Coral Propagation Systems
There are many ways to set up coral propagation systems. However, today I will discuss two of the most popular.
First, and probably the easiest and least expensive is to add on a separate grow out tank to your existing setup.
You will need a separate tank, stand, lighting, basic plumbing pieces, and some power heads for water circulation. Your tank of choice should be a shallow and wider version to maximize the corals exposure to your lighting. However if you only have a standard size tank lying around, you can plumb it to make the water level lower almost creating the same effect. Once you determine your tank size and position to set it up, you simply need to connect it to your display system with some basic plumbing supplies. This set up is more cost effective and provides addition water volume to your existing system, which will help enable more stable water parameters such as calcium and alkalinity. Plumbing into your existing systems also eliminates the need for an extra sump, protein skimmer, live rock, and larger recirculation pumps. Depending on your preference it can also double as a refugium that provides more live food to your inhabitants. Pick your lighting requirements based on the coral species that you wish to propagate. Remember your goal here is to propagate and “grow out” smaller pieces of coral, so your light spectrum should be on the lower end around 6500 Kelvin. When your frags are at the size you want to display or trade you can add more of the blue end to color up your pieces. I like to use a 6500 metal halide bulb complemented with 2 blue actinic fluorescents. Now just add a power head or two to provide the circulation requirements for your coral.
The next coral propagation system is a dedicated system that runs on its own. Again there are many ways to do this large and small, but I will share with you a simple diy set up that involves a wood rack system. The basic concept is to have 3, 55 gallon tanks on a single rack. The top 2 tanks are for your brood stock and grow out, with the bottom tank serving as your sump that holds all your filtering and circulation equipment. You plumb your tanks like you would for a central fish system with the bottom sump recirculating the water to the top tank, then the gravity drains on each tank will drain to each lower tank. For more information on this type of set up you can refer to garf.org for some excellent diy plans. The only disadvantage with this type of set up is that it requires the need for addition equipment and is more expensive.
No matter which coral propagation system is right for you; make sure you build it to support the natural requirements of the coral species you plan to grow. If this is done correctly you will have a lot of success.