This is my current set up
- Build Thread
- Thread starter matthol98
- Start date
- Tagged users None
OP
OP
matthol98
Community Member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2025
- Messages
- 96
- Reaction score
- 412
- Location
- South jordan
- What state or country do you live in
- Utah
A Little Fragging and Tank Update!
Did a little fragging today on some of the corals that have been growing like crazy lately. A few things were starting to get a little out of hand, so I figured it was time to trim them back and make some room for more growth.
I'll admit, it was a little nerve-wracking doing some major fragging for the first time. There's always that thought in the back of your mind wondering if you just made a huge mistake or if everything is going to heal up and be fine. I'm definitely hoping for the latter!
Unfortunately, one of the torches I fragged ended up cracking pretty far up toward the head. I'm not very hopeful that particular frag is going to survive, but surprisingly, as of right now, it's showing some pretty good signs of recovery. There's definitely still a chance it could pull through, but I'm keeping my expectations low. Hopefully, it proves me wrong!
Everything has been moved over to the new frag rack on the side of the tank, where it'll hang out and heal up for a while.
I also threw some activated carbon into the system as a precaution. With everything being cut and moved around, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some fresh carbon running in case any of the corals released anything into the water. Better safe than sorry, especially with how much I've invested into this tank!
Alkalinity Update
I also tested my alkalinity today, and it's sitting at 8.2 dKH. With how much everything has been growing and consuming alkalinity lately, I decided to bump my All For Reef dosing up another 2 mL, going from 35 mL to 37 mL per day.
I'll be keeping a close eye on alkalinity over the next few days to see how the tank responds and whether that adjustment is enough to keep things stable. It's crazy how much more the tank seems to be consuming as everything continues to grow.
The Never-Ending Leather Coral Problem
Another thing I'm going to have to tackle sooner rather than later is my mother colony of leather coral. It's getting to the point where it probably needs to be fragged again, but that brings me to another problem.
I currently have my main mother colony along with three smaller colonies of the same leather, and I cannot seem to get anyone to take them off my hands! I've tried selling them and even giving them away, but apparently nobody wants leather coral.
So now I'm sitting here with a leather coral that keeps growing, three smaller colonies taking up space, and the realization that fragging the mother colony is only going to give me even more leather coral that I don't know what to do with.
The other problem is that I really don't want to just throw them away. I know they're corals, but something about taking a perfectly healthy, living coral that I've grown and just tossing it in the trash feels cruel to me. I've spent so much time trying to keep everything alive and growing that intentionally throwing away healthy coral just doesn't sit right with me.
Not exactly the worst problem to have in reefing, but it's definitely becoming a problem!
Having Friends in the Hobby
One thing I've really come to appreciate is having a friend who's just as involved in this hobby as I am. It's nice having someone I can talk tanks with, bounce ideas off of, and occasionally take corals to when I either don't have room for them anymore or simply don't want them in my tank.
It's definitely a lot easier to make changes to your tank when you know the corals you're removing are going to someone who will actually appreciate them and take care of them.
Speaking of friends, a big thanks to @08TRDOFFROAD for always keeping me on my toes with this hobby. He's constantly pushing me to learn more, try new things, and become a better reefer. He only makes me better at this hobby every day, and I definitely appreciate it!
Is It Time for a Frag Tank?
With how much everything has been growing lately, I've also started thinking that I might need to seriously look into setting up a dedicated frag tank.
If the corals in my display continue growing at the rate they have been, I'm going to run out of room pretty quickly. Having a separate system where I can let frags heal, grow out, and eventually sell or trade them would be pretty nice.
We have local frag swaps that happen roughly every six months, and I'd really like to get to the point where I can start bringing some of my own homegrown corals to those events instead of just showing up and spending an absurd amount of money like I usually do!
Of course, knowing myself, I'll probably still end up spending money regardless.
I'm not saying a frag tank is happening tomorrow, but it's definitely something I'm starting to seriously consider. If this growth continues, it might become more of a necessity than just another tank I want to set up.
Final Thoughts
It's always nice getting to the point where you're fragging corals because they're growing too much rather than just trying to keep them alive. I remember when I was just hoping things would survive, and now I'm having to figure out what to do with all the extra growth.
It's pretty rewarding seeing how far the tank has come, even if it means occasionally stressing myself out with a bone saw and hoping I didn't just kill something!
Now we wait for everything to heal up and hopefully start growing again. Fingers crossed that everything pulls through, especially that torch!
And if anyone has some creative ideas for what to do with an excessive amount of leather coral, I'm all ears!
