Alowe's Frag System

ALowe

ALowe

Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2014
Location
Vaughan, Ontario
Thought i would share the new frag system out with you guys. Has been set up now for about 3 months and has successfully had Sps in it now for a couple weeks which is exciting stuff! Specs are as follows:
4'×2'×8" acrylic tank
30 gallon sump
1 mp40 Wes
1 mp10 Wes
Dc6000 return pump
Tekk 6 bulb (ATI bulbs)
Bubble magus curve A8 skimmer
Kamoer 3 channel doser
Has been a very anxious and exciting process to get this guy set up and am excited to get it stocked with Sps. Will be bringing in and colouring up and selling lots of colonies so don't be afraid to reach out if interested in any :).
Any questions, concerns, recommendations would be much appreciated as this is my first frag system and already see how different a frag tank is to set up. Cheers!
 
Kman

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
Nice low profile tank. It will be easy to get light to the corals. I would get a small pane of glass for a portion of the tank and when you get new frags or corals into it place them under it off to the side. The diffused light that goes through the glass will give you more flexibility for light levels in a tank like this. Because tanks like this are so shallow the light that reaches the corals has not gone deeper through the water and attenuated at all so it will be strong. Fresh frags and corals that have not accumulated can be shocked. Something to think about.
 
ALowe

ALowe

Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2014
Location
Vaughan, Ontario
Kman said:
Nice low profile tank. It will be easy to get light to the corals. I would get a small pane of glass for a portion of the tank and when you get new frags or corals into it place them under it off to the side. The diffused light that goes through the glass will give you more flexibility for light levels in a tank like this. Because tanks like this are so shallow the light that reaches the corals has not gone deeper through the water and attenuated at all so it will be strong. Fresh frags and corals that have not accumulated can be shocked. Something to think about.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the advice! Will definitely consider on arrivals that come in.
 
Kman

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
It is an easy thing to do. When you need it put it on when you don't take it off. That way you and not adjusting the height of the main light affecting every coral in the tank and only changing the lighting for the few corals that need it. Then after a week start taking it off a few hrs a day for them to adjust. I don't like changing lighting for every coral in the tank if only a few need it. As this will reduce growth to the other corals that don't need it and kind of defeats the purpose of a frag tank. lol
 
ALowe

ALowe

Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2014
Location
Vaughan, Ontario
Kman said:
It is an easy thing to do. When you need it put it on when you don't take it off. That way you and not adjusting the height of the main light affecting every coral in the tank and only changing the lighting for the few corals that need it. Then after a week start taking it off a few hrs a day for them to adjust. I don't like changing lighting for every coral in the tank if only a few need it. As this will reduce growth to the other corals that don't need it and kind of defeats the purpose of a frag tank. lol
Click to expand...
It is definitely going to be a learning curve on light intensity and hours run etc. It will also be interesting to find out how the conditions will differ from my 72 gallon with respects to growth and colour on my acros. Lots to find out as I go and probably will lose a few colonies in the process I am sure.
 
Kman

Kman

Super Active Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Location
KW
Just take things slow. Shallow tanks are a little more tricky because you don't get a variety in intensity unless you take steps like adding glass. But if you take it slow and remember light in a shallow tank is different then a larger system you will be fine. If you think about it a normal tank has a variety of lighting spots from low, medium to high. Shallow tanks are high, high and more high unless you do something about it. Looking at your light it looks to be fully covered so your slightly less intense spots will be at the sides and along the front and back glass and your really high points will be the middle of the tank. So if you were to take a small portion of glass and put it on say the left side it will give you more spots with a little less intense light. The thicker the glass the more the light intensity will go down. It will not be a crazy amount but it can make a difference. Till they are accumulated and you get used to the tank and accumulation of corals I would not run long photo periods as they will be bathed in intense lighting and will not need it. To much light kills calcification rates if it goes past light saturation levels so you are better off for a shorter photo period with supplemental feeding. If your growth is not a good as you think it should be increase by 10 min intervals till you get the level of growth you want. A good indication on light saturation is to mix in LPS and watch when they pull in. They unlike SPS can show obvious outward signs by deflating the tissue once they have reached their light saturation they can safely handle. They will allow you to gauge duration of your photo period. If you are unsure or you have questions just ask us.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top