An Educational Display Tank in a High School: Reef, Brackish, and Fresh Oh My!

[PistachioSkyBird]

Hello everyone,
I am a high school teacher at a small to mid sized catholic high school. I have been in charge of the schools fish tanks for the last 3.5 years and despite my best efforts the tanks are in need of some major repairs, hence the build thread.

These tanks have been in the high school for about 21 years and were donated by a local doctor when he could no longer take care of the tanks. Below is a picture of the 3, 200 gallon tanks that are in the main hallway of the high school. You can see some of the student's art projects that are displayed in the tanks.

I have no way of knowing the true age of the tanks but it looks like they are old wood framed oceanic's that are somewhere between 30 to 50 years old.

The seals on the tanks are starting to fail and we are starting to get some water damage on the wood.

With the water damage and the state of the wood we have been looking in to how to repair the tanks. After talking to a local fish store I was surprised to find out the the wood framing on the tanks is actually what is holding the glass in place! That meant that replacing the wood was no longer very practical.

Even though the tanks are separate they all share the same plumbing underneath, and are connected by siphons up top to keep the water levels consistent. When I started taking care of the tanks the only filtration on the tanks was the gravel in the bottom. The gravel filtration worked ok, but it did not keep the water very clear. Shortly after taking over the tanks I was able to get enough money to add 2 Fluvial FX6s to the tank. As you can see this has really improved the water clarity. (Before it was so cloudy that there was actually a 20 year old cat fish that was in the tank that I "found" while we were changing out the filters).

When we added the filters to the tank we added them to the plumbing underneath the tank. Our plan was to use the shutoff valves under the tank and then cut out the old pump and add the FX6s in parallel where the old pump connected. Our plan would have worked great if the pipes didn't start shattering... The PVC that was used to plumb the tanks was only about 2 mm thick. I think it was thin PVC when they first put it in and then it had gotten thinner over the years.

Since the pipes broke above the shut off valves, all 600 gallons drained out on the floor. It was pretty disastrous but we were able to save all of the fish!

Here is a picture of the repaired plumbing:

The red thing that you see is an old hot tub heater that was the heater for the tank. It no longer works, but the pumps and the lights keep the tank warm enough that I have not had many major health problems with the cichlids in the tank.


Now to the exciting part! We are fundraising to completely replace the tanks. Between the leaking tanks and the questionable piping underneath (we were not able to replace all the piping) we have decided that this is our best option. And boy do we have some big plans for the new tanks!

The current plan is to have 4 total tanks. Two freshwater, 1 brackish water, and one salt water tank. More detail will come in the next update!

 

[blaxsun]

Sounds like an ambitious project - best of luck!

 

[I never finish anythi]

Looking forward to seeing this progress.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Right now the tank is in the fundraising stage.
Our current plan is to have a 60 gallon tank that will house our colorful African cichlids, a 300 gallon planted fresh water tank, a 175 gallon brackish water tank, and a 300 gallon reef tank. The planned design for the tanks is shown below (knowing how to use Blender has turned out to be very useful for designing the tanks)

One of the first things that you will notice is that all the wood is gone. The new frame for the tanks will be made of powder coated steel. This is to prevent some of the warping and water damage issues that we have with the old tanks.

You can see the 60 gallon over on the left side. The plan is to use the FX6s (the red canisters in the picture) that we already have to filter the 60 gallon tank and the 175 gallon brackish water tank that is in the middle.

The tank on the left of the main block of tanks is the 300 gallon fresh water tank. This tank will have a custom filter system (built from left over plexiglass from old covid shields). This filter system will work similar to a very large hang on the back filter and will double as a hydroponics system. I am trying to pack as many teaching tools in to these new tanks as I can and the hydroponics system is great for showing a alternative farming method as well as talking about how plants can help filter the water, and the produce can be used in our foods classes.

The middle tank is the brackish water tank as I mentioned earlier. We are going to try growing some mangroves in this tank so we can talk about how they are adapted to live in both salt and fresh water. It will also give us a way to talk about how the mangrove swamps can do so much to protect shore lines from erosion.

The last tank will be the one that you will be the most interested in. The reef tank. This tank will be a 300 gallon tank with a overflow in the center back that will feed down in to the sump below. I am still working on finding a sump of the proper size. The best option that I have found so far is to use a 75 gallon tank and retrofit it as a sump. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate them!

If you would like some more information on the project here is a link to the fundraising page and the video that we made for the project.


https://e.givesmart.com/events/tt5/i/_Auction/jThC/

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Good News! We have funding! This means that this summer we will be able to remove the old tanks and install the new ones. This is where I will have a lot more questions for you guys!

