Frag Shelf...Just made it. You like????

[silkione]

Made it in about 5 minutes. Just some egg crate and the suction cup piece off of an old power head held on by two white zip ties. Works like a champ. I wanted to keep them from being disturbed by hermits. This is the best i could come up with since i dont have a frag tank

[tekknoschtev]

If I may make a reccomendation - given the track record (in my reading and in my personal experience) of suction cups on powerheads - switch the suction cups for magnets (knock off mag floats or something similar). Not only will you be able to move it without getting wet, but it will be much safer.

Its great that you have it, and I mean no negatve behind it, I'd just hate to see a post to this thread down the line stating that your "@())%! frag shelf fell over and your coral frags all fell down"

We did something similar in our 40 when we didnt have a frag tank setup and used acrylic bent over so it could hook onto the back of the aquarium.

[jessp]

could we fasten the frag shelf to the magnet w/ superglue gel? or what would you reccomend? I have some little shelves attached w/ suction cups as well and would like to know more.
thanks,
jess

[tekknoschtev]

Super glue would hold, but it'd be the weak link in the system. I'd reccomend some form of epoxy, but I have used super glue in similar projects and it works pretty well.

[silkione]

The one problem I have with using a magnet is having someone walk by and move the magnet. Then crash there goes your whole shelf. Everyone who comes over messes with the magfloat and cleans the tank. Id be scared to have them move the wrong magnet. Also I have a 3 yr old who loves the fish tank.
The suction cups came off of a power head assembly and are new. They seem to be holding just fine and there has been no movement. Plus the frags on the shelf aren't that heavy. I thought about other ways too hook it to the glass but all of them had downfalls to them. This well didn't. They have been in position for a while now. The only thing that can disturb them now is the mandarin and a couple snails who venture that way. Thanks for the input though.

[firebirdbandit]

I like it. Some of the magnet ideas sound good too.

[TriniReefer]

ok.where the heck do u get egg crate? i could never figure out where.i want to find out to start workin on a 10 gal frag tank.

[FelipeBastos]

Eggcrate ( also found under light diffuser) at Home Depot, Lowes, etc...

Nice Frag rack - I like it a lot. If I could offer one piece of advice, ir using more pieces to create a lift on the edges. hermits will leave your rack alon,e but snails won't. And they WILL nock the frags down.

Felipe

[Speckled Grouper]

Originally posted by TriniReefer
ok.where the heck do u get egg crate?

Home Depot or Lowes near the lighting section. The other name for it is Lighting diffuser. It's where they sell the ceiling light tiles.

[silkione]

Okay so the suction cups DO work great for attaching the crate. I tried pulling the rack off and it wouldnt budge. I had to take a glass cleaner and work it under the cups to get it loose.

[xxxbadfishxxx]

that looks familiar

[LionfishFinatic]

ok.where the heck do u get egg crate? i could never figure out where.i want to find out to start workin on a 10 gal frag tank.

I found out that in my local lowes/HD the "hide" the eggcrate/light diffuser in the insulation dpt. so if you can't find it in lighting, look in insulation.

[JayB1224]

In the lowes near me they had in the hv/ac section. I think they kinda just put it where they want.

[ironman2]

great ideas guys, I personally use magnets for my racks. the suction cups are good but after about a month they loose there strenght. and once algae grows around them they wont hold. I also have a 3 year old so the danger of a magnet has always been there but the risk is much greatter for the suction cups to fail. plus my 3 year old would have to get a chair to reach the magnet. if you are willing to spend the money get a tunze stream magnet, noone will be moving it around easily.

[chris.hampton]

You could put a length of fishing line at either end of the shelf attached to a thin pole (so it doesn't block to much light) going the length of the tank (on the outside over the edges) just as a back up

[chris.hampton]

Or even better a clear acrylic rod?

[SteveOhh]

Steve

[littleguy]

good job. looks nice. I cant wait to get my frag tank up an running.

[gosaints]

i would definatly replace the suction cups they wont last long.

[tekknoschtev]

Thats what I was referring to above, I finally found pictures. The Magnet Mount obviously offers more flexibility in moving it around. The suction cups are bound to fail eventually as I have expeinced with powerheads and several people near me have constructed frag shelves with them only to have the rubber dry out or become rigid with time in the harsh saltwater environment.

Again, a great idea to have frags in a display tank instead of setting up a seperate frag tank

[reef krazee]

very cool ideas

[todd rose]

neat

[TCU Reefer]

Here's some pics of the frag rack I just made. Used 1/2" PVC and it took only a few minutes. With PVC, I won't have to worry about magnets or suction cups failing. Frags will never fall from this rack.



I used T's at the bottom to stabilize it against the glass.





Probably could have just used the elbows at the top for the hanger. Oh well.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

nice...

[wickeddroptop]

Where do you find that eggcrate stuff?