frag tank coral mounting?

coralbeauties · May 11, 2021

I am planning on building a new 8 ft frag tank. I currently have a 7ft tank and have my colonies growing on elevated frag plugs on egg crate. I can really cram a lot of corals into a limited space but doesnt allow alot of grow out room and good flow. Also have a keep a close eye out for touching corals and cleaning the egg crate can be a real chore. I see many guys growing their colonies on square tiles. Are you all just placing the tiles onto the bottom of the tank or suspended on egg crate a tad bit? I would think poo build up would be a problem under the tiles if on the bottom of the tank. I picked up 10in deep tank for a good price so I will most likely have to keep the corals on the bottom or close to it. Tell me what you like or dislike with the way you have your frag tanks set up.
thanks
Jeff

Idoc · May 12, 2021

Bump...

fuelman · May 13, 2021

bump, i just set up a grow out for acro's & was planning on using 6x6 tiles on the floor of the tank, would like to here some input on this also.

coralbeauties · May 13, 2021

I’m thinking of 4in tumbled stone tile From Home Depot directly on the bottom. I currently have frag plugs on sections of egg crate and it is a real pain to have to move the sections to clean under. Most of the time I place the 12x14 section out of the water with all the corals for around 5 min to clean under it and the ends of the tank are usually a mess. I hate doing this.
I have visited @aquavista99 and his tiles are on glass bottom. Pick a tile up and man what a breeding ground for mini brittle stars, pretty cool actually. Never really paid much attention to how much poo is built up. I’m thinking you would have to blow off the corals frequently to keep them clean.?
Jeff

fuelman · May 13, 2021

ya that was my concern, cleaning underneath if i set up eggcrate racks. i got some packs of the natural travertine tumbled stone tiles a few guys said those where what they were using. just based on a bunch of pics i see on here, was planning on just going right on the glass bottom with them, my tank is 16" deep. i have no clue though on pros/cons of this set up. i see some of the vendor pics with large raceway set ups that have them setting on the bottom of the tanks

ScottB · May 25, 2021

My frag systems 18" tall so I have options but not really satisfied with my tiered rack system. Stuff is always getting blown around, knocked over, touching each other, etc.

I wana say I've seen a few serious aquaculture folks use the racks with built in retainer rings for the 1/2 frag stems.

For the larger pieces, I mostly see large tiles on the glass.

Arricefe · May 25, 2021

I just setup a frag tank, i should do a small build thread, and I lined the bottom with 3"x3" tumbled travertine tiles then someone pointed out these things: