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Place to buy or DIY plans for Frag Tank


tgore

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Wanting to setup a small frag tank 20g and under. Wanting a main focus on zoas, and would like to have it drilled to add a sump or plumb it to my main tank. Also would like to get some feedback on aio frag tanks if anyone has experience with them.

 

I'm wanting this to be a grow out setup for a zoa collection. Planning on doing t5ho as the lights have leds but not having the best luck with them so far, and wanna give t5s a shot.

 

Thanks Everybody!

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yeah my lfs has one similar to the jbj (may actually be a jbj) with stand for $175 just got me thinking of the possibities. And yeah I would go t5s on my BioCube 29 but 20" doesn't work well with t5.

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Nanofreak79

There's some 20" T5 fixtures out there.

 

The AIO tanks that are shallow work good. eBay has some nice acrylic ones.

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There's some 20" T5 fixtures out there.

 

The AIO tanks that are shallow work good. eBay has some nice acrylic ones.

yeah only thing with 20" t5 is not many bulb colors are made.

 

I think I wanna go acrylic with this build.

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The JBJ is OK. It is however expensive for what it is, with taxes I'm looking at $300 for a 20 Gallon.

 

Anyhow I decided to DIY a similar sized tank for $60 worth of glass and some SCS1200 silicone.

 

I am going to make mine a little wider then the JBJ, up to 30" wide by 22" deep. Around 8"-10" high.

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Why not go with a 20 long, 24/36" fixture, AC70 and call it a day? Edit: sump it with a 20 high or another 20 long, that way if anything goes badly your DT is fine. That's what I would do at least.

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The JBJ is OK. It is however expensive for what it is, with taxes I'm looking at $300 for a 20 Gallon.

 

Anyhow I decided to DIY a similar sized tank for $60 worth of glass and some SCS1200 silicone.

 

I am going to make mine a little wider then the JBJ, up to 30" wide by 22" deep. Around 8"-10" high.

Yeah I find it hard to justify that price when I can build one pretty easily for much less.

 

As for the 20l setup I wouldn't be able to trust my self to keep it as a "frag tank" I would most likely be to tempted to change it into something else lol.

 

Oh and looked at some on eBay and find some really nice acrylic ones setup with frag racks and everything for under $200. Granted they are between 6-13 gallons but that's reasonable for zoas in a shallow setup I think.

 

 

True, but 24" works with not much overhang and not very noticable if hung over the tank.

Thought bout grabbing one of the fish need it t5s at "24 and trying it out if I don't like it I could easily use it for another setup in the future and wouldn't be out much. Plus I could probably paint the fixture.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Why not go with a 20 long, 24/36" fixture, AC70 and call it a day? Edit: sump it with a 20 high or another 20 long, that way if anything goes badly your DT is fine. That's what I would do at least.

Actually have a 20l drilled with an overflow and two returns with a 20g sump that a local reefer has for sale is asking $100.

I have a 150w MH I could use as a light. Then all I would need is a stand, water, bulkheads (dont' know why they aren't included), probably a wp10 for flow, frag rack (egg crate), plus smaller stuff. It's definately tempting.

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I'd say offer $80 and work from there since you have to find other stuff. I like the idea of a 20L for a frag tank, another good one would be a 30 breeder, 36x18x12. It runs about $100 for a brand new Deep Blue one from a LFS.

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Diffuse your LEDs.

 

I have considered this as the leds do have the disco effect in shaded areas. Since I have raised the fixture and increased the blue a little bit coverage and mix have done better. only a few of my corals seem unhappy so I believe something else is bothering them. What type of diffuser would you recommended?

I'd say offer $80 and work from there since you have to find other stuff. I like the idea of a 20L for a frag tank, another good one would be a 30 breeder, 36x18x12. It runs about $100 for a brand new Deep Blue one from a LFS.

I like the 20 as its somewhat shallow and gives a good front view. 20l would be my max for a AGA frag tank, plus that deep sea 30 breeder is to close to my next build dimensions. I'm hoping to get this 20l for a good deal or hold out and get the acrylic frag tank at the LFS. It would come with essentialy everything, sump, stand, tank, plumbing and would be $50 or so more. Just will have to wait and see. Crossing my fingers to find a $100 bill laying around cause that would solve this issue quickly lol.

 

Also considering using a fishneedit t5ho fixture for this, cheap, simple, and wouldn't hurt anything especially once I upgrade the bulbs. I like the look of them as they seem to resemble ATI fixtures to me.

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I have considered this as the leds do have the disco effect in shaded areas. Since I have raised the fixture and increased the blue a little bit coverage and mix have done better. only a few of my corals seem unhappy so I believe something else is bothering them. What type of diffuser would you recommended?

.

Home Depot has light diffusion sheets. The diamond plate one looks cool.

 

So does TapPlastics. I used like a bathroom privacy glass pattern from there on my Lumia, and like the shadow less look (still has LED shimmer.

 

Just sandpapered my splashguard on my Evil Cluster. Both sides with 600 grit until it looked white opaque.

 

Substantially removed coral self shadow (contrast), with notable increased lateral coralite growth.

 

Without the added costs of tubes.

 

 

2014-05-04%2000.43.04.png

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