Help me think through this sump modification and frag tank options
 

When I designed and built my 220G reef I also designed and built a 100G sump that looks like this:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...27dac2f934.jpg

(Well, it did look like that, but now it’s covered with 2 years worth of algae and salt creep[emoji6] ). But my original thought for the two large sections in the middle were that I could use the back one as a fuge and the front one as a frag tank. I put a radion XR15 Pro over them for lighting.

Unfortunately it hasn’t really worked out as well as I had hoped. I’ve had a bit of a hard time growing cheato or any macro algae in the fuge section, likely because the lighting spectrum that’s ideal for the corals in the frag tank is not ideal for the algae. Additionally I’ve struggled with nuisance algae in the frag tank section. Because it’s part of the sump I haven’t really been able to add any sort of a cleanup crew because there’s no way to keep them contained in the frag tank section.

However, because I didn’t really have any other place to put a frag tank and I really don’t like seeing frags in the display tank I’ve been dealing with what I have. However, tonight I had an idea.

There is a cabinet to the left of the sump here:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...a704bad0dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4957d8c755.jpg

Originally my plan was to put a Quarantine tank in that space, but I have since realized that that isn’t ideal as I don’t want the QT to be that close to my display system because contaminated water could splash from the QT to the display system.

So now I’m thinking that maybe I’ll just remove the center divider in the sump and turn the two large center sections into one large refugium. That will give me more fuge space, which certainly isn’t a bad thing and I can also get one of the new Kessil grow lights or another light that’s ideal for growing algae.

In the cabinet to the left I can put a small frag tank and move the XR15 over to it. Since that will be a separate tank I can put a clean up crew and/or a couple of small fish to help with the nuisance algae. Plus adding an additional tank to the system will increase the total water capacity of the system which is always a good thing.

So what do you think of this plan? Anything I’m missing or other options that might work better?

The only concern that I have that I’ll need to work through is the fact that the frag tank will not be significantly higher than the sump. I’m thinking that the water line of the frag tank may only be 4 or 5 inches above the water line in the sump and I’m a little bit afraid that that might not be enough height to allow gravity to move the water from the frag tank to the sump fast enough. Depending on the tank I choose for the frag tank and whether I try to build something to put it on to raise it up a bit I may be able to get the water line 10 or 12 inches above the water line in the sump, but it’s still not a huge difference. Do you think that it will still work?

Thanks for any thoughts,
Brett

Just bumping this up to see if anyone had any suggestions.

Thanks:)

That's a great looking cabinet and tank you have there. I think your plan is great especially since you have the extra cabinet space. Getting the water to and from the frag tank isn't a monumental task but would require a little thinking.
Do you have the frag tank already? Is it drilled or will it be drilled? Do you have a tee or manifold off your return?

Help me think through this sump modification and frag tank options
 

Thanks for the thoughts. I don’t have the tank yet and I’m trying to figure out which one to get. The cabinet is only 13.5 inches deep, so that limits my choices a bit. The opening for the double doors is 30.5 inches, so I could easily fit a tank with a 12x30 footprint like a 20 long, a 29 or a 37. I probably don’t really need the extra water depth of the 29 or the 37 for a frag tank, but the extra water volume might be good and it would get the water level higher without having to mount the tank on anything.

I do have additional space on the left of that cabinet and I may be able to squeeze a 36” wide tank in there (the cabinet is 48” wide, but trying to get it through the 30” opening would be the hard part. But frankly, even trying to light a 30” wide tank with a single XR15 is probably pushing it and 36” would be too much.

I’m thinking I would probably drill the tank on the side to feed back into the sump. As far as feeding the frag tank I guess I have two options. The return section of my sump is on the left side, so I could branch off from one of the return pumps (I’m using two jebao dc12000’s and they only run at 80%, so there is some additional capacity there). Or I could redirect one of the drains from the main tank to the frag tank, or I could just throw in another small pump into the return chamber which has the advantage of not having to modify my existing plumbing.

So I guess the first step is deciding if I want to just go with a 20 long and build something to hold it up a bit or do the 29 or 37.

