40g Frag tank - 24x24x12 or 36x18x14?

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Just second guessing myself here. My plan was to move my 40g semicube 24x24x12 tank currently housing my carpets and clowns and convert it into a frag tank running off the same sump as the new tank. I was going to go 4x24w t5 for lighting instead of the 175w halide there now.

I also have a 40g breeder, 36x18x14...My plan WAS to use this as an eventual QT setup.

Good plans. Don't second guess yourself!

[Delphinus]

Late at night the questions in my head just starting to get overwhelming. I was sort of wondering if I should somehow usurp the 40g breeder for the eel/butterflies but then that would mean it wasn't available as the frag tank but then it was never really on tap for that so now I'm not sure what the heck I was thinking. Maybe just to make sure that the 24x24 is still a better choice for frags, I dunno. But then the 40g breeder isn't an ideal tank for those fish, it would have to be locked down pretty tight as I see the eel getting out on the first try and I'm not sure if the butterflies would just be sitting there with this kind of "FML" look on their faces because there's no up/down swimming possibilities. Sounds like the better go-forward is to still go with the 24x24 (the light is a Tek 4x24w, New Wave or whatever, it's the econo-model-sorta-looks-like-a-shop-light version) so would fit over the 24" with better coverage, the 36" would have edges without coverage although probably in the order of 3" per side which probably isn't a huge deal. And then find a 65g.

I think I need to have a garage sale though!!!!

[ScubaSteve]

I'd stick with the 24"x24" for the frag tank. Put some rock in the center of the tank and have all the frags around that, that way you can get a nice gyre/raceway effect going on with few powerheads. And like you said, you get better light coverage. also, you might be able to actually do something aesthetic rather than the typical blah frag tank.