. Over time you will have salt creep on the outside and coraline built up inside.

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

Gyre would probably be better for flow, check valve will fix your drainage issue. 12” is better

I’m not really familiar with these, would you recommend the maxspect 2350gph or the ice cap 2k ?

The only thing I have heard about them is that they need constant cleaning, has this been a problem in your case ?


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[Hugo’s_reef]

A xr15 would be plenty over 24X24. You could put it at 12” high but I’d say just play with the spillage if you get to much light spill around the tank then move it down a little. A second mp10 workout be a bad idea, so you could get alternating flow patterns.

One thing I’ll say I’m not a fan of butting a frag tank up to the side of a display. For one what if you need to get to back of display tank. Then for two the glass will get dirty in between the two tanks and it makes cleaning the glass hard. Over time you will have salt creep on the outside and coraline built up inside.

Yeah as long as the par is good I’m not too worried about the light spillage since it’s pretty much a “fish tank and lounge room”. If it’s to bright put on some orange glasses . I’ll for sure leave some room between tanks to be able to fit a magnet cleaner in there .


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[kadyooo]

I would say leave some area between both side glasses, I used to letting two tanks glass next to each other and when water drops in between, it’s impossible to clean it.

 

[joseserrano]

I’m not really familiar with these, would you recommend the maxspect 2350gph or the ice cap 2k ?

The only thing I have heard about them is that they need constant cleaning, has this been a problem in your case ?


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The newer gyre with the guard/flange help bring down cleanings

 

[Emac909]

I’m not really familiar with these, would you recommend the maxspect 2350gph or the ice cap 2k ?

The only thing I have heard about them is that they need constant cleaning, has this been a problem in your case ?


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Gyres are by fare my favorite.

I was a total ecotech whore back in the days. Then a Coralvue employee hit me up and asked if I was willing to beta test the maxspect gyre (fyi there were originally going to be called the riptide, not the gyre, but there was a US Patton on riptide name). I put one 50w gyre up against two mp60s on an 8’ peninsula tank that one 50w gyre beat the sh—- out of the mp60s. A month before hitting the market coralvue asking if I want to purchase any gyres. I bought 5 xf150. I put two on my 300g peninsula and ditched all 4 vortechs. Here’s the flow in that 300g with 2 xf150s and a return pump. That’s all I ran on this tank

I would say the 2k or xf330 would be the best. You may need to only use one side and cap the other side on that small of a tank. Icecap 2ks are the same as maxspect xf330s. The 4k’s are the same as the xf350. Maxspect also makes a xf280. But holy shhh that thing is 15” long and made for 800+ gallon systems.
This is a standard 2k or xf330

This is the same pump with the cap

Here my 150 running 2 icecap 2k with hydros dual controller.

I know the vid says 1k’s I effed up and typed a 1 instead of 2.

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

Gyres are by fare my favorite.

I was a total ecotech whore back in the days. Then a Coralvue employee hit me up and asked if I was willing to beta test the maxspect gyre (fyi there were originally going to be called the riptide, not the gyre, but there was a US Patton on riptide name). I put one 50w gyre up against two mp60s on an 8’ peninsula tank that one 50w gyre beat the sh—- out of the mp60s. A month before hitting the market coralvue asking if I want to purchase any gyres. I bought 5 xf150. I put two on my 300g peninsula and ditched all 4 vortechs. Here’s the flow in that 300g with 2 xf150s and a return pump. That’s all I ran on this tank

I would say the 2k or xf330 would be the best. You may need to only use one side and cap the other side on that small of a tank. Icecap 2ks are the same as maxspect xf330s. The 4k’s are the same as the xf350. Maxspect also makes a xf280. But holy shhh that thing is 15” long and made for 800+ gallon systems.
This is a standard 2k or xf330

This is the same pump with the cap

Here my 150 running 2 icecap 2k with hydros dual controller.

I know the vid says 1k’s I effed up and typed a 1 instead of 2.

Oh ok nice so I can cap one side and have enough flow …


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[Emac909]

The gyres are pretty interesting because they can spin backwards and forwards. So say you wanted to go the cheapest route. Then buy ice maxspect gyre. Im not sure if they still come with an extra set of rotters and cages still. I don’t think so tho. So buy a spare set of rotters and cages. Now her comes to cool part about these pump. Originally it comes with an A & B rotter/cage. With the pump spins forward you will get flow from both rotters. Then when it goes in reverse there will be no flow from either rotter. But now take off the B and replace it with another A. Now place the pump vertically in the middle of the back wall. Face the top A side so that the intake grates are facing the front display. Then do the same for the bottom A as well. Now if you look at the pump each side will be facing in opposite directions. So now when the pump spins forward the top A side will have flow coming from it but the bottom A will have none. Then when the pump goes into reverse the top A will have no flow but the bottom will. So one pump will give you alternating currents.

But if you wanted to got the more expensive route then buy the dual pump setup and have the pumps fight each other. If you find that the full pump is to strong for your frag tank then you can purchase the caps so that your only getting half the flow from one pump.

 

[pledosophy]

1. That light should do just fine, especially with the shallower tanks.

2. Probably the right amount of flow for SPS, not sure it would work with LPS. If you were keeping colonies I would suggest a second powerhead just to have the water hit both sides, but with just frags that is not as necessary IME.

3. 12" is a better height. The height of the tank should not affect how much back flows into your sump at all if you plumb it properly.

I would recommend plumbing it in a way where it can run independently of the main tank if need be, if that is an option for you, which would really just be putting a gate valve on the drain from the frag tank to close it. If you ever need to run it seperatley,it will be very helpful. Then you can just turn off your pump and it won't affect the water level everywhere else to the same degree. It is worth the few bucks IMO and just easier to do it up front.

If you could put your return from your sump to the frag tank on something like a seaswirl I think that might be idea for your setup.

Good luck.,

 

[madatom]

Gyre would probably be better for flow, check valve will fix your drainage issue. 12” is better

Was gonna comment but Jose here cited both my recommendations. Although for a valve issue, I’d recommend a gate valve for fiber tuning.

Not sure of the overflow config but I’d recommend a secondary backup drain in case the primary is clogged. From experience, snails like to fuck up all plumbing designs for shits and giggles.



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