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

[Gill the 3rd]

That might have been the one I saw too! I'm hoping that eventually we can have 4 or 5 mudskippers and a figure 8 puffer.

Tazawa Tanks on YouTube has a few videos on mudskippers. He keeps mainly freshwater but has a couple brackish tanks with mudskippers and puffers, you should check him out for more info. They are definitely cool fish and on my list to keep one day.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Tazawa Tanks on YouTube has a few videos on mudskippers. He keeps mainly freshwater but has a couple brackish tanks with mudskippers and puffers, you should check him out for more info. They are definitely cool fish and on my list to keep one day.

He does have some great mudskipper videos!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Sorry it has taken so long for an update but I was out of the country and then a whole bunch happened all at once!
Spoiler alert the stands are here and the tanks are on the stands and I am working on getting them functional in between teaching and grading!
Here are some pictures of what we have done so far!

Here are the tanks in front of the custom stands.

Here are the backs getting painted.

Final coat on the large tanks and we got the small one up on the stand. I started to aqua scape it while I waited for the paint to dry.

The small tank. It was such a relief when we were able to get one of the tanks up and it fit perfectly!

A while later I was able to get most of the faculty to help put the large tanks up after some beginning of the year teachers meetings. Seeing them all up on the stands was a little weird for me because it looked so much like the 3D rendering that I had be working with for almost a year!

Next I added some aqua scaping to the the freshwater tank and some sand to the brackish water tank. I had to keep the aqua scape fairly simple because the pacu will have to go back in this tank.

I filled up the small tank.

And added the old fish in. I felt fairy comfortable doing this because the filter was moving with them. Unfortunately, the move stressed them out and caused some of them to die from a bacterial infection.

We then tried to move the rock for the saltwater tank... (it didn't go well)

When we moved it to the tank most of the aqua scape fell apart. I think I may have made the pieces to big or not used enough mortar. What ever caused it, it ended up looking nice when we were finished. This aqua scape will give more room for coral growth too. It was still one of the worst feelings to pick up the rock structures that the students helped me build only to have them fall apart in my hands.

I also filled the large freshwater tank to get it starting to cycle. You may notice that there is some water in the saltwater tank as well. This is the water that I had from running our RODI over the summer. I could have had more but I only had 2 brute trash cans to store the water in.

Adding more water!

Here is where it stands as of now. I know that I shouldn't leave the lights on but I wanted to test them out and make sure they were working. You may also notice that the water level is still pretty low. We have been having issues getting the right size bulk heads to plumb the overflow. I think we finally are on the right track though and only need one more that should be in next week. I am going to start plumbing a bean animal in the overflow while we wait for the last piece and see if I can get things setup for the returns as well. The sump is currently sitting in my classroom waiting to come out to the tanks. The filter for the freshwater tank is currently sitting on top of it. That will have to be a whole other post!
For right now the saltwater tank is sitting there with two gyre pumps to keep the water flowing. I have also been adding so Microbactor 7 and some fish food to get the bacteria going while we are waiting.

Incredible seeing all the tanks lined up like that!

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Quick update: The missing plumbing piece is supposed to be here tomorrow! This means that we can start working on plumbing the sump soon! In preparation for it I had some of my students help me move the 75 gallon tank down to its place under the big one. Here is a picture of it with the moonlight setting on the lights.

I still need to put some dividers in the sump and and obvious still need to plumb it but we are getting closer to a functioning tank! We have some parents touring the school tonight so I went ahead and added the spare rocks to the sump so it will look a little nicer.

We are starting with filter socks in the sump but I am planning on changing the design of the sump as we can add more parts to it. Have any of you used one of the roller mats? How do you like them?

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

The plumbing for the overflow and sump is finished! You can see the 10 gallon tank that will be for the ATO reservoir to the side of the sump. We are going to lift it up off the floor but we don't have the what we need for the shelf yet. Now to just keep adding water!

Here is a picture of the back of the tank. You can kind of see the bean animal in the overflow box. The pipe closest to the camera is the emergency overflow.

Here is the side view of the sump and the ATO reservoir. You can see the FX-6 on the fresh water tank in the background.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Just out of curiosity, I am planning on setting up a refugium in the sump of this tank can I put any macro algae in the fuge?


I was looking at macro algae and thought it might look cool to have some of the rooted types of macro algae growing on the rocks in the sump. The sump will be clearly visible so it would be nice if it looks nice as well as being functional.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

The tank is running! We had a few problems with leaks but they are fixed now. The pump, overflow, heater, and ATO are all installed and working. I just did the first tests on the water and the levels are pretty good for a tank that was just set up.

pH - 8.2
kH - 5,25
Ammonia - 0.2
Nitrite - .05
Nitrate - 2
salt - 34 PPT

The levels were measured with a RedSea kit and a refractometer.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Here is a better picture. I got the lights hooked up. All the electronics seem to be working!

Any suggestions of what to double check and how long to wait until I add the fish?

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Not a super exciting update but I did some work on temporary cord management. Sadly, everything but the ato controller fell off the wall after about 30 minutes. I thought the sticky Velcro would stick, but textured walls seem to prevent almost every from sticking... at least the cords aren't tangled.

