30 gal frag tank-what do I need?

We are thinking about starting a frag tank, probably a 30 gal.

Since we are still a little bit of a newbie we need help and suggestions of what to buy.

Best Lighting for zoas, mushrooms, polyps?
Filter- would a fluval 205 be good?
Powerheads- how many, what size?

Any other suggestions would be great!

 

any fish in this tank?

t5 of atleast 120 watts maybe more if you want all sps, fluval would be fin or even a hob filter if there no fish.

enough powerheads that add up to 1500 gph minus fluval gph.
the more little powerhead you get to add up to this the better. so lot of small phs better then few big ones

 

That's all I can think of for now. ;D

 

maybe have 1 or 2 fish-not sure what kind to put in??
I found a fluval 205 for $50 practically brand new...but if we had the fluval would we also need a skimmer?

 

if your adding fish i would get a hob skimmer.

a canister filter isnt much help in saltwater

 

With corals I would get a skimmer....positively yes. I wouldn't think twice. For a frag tank, you want good clean water with good lighting to maximize growth. Looking at the cost, I know I just spend hundreds of your dollars, but that is the way I would do it if it were mine. You could even spend more on lighting, but I don't see the point. I wouldn't go less than Tek.....but I don't see as you would need any more though.

Just get good bulbs though. There are those who prefer UVL, ATI, Giesemann or any combination thereof. I dig UVL. That is just me. ATI has some bulbs with better PAR values and UVL has some superior actinics. Bottom line is you choose a combination of bulbs that will help the growth and feeding without going overboard. I would go by testimonial rather than numbers in a frag tank. In a display tank?.....Asthetics comes into play a bit more.

 

What about a Coralife Aqualight 36 inch deluxe 192 watt light? Ive found this ligt for half the cost... would this be good for Zoes?

Coralife Lunar Aqualight Deluxe Double Linear Strip Aquariuim Light Fixtures

 

yes it would be good for zoas and really all soft corals. you probably will have trouble with some sps, but a few may be fine at the top of the tank.

really power compact fixtures work best when they are on shallower tanks, if your tank is deeper then 12 inches, i would only expect to keep softcorals at the bottom.


if you want a predomiantely sps tank this wouldnt be my choice in lighting tho.