Frag tank will be here in 4 days. So far, it is all I will have, besides the remnants of my other tank, and a few other things. This is not just my tank. This is our tank. lol

Tank Specs

* WIll grow Softies, Zoa, Acans, LPS, barely any SPS

*36"Lx24"Dx8"H (Shallow). It is glass and rimless.
*1" drain/bottom middle
*3/8" return (1)

What I have to use:

-20 Long tank,
-20 high rimless tank,
-korilia 1 power head,
-Jager 100 watt heater,


What I need you/me to pick out:

-Sump
-return pump
-T5 lights
-flow nozzles
-anything else I forgot
-stand (i will probably make one)

Hmm. Barebottom or Sand


Pics of tank hopefully here on Saturday.

bump

for a frag tank run it bare bottom. i'd go with 2x150w metal halides in decent reflectors instead of t5ho, you'll need an 8 bulb setup to cover that width and you can get the halides for significantly cheaper. at that point you're also saving electricity and bulb replacement will be cheaper as well.

I was steering toward BB.

Well I was thinking that I could run 4 bulb T5 and grow my mushrooms on the outskirts of the tank??

Wouldn't MH be overkill for LPS and Softies?

i think it should be bare bottom. easier to clean up and do wc... since its a frag tank you shouldnt be going for looks. i mean dont make it look crappy.. you know what i mean

Now that is love... Actually I might have a couple of small fish in there...

Do you think 4 bulb t5s will be enough for that setup?

for what you are keeping, yeah it should be enough. you can rise your fixture up a bit to give a better coverage if your worried. your tank is pretty shallow anyways

can i see a pic of this frag tank?? im thinkging about getting one and need some idears

Go with a 4 bulb ATI or 6 bulb TEK.

Saturday as in the post...



Well that is a bit pricey.

What about something like this?? http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluore...Bulbs_by_IceCap

Add a few damsels to provide waste (it is a cycle)
+1 for BB but a DSB in your sump would be a good idea.

Don't add damsels just for the sake of "providing waste". The retro kit you linked to is a great option; I have the 4x24W kit for my 20H sps-dominant tank. You likely will have to keep it many inches above the tank. 6 bulb fixturess are also very useful in giving freedom to choose different bulbs that enhance colors without sacrificing growth. See the T5HO information thread for bulb selection.

i think do a DIY LED set up as u wont need many LEDs cos it will be a shallow and wont cost evan nealy as much as MH and then u have a really long bulb lifeand it wont cost to much

Never thought of that. Is it hard to do? How many watts would be enough for this tank? I think the led's are like 3 watts a piece, right?

dont worry about watts. it's par that you need and with the right optics and the placement of leds you will achieve that. talk to evil. he is the led guru. plus he just hooked up with nanocustoms and is offering a par 38 led bulb that screws right into a socket. ask him about your tank and if it is leds you want than he can tell you exactly what you need.

Evil, are you around????

to answer your qustion no it's not hard to do all u have to do is decide on away of ataching the stars(witch the LEDs are mounted on) to your heat sink and then wire them to your drivers(witch can be dimable for an extra 5 bucks) and then wire up some computer fans and yor all good

I am around

PAR38's are probably more than you want to spend after you find out how many you would need to cover the tank. For a frag tank, keep it simple. Even an DIY LED setup will be very expensive.

A 6 bulb TEK retro would work very nicely for that setup and will allow you to expand in to sps when you feel the need (and you will). Make the setup adjustable in height, and you will be able to adapt the fixture to whatever your lighting requirements will be. With the 6 bulbs, bulb combination will make the corals look killer.

how much is a 6 bulb fixture cos i think u could get away with only spending $300-$350 on the DIY LEDs cos its only a shalow tank

check the reefgeek link above by andrew.james. retrofits require a little work, but they are attractive if you're on a budget.

yeah i think go with the LEDs you'll think so after a blub change
cos a bulb change will set u back about $210 if u go with the 6 bulb and if u go with the 4 bulb it'll set u back about $140 and remember u'll be changeing the bulbs evey 6-12 months
and u'll be changeing the bulbs of a LED unit every 6-10 years so what do u think now

The dimensions of that tank will drive the cost a lot higher than $350 for a DIY LED setup. I'd be running a 12x6 array over that, and the LEDs alone will cost over $450.

Well change of plans. Long story short. I ordered a tank from Glasscages.com. After they were rude on the phone, I googled them, and got a bunch of bad stories on their less than par jobs with their tanks. They had already debited my card for around $275.00. I wrote them a long email about how I expected to get a great tank like I saw on their website, and if I did not that I would not accept it. The kicker is, they called me like an hour later and said they were refunding me the money. I asked why, and she said she didn't know. LMAO BUYER BEWARE..... I think it was a sign to go with a smaller width tank.

So I think I am going with a 48x18x8 or 10?? Acrylic instead of glass. What do you think?

The 18 deep will make it so I can use less bulbs if I go with a T5 setup. Should I stick to 8 High, or go 10 High?

Have you considered getting a shorter T5 fixture to cover most of the tank, and perhaps a Par38 placed over any SPS you may end up raising? The Par38 is essentially a spot-bulb anyhoo, so ideal for that, but might look really weird, but it IS a frag tank........? Just thinking aloud...