Thinking about a frag tank.

[Solarfall]

I've been selling a few softy frags here and there lately but lost a few sales just because they would have to wait for them to attach to plugs and sometimes lost interest by the time the frags were ready. I'm considering building a frag tank so I can always have something on hand.

I want to run it skimmerless and fugeless if possible and just do 50%+ water changes weekly. And I want to use an aquatraders 150w halide pendant with two actinic T5s. It's only $100 and I havn't really found any bad reviews of it yet.

My big question is what size tank should I use that this pendant won't be overkill. Originally I wanted to do a 20 long, but I'm not sure if that would be too much lighting over such a shallow tank. I'll only be keeping softies in there for now but I'll probably be able to frag some of my SPS within a few months. I don't really want to go any bigger than 30 gallon either. And I think a 29 would just be a waste because of the height. Any ideas? Opinions?

 

[BL1]

You could check out glasscages.com they've got:
27 Long 36 x 12½ x 13 Tall
33 Gal 48 x 12½ x 13 Tall
40 Long 36 x 18 x 13 Tall

 

[reeffreak]

There are 29g. long tanks that are shallow.The problem is the spreadage(a word made famous by Crazyman) of light.I know nothing about that pendant but going with averages.The light is good for an area 2 ft by 2ft give or take.So IMO,look for something two feet long and depth is up to you.A pendant can be lowered or rise depending on lighting needs and if this is a frag tank,aren't you going to build a frag rack at different levels?

 

[Solarfall]

Yeah I'll be making a frag rack but 170 watts over a 12" deep tank just seems outrageous to me. The problem with raising it is that a ton of light will spread out of the tank also.

 

[reeffreak]

Then just use T5's.

 

[Solarfall]

Aquatraders doesn't have any 30" T5 fixtures :( . And I don't really want to spend a lot of money, plus I want to test out the oddysea fixtures.

 

[Bifferwine]

You could try fish need it;lights; food;Sponge for lights. I run a 70 watt MH pendant over my 10 gallon from them. Great lights!

 

[Solarfall]

Getting a nearly brand new Current 150w halide pendant tomorrow for $60, I'm pretty stoked. I think the guy has a koralia i could prolly buy cheap too.

Decided to go with the 20 long, so I may be making a build thread soon.