Considering doing coral frags

i have a 45 gallon and i've lost a lot of corals, some i think because i just don't have enough lighting and some to my brain that brought in something and stung some and bleached some to death after the brain did so but i was going to get a 120watt bridgelux led light. I have 5 fish, two clowns(saddleback and oscellairs) a blue hippo tang, a coral beauty and a scooter bleny also a long spine urchin and a star fish I've never had problems with my coral beauty nipping at corals, he's well fed. I was just think to get some of those pvc grates and get some suction cups and put it close to the top. Can someone tell me how to do this because i have no idea what so ever. I've never breaded coral with the intention of breeding them. Also do many store go for home sellers.

 

is this serious?? if so..research, research, research!!! and, maybe i think you need to slow down a bit, before you start thinking about selling frags to LFS. indeed they might be interested in a local frag provider, but they also will want healthy & growing frags.

so, i might suggest that you try to get your system a bit more dialed and get a little(a lot) more coral experience before you decide on an starting aquatics business venture. many people dream or desire to supplement or earn an income from their tank. And more power to ya, but I surely wouldnt buy frags that were stung, dying, have a lack of light, etc., even if it was a local supplier. just my two pennies.

 

Are your coral colonies growing large enough to frag right now? If they aren't, I would wait until the become a fragment-able size before I began investing time and money into fragmenting tools, plugs and grating.

jmo

 

I would get rid of the hippo tang (its too large for a tank of that size), i would get a better light. the 120w bridgelux would be a good start, and i would just try and grow corals from there. As already stated, selling and making money is a long shot.

 

The hippo tang isn't fully grown yet so no worries till he gets full grown or half his size and I am planing on upgrading to a 90 gallon tank and kind of wanted to get it all together but getting this lighting system is half of the lighting I need for the 90 gallon. I know others have asked this but how much do I get out of this? Can I pay back the lighting system and I don't believe I have any corals that can be fragmented(If I'm wrong I'm going to sound stupid) I Have a green star polyp that's growing but in some weird ways, three types of mushrooms, two new and one thts been in there for a while. Two fuzzys and one hairy(all groups of them) I just bought my second fuzzys and their growing great off the start and look beautiful under my new blue LEDs moon lights(built in ones on the PC are awful) my other fuzzys that never really went any where till recenty and are growing pretty good and reproduced one other one but sadly stuck it's self under neath the other fuzzy Mushroom so is slowly dying from the other covering it and the hairys are just surviving and aren't doing great which I don't understand because their all in the same spot. And then I have a yellow toad stool which I have never understood, it always seems like it's dying but then grows and at the store it was always bright yellow and thought my tank needed it and then it barely survived the brain and came back but the surface was always brown with these little polyps. I did have more it's sad I lost so many.

 

Well it doesn't sound like you're ready to start fraging quite yet. Just give it some time, good things will come.

Good luck.

 

stores will give you up to half of what they will sell it for. However you really dont have much to frag there. Starpolyps and toadstool is just about it. I dont frag mushrooms because i dont find they do well.........better to just let them reproduce.

so i would guestimate you would get 5.00 a frag (if that) on the starpolyp and toadstool. My lfs sells those mushrooms for 5.00 so even if you brought one in you might get 2.50 and I wouldnt buy a half of mushroom when I worked in the lfs.

As stated earlier.........you need to focus on the tank you have NOW. Nothing is ever going to be healthy in that tank.
1. you are WAYYYY to populated with fish. Scooter blenny is starving to death. They are similar to mandarins in the fact that they are constantly eating pods. Even if you get them to eat prepared they still require constant supply of food. Hippo tang as said is not suited for that sized tank. what type of starfish do you have? Just wayyy too much in that tank
2. what are your paremeters? Have you tested your water quality? In particular, your ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. I guarentee your levels are SKY high which will make you loose coral

I really do not think it is your lighting that is killing your coral (maybe the brain.......not sure your other ones that died) however the corals you have listed do not require much light to grow, so a PC would be enough.

so, what you need to do, instead of trying to find a way to make money on this, is figure out what is going on in your tank. I would start by doing some heavy research. Look into husbandry skills of the fish that you do have right now along with the corals that you have right now. I wouldnt buy the light at this time. Save your money to buy the bigger, upgraded tank. If you want some extra money, return half the fish to your LFS (they will give you probably half of what you spent). But if you want to enjoy this tank, get it healthy

I am sorry if we are coming along strong but we are just trying to help.

 

I do a very large water change weekly so my water qualitys never a problem, same with water testing and salinity. The highest I've ever seen my nitrates is 10 ppm and that wasn't for very long and again I'm looking at getting a 90 gallon, I don't know if any one can answer this but for the lighting system I was planning on getting, it needs to hang and my tanks in my basement, the ceiling is tile so does any one think the ceiling tile braces can support it?

 

No, they won't support much more than the weight of the tiles, you will need to go above the tiles and anchor into the floor joists. Then you can hang a pair of chains or cables thru the tiles and hang the light from that.

8)

 

just in case you werent aware......there is a box, up there ^^^^. you can use it to search for answers to all your questions and concerns. if you dont come up with suitable answers then maybe try starting a new thread. just my .02
Also, as many have stated, you are a LONG way from making money and really shouldnt be your goal. unless, you have a bunch of experience or an amazing amount of money already!! this is a hobby, hobbies cost money, and rarely make any. have fun in the tank. learn the basics, go from there.