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!

frag.jpg

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

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 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).