Also, for those of you running dedicated frag tanks, I'd love to hear what setups you're using and whether you think it's worth having a separate system just for growing out frags.
Did a little fragging today on some of the corals that have been growing like crazy lately. A few things were starting to get a little out of hand, so I figured it was time to trim them back and make some room for more growth.
I'll admit, it was a little nerve-wracking doing some major fragging for the first time. There's always that thought in the back of your mind wondering if you just made a huge mistake or if everything is going to heal up and be fine. I'm definitely hoping for the latter!
Unfortunately, one of the torches I fragged ended up cracking pretty far up toward the head. I'm not very hopeful that particular frag is going to survive, but surprisingly, as of right now, it's showing some pretty good signs of recovery. There's definitely still a chance it could pull through, but I'm keeping my expectations low. Hopefully, it proves me wrong!
Everything has been moved over to the new frag rack on the side of the tank, where it'll hang out and heal up for a while.
I also threw some activated carbon into the system as a precaution. With everything being cut and moved around, I figured it wouldn't hurt to have some fresh carbon running in case any of the corals released anything into the water. Better safe than sorry, especially with how much I've invested into this tank!
Alkalinity Update
I also tested my alkalinity today, and it's sitting at 8.2 dKH. With how much everything has been growing and consuming alkalinity lately, I decided to bump my All For Reef dosing up another 2 mL, going from 35 mL to 37 mL per day.
I'll be keeping a close eye on alkalinity over the next few days to see how the tank responds and whether that adjustment is enough to keep things stable. It's crazy how much more the tank seems to be consuming as everything continues to grow.
The Never-Ending Leather Coral Problem
Another thing I'm going to have to tackle sooner rather than later is my mother colony of leather coral. It's getting to the point where it probably needs to be fragged again, but that brings me to another problem.
I currently have my main mother colony along with three smaller colonies of the same leather, and I cannot seem to get anyone to take them off my hands! I've tried selling them and even giving them away, but apparently nobody wants leather coral.
So now I'm sitting here with a leather coral that keeps growing, three smaller colonies taking up space, and the realization that fragging the mother colony is only going to give me even more leather coral that I don't know what to do with.
The other problem is that I really don't want to just throw them away. I know they're corals, but something about taking a perfectly healthy, living coral that I've grown and just tossing it in the trash feels cruel to me. I've spent so much time trying to keep everything alive and growing that intentionally throwing away healthy coral just doesn't sit right with me.
Not exactly the worst problem to have in reefing, but it's definitely becoming a problem!
Having Friends in the Hobby
One thing I've really come to appreciate is having a friend who's just as involved in this hobby as I am. It's nice having someone I can talk tanks with, bounce ideas off of, and occasionally take corals to when I either don't have room for them anymore or simply don't want them in my tank.
It's definitely a lot easier to make changes to your tank when you know the corals you're removing are going to someone who will actually appreciate them and take care of them.
Speaking of friends, a big thanks to @08TRDOFFROAD for always keeping me on my toes with this hobby. He's constantly pushing me to learn more, try new things, and become a better reefer. He only makes me better at this hobby every day, and I definitely appreciate it!
Is It Time for a Frag Tank?
With how much everything has been growing lately, I've also started thinking that I might need to seriously look into setting up a dedicated frag tank.
If the corals in my display continue growing at the rate they have been, I'm going to run out of room pretty quickly. Having a separate system where I can let frags heal, grow out, and eventually sell or trade them would be pretty nice.
We have local frag swaps that happen roughly every six months, and I'd really like to get to the point where I can start bringing some of my own homegrown corals to those events instead of just showing up and spending an absurd amount of money like I usually do!
Of course, knowing myself, I'll probably still end up spending money regardless.
I'm not saying a frag tank is happening tomorrow, but it's definitely something I'm starting to seriously consider. If this growth continues, it might become more of a necessity than just another tank I want to set up.
Final Thoughts
It's always nice getting to the point where you're fragging corals because they're growing too much rather than just trying to keep them alive. I remember when I was just hoping things would survive, and now I'm having to figure out what to do with all the extra growth.
It's pretty rewarding seeing how far the tank has come, even if it means occasionally stressing myself out with a bone saw and hoping I didn't just kill something!
Now we wait for everything to heal up and hopefully start growing again. Fingers crossed that everything pulls through, especially that torch!
And if anyone has some creative ideas for what to do with an excessive amount of leather coral, I'm all ears!
Also, for those of you running dedicated frag tanks, I'd love to hear what setups you're using and whether you think it's worth having a separate system just for growing out frags.
Similar threads
