Starting A Propagation Tank Questions

loves saltwater · #1 03/11/2007, 10:28 PM

I have been reading here over the past few days about starting tank. I want to grow soft coral of all types. I want to make sure I am not missing anything.If I am confused on the items below please feel free to send comments.Thanks in advance !

Things I know:

1. I will be using a 30L for the tank
2. I will be using powerheads for flow under the frag rack.
3. I have not decided on lighting yet but I think they will be T5
4. I will use a Aquaclear 200 or something like that to filtering.

Questions:

1. Should I have to have a fuge or sump needed or not ?
2. If I use 4 lamp T5 what should the mixture of lights be?
3. What wattage if T5
4. Will compact fluorescence work ?
5. If so what wattage
6. Would a closed loop be better than powerheads

loves saltwater · #2 03/12/2007, 06:32 PM

Anyone ?

sethd12 · #3 03/12/2007, 08:16 PM

t5's should be fine. I'm not sure what the wattage is but four tubes that are 30" long would be alot of light. I would do a closed loop or something like a tunze or koralia pump because regular powerheads can be harmful to corals in small tanks. Other than that it sounds great. Post some pics once you start setting it up.

loves saltwater · #4 03/12/2007, 08:40 PM

Thank you for your in put.

I have 1 other question.Does the lighting need to cycle on and off if so how many hours a day should they be on

sethd12 · #5 03/12/2007, 08:43 PM

yes it does. since you are going to have mainly soft corals and a few lps i wouldnt run the lights longer than 9 hours.

chrismhaase · #6 03/12/2007, 08:55 PM

loves saltwater- I know you were looking at the Aquaclear 200, but check this one out... skilter 400 it is a filter just like the aquaclear, but it has a built in skimmer. $48.00 http://www.aquariumguys.com/skilterfilter1.html

What do you think?

loves saltwater · #7 03/12/2007, 09:06 PM

Wow that looks like a good deal do you own one how well do they work.

sethd12-
I found a fixture tonight that I forgot I had it is a two lamp 55 watt 10,000K PC for a total of 110watts do you think this will be ok for lighting ?

sethd12 · #8 03/12/2007, 09:23 PM

It should work for now, but you need to remember that power compact bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months for your corals to be extremely healthy. I think that it would be in your best interest to change the lighting to t5's ASAP because they are brighter as long as they are the high outputs and the bulbs only need to be replaced once a year. Just to give you something to think about.

loves saltwater · #9 03/12/2007, 09:40 PM

Great thanks...since I am going to be looking for T5's what wattage and K rating should I buy ?

sethd12 · #10 03/12/2007, 09:50 PM

im not sure what wattage. The size of the bulb is related to the wattage. just make sure that you get the high output t5's. i would get 2 actinics and 2 10k. I think that would give you great light for your tank. Good luck!!!!

chrismhaase · #11 03/12/2007, 10:00 PM

loves saltwater- no i dont own one, but at the LFS the guy is running a seahorse tank with it and everything looks great. You could even find it cheaper on ebay probally. Nope that place is the same. I would probally search around a little more. I was going to do a seahorse talk for my girl and use that. plus it is only a frag tank, so you wont have to worry about fish loading up the skimmer, you will only have coral output, which will probally not be much!

chrismhaase · #12 03/12/2007, 10:01 PM

the 10ks are supposed to be the light band for growth, which is the objective of that tank. You also might want to add a dosing system. Something cheap like a gravity fed kalk doser.

chrismhaase · #13 03/12/2007, 10:04 PM

here is a DIY doser http://www.hawkfish.org/infoctr/kalkdrip.htm

Good luck

chrismhaase · #14 03/12/2007, 10:11 PM

loves saltwater here is a link with a guy who was tank of the month and uses a skilter 400 on a 70 gallon tank!! check this out http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...totm/index.php

Ding2daDong · #15 03/12/2007, 10:44 PM

questions...
1- You dont need a sump or fuge but that would help with water quality and less frequent water changes. I have an 18g with a little hang on filter and do regular water changes and all my softies are doing great.

2-If your doing all softies a 4 bulb individual reflector t5 setup will be alot of light. I have the tek fixture over my 33g long prop system and I'm maintaning sps mainly. You could do it, you would just probably have to acclimate most softies into the intense lighting.

3- Wattage kinda depends on the lenght of the tank. I think the longer the fixture/retro the higher wattage you can buy for them. Not 100% sure on that though.