I wouldn't get carried away trying to get every gallon you can because the increase to your system minimal at best. I would keep the tank on the shorter side, 16" would be plenty tall, have it drilled on the side for a bulkhead and elbow / strainer and drain back to the sump
Maybe you will have to build a base for the tank to sit it up a bit, so it sits in the middle of the stand and not right on the floor of the stand.
Should work no problem. will be a cool addition definitely.

Yeah, I guess you have a point. I’ve already got around 280 gallons in the system. Another 10 or 20 gallons isn’t really going to be significant. I keep getting into the mindset that bigger is better, but that probably really isn’t the case here. A shorter tank will also have better light penetration and given that I’m only using a single XR15 then the shallower tank might be better.

So a 20 long is 12” tall and a 29 has the same footprint with an 18” height. I’m almost wondering if the 12” height is all I really need. Frags aren’t very tall and like I said, the shorter tank will have better light penetration too.

What type of frags you plan on having in there? Having a longer tank with the ends having a lower lighting intensity could be good for some zoa frags, and lps frags.
I like the 12" height option for the tank so you can raise it up off the cabinet floor maybe. That xr15 would look nice too and will be able to show off the colors of the frags real nice too.
I'm actually looking forward to some updates to see how this all turns out because I'm getting a custom 200 gallon built right now and am planning a frag tank off to the side plus I have a 60 gallon eurobraced cube I might use more as a second display for a few things I don't want in the main display.

Well, I started with the first step and pulled out the divider between the original frag tank section and the original fuge section, so I now have one large fuge section. I also ordered a Radion XR15 freshwater to light the new large fuge.

I kicked up a ton of detritus when I was cutting out the divider, so I’m running filter socks on my returns which I don’t usually do. Hopefully they’ll pull out a lot of it.

Well, I’ve made some additional progress. I got a Radion XR15 Pro Freshwater to light the new improved fuge. It might be a little overkill, but I already had a radion mounting arm, it integrates with my other radions, and it can produce white light to double as a sump cabinet light, which the kessil H380 couldn’t do (I have magnetic sensors on the sump doors, so the apex automatically turns on the light when I open a door)

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I also installed feeds off of the two return return pumps for the new frag tank. Unfortunately one of them wound up pointing in the wrong direction due to the way the PVC was originally run and space constraints, but I’m just planning to use 1/2 inch vinyl tubing to run out to the frag tank so it can just loop around. I considered just doing a single feed, but I figured I have two return pumps for fault tolerance and I would want the frag tank to keep running if one return pump failed, so I want ahead and did them both.

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Finally I moved the radion XR15 Pro that was over the combined fuge/frag tank and mounted it to the top the cabinet where the new frag tank will go.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...177f43283f.jpg

Now I just need to build a frame to hold the new frag tank up, actually acquire the tank, and drill it. I got two 1” bulkheads to use to drain the tank into the sump. I’m trying to decide if I want to be impatient and go out and get the tank now or wait for Petco’s dollar per gallon sale, which looks like it might happen at the beginning of next month.

I guess I’ll build the frame first and try to locate my 1.75” diamond hole saw, which might require spending some time cleaning the garage. Once I have everything ready I’ll figure out how impatient I am.

Help me think through this sump modification and frag tank options
 

Another quick update. I spent several days cleaning the garage, so that was good. I also found my diamond hole saw, so I’m ready to drill the tank when I get it. I built a shelf to hold the drag tank in the cabinet and just finished painting it. I’ll give the paint some time to dry, then all I have left is to get the tank, drill it, and hook it up[emoji4]

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My new improved fuge with it’s new improved fuge light seems to be working well as well. I added some additional rubble rock and I think the macro algae that’s in there has doubled in size in the last week or so.

Help me think through this sump modification and frag tank options
 

And it’s done. After a push last night and this morning to get the tank, drill it and attach the plumbing the frag tank is running. I bumped the return pumps up to 90% to keep the same flow rate in the DT after I opened up the branches that feed the new frag tank.

I moved my egg crate frag rack from the original small frag tank section of the sump and all I have left is to install the Jebao PP-4 that’s arriving on Sunday and put some frags in it[emoji4]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...70ad82483d.jpg

@rcs82 thanks for talking me out of the deeper tanks. I think the 20 long is a great depth for frags and the extra water volume really wouldn’t have given me any benefit.

That looks pretty slick