324g Classroom Tank

tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

Over the summer a friend of mine upgraded his 324g DT to an 800g DT and decided to donate his 324g to my school. I'm a principal and teacher of our small private school in Knoxville and love to have critters in my class besides the students!

So after a fun afternoon of moving the giant tank with just 5 of us, we had a slight accident and dropped the 180g sump/fuge.

It took me a little while to find a 55 I could turn into a temporary sump/fuge until I can find a large tank to turn into my sump/fuge.

I'm using donations and personal funds to make this reef happen so as not to put a financial drain on my school. I never want to be accused of taking advantage for personal hobbies!

So here are a few pictures showing what I have up and running so far.

Full shot. The bulletin board is 12 feet across and the tank is 4. I left enough room on each side to post information about the fish and corals for the kids to learn about and research.

Left side of the rock work. I wanted minimal rock for maximum fish swimming and coral grow out.

Right side rock work. I tried to make it look interesting and not just a pile of rocks... Love the top right piece, One of my students said it looked like a dinosaur skull.

The temporary sump/fuge. Notice my left baffle slid loose...

The skimmer I'm having some issues with... Notice the layer of skimate on top of the cone not in the cup...

Reasons for the tank :
I love the hobby
I want to share the hobby
Help kids plug into something other than their I pods ;-)
Show personal appreciation for the creativity and beauty God has it there.
Educational reasons such as coral propagation, fish husbandry, habitats, habitat loss, invasive species, chemistry, biology, physics, responsibility, research, budgeting (not working so well yet, don't tell the wife about the 2 mp40s I just bought that come today...), a love for nature, stewardship, etc.

Future plans :
Mp40s on each side of the tank pointing toward each other
Custom LEDs from nitrox
Larger sump/fuge
3 more weeks in cycle
Find donors for test kits, frag packs, misc supplies because all personal funds going toward LEDs
Cuc order
Algae order: chaeto , ulna, mangrove
Fish move : move 2 clans and YWG from temporary 29.
Fish order: school of green chromis, 2-3 yellow tangs to start
Coral frags : zoas, softies and Los to start slow.
Have a Volunteer Reef Junkies meeting one afternoon.

Thoughts on anything?

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tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

Oh, Also I'm going to add some easy-to-remove boards on the bottom of the stand. Nothing fancy, just black painted boards to cover up some noice and keep the focus on the tank.

nitrox36 · Oct 31, 2013

Looks awesome. Your a pioneer bro, and i was glad to help. Cant wait to see the outcome. We will get you some coral and leds on that bad boy!!

xbrentx · Oct 31, 2013

I love stories like this, exposing kids to something they may not see first hand without traveling to a far destination.

I would advise to go with 2 MP60's for the side walls on a tank that big. 1 on each side wall. Maybe even an MP40 on the middle back wall in addition to that.

creefer · Oct 31, 2013

Congratulations on your efforts! I think it's wonderful that you're helping expose students to the beauty and ecology of the reef environment. Way to go.

dna4ya · Oct 31, 2013

Very sweet! I have just this year put in a 20 ga in my elementary classroom. Wish I had the time or money to do that in my room! Kudos to you!!

tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

xbrentx said:
I love stories like this, exposing kids to something they may not see first hand without traveling to a far destination.

I would advise to go with 2 MP60's for the side walls on a tank that big. 1 on each side wall. Maybe even an MP40 on the middle back wall in addition to that.

I would if I could afford it...

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revhtree · Oct 31, 2013

This is great man and we are behind you! Would be awesome if we could get some donations your way!

Can you post the exact details of the test kits, other items you want?

revhtree · Oct 31, 2013

I'm going to talk to Elos for you on the test kits.

tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

I need any and all test kits to test for anything required to grow out any of the softies, LPS, and SPS.

Misc Materials:
Non-glass heaters
Mag-float (if Nitrox can't find his)
125-180g tank for a sump/fuge
Elos test kits
couple of mp10s
any materials to help create a dosing system if we go that route in the future for SPS etc
Even nano AIO's for future class projects (when studying reefs, have students group up and run their own tanks in the room to practice fish husbandry, propagation, give them a budget and take them to a LFS and teach them the importance of supporting small businesses.
ATO setup (using KENT float valve currently and we all know how finiky those can be)
Apex controller $$$
The list could go on and on

The hard thing is, to sit and make a list is harder because I usually don't realize what I need until I need it

@rev a long time ago, at a frag swap down in Chatt, I swung by your booth and grabbed some zoas for a tank I had started. I still remember your generosity and that's one of the reasons why I'm on this forum. Thanks for all you do as a great Admin as well as your ministry. Blessings to you and your family!

ShippD · Oct 31, 2013

You deserve all the praise for doing this we need more like you in our schools get the kids off the ipod etc and more into things that really mater and they wil learn many things from you and this project..Kudos to you

tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

Thank you all for the nice replies and kudos, even though I'm not fishing for them

God has blessed us and it's our job to bless others, so just passing it along to those that are interested

revhtree · Oct 31, 2013

Thanks buddy for the kind words and I am just giving back when I can since God has blessed me so much. That being said Elos is going to rock you with some test kits! Hang tight for what they can do.

tangboy · Oct 31, 2013

revhtree said:
Thanks buddy for the kind words and I am just giving back when I can since God has blessed me so much. That being said Elos is going to rock you with some test kits! Hang tight for what they can do.

That is a HUGE blessing!

We all know the importance of understanding our water chemisty and using it as a vital tool when as a preventative measure against unhealthy situations as well as a way to identify issues with our systems. Unfortunately it seems as if test kits are very expensive and many people skip out on the kits and just "wing it". I know I speak for myself because I can use the couple of hundred bucks for a complete set of quality test kits for more equipment.

Thanks Rev!

CoryC · Oct 31, 2013

Hey since you're in knoxville I've got some brightwell additives and maybe an extra dkh or calcium salifert test kit.

1.0reef · Oct 31, 2013

Oh ma gawd! That is AWESOME!
What are you thinking for fish?

tangboy · Nov 1, 2013

Look what Santa brought early for Christmas...

I placed them in opposite sides with the left one 1/3 from the top and the right one 2/3 from the top...

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specialk · Nov 1, 2013

Sweet tank and setup man ! I would have loved to have that in my school ... probably would have made school more enjoyable .. lol ... and BTW .. your "friend upgraded to a 800 gallon" !!! Sweet maria ... !