How to propagate (frag) corals with limited tank space! How do you do it?

[revhtree]

So I've always loved the idea of "farming" my corals even if it was just in a small space and a limited amount of frags. Growing corals has always appealed to me and at times I wanted to frag coral and really didn't have the space to do it. But there are ways that you can use limited space to grow out coral fragments. I could list several now but I would like to hear from you on this and how you have accomplished this. PHOTOS ARE A MUST!

What are some ways you have found work well when it comes to fragging & housing corals in a limited space?

At one point I had set up a 10g frag tank under my stand because I didn't have anywhere else to put it!

 

[footgal]

Hi! I love this question, its definitley not easy! The only tank thats mature enough to produce frags for me is a 20 peninsula so you can tell how cramped it is! Heres how I make it work.

I have a permanent clear frag rack at the end of the peninsula. It’s removable but since I put it in I haven’t taken it out. It’s not too big, only 8 slots. In the pic I have some scrambled eggs sitting up there ready to be picked up by the buyer.

Now you see that space to the right of the green torch and towards the return pump? That’s where I put my temporary frag rack should I need it. It’s actually quite big, and holds 12 frags

Then I have my little Xenia cup on the side of the tank there. I use it for Xenia, shrooms, leather, sinularia, colt coral, nepthea, etc. Basically any softie that needs some time to attach to the plug/rubble.

If you look towards the left side of that first FTS or the front of this new one, you’ll find my zoa garden. If the buyer is okay with it, I mount the frags on shells (like the scrambled egg here) then put them on the bottom. This saves space and I can easily identify which frags are being sold to who based on the type of shell they’re mounted on. So one buyer may be getting all flat shells and another may get all spiral shells.

So that’s how I’m making it work! I can’t put anything like a fuge under my stand because it’s an AIO tank so I’m just cramming everything I can into the display while trying to maintain the beauty of the tank! You can’t see the circular frag rack from the front because there’s a giant blue mushroom blocking it from view. You gotta do whatcha gotta do in a tiny tank!

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I have an 80 gallon and 30 gallon frag tank, along with a 150 gallon display. The frag tanks are a great place to put new frags to check on their health, and grow them out a bit before deciding where you want them in your display. Plus I tend to buy alot of frags, and it's just so much easier to put them on a frag rack than mount them to the rockwork. I get alot of enjoyment out of my frag tanks. And of course they are used to sell trimmings from my display colonies too

I actually used to think I'd just keep upgrading my display as my coral grew, but I got to the point where I can't fit a bigger tank in the main living area of the house without getting rid of the dining room table (didn't get spousal approval on that one), so expanding into the basement with frag tanks has been a way for me to continue to grow.

 

[design.maddie]

That is a big NO from me. I don't enjoy growing out frags. I like ping pong ball sized corals. I am not in the hobby to have farm land with coral in it. I want to recreate nature. rocks, sand, fish, inverts, corals.

 

[sp1187]

pricing a 40 breeder frag set up now, mostly because my tank is softie dominant. need somewhere to put leather clippings and all the baby shrooms that keep dropping. not a money making adventure. currently I donate shrooms and clippings to a college student that doesn't have the coin to populate his tank.

 

[Ef4life]

I had a refugium in my sump, but the chaeto never grew anything but hair algae on it, so I got rid of it and turned it into my frag tank. I try and keep frags out of the display but it’s hard to do when your coral is really growing fast.

 

[Cell]

I'm a fan of this frag rack for space saving purposes:

 

[Ef4life]

That is a big NO from me. I don't enjoy growing out frags. I like ping pong ball sized corals. I am not in the hobby to have farm land with coral in it. I want to recreate nature. rocks, sand, fish, inverts, corals.

ping pong ball sized corals are frags, once they grow to base ball sized, then soft ball, cantaloupe sized, you will need to trim them back, especially when they get big and start shading themselves and the lower portions die off and look ugly.

