The Closet Frag Tank

[rastafan]

Hi there,

So after lurking around this forum since 2013, I finally have time to share something This is quite a late post since the frag tanks been running for almost 2 years now, but want to share my experience. I'm not proud to say that this is my longest running tank after more than 10 different set ups/transfers/upgrades/downgrades all these years lol.

I decided to try a reef tank inside a closet due to reasons of space, temperature control, lighting illumination, and seeing from a friend who did it. Initial plan was a display tank in the living room but got stuck with this set up since it worked really well for me sans maintenance lol. Door is always open though except when its really cold during winter.

Tank sizes (plumbed together):
36x18x13 rimless, 36g
20x20x6 acrylic, 10g

Sump:
Standard 20g long, diy dividers

Lights:
3 AI Prime HD with diffusers

Filtration:
Skimmer, live sand and rocks, carbon

Location:
Ground floor closet room

PROS in my experience:
- Temperature is consistent
- My living room does not illuminate with blue lights lol

CONS:
- Maintenance is a pain due to space constraints.

Livestock:
- 2 pairs of clownfish (4 in total), couple of Chromis, lots of snails
- Corals are mostly LPS with some shrooms and zoas. Will post picts in the thread

 

[Flippers4pups]

Hi there,

So after lurking around this forum since 2013, I finally have time to share something This is quite a late post since the frag tanks been running for almost 2 years now, but want to share my experience. I'm not proud to say that this is my longest running tank after more than 10 different set ups/transfers/upgrades/downgrades all these years lol.

I decided to try a reef tank inside a closet due to reasons of space, temperature control, lighting illumination, and seeing from a friend who did it. Initial plan was a display tank in the living room but got stuck with this set up since it worked really well for me sans maintenance lol. Door is always open though except when its really cold during winter.

Tank sizes (plumbed together):
36x18x13 rimless, 36g
20x20x6 acrylic, 10g

Sump:
Standard 20g long, diy dividers

Lights:
3 AI Prime HD with diffusers

Filtration:
Skimmer, live sand and rocks, carbon

Location:
Ground floor closet room

PROS in my experience:
- Temperature is consistent
- My living room does not illuminate with blue lights lol

CONS:
- Maintenance is a pain due to space constraints.

Livestock:
- 2 pairs of clownfish (4 in total), couple of Chromis, lots of snails
- Corals are mostly LPS with some shrooms and zoas. Will post picts in the thread

Pretty cool use of space!

 

[rastafan]

To organize the clutter, I reused an old drawer and made it as my circuit box lol The cover is a pvc sheet and being hold by magnets

 

[rastafan]

I struggled in the first few months until i figured my nutrients are low. Plus parameters are not consistent so i decided to go back to the old and tested Reef Crystals lol. Tank maturity varies but it took me 4-5 months until i achieved stability.

Pictures taken last January 2020

 

[tnw50cal]

Nice. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Everything Aquatics]

That’s so cool

 

[JumboShrimp]

Where there's a will, there's a way!

 

[LRT]

Epic use of space!

 

[Jawfishracing]

Love the use of space.
Looks like a fun set-up.

 

[Dr. Bluethumb]

I had an idea of doing something similar, but i'd actually have to use 1/2 the closest for clothes. Anyone have an opinion on what might happen to clothing in an enclosed closest with a frag tank?? Besides smelling like tank do you think the saltwater/evaporation would mess with certain fabrics ??

 

[RipleysReef]

Very creative with the use of space and equipment being used!

 

[PastorJ]

Hi there,

So after lurking around this forum since 2013, I finally have time to share something This is quite a late post since the frag tanks been running for almost 2 years now, but want to share my experience. I'm not proud to say that this is my longest running tank after more than 10 different set ups/transfers/upgrades/downgrades all these years lol.

I decided to try a reef tank inside a closet due to reasons of space, temperature control, lighting illumination, and seeing from a friend who did it. Initial plan was a display tank in the living room but got stuck with this set up since it worked really well for me sans maintenance lol. Door is always open though except when its really cold during winter.

Tank sizes (plumbed together):
36x18x13 rimless, 36g
20x20x6 acrylic, 10g

Sump:
Standard 20g long, diy dividers

Lights:
3 AI Prime HD with diffusers

Filtration:
Skimmer, live sand and rocks, carbon

Location:
Ground floor closet room

PROS in my experience:
- Temperature is consistent
- My living room does not illuminate with blue lights lol

CONS:
- Maintenance is a pain due to space constraints.

Livestock:
- 2 pairs of clownfish (4 in total), couple of Chromis, lots of snails
- Corals are mostly LPS with some shrooms and zoas. Will post picts in the thread

Now this is something that I might be interested in doing since I don’t have a lot of space

 

[rastafan]

I had an idea of doing something similar, but i'd actually have to use 1/2 the closest for clothes. Anyone have an opinion on what might happen to clothing in an enclosed closest with a frag tank?? Besides smelling like tank do you think the saltwater/evaporation would mess with certain fabrics ??

That was one of my concern initially. I had the door always open and dedicated this 'coat' closet' just for the tank and didn't put any clothing inside. Just boxes of extra reef equipment lol. So far, it doesn't smell like the ocean (running 2.5 years), evaporation is normal, ph is suprisingly stable. I have to cover half of my sump to minimize salt creep.

 

[Vwluv10338]

You said your nutrients were low. What were they and where are you keeping them now? I ask because they look great and I have been struggling to get my nutrients up and haven’t decided on my targets yet.

 

[Privateye]

Wow, nice corals! Thanks for letting them come out of the closet!

 

[rastafan]

You said your nutrients were low. What were they and where are you keeping them now? I ask because they look great and I have been struggling to get my nutrients up and haven’t decided on my targets yet.

it was zero on the first few months coz i only have 2 clowns back then and a big skimmer. im in between 10-25 right now coz lps like nutrients

 

[rastafan]

Wow, nice corals! Thanks for letting them come out of the closet!

thanks! they will be totally out of the closet lol next month or two as im plumbing them into a new system

 

[Rjmul]

Here I was thinking you were gonna be the infamous telegram

 

[Vwluv10338]

it was zero on the first few months coz i only have 2 clowns back then and a big skimmer. im in between 10-25 right now coz lps like nutrients

Sounds similar to me. I pulled my two clowns out of my new 30g to treat for the internal parasites they had from the pet store and the lack of feeding caused my tank nutrients to bottom out to zero since my fuge was still running. I dosed to get up to 8 nitrates and 0.05 phosphate but think I want to get the nitrates up more