setting up a frag tank questions

[gholtmeyer]

I am in process of planning a frag tank. I purchased a shallow stock tank. The water is going to be only about 10" deep. The tank is 48" long and 32" wide. This will be connected to my main tank system. The system currently has over 200 gallons of water. There is approx. 300lbs of live rock, and a deep sand bed. I plan on putting sps, lps, and zoo frags in it. My questions are:

1. Do I go with a shallow sand bed or bare bottom with egg crate to put the coral frags on?

2. What is best way to get plenty of flow without blowing the frags all over the tank?

[mat167]

Personally if it's just a frag/propagation tank I would go bare bottom with the egg crate. This way you don't have sand that can blow around and irritate corals. As for your second question, I'd go with pumps that don't concentrate water into a thin jet. I have a Hydor Koralia which works amazing, and is way cheaper than the Tunze equivalent. Another option would be to use many small, relatively weak pumps placed in strategic locations. Anyway that's what I would do =P

[fatrip]

well, i dont think i would put in a sand bed, this just causes more work for you and more of a clean up crew in there. also to get a nice randome flow with an eggcrate stand people have been putting a power head or 2 under the stand on the bottom of the tank, this also keeps sedement and ditrus off the bottom and in suspention. i also like the hydors as a decent reletivly cheep power head that would work well in your case. i would use probibly 2 #4's and put a maxijet 1200 under the crate stand.

[gholtmeyer]

Ok, I have been mulling over different designs on frag tanks. Sand or no sand, egg crate or no egg create, power heads or closed loop. I have decided to go bare bottom with a raised egg crate. I am going to place several power heads and the line that comes into the tank under the egg crate. I think that this will keep crap from settling on the bottom and provide plenty of water movement. I wish that I could get it to be a random water flow, but thats not going to workout for now. The system will be lit with four 4' T5 lights with an IceCap ballast. Anyone see any potential problems?

[fatrip]

looks good so far as long as sump filtration is good.

[gholtmeyer]

Yes, I think that the tank filtration is in good shape. I have the live rock and sand in place and has been for years. I have a EuroReef skimmer, actively run carbon and RowPhos, and have a macro tank.

I will be using a Mag 24 that will be sitting in my large stock tank to pump water up two feet and over six feet. If I use flex hose I should still have at least 1400 gph. I was thinking of making a curved spray bar using 45's and then add a power head or two to the other side of the tank.

[fatrip]

im not sure that you would need more than one power head. with that much comeing form the return, i would split it off and make 2 out puts. one goignt o the bottom of the tank and one going to a spray bar that goes around the rim of the tank. then you would only need maybe one power head.