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ALLCORALS REEF TANKS & GEAR
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Bahama Llama Coral

The frag farm (frag Meyer)

Tank 1 of 1 from Cost of My Reef Aquarium Setup (my small coral farm)

45
Gallons
frag/coral farm (mixed with some SPS)
Style
12
Months Old
Deep Blue 45 gallon frag tank
Brand
A Deep Blue 45 gallon frag tank running as a small coral farm, up about a year in St. Louis after a move from Chicago. Equipment-only cost totaled roughly $3,160, lit by three AI Prime HDs plus two T5 reflectors and filtered by an eShopps X-120 skimmer, Marine Pure block, PhosBan reactor, and an oversized custom sump. It holds mostly frags including high-value zoanthids and a little SPS, with clownfish, a tomini tang, and a six line wrasse.
Equipment

Gear in this tank

Lighting
Aqua Illumination Prime HD ×3 $42.99in stock, Nanotech T5 reflector ×2 $999.99in stock, flood lamp ×1
Skimmer
eShopps X-120 Axiom series
Return
Mag Mag-7
Flow
Maxspect Gyre 1K ×1 $359.99in stock, Tunze oscillator ×1 $76.49in stock, Hydor Koralia wavemaker ×1
Dosing
doser
Filtration
refugium + media reactor + biomedia
Salt
Fritz RPM (blue box) $14.44in stock
Water Changes
Water changes with Fritz RPM; no supplementation needed during water change since dKH holds around 8
Husbandry

Protocols & Practices

  • Buy ~90% of equipment used on Facebook or local coral groups to cut cost dramatically.
  • Keep dKH around 8 so no supplementation is needed during water changes.
  • Run a deep oversized sump; this one could support two or three more frag tanks.
  • Use foam sleeves over hoses to block light and prevent algae in return lines.
  • Start small (e.g. Fluval Evo 13.5) and progress up the coral ladder over time.
  • Tread lightly with SPS; gain experience on entry-level corals first.
  • Grow a frag farm so the tank pays for itself via trades, store credit, and sales.
Chemistry

Target Parameters

Alk
8 dKH
Stocked

Livestock

Corals
4
Little Shop of Horrors zoanthidsRastasOG Dragon EyesSPS
Fish
3
Da Vinci / Mocha Vinci clownfish pair (grade A and grade B)Tomini tangSix line wrasse