Also my Tunze ATO keeps filling past the sensor. It is brand new and I am not adding any calcium to the tank because there is nothing in there yet. From what I've read that seems to be the most common problem. The first time I plugged it in it didn't stop filling until it reached the emergency shut off... I the let it sit until the water level was back below the sensor. After this it was working fine for about 24 hours and then all the sudden it just kept filling. It filled this far before I unplugged it. Lucky I was working on the cord management when it decided to stop working. I had just filled the reservoir for the weekend.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Hello! Long time no update.
There hasn't been a lot of change taking place with the tanks, but they are still and running. I am finally working on getting fish for the tanks! Finally the exciting stuff!
Here is what the tanks look like at the moment

I am very much in need of some algae eaters in the salt water tank! And I finally have access to the funds that we raised for the tanks!



I need your help on what clean up crew would be the best to start with. There are currently only two clowns in this 300 gallon tank, so there are a bunch of options. I am planning on putting corals in here so preferably nothing that will eat coral. I am also planning on setting up a refugium with decorative macro algae in the sump.

Here is a close up of the algae that is most prevalent in the tank.

 

[blecki]

You need one of those big combo packs with like 100 hermits and snails in them. That looks like a combo of hair algae and dino so I wouldn't expect a tang to touch it yet. That's real bad though even for the uglies - was there any live rock to jump start the tank at all? Your best result might come from picking up some real live rock.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

You need one of those big combo packs with like 100 hermits and snails in them. That looks like a combo of hair algae and dino so I wouldn't expect a tang to touch it yet. That's real bad though even for the uglies - was there any live rock to jump start the tank at all? Your best result might come from picking up some real live rock.

I wasn't sure about crabs and hermits. I had heard some stories of them eating fish. Have you had experience with this?

This is a bare bottom tank so I knew the uglies would be worse and on top of that I haven't been giving it the attention it deserves because I have a new baby at home. It was started with dry rock and the only living things I have added are the two clowns. I am planning on getting the refugium up and running soon and adding copepods at that time as well.

 

[blecki]

I wasn't sure about crabs and hermits. I had heard some stories of them eating fish. Have you had experience with this?

Stick to hermits. They can't catch a fish unless it's already dead.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Stick to hermits. They can't catch a fish unless it's already dead.

Thanks!

 

[Eric R.]

Blue legged hermits won’t bother your fish, but they may kill your snails, and I find snails make for better algae eaters than hermits. But the hermits are fun to watch. You don’t need 100 hermits though, that’s a fairly outdated recommendation in my opinion. Turbo snails are good algae eaters. I’m particularly fond of tuxedo urchins as algae eaters as well. And there are also a number of herbivorous ornamental fish (tangs, foxface, etc.) that make good algae eaters.

You may need to manual remove some of the algae to help the process get started.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

Blue legged hermits won’t bother your fish, but they may kill your snails, and I find snails make for better algae eaters than hermits. But the hermits are fun to watch. You don’t need 100 hermits though, that’s a fairly outdated recommendation in my opinion. Turbo snails are good algae eaters. I’m particularly fond of tuxedo urchins as algae eaters as well. And there are also a number of herbivorous ornamental fish (tangs, foxface, etc.) that make good algae eaters.

You may need to manual remove some of the algae to help the process get started.

I was looking at one of the clean up crew packages from Reef Cleaners. Since this is a display tank in a high school I think that the entertainment value of the hermits will be worth the risk of them eating a few of the snails. The next fish going in are going to be some tangs. I think we may be going for sailfins first.

When I do my next water change I was going to try and get some of it with a brush.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

We have a clean up crew!
I am also looking at the best place to get fish. The only places to get saltwater fish in town is either Petco or a local fish store whose freshwater fish are wonderful but their saltwater fish are not always heathy and they have a very limited selection. I need to go talk to them and see if they would be willing to order some different species for me, but I am looking in to other options.

What are your experiences with Petco fish? I do plan on quarantining them and have a quarantine tank still set up from the clownfish.

Do you guys have any suggestions for places you have had good luck ordering from?

I was looking at Seahorse Savy because I was planning on ordering some of their macro algae for a display refugium, and they quarantine their fish. However, they don't have any tangs because they aren't safe to keep with seahorses.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Just out of curiosity, I am planning on setting up a refugium in the sump of this tank can I put any macro algae in the fuge?


I was looking at macro algae and thought it might look cool to have some of the rooted types of macro algae growing on the rocks in the sump. The sump will be clearly visible so it would be nice if it looks nice as well as being functional.

There are a few very good options. Chaeto is the obvious one, but it does not display well as eventually you just have a dense bowl of green noodles.

Calupera and red gracilara are very pretty and decent at removing nutrients as well, but they require more upkeep and occasionally calupera has a sexual reproduction event and can end up in the display, but if you keep a couple larger tangs they should eat it like candy

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

I was also wondering if I should wait for the algae and diatoms to get under control before I look at adding any coral? The algae is starting to blow off the rocks on its own at the moment.

 

[PistachioSkyBird]

There are a few very good options. Chaeto is the obvious one, but it does not display well as eventually you just have a dense bowl of green noodles.

Calupera and red gracilara are very pretty and decent at removing nutrients as well, but they require more upkeep and occasionally calupera has a sexual reproduction event and can end up in the display, but if you keep a couple larger tangs they should eat it like candy

I really like tangs and should be able to have a few large ones in a 300 gallon tank. Do you have any species that you would suggest?