4- Power compacts would be fine for softies only. I would recommend t5's though. PC have to be replaced move often and some of the bulb prices are higher then the fixture/retro for 1 years use. T5's bulb life lasts longer, they put out more light, and are less expensive to replace.

5- Would not get Power compacts.

6- For a 30g tank I think power heads are fine for softies. A closed loop would be nice but might be kinda pricey if you decide to drill the tank etc.

I would not recommend the skilter. I would get an AC110 and mod it into a fuge. I have never had a skilter but never really heard great things about them. Just spend the extra $35 and buy a used aqua c remora skimmer. I guess it's a hit or miss thing, some people have success with em and some don't.

I hope that helped.

-Matthew

chrismhaase · #16 03/12/2007, 11:01 PM

matt- i am not challenging you, 1st i never had a skilter, but did you see that article?

Ding2daDong · #17 03/13/2007, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chrismhaase
matt- i am not challenging you, 1st i never had a skilter, but did you see that article?

Yea I saw it, but overall when you search the forums the negatives towards them are far greater then the positive. So to just skip the 50/50 chance of making it work great I would just spend a little more money and get a hang on skimmer or ac110. The person in the article had good luck with his skilter and that tank looks amazing but I would save my money and get something that most people have positive experiences with.

Don't get me wrong thought, I never tried a skilter. I am just stating my opinions from what I have read and hopefully saving you the time and money now rather then you have problems and be $50 in the weeds later.

-Matthew

chrismhaase · #18 03/13/2007, 01:14 PM

MAtt- you are probally right. Everyone's tank is different and who knows that guy may have the perfect mixture of everything! I would agree with you that a hang on back skimmer would probally do a better job. So how about this for a prop tank...

40 long or 30 breeder with a 8" tall baffle, 13" out from the left side with a ASM G3 skimmer in it, and then the other side can be a fuge/prop tank. Then later you can drill it and make an external pump go off of the far right? I think this is what I am going to do until I get my big tank. This will give me a start on some corals, and at the same time give me some sand and live rock to seed the new tank. What do you think? Chris

chrismhaase · #19 03/13/2007, 01:16 PM

and then throw in a MJ 1200 or something to make a current in the prop section. Here you could build a PVC Stand and have the LS and LR under the stand. So you get a skimmer, LS, LR and a prop tank all in a 30 breeder or 40 long. What size light should I use if I try this?

chrismhaase · #20 03/13/2007, 01:17 PM

would a 250 MH 14K Mogel setup work for the lights or would I need more?

loves saltwater · #21 03/13/2007, 06:13 PM

Thanks to those of you that have provided infomation. I am new to propagation and need all the help I can get.

dpearly88 · #22 03/13/2007, 07:47 PM

Why even run a filter?

Mechanical filters just catch the food that corals should be eating, and let it degrade in your water. Unless you change constantly.

High water flow, good skimming, carbon, and refugium. Now that sound like a plan, but that’s just me.

loves saltwater · #23 03/13/2007, 08:45 PM

I really am trying too find out what I need or don't need. I was hoping that someone here could point me in the right direction fora good setup with my 30 gallon tanks. I will spend the money I need for a good setup but I don't want to waste money on things I don't really need..

If someone here has a 30 gallon setup that works well I wished they would share the equipment list with me ...Thanks

Ding2daDong · #24 03/13/2007, 11:36 PM

I have a 33g prop tank. Here are some pictures to get an idea.

Has a 20g sump, but you wont need that for your tank. I made the stand out of 2"x4" plywood and just painted it black.

I am about to set up a softie tank and I am not going to run a sump. Only an ac110 filter modified into a refugium along with maybe a hang on the back skimmer. Actually maybe 2 ac110's, 1 as the refugium and the other with filterpads and carbon. I would highly recommend that.

Ask around before you buy anything new, usually someone has it slightly used for a good price.

I would throw in a few smaller maxijet powerheads, a 200w jager heater and your good to go. I think I am going to do that with a 30g breeder or 40g breeder.

I hope that helps. If you need any other help just ask.

-Matthew

chrismhaase · #25 03/14/2007, 08:46 AM

MAtt- is that 33 gallon tank 36" long? I think that is the longest tank I will have. 11" for water in and skimmer(ASM G3) and then 25" for the fuge, and an external pump later when I get the big tank.

Then I will put in LS(30-40) and LR, cheato, and a few Mangroves. Then I will have a PVC stand with one of those light diffusers. HOw far from teh bottom of the water should the stand/corals be from the top of the water?

Hows that plan sound?