what are frag racks for?

[JennaH]

i was just wondering what the purpose of the frag racks inside tanks are? or seperate frag tanks... i know that they hold frags obviously.. but is this necessary? do they need to settle or grow in before adding them onto the live rock? or is this mainly for people who sell/trade frags. just curious, thanks

 

[NYCBOB]

frag racks r good even if u dont plan to sell them. i use it bc i want my frags to grow big b4 placing them permanently in the rockwork.

 

[slicedsmoke]

Also if you use a rack they are easier to keep track of. Especially if you have a packed tank already.

 

[Aquarist007]

It stops them from being knocked over easily and also brings them up closer to the lighting.

 

[JennaH]

gotcha- thanks everyone!

 

[innate1]

another place for algae to grow

 

[brycerb]

I went to this guys house to buy a skimmer. He had his frag rack front and center of his tank, boy did that look stupid.

 

[Neogenocide]

I went to this guys house to buy a skimmer. He had his frag rack front and center of his tank, boy did that look stupid.

Although I don't have one front and center of my tank, I love watching my frags grow more than anything. I don't buy the huge center piece corals from the lfs, I would rather go for the small frag and grow it out myself. Some don't have the room or $$$ to plumb in another tank just for frags, so this is their way of getting hat done.

Scott

 

[shaunt]

So essentially they are used to keep a closer eye on newly aquired frags to make sure they adjust and grow before mounting them on the rock?

 

[Shane Hoffman]

So essentially they are used to keep a closer eye on newly aquired frags to make sure they adjust and grow before mounting them on the rock?

Correct. You will find at some point in this hobby you will come home with a very very small frag for some reason. If you decide to set it on your rock work it may get bumped or blown around by a powerhead or fish swimming by in a hurry. On two occasions I paid good money for a small frag and had it knocked behind 150lbs of rock. I am not sure to this day if they are growing back there or under something, I havent seen them since a few days after they fell and dont want to remove all of my rock to retrieve them. Now I grow them tiny frags out in a frag rack for a few months until they reach a size that is impossible to lose in the rocks.

 

[Aquarist007]

Although I don't have one front and center of my tank, I love watching my frags grow more than anything. I don't buy the huge center piece corals from the lfs, I would rather go for the small frag and grow it out myself. Some don't have the room or $$$ to plumb in another tank just for frags, so this is their way of getting hat done.

Scott

I agree with you. I purchase the larger coral and frag it into a number of pieces. The pieces I sell to my clients who are happy to fork out 20 bucks rather then 80 and watch them grow

 

[IridescentLily]

Some folks have many mature corals in there tank that grow large and hence, they have no more room in their tank. So they must start trimming their corals. Frag tanks are good for this as well. So they can save their frags/trimmings for other folks to give to, or for folks who wish to buy them.

 

[cr500_af]

Myself, I have a frag tank because I will be moving to a larger DT this summer/fall. I thought it would be stupid to mount corals to the rocks only to have to take it all out in six months.

 

[Syncere]

Where is the best place to put a frag rack? Obviously away from the powerheads or anything else that could blow them off.

 

[cr500_af]

Where is the best place to put a frag rack? Obviously away from the powerheads or anything else that could blow them off.

Anywhere with the right combination of flow and light intensity. I have one higher up for SPS and one lower for LPS. Zoas just go on the sandbed on plugs usually.