frag tank questions, need help

[gemini aquarius(t)]

hi guys thanks for looking i am very interested in seting up a very small frag tank,i was thinking 20 gallons? it will be housing softies lps and sps so i was thinking about light and ikinda was thinking about 4x 24 watt t5s is that good enough? for filtration a back pak skimmer or similar(what do you recocmend?) for the egg crate i was thinking of 4 levels starting at 2"going to 3"and increasing an inch per level and for flow, 2-3x maxijet 1200s(whadya think?)what am i over looking and what is a better option in you opinion?

for coral i was thinking

on the lowest level: gsp,xenia
on the 2nd level: acan. lord.s
on the 3rd level:blastos(do they grow quick whats the average rate?)
and on the last level:superman danea, and some other random sps frags

 

[gregm5]

what i did was i linked the frag tank to the main tank so that there was more stability and i could just dose the whole thing at once. just something to consider if you have the room. and i sure hope i can get a frag of that superman once you get things going!

 

[gregm5]

as for everything else, i think it sounds like a pretty good setup

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

well the frag tank will be the same size as the main tank untill i get my 120 iff my mom doesnt wait untill im 18 and have my own place!!! lol

and sure if i get this up and goin ill give you a good deal

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

ok so here is the list if your to lazy to read it in paragraph form


20 gallon tank
4x 24 watt t5s- is that good enough?
back pak skimmer or similar(what do you recocmend?)
egg crate-4 levels starting at 2"going to 3"and increasing an inch per level
2-3x maxijet 1200s(whadya think?)

for coral i was thinking

on the lowest level: gsp,xenia
on the 2nd level: acan. lord.s
on the 3rd level:blastos(do they grow quick whats the average rate?)
and on the last level:superman danea, and some other random sps frags

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

anyone

 

[RockStarFish]

I think if you want groth you need MH. a small 70w works great

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

the thing is is that i cant do haides cause im gona have halides on my main tank

so do you think i could pull off the t5s for the superman and another sps(examples please)

 

[pledosophy]

Why Can't you have two different sets of highlights. The point of a frag tank is to grow out frags, you can't grow out SPS with T5's.

It would be fine for most softies.

 

[WarDaddy]

SPS will grow under T5, couple things. the T5 need to have individual reflectors, and be CLOSE to the surface.

Another idea is to bring the frags higher up in the water, closer to the source. There have been lots of threads about it, T5 Can support sps growth, it might be a little slower, but they will grow.

 

[Kenfuzed]

Contrary to what some believe, T5 is ideal for SPS frag tanks and I've used this myself with great success. The T5's must be the high output variety and they will work best if driven off a IceCap or workhorse ballasts. T5 lights do require individual reflectors as mentioned but with the right configuration you will actually have more par than a single MH can provide. The other advantage to T5 is having more uniform light distribution as opposed to a single point of light with MH. There were some tests conducted by GrimReefer a while back showing how much more light T5's could produce deep into the tank compared to MH if you are looking for more info.

Now for the drawback... some soft corals are sensitive to the intensity of T5's and may react. You may need to shield the lights and slowly acclimate. I don't believe it is a UV condition as with MH but more the change in intensity. When I switched out my VHO to T5 on my main tank I had some mushrooms retreat into the shadows as first.

 

[bassnman11]

I just built a stepped frag rack for my 20. Don't put the shelves to close together as access is difficult. I put T5hos on my new tank and after acclimation, every thing is growing like mad. I had a piece of birdsnest that was just surviving under PCs and since the T5s, you can almost see it grow. No heat problems either, no chiller or fans. Give me T5s over halides any day. I mounted the T5s in a white painted hood and only ran 2 for the first 3 days, then added the reflectors. After 3 more days, I added 2 more bulbs. # days later, the other 2 reflectors. I like the aqualux reflectors better than icecap or TEK, plus they are cheaper. Goodluck with the project.

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

thank you guys very much can i see a pic of your tank bassnman11? thanks

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

so do you think i could fit 5 or 6 t5s or is 4 good enough?

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

ok so i read about the t5 vs mh and it seems that they are neck to neck and the thing it is that i dont have a canopy so can you buy a t5 setup that hangs and has seperate reflectors and PERFERABLY is inexpensive and looks good

 

[WarDaddy]

Here is a place that is great to get a real good lamp...

http://stores.ebay.com/Seeds-Etc

here is a 4 lamp set up, perfect for your tank.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TEK-LIGHT-T5-HO...itemZ7742823011QQcategoryZ46314QQcmdZViewItem

They will even swap bulbs so you can set it up just the way you want.

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

huh thanks for that