Jarobs 12g Custom Frag Tank!!

[Jarob]

Well I am setting up a new Frag tank as my 5.5g tank is already at its limits.

The tank will be mostly rare zoanthids and ricordeas with maybe a rare sps or two. Also might keep a few small clams.

The tank will be lit by a 36" 4x39w T5 HO Fixture.

The tank will be 36"x10"x8" and will have a center glass overflow. The overflow will drain directly into a mag 9.5pump which will be directed towards the sqwd then towards both upper corners for flow. The overflow itself will have a foam mesh at the bottom and will be lightly filled with cheato. I drew up the tank on sketch pad, my first time, to give you an idea what it would look like.


http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii217/callmejarob/Tank1.jpg


http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii217/callmejarob/Tank2.jpg


The tank will be mounted on the wall and will have a cover for the bottom plumbing.

The white line in the middle of the tank is where the eggcrate will be, and underneath that is 3 inches of space for live rock rubble. I was also considering going with a 2" sandbed of some fine white sand instead of the eggcrate, i could stick the plugs in the sand. What do you think?

Ordering today

[stevelkaneval]

what kinda lighting do you have on your 5.5 i have one and was thinking of useing it for a frag tank for my zoas and shrooms. and is your 5.5 drilled/ do you have any pics of it?

[mathias999us]

Gosh, I love sketchup!!

That is a pretty neat design. Is this whole tank going to be glass (you mentioned a glass overflow...)? I have a tank that is a similar shape, and I think with a frag tank, you'd be happier if you could avoid any sort of bracing across the top, because you'll be in the tank a lot, and the improved access will be nice.

Are you planning to run any other filtration on this tank, like a skimmer for your frags? Ideally, you'd want to feed a skimmer raw water directly from the overflow, but that may not be an option with your current design.

You have a small overflow leading directly through a bulkhead to a closed loop pump. All your evaporation is going to quickly alter the water level within your overflow, so I think an ATO is almost a must with this design, since a missed day of manual top off water would risk running your pump dry...

I think the eggcrate is the better approach for a frag tank. You'll have a lot more LR, and you could probably keep it a lot cleaner in the long run. Unless you're going DSB, sand is just for aesthetics, which usually isn't a big concern in a frag tank.