Question On tank lighting and water level.

[forcrz6]

Ok so I will be getting my 110 up and running in the next few weeks.
I am taking my 55 and making that into a frag tank. Now here is the question.
Since there will be no sand bed in the frag tank and only shelves of Egg crate in here do I need to
1. Keep the 55 filled just like a normal tank?
2. Need to keep the same lighting on it. (2 x 150 MH + 2 65w PC.) or do I need to Upgrade that?
3. For best results How high should the shelf for the 2nd level be from the Top of the water?
Thanks ahead of time.

 

[scsinet]

A frag tank only has to have enough water to cover the corals. You can fill it all the way, but it's not necessary if your corals don't come up that high.
If it was a reef tank before, it should make for a good frag tank lighting wise. Keep in mind that PAR goes up dramatically as you lower the color temperature, at a loss of color to the organisms, but a jump in growth. What I mean is, by putting say, 6500K lamps in your halide sockets, you will seriously increase the amount of light that your corals can use for growth, but they won't color up as nice. Higher kelvin ratings will slow growth but help color. You may consider buying lower kelvin rated lamps for your frag tank. That will help you grow out the livestock much faster; they'll color up once you transfer them to your DT. Many commerical frag farms will use 6Kish lights, then move the livestock to tanks lit by 20K lamps in the couple months before they sell them.
How high the second shelf should be is not as important of a question of how far below the waterline should it be. If you are planning on fragging SPS, then if say you are planning for a maximum of 6" frags, I'd put the shelf 7" below the water line. That will keep the light reaching those light loving corals at an absolute maximum.

 

[forcrz6]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/2941913
A frag tank only has to have enough water to cover the corals. You can fill it all the way, but it's not necessary if your corals don't come up that high.
If it was a reef tank before, it should make for a good frag tank lighting wise. Keep in mind that PAR goes up dramatically as you lower the color temperature, at a loss of color to the organisms, but a jump in growth. What I mean is, by putting say, 6500K lamps in your halide sockets, you will seriously increase the amount of light that your corals can use for growth, but they won't color up as nice. Higher kelvin ratings will slow growth but help color. You may consider buying lower kelvin rated lamps for your frag tank. That will help you grow out the livestock much faster; they'll color up once you transfer them to your DT. Many commerical frag farms will use 6Kish lights, then move the livestock to tanks lit by 20K lamps in the couple months before they sell them.
How high the second shelf should be is not as important of a question of how far below the waterline should it be. If you are planning on fragging SPS, then if say you are planning for a maximum of 6" frags, I'd put the shelf 7" below the water line. That will keep the light reaching those light loving corals at an absolute maximum.
Wow. Thanks SCSInet