In the mean time I wanted to share some pictures of our 20 gallon "practice" tank that the librarian and I have been working on so that we are not setting up a 300 gallon tank with absolutely no prior experience.

Right now we only have 2 clownfish in the tank. We want to make sure that everything is stable before we start adding an corals, inverts, or macro algae.

We recently installed a ATO on the tank and it seems to be working really well.

Question for all of you: Are there any tips for how to deal with salt build up on the top of the tank?

 

[I never finish anythi]

Looks good . Just get more live rock and remove the lid .

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Best of luck with the tanks!!!

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Looks good . Just get more live rock and remove the lid .

Thanks! The tank is the librarians so I will have to convince here to get more live rock, and remove the lid. It is in the school library so it keeps kids from messing with it as much.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Best of luck with the tanks!!!

Thank you!!!

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

What are good recommendations for a sump for the 300 gallon saltwater tank? I am currently looking at repurposing a second hand 60 to 75 gallon tank.

 

[Tamberav]

The salt build up is from that type lid and from the bubbler. Bubblers are not really used in saltwater except in emergency/QT situations. They create awful salt creep and don't provide enough flow except in little vase reefs. You want to replace that bubbler for powerheads for coral and a heavier fish load.

The tank needs more rock but you could always move the rock over to the 300g so it's not really a waste either way.

Really cool project.

I have to laugh a wood frame tank lasted 30-50 years and a Red Sea Tank lasts 4...

 

[Cthulukelele]

The salt build up is from that type lid and from the bubbler. Bubblers are not really used in saltwater except in emergency/QT situations. They create awful salt creep and don't provide enough flow except in little vase reefs. You want to replace that bubbler for powerheads for coral and a heavier fish load.

The tank needs more rock but you could always move the rock over to the 300g so it's not really a waste either way.

Really cool project.

I have to laugh a wood frame tank lasted 30-50 years and a Red Sea Tank lasts 4...

This man out here firing shots from outta nowhere lol

 

[Tamberav]

This man out here firing shots from outta nowhere lol

haha! Well a few days ago I saw footage of a security camera of a 4 yr old red sea tank, front seam split at the bottom at night and all the water went on the floor, livestock was a total loss. So it was fresh on my mind.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

The salt build up is from that type lid and from the bubbler. Bubblers are not really used in saltwater except in emergency/QT situations. They create awful salt creep and don't provide enough flow except in little vase reefs. You want to replace that bubbler for powerheads for coral and a heavier fish load.

The tank needs more rock but you could always move the rock over to the 300g so it's not really a waste either way.

Really cool project.

I have to laugh a wood frame tank lasted 30-50 years and a Red Sea Tank lasts 4...

We do have a power in the tank. We are both used to freshwater so I never really though about removing the bubbler . Do you think we should get a second powerhead?

 

[Tamberav]

We do have a power in the tank. We are both used to freshwater so I never really though about removing the bubbler . Do you think we should get a second powerhead?

Sorry, didn't see the powerhead at the top there. One is fine to start on that size tank but you want some surface agitation, either from the powerhead or the HOB filter.

I would remove the bubbler either way.

Your large tank will need plenty of powerheads

 

[Reef Altitude]

What are good recommendations for a sump for the 300 gallon saltwater tank? I am currently looking at repurposing a second hand 60 to 75 gallon tank.

A 60 breeder standard tank is a great option for a sump and costs much less than a special sump. All in a full price with a 40 breeder baffle kit (same dimensions in the ways that matter) should be less than 300 dollars.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Sorry, didn't see the powerhead at the top there. One is fine to start on that size tank but you want some surface agitation, either from the powerhead or the HOB filter.

I would remove the bubbler either way.

Your large tank will need plenty of powerheads

Yes it will! Especially because it is a longer skinnier one. Suggestions are most welcome.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

A 60 breeder standard tank is a great option for a sump and costs much less than a special sump. All in a full price with a 40 breeder baffle kit (same dimensions in the ways that matter) should be less than 300 dollars.

Thanks! I hadn't seen the 40 breeder baffle kits!

 

[Reef Altitude]

Thanks! I hadn't seen the 40 breeder baffle kits!

Check out my build thread (and everyone else' for ideas on how people do all of the systems) for some idea of how ours turned out. That was my first time siliconing anything together so its not impossible to do.

On Reef Builders they skipped the baffles all together and just put a 40 breeder under the tank and had only one chamber so it can be as simple as that too.

 

[Tamberav]

Yes it will! Especially because it is a longer skinnier one. Suggestions are most welcome.

Gyre types can go nicely on the ends to move a lot of water.

You will want to think about maintnance needed on equiptment so you can get at/clean things like pumps without it being a headache.

I had a glass place cut and polish baffles of my tank and it was inexpensive.