Tomsense76 Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 So....I'm thinking about buying a 2-3 gal pico to use as a prop tank.... Do I need to set everything up the same way I did with my main tank? ie. LS, LR, etc. Or do I just put some sort of base for the plugs to rest on and let the light and water take care of the rest? Link to comment
jimmy595 Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Think about a larger tank with good lighting for a prop tank. It would be hard to keep a stable environment in a 2-3 gal and it would be hard to get an efficient(cheap) lighting system that will provide optimal growth in that tank (youd be lookin at putting a 70w halide over it if you were serious about propping) Link to comment
Tomsense76 Posted December 8, 2006 Author Share Posted December 8, 2006 Think about a larger tank with good lighting for a prop tank. It would be hard to keep a stable environment in a 2-3 gal and it would be hard to get an efficient(cheap) lighting system that will provide optimal growth in that tank (youd be lookin at putting a 70w halide over it if you were serious about propping) Not THAT serious about propogating....I just wanted something to throw the trimmings and refugees into. So, slow growth isn't a factor for me. As far as stable water conditions go, ja, I understand the idea of having a larger tank for more stable conditions.... Makes sense anyway... But if I were to buy/build a 55 gal tank or larger, with an upgraded lighting system.....I might as well scrap my nano and switch everything over to the larger tank... Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 Larger tank = 10-20g, IMO Eventually, I plan to have a 20L prop tank with 130W PC over it. It will be plenty easy to keep water params stable in a tank of that size. Link to comment
jimbro Posted December 8, 2006 Share Posted December 8, 2006 any way you could plumb the prop tank to your main system? that's what I did with mine and that'd be the easiest solution, but barring that I think some lr rubble on the bottom would prob be fine. that and lots of water changes from the main tank should keep things pretty stable. prob want to wait for propagator to chime in here tho, since he apparently knows his stuff and has set up multiple prop tanks. Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Any size tank could be a prop tank. You could cut off a sps frag & grow it out in a shot glass (for an extreme example). Like every other part of our hobby, the cons of having smaller tanks still applies here. Link to comment
Tomsense76 Posted December 10, 2006 Author Share Posted December 10, 2006 Any size tank could be a prop tank. You could cut off a sps frag & grow it out in a shot glass (for an extreme example). Like every other part of our hobby, the cons of having smaller tanks still applies here. So....In other words, as long as I do 35% water changes once a week, like I do my main tank....The Prop Tank should be OK? And none of this answers my original question....Just to remind you guys.... Do I still need to measure out the live rock and sand!? Link to comment
jimmy595 Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 I was not suggesting setting up a 55 or larger. I would reccoment like 15gal and put a light like this over it: t5 light. If your growth rate in this 2-3 gallon tank is not better than that of your display then what makes it a prop tank? I guess if you put an egg crate stand in it maybe it would be like a pretend proptank. You would be more correct to start calling your display tank a prop tank because it sounds like this is where all of the coral will be grown. I guess im just lost and confused because it sounds like your just trying to set up another display tank. Link to comment
reefone Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 u dont need sand i dont have any in mine but i do keep some lr rubble in the corner for filtration and to glue the frags to also got some egg crate in there also to hold frag plugs.hth Link to comment
jimmy595 Posted December 10, 2006 Share Posted December 10, 2006 Sorry about not answering your questions: You probably wont need as much LR if there are no fish in there but I would use some. Sand will really serve no function unless you want nass snails in your cleaning crew(depends if you are going to be feeding the tank at all, if your just growing sps then you probably wont feed the tank and you probably wont have a need for these). I would at least throw a fine layer of sand on the bottom, if not a normal amount(live sand makes the tank cycle faster). Making an egg crate stand would allow more flow to hit a frag than if it were sitting on the sand bed thats why this may be a wise choice. It would also give you more locations to set frags. Link to comment
Tomsense76 Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share Posted December 11, 2006 Cool! Got my answers! Jimmy....It's not going to be something to grow and populate stuff...Again, its going to be more of a spare parts tank. My Colt is already starting to take over one corner, and I'll have to trim it back. I just need something to throw the clippings in.... I guess it would be more of a frag tank than a prop tank....If you followed the semantics of that... Link to comment
jimmy595 Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Yup, it all makes sense now. It never hurts to have an extra tank! Sorry if I jumped the gun a bit as I have been thinking about starting a low budget prop tank in the back of my head, and have been pondering about how best to do a prop tank lately. Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 I use CC on the bottom in case any corals fall down, it gives them something to grow onto. It's also easy to glue to frag disks. You don't really need sand or LR, imho. I like to keep some rubble around though. Also, my 20g long has a refugium section that has some rubble & chaeto. Thats it. If it's tied into a main system, then I'd just do a CC bottom(see above) and thats it. Link to comment
Hekim Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 Look at this thread, cheap and easy way out: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=soapdish Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.