Have you ever wondered....

[Sherita]

Have you ever wondered if there is a limit to how much equipment you can cram on/in a setup? I think I know the answer now. My frag tank setup has turned into some kind of hydroelectric engineering feat, with a nuclear reactor hidden in there somewhere. It's outrageous. Picture this if you can.......

On the right is a 75g shallow cube (main frag tank), on the left is a 40br (sps tank, high light). Below the 75g is my 35g sump/fuge (fuge is full of cheato, remote DSB, live rock), sitting on the top right corner of the sump is my low flow/low light nursery area. To the left of the 35g sump is my 20g softy fuge (full of live rock/pulsing xenia/anthelia/nepthea/spaghetti leathers). Now, for equipment....

DJ powerswitch and ACjr control everything

ATO
GFO reactor
Carbon reactor
2 seio powerheads
3 koralia powerheads
1 unknown small pump, used for flow in softy fuge
3 aquaclear powerheads (one used as return pump for nursery)
Mag 7 (return pump for 75g)
MJ1200 (return pump for softy fuge)
Large Aquaclear pump (return for 40br)
Nautilus EX skimmer
1 - 30" 8 bulb T5 (75g)
1 - 30" 4 bulb T5 (75g)
1 - 24" 2 bulb CF (softy fuge)
1 - 36" 150w mh + 4 T5 setup (40br)
1 -12" 9w (I think) T5 (nursery)
fans x 3
heater x 2
fuge lights - 2 x 6500k fluorescent flood lights

And I should mention, my sump is one I custom made. Four chambered, with an "L" shaped fuge, draining into the skimmer section, which then drains through a bubble trap into return section 1 (75g and softy fuge), which then overflows into return section 2 (40br and nursery area). With all the associated plumbing/wiring/tubing, I am the only person who can work on it, because I am the only one who knows what is where. This is a utilitarian frag setup, not a display, so everything under the stands is open so that I can get to it easier. It's not pretty, but it sure works good. I just would certainly hate to have to diagram it!

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I am in the planning stages of a big upgrade for my frag system next year. Most likely about 6 months away. I can hardly wait :)

[Sherita]

Love it when the computer makes up stuff.Deleted, double post.

[CoryDude]

Upgrade? How can you top your current setup? I feel sorry for you on maintenance days.

[Europhyllia]

I like that it's so compact.
I have a little here and a little there. I even took over a corner in the kids' room for my fry set up.
Love how you have all of your stuff in one location!

[Sherita]

Believe it or not, it's really not hard to take care of. The chaeto fuge only requires thinning, I have a good sand cleaning crew in there. The skimmer I pull once a month and clean with vinegar. The tanks........I clean the glass every couple of days on the 75 and 40. my cuc takes care of algae and detritus, I don't monkey with the softy fuge, it does great without my meddling. The rest is just dealing with things as they need it, like changing light bulbs, powerheads that need cleaning. I change the carbon reactor once a month, and the GFO every two months. I have enough volume (175g) that it's pretty much self tending :)

My 72g reef drives me far battier than this frag system. It's always something with it. Right now my skimmer is on the fritz again, and dumping microbubbles everywhere. Grrrrr. I may just go skimmerless, I've about had it with this nonsense.


Upgrade? How can you top your current setup? I feel sorry for you on maintenance days.

[Sherita]

Karin, you just said a mouthfull, LOL.

What you can't see in that picture is the 55g quarantine tank, the 30g w/sump shroom prop tank, the 75g live rock tank, my phyto station (making me some cool phyto reactors like Ace has, no more soda bottles!), or my frag station (Yay! I have my Inland Reefkeeper saw, I don't know how I ever lived without it). That's not counting the other tanks in the house.......72g custom reef, 75g aggressive.

Sunday is my "tank day". All. Day. Long.

[Europhyllia]

Maybe we all need a dedicated fish room!
I have phyto bubbling in the office and 6 home depot buckets full of different kinds of pods and rotis in the dining room. When I have feeder shrimp they live in the guest bathroom. Just one huge room with everything neatly arranged like yours in that picture would be fabulous!

[Sherita]

ROFL Karin............that dedicated fish room?

It used to be my living room :rofl:

Seriously

Since I live alone, don't watch tv, and don't entertain.....this is a much better use for it.

At least most of my "stuff" is just in one room. Except for the 150gpd ro/di and 65g storage container in my utility room (that the float switch failed on yesterday, small flood, sigh).

I need a bigger house :hypnotyized: Because I certainly couldn't have fewer tanks.

[Europhyllia]

Yeah luckily I was able to put my 150gph RO/DI with the 44g brute into the laundry room. It's a couple of inches lower than the rest of the house, tiled and has a drain in the middle. I use that drain a lot.

I wish I could keep my sulphur reactor in the laundry room. I swear I can NOT burb that thing without flooding the dining room. I always forget I opened the valve. Always. In all these months I burbed it without flooding ONCE!

[Sherita]

Yesterday I rigged a secondary float switch to the 65g ro/di tank. Hopefully that will put a stop to the messes. Cleaning up 10g of water off the floor is no fun. Thankfully it must have failed very shortly before I came home, because that filtration system can put out way more water than one person can clean up (don't ask me how I know this).