[R-e-D]

ok i am in the planning stage of my new frag tank set up .. i am going to pick up a 1/4 inch sheet of acralyte acrilic . my thoughts are to make a tank measuring 8 feet long 2 feet wide and 12 inches high . i will have a fuge with lr,dsb and cheato in it . a sump with lr ,skimmer, heater and bubble trap in it . i am nit sure what itghts to use over frag tank or cheato tank , any ideas??? .. this is what i am thinking about for a design.

[e_baer]

Looks great! Are you going to loop it into your other systems?

[R-e-D]

no . it is going to stand alone .. any idea how many gallons it is going to be . i dont know the formula to figure it out .. also what should i use for lighting

[carym]

For lighting it depends on what you are fragging, but at 12" high you could probably get by with T5 light for just about everything. As far as lighting the Chaeto that would be more standard light or plant lighting, you do plan on reverse lighting it correct? Also, one thought why do a sand bed in the main frag tank when you will have a DSB in the refugium? I would think it would be easier to vacumn the deterius and debris if you don't do a sand bed in the main tank and also with the sand you will need better lights because it will assorb the light.

[R-e-D]

wow , 231 cubic inches per gallon .. tank plus sumps will be about 55296 cubic inches =ing almost 240 gallons.. wow .. i beter get some more salt ...lol

[R-e-D]

the reason for the sand bed in the main tank is so i can keep a few crabs and maybe a chromis or two .. want to see movement in there.

[Jeremy0322]

For the gallons dont you just tank L x W x H and then divide that by 231. I tested it and you are at 119.66 gallons so i think your calculations were a little off. Just go to google and type in "aquarium gallons calculator" and it gives you this site...Quick Calculator for Aquariums.

Problem Solved

[R-e-D]

my math is right .. you are just thinking of the tank jeremy . what about the 2 sumps.

[Jeremy0322]

That would explain the differences. Sorry for that...haha

[NATIVEVAMAN]

A sand bed in shallow tank like that coupled with the kind of flow you will need for the frags = one heck of a sand storm.

[R-e-D]

you know dale that was on my mind as well .. i am going to deal with that when i get to that point .. right now i am stocking supplys and trying to perfect the plan .. so any changes i might need to know about would be helpfull ... i am probley going to use mh lights but not sure yet

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Ok hang with me on this one.With that shallow tank you will need to keep the mh pretty high so the width of the light falling on the tank will be pretty wide.So you might have to make the tank wider to use all the light.How does a 6 x 3 foot tank work for you?

[carym]

I guess I would question the sand in the display again, like Nativeman said you will have a sand storm, and just because you want chromis and crabs doesn't mean you have to have sand, I do like the idea of the DSB in the sump/refugium. I am a strong believer in DSB, I just know that the frag tank I have it difficult enough to syphon without a sand bed, so I wouldn't want to try it with one.

[R-e-D]

the only aspect of this built i am solid on it the size of the dt 8Lx24Wx12H.
for lighting i was thinking of 5 MH about 19 inches apart and 18 off the water . so each light would cover no more then 20x24 and 12 inches of water depth .

[e_baer]

would you be using 75 or 150w?

[R-e-D]

i am not sure yet elliot. i am far from an expert on growing coral so i would need to read up a bit and find out witch would be better

[e_baer]

IMO, depending on what corals you will want to get, I would go for the 75w. It will only be over 12" of water - the sand bed.