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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Build a Better Frag Rack

So yesterday I decided to do some rework on my frag tank when I took everything out to clean the bottom. I'm glad to say there is no more Cyanobacteria. I did make a new frag rack that now spans almost the entire bottom of my tank as well as has two raised platforms for more light needing corals. I do like the look of this one much better because it gives me not only more room, but it makes the tank look more open as well. It's almost exactly like the pic I posted yesterday.

Before, I was using a 3 tier rack that I had in my 10 gallon. For that tank it was the perfect size. However, I needed more room in my 20 gallon and wanted a rack that would be able to handle the amount of frags I wanted to put in there, as well as make it look a little cleaner. This led me to make the rack in this design. It allows me to put corals wherever they need to be as far as flow and light are concerned.

Before:

After:


Now, what is the main reason frag racks are made? Personally I build them to be able to use as much room in my frag tank as I can, but I've also built them to keep frags in my display tank. These are also, from what I've read, what the majority of other people build racks for as well. Another reason I've seen is to keep the Cleanup Crew from knocking the frags around as they sit on the sand in the tank.

They can be made of anything from egg crate (light diffuser) to acrylic and held together with glue, zip ties, or epoxy. Depending on what is being kept on the rack, the size and shape of the tank, as well as the lighting, frag racks are made in all different shapes. The most common one I've seen is just a flat platform raised up off the bottom with either PVC legs or egg crate legs. People are keeping softies, LPS and SPS on these kinds of racks, they just change the lighting depending on the coral. If keeping a mixed frag tank, usually raised platforms are a good idea so you can put corals that need more light up higher and don't have to buy a new light.

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