frag tank with no fish?

Discussion in 'Frags' started by jingles230, Oct 25, 2010.

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  1. jingles230

    jingles230 Astrea Snail

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    i am planning on setting up a frag tank but im still wondering what to do on the the getting a fish for the tank thing. the pet store nearest me has fish that are not in the best condition and i was wondering if i could just go with out a fish. i will be using some live rock and water from my other 10 month established tank.
     
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  3. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    That's exactly the point of a frag tank. It's a reef tank w.o. fish & generally no sand bed either.

    You could just go with a glass or acrylic tank, some eggcrate for the bottom(known as light diffuser, by the hardware stores) to stick frag plugs in. Use glue or epoxy to attach a frag to a plug. Stick the plug in the holes in the eggcrate. Plus a light fixture & a fuge. If the tank is relatively small & you have NO FISH I might not go with a skimmer.

    Comes in black or white.
    http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/2-x-2-squares-of-black-egg-crate-for-aquariums.html

    Several different sized frag plugs.
    http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/catalogsearch/result/?q=egg crate&x=0&y=0
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2010
  4. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Put the frag tank in the loop with the tank, fuge and sump. you would then have fish waste available without the fish messing with the frags. Also you would have a larger system with more stability.
     
  5. blackraven1425

    blackraven1425 Giant Squid

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    Quite a few people like keeping fish in the frag tank for their utility. For example, my LFS keeps a domino damsel (eats flatworms), a blue tang (eats algae), and a melanarus wrasse (eats flatworms, pyramellid snails and other coral parasites) in one of the frag tanks.

    You can definitely do it without fish, though. They're just a little extra help in their frag tank, with is ~120g.
     
  6. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    +1 on stability. I'm not sure why you would want fish waste in your frag tank? :confused: Will coral process it?
     
  7. 2in10

    2in10 Super Moderator

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    Yes they absorb it from the water, fertilizer if you will
     
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  9. Seano Hermano

    Seano Hermano Giant Squid

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    That's nifty.
     
  10. hookedonreef-er

    hookedonreef-er Plankton

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    I was running my frag tank with no fish for a while and it is perfectly fine to do, but fish really do add so much life to a tank and make it much more enjoyable. Also you do want a couple fish in there that will actually help your corals like a wrasse to eat the pests that bother your coral and a tang to make sure any nuissance algae doesen't take off and definately snails and shrimp and other cleaners.