 

[DC Reefer]

Just added a small 13 gallon frag tank off my main tank's sump. gives me a place to hold frags until l can trade.

 

[ricksmithsdca]

So I've always loved the idea of "farming" my corals even if it was just in a small space and a limited amount of frags. Growing corals has always appealed to me and at times I wanted to frag coral and really didn't have the space to do it. But there are ways that you can use limited space to grow out coral fragments. I could list several now but I would like to hear from you on this and how you have accomplished this. PHOTOS ARE A MUST!

What are some ways you have found work well when it comes to fragging & housing corals in a limited space?

At one point I had set up a 10g frag tank under my stand because I didn't have anywhere else to put it!

I do not have my saltwater setup yet. That's happening this weekend. However, I am planning on getting a magnetic frag rack when I am ready to start fragging to attach to the back side of my tank. I figure this will give me a little bit of room.

 

[ricksmithsdca]

pricing a 40 breeder frag set up now, mostly because my tank is softie dominant. need somewhere to put leather clippings and all the baby shrooms that keep dropping. not a money making adventure. currently I donate shrooms and clippings to a college student that doesn't have the coin to populate his tank.

That's pretty cool of you! I am just getting into the hobby myself and multiple people I have met through forums are already offering me frags when I am ready. It's pretty cool of them to do.

 

[McPuff]

I don't really like to frag, at least not for the sake of fragging. I like my colonies to get big... but there are times when I have to trim them down for whatever reason. So I just use some simple racks when needed, either in my display or in my lagoon which has turned into an LPS/softy mixed reef.

 

[Kehy]

Please excuse the horrible colors, but it turns out Mini Complete tracks can be used for frags. I might suggest hooking the display to a larger tank instead of the Mini Compete sump for more stability.

 

[cpage101]

need to frag and all racks in DT are full due to covid. I really need a AIO frag tank

 

[Blknovass]

I keep just a small rack in my display tank.

 

[sawdonkey]

I HATE frag racks in display tanks, so I keep frags in the first chamber of my sump. Many people put a refuge I’m in this area, but it’s where I put frags. I have an old ocean revive light above it and have black acrylic blocking the light so I don’t have algae growth in the rest of my sump. I have a small power head in there for flow. Some pieces actually grow better down there than in my DT.

 

[oldbob50]

I use my 20 gal QT for frags. I have egg crate racks that I stick into the substrate when needed. I don't medicate the QT with anything that is not reef safe, if I medicate at all. Lighting on that tank is a freshwater full spectrum led but the frags seem to do well with it. If I need more space I can add egg crate racks in my refugium. I don't frag as a business and this arrangement covers me for when I need to trim DT corals that are getting too big. Usually I don't keep the frags for more than a month or two before they go to the LFS for store credit.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

I find frag racks are key, especially with acros. I use them for both light acclimating new frags as well as doing short term growouts of new frags to make sure I like them before I mount them. I also use them to store frags which broke off or when I trim back my colonies. I'd rather make a few $ to help offset maintenance costs than just throw them away. I have two in my display, a high light rack mounted to my overflow and a low light one in the back corner.

That said, I'm not a fan of frag racks in my display tank. I'd MUCH rather have a separate, but plumbed together frag tank. But wife says no and "happy wife, happy life". I did have some corals growing in the fuge section of my sump which worked great for lower light corals (montis, zoas, etc.). I might pick up a better light and try keeping some acros down there.

 

[sp1187]

That's pretty cool of you! I am just getting into the hobby myself and multiple people I have met through forums are already offering me frags when I am ready. It's pretty cool of them to do.

pay it forward when your's is rockin it.

 

[MARK M. DAVIS]

I have a 50 gallon frag flat that is connected to my main sump. These frags were very small. Some were purchased and others are grow out. I also have some frag racks in both this tank and in my main display. These colonies are glued to acrylic posts of varying height so that they would grow at differing depths. Lots of overlap.