First Frag Tank Questions

[djbetterly]

I have an extra 20gallon tank at home so I thought I'd consider setting up a frag tank.

First question...is it a bad idea to plumb it into my current setup? Current setup is a 50gallon with chiller, doser, skimmer, and fuge.

Second question...if I plumb into current system do I need to cycle the tank on its own before hand? Does it need any sort of rock?

Any further suggestions?

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

I'd guess that if you're going to plumb it into your current system you wouldn't need to cycle it. It would just be adding more water volume.

 

[kireek]

You could go either way.A frag tank plumbed into the display tank will share everything with your main tank.Including water quality,stability and pest.The nice thing about having a separate frag tank is that you will have a area to quarantine new arrivals.It is also a nice way to keep back-up copies of your main colonies.Just in case something should happen to the primary system.
I prefer to have live rock in my frag tanks because I rely heavily on biological filtration.Just be certain that the rock is free of pest.