ok so i wanna do a 48 inch long frag tank!!!

[tat2tillidie]

like i said i wanna do a frag tank that can be 48 inches long and i guess like 20 inches deep? not sure if thats ok specs but im thinking 2 levels of egg crate. is there anyone who might be interested in taking frags for help designing and making it happen im gonna need to make a material list and get a price range so i can get the money saved.what do you think it will cost i wanna do lps and sps both thats why im thinking two shelves.

 

[icy1155]

If this is a tank for frags only, not display I would say go with a shorter tank if possible. The less water the light has to go through the better for a frag system. Do you want to have frag racks that you can move, or something that sits on the bottom and is held up? Either one works fine and it is really a prefrence thing. For lights do you want to go with MH or T5? People use both and swear by either one, so once again its a prefrence thing. For flow, since you are doing sps you will probably want pretty good flow rate, so consider some powerheads as well as your main pump into the cost. How do you want to do your filtration, in tank or have a sump? If you have a sump then its probably better to have the majority your rock and sand down there just to keep it out of the way of the frags. Also figure into the cost little things like power strips, heaters, egg crate and the like.

Just some things to think about before you decide on a certian set up.

 

[ronert]

i agree on the shorter tank. if you're looking to do 2 levels of egg crate, you'll still probably need only 12" or so. you could crate the bottom of the tank, and for the 2nd level do a "U" shaped layout. that would give you an area in the center for taller items.

oh, and if you decide to go with T5HO lighting (DIY), lmk. i have some ballasts laying around that will do 4' bulbs.

- ted

 

[kaptken]

I made my frag tank out of plexi. its 48 x 18 x 12 inches deep. I have a 4 inch deep plenum sand bed in it and a water line about
2 inches below the top so my frags have 6 inches of water to grow in. the home made hood sits right on top and because its close to the water and shallow frags, i use 4 T8s and a pair of VHO lamps. plenty bright. the bulbs are about12 inches above the top of the sand bed .

I just bought a new GE high light output ballast for T8 lighting. Made for commercial and home lighting. runs the 32 watt lamps at about 38-40 watts each . 1.15 ballast factor. last time i ran this tank setup, 4 years ago, i had great acro growth and color under the 4 over driven T8 lamps only. Zoomeds at that time.

light intesity and PAR are inversely proportional to the square of the distance. so cut the distance in half and quadruple the light intensity.

 

[tat2tillidie]

thanks ill def use that dimensions

 

[scubadoo2]

Ken,
How thick was the Plexi.?
Doug

 

[kaptken]

Skuba,
I have used readily available 1/4 acrylic. either from HD or a local galss shop, Kaufmans, now located just across the street(273) from farmers market, at the airport. first block of buildings on the left, going down hill on Quigly accross from the back entrance of farmers market at the light on 273 east of route 13. they have the glue too.

1/4 inch is ok for up to 16 inch deep tanks, providing you properly gusset the top edges of the tank and include a center spreader strap.. you can check the calculator on GARF.
http://www.garf.org/

I have made a bunch of them. various sizes.

not pretty with my carpentry skills, but work just fine and do look pretty good. except for the squigly glue lines.

but, you can do better.

 

[tat2tillidie]

ken maybe we can chat about the frag tank im gonna build at the next meeting? maybe that can be the topic like ( what corals propagate easy and how to properly frag them

 

[Gordonious]

Could look at a 40 long. I just found out about that tank size today. I suppose thats because perfecto makes them and I've always been an all glass fan. TPP has them for $100.00.

 

[icy1155]

If your looking to do a frag system only, not use it as a display, I would suggest going with something other than a glass tank. Some of the plastic totes, tubs, and trays are the way to go. For the same capacity, you can get something for about 1/10 of the cost of glass, they are much easier to drill, and you dont have to worry about them busting a seam. Not sure if you want a display frag setup or just for growth.

 

[Gordonious]

Your right, if you want just a grow out tank and don't really care to see the corals then the tubs, totes, and trays are the way to go.

We are all hobbyist here though. Having talked to him and having visited his house I would say glass or acrylic would be the way to go. This guy is spending tons of money on all sorts of new corals. He loves to spend time with his family and friends just starring into his tank. With the amount of current he would need to run a proper tank a top down only view would just stink.

In my opinion... Even if your looking to make money what is the different between a heavy duty plastic container that is food safe(won't leach chemicals or bow with weight) and a glass tank? He also won't be growing just a single species, but tons of different types. If someone came by to look at his corals or even for him to take some pictures from the side he would have to pull the corals out and put them in a display tank and wait for them to open back up and be happy again. Currently all my tanks are glass.

Just my opinion. (sorry I'm long winded like to be detailed in my responses when I have a second.)

 

[icy1155]

I agree that if he wants a display tank then glass is the way to go (acrylic can be eeeeeeeeevil )... I was just stating some options if it wasnt going to be something to be looked at every day. Still, even if he uses glass I wouldnt go more than 12" high, so that the cost of lighting the tank is minimal for the amount of light that the corals recieve.

 

[tat2tillidie]

yea jon im addicted i could save money but i love to watch stuff grow and flourish so i think im gonna build out of acrylic cause my boy is a designer and uses autocad so he can cut all the pieces on there cnc machine

 

[Gordonious]

Let me know for sure if you can get a good deal on a decent thickness acrylic. There are soo many things I would like to build...