Frag tank ???????s

[Troylee]

So I have decided it is time to set up a frag tank... Display looks sad with frags everywhere lol... I'm gonna do a 40"l x 24"w x12" tall nothing big and spectaclur but enough for what I want pretty much a grow out tank... For lighting I have a collection of t5 bulbs and ballast I'm gonna use I run mh on my display... Any who I have enough to make a fixture my question is how many bulbs should I run?? I have all 36" bulbs that's the reason for 40" long I'm thinking a 6 or 8 bulb fixture I can make but have enough to make a 12 if I wanted... What would you guys recomend??? 6,8,10,12 etc for bulbs??? It will be plumbed into my display since my current skimmer is starving and could use the extra bio load etc.... Besides I run fugeless so having the frag tank on at night would help stabilize my display.... Thoughts?????

 

[agent462]

Probably 4-6. Remember that it's only 12" deep. I'd see if someone local has a PAR meter so you can adjust appropriately.

 

[Troylee]

I have a par meter actually lol... what would be ideal?? My xm 10ks pull 1800 6" below the bulb and 350 in the sand on a 24" deep tank..

 

[TopNotchCorals]

I think anything more than 6-8 would be overkill on a 12" tall tank IMO. I run a 6 bulb Powermodule on my 24x24x20 50g cube and it is more then enough.you could difinitely get away with a 6 bulb setup.

 

[soccerbag]

I think that you would want to go with 8 bulbs. Granted, with a DIY, you have a lot more control over spacing. You may be able to get away with 6 but I think 8 would give you a lot more options (i.e. running a few more actinics if you like that look).

I just setup a 40"x30"x9" fra tank and it's plumbed into my display system as well. I am running 10 bulbs but it's overkill and the light is WAY above the waterline while things acclimate. I will likely take out 2 of the bulbs down the road but I don't have your DIY skills and went with an ATI PM instead.

Whatever you decide, I look forward to seeing the good craftsmanship!

 

[Troylee]

That's what I was thinking a 8 bulb.. Thanks for the kind words soccerbag..
I was gonna do something just down right crazy and I still might, but don't want to get all fancy since it just is a frag tank lol... I was thinking a zero edge maybe but my 3 kids would play in it all day so I'll just get real fancy with the racks...

 

[TopNotchCorals]

I want some pics of this thing too as it comes along:wink:

 

[Troylee]

How about a display with a frag tank built into the upper right side lol.... Ya know like the swimming pools with the tide part make it like 8" and then step into the display..... You don't even wanna know why I just threw this out here... I was checking out my tank and I have noticed that the drop side has actually squatted down a little and the tank is unlevel now.... Anywho I see a seam where it looks like it might be seperating there is a little cloudiness in there that's starting to scare me.. I need to drain it one way or the other and prolly reinforce that seam so I can get it level again and sleep at night..... arrrrrr the drop looks good but it's actually a pain to maintain and keep a good constant flow..... Ahhhhhhhh decesions decesions....