How to Coral Fragging for Tank Automation - Step by Step
Step-by-step guide to Coral Fragging for Tank Automation. Includes time estimates, tips, and common mistakes to avoid.
Coral fragging gets easier, safer, and more repeatable when you build it into an automated reef workflow. This step by step guide shows how to prepare, cut, heal, and monitor frags using controllers, smart power management, automated dosing, and remote alerts so your frag session does not turn into a stability problem.
Prerequisites
- -A stable reef or frag system with salinity at 1.025-1.026 SG, temperature at 77-79 F, alkalinity at 7.5-9.0 dKH, calcium at 400-450 ppm, and magnesium at 1250-1400 ppm
- -Aquarium controller or smart power strip capable of scheduling return pumps, skimmer, wavemakers, heater safeguards, and alert notifications
- -Leak detector, temperature probe, pH probe, and if available ORP monitoring for post-fragging stability checks
- -Dedicated fragging station with coral cutters, bone shears, scalpel, iodine or coral dip, frag plugs, cyanoacrylate gel, specimen cups, and nitrile gloves
- -Quarantine or frag rack area with known PAR targets, ideally 50-100 PAR for fresh LPS and soft coral frags, 150-250 PAR for many SPS frags after recovery
- -Auto top off system verified to be working correctly so salinity does not swing during pump-off periods
- -Dosing system for alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium that can be paused or reduced if frags are moved into a separate low-demand grow-out system
- -Basic knowledge of coral identification, including the difference between branching SPS, encrusting SPS, fleshy LPS, and soft corals because each cuts and heals differently
Start by checking the previous 3-7 days of temperature, pH, and salinity stability in your controller dashboard. Fragging adds stress, so avoid sessions if your tank recently had a heater fault, ATO issue, or alkalinity swing greater than 0.3 dKH in 24 hours. Confirm all alerts are active on your phone so you can leave pumps off briefly without missing a temperature or overflow problem.
Tips
- +Set a temporary high-temperature alert 0.5 F tighter than usual during the frag session because reduced flow can increase localized heat
- +Verify your ATO reservoir has enough volume for at least 24 hours after fragging so salinity stays stable during recovery
Common Mistakes
- -Fragging on the same day you corrected a major parameter issue such as low salinity or elevated nitrate
- -Ignoring probe calibration, which can make your controller data look stable when it is not
Pro Tips
- *Build a dedicated one-button Fragging Mode that includes delayed restart logic, because this prevents the two most common automation failures after coral work - skimmer overflow and forgotten pump shutdowns.
- *Use different controller profiles for SPS, LPS, and soft coral healing racks, with lower initial PAR and gentler flow for fleshy corals, then ramp based on visible recovery over 5-10 days.
- *If you run an auto water change system, pause it during the actual fragging session and resume after the water clears so suspended mucus and dip residue do not confuse salinity and ATO behavior.
- *Place a leak sensor under the fragging station or nearby sump area before you begin, since most post-fragging equipment problems come from splashes, bumped plumbing, or overfilled skimmer cups during restart.
- *Review 24-hour trend data after every frag session and compare temperature, pH, and dosing demand to your baseline, because repeatable automation improvements come from data, not guesswork.
Keep a clean backup log for test day.
The Printable Reef Logbook gives you water testing, dosing, maintenance, and livestock worksheets you can print or save as a PDF.