Frag tank questions
 

Just wondering if you guys think egg crate is the best rack for a frag tank

I was thinking about putting down a real thin layer of Extra course gravel and I'm still unsure if I should put egg crate in

75% of the corals in the tank are zoas and palys, 20% lps and 5% sps (1 piece)

Tank specs
33g long
20g sump
Swc 150 skimmer
500ml biopellets
Phosban 550 filled with hydroton
Vodka dosing 1ml/ day
4 bulb tek t5ho
3x korilia 1

Livestock:
4 hippo tangs
2 anthias
2 clowns

Only problem with eggcrate IME is it tends to be a host for all sorts of algae. Once encrusted with coralline however it's ideal. I would still suggest it over something like gravel or rubble but installing it in multiple smaller sections that can be removed in intervals for cleaning would be wise. Another option would be drilled acrylic like the eshoppes frag racks, much easier to clean and holds plugs better.

Tbh I don't use plugs, only discs.
Will zoanthids attach to acrylic? I like the multiple racks idea, I was just gonna put 1 big rack in.

Time to buy some drill bits and drill out some acrylic I guess, my hss bits make it explode haha

They will attach to acrylic as they will also attach to eggcrate but they can be easily scrapped off acrylic. Plugs are my choice, take up less space and stay put, plus less obtrusive if mounted in a display.

For drilling plug holes in acrylic a step drill works well, ideally on a press with a depth gauge.

Guess I don't have to buy new bits then. Thanks for the advise

I built two identical acrylic racks, and I love 'em! When one starts to get dirty I pull the entire rack, move the frags to the clean rack, clean out the frag tank, and put the clean rack back in. Easy, clean, and I can control algae growth, which drove me crazy in the past.

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/df79a570.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/71c2efc3.jpg

And the fun begins

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psa76cb324.jpg

Those frag racks look great. I'm following along just for future reference

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Slightly off topic but what are your thoughts on your current fish list? Regal tangs are known to eat zoas, not to mention your running a 33g with four of them. These fish require much more space and will promptly add to your bio load. Frag tanks are kept rather fish free to ensure low nutrients for maximum growth, clownfish and anthias serve no purpose in this tank and will muck it up quite quickly with the required feedings.

Ditch all of that, pick up a lawn mower blenny and some snails then your rocking.

We use eggcrate in our frag tanks and its very effective to build stadium style racks with.

We keep our NO3/PO4 pretty low so we don't have issues with algae growing on the racks but I could see how that can be the downfall to eggcrate.

My thoughts exactly. Maybe a coris wrasse. But definitely limit to benificial fish

Haha I was waiting for someone to comment on that, they clowns are in there as I have nowhere else to put them, the regals are in there so they can get a bit bigger before I move them to my 300 and the anthias well, my wife wanted them

I've been doing weekly water changes to try and lower my nutrients and po4

Is frag tank tied into 300 or stand alone

Ill post pics as I go

Total cost of materials was 20$

2x 10x18x 1/4 plexi
5' of black acrylic 1/2" round

Stand alone beside by bed

I find store bought plugs to be too small and too expensive and racks a nuisance to keep clean. So I made a few hundred of my own 2" disks a few years ago which I just set in the sandbed of my frag tank. http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...ment+disks+diy I made a lot of 1" disks as well but I rarely ever use them.

That'll make for sweet dreams..... Or nightmares

I made a thousand or so random sizes between 1-2", still cooking tho for another couple weeks

So after an hour of layout and drilling holes

I have a holy frag rack

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...psa70878f1.jpg

I was all excited when I got home from work this morning... 90% of the algae is gone :)

Looks really good. Make sure to post a pic of it in action.

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nice looking frag rack!
Whats used for the legs?

I did something similar to grow sps frags. I grew them on small acrylic rods with a 1/4" piece of airline slid onto the rod so they wouldn't fall through the holes. I found they encrusted a lot better if I roughed up the rods with sandpaper. A little more for the frags to grab on to.

Half inch round solid black acrylic 3" long

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...ps29a02407.jpg

Now that its in the tank I kind of with I would have gone 16x8 and 2" tall as there's no way I'm getting anything out from under it and when I put 2 racks in there will only be a half inch space between them