Frag Tank Sand Beds / Cleanup Crew

SD Actuary · Apr 13, 2011

I am looking to get some insight on the pros and cons of sand beds in LPS / Zoanthid frag tanks.

Going against my better half's opinions on the matter, I am looking into starting a full frag tank for my Zoa/Paly addiction that is getting out of control. She complains that there are too many little specs of coral in the tank and no big show pieces, so i am using this as an excuse to try to get a frag tank set up to grow these guys out.

I have recently started getting into various high-end chalices and hope to raise those in the frag tank as well.

I have a few concerns and issues I am hoping to get resolved:

1. Sand bed or bare bottom tank?

2. I have been thinking about this for a while and I have not found a solid answer. If a frag is sitting on its plug on the egg crate, and a hermit / snail comes barreling through the frag rack and crashes through the frag and bumps it all around for ~10 minutes, will this **** of the frag enough to noticeably hinder its growth compared to not getting thrashed around?

If so, would it be best to trap the hermits below the egg crate and leave them there permanently, or are there other ways to prevent the cleanup crew from getting to the top of the frag rack?

If anyone has some insight to this that would be great. Thanks!

SD Actuary · Apr 13, 2011

The word in number 2 got censored for some reason and wont let me edit it.

2. will this movement of the frag enough to noticeably hinder its growth compared to not getting thrashed around?

SD Actuary · Apr 13, 2011

I am also trying to find out what models of HOB skimmers people recommend for this kind of 20 gallon frag tank.

Thanks!

swannyson7 · Apr 13, 2011

IMO, running the tank with no sandbed would be easier to keep clean because you could just siphon off any detritus. I think that the benefits of hermits & snails would outweigh the slowing of growth if they had any effect at all. AS for a skimmer, you may want to look into an AquaC Remora Nano. Never used the nano version, but I had a Remora Pro a few years back that seemed to work pretty well.

Tabasco1 · Apr 13, 2011

Most frag tanks I have seen do not have a sand bottom. +1 on the Remora, for it's size I have heard good things about it.

drainbamage · Apr 13, 2011

Hey scott- the edit button is well, sticky. Just click it four or five times and you should be able to edit your post.

1.) bare bottom is nicer for a tang that you'll be feeding heavily- with the caveat of high flow along that bare bottom to prevent detritus from just sitting there. Bare bottom tanks, IME, don't allow for as large of a CUC, so you really want to ensure that you're eliminating the need for the CUC with plenty of flow. Otherwise, run a sand bottom and have a good CUC of cucumbers, sand sifting stars, nassarius snails, etc. That said- I do prefer sand for growing chalices and some zoa's, because if the chalices grow out off the plug,, I don't have to worry about them fusing to the glass or in any way having a tricky time moving them down the road. If they grow onto the sand, I'm assured that they'll get a nice, semi-smooth shape that still has some natural 'rippling' but that I can also easily remove to trim/frag as needed/wanted.

2.) Depends who you ask, me and Scubajay argue about this one fairly often. My opinion? doesn't really matter (similar to when a pump is causing a frag to rock back and forth) unless it causes the frag to end up colliding/contacting another frag and thus getting burned or something. His opinion? it shakes the bajeegers out of them and can't be good for them.
Neither thought is based on any form of observational 'science' or anything, so ultimately I'd suggest going with the option that works best in your situation. If you find a way of 'containing' them, make sure you don't end up making the tank that much harder to work on and keep clean. At the end of the day, I think you're going to be better with a minimalist approach to stuff in the tank in terms of racks/devices, etc.