Bringing the reef into the classroom... 16g BioCube (now a Nuvo 40)

[reefiniteasy]

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!

We have coral. Can I call it a reef tank now? I drove just about 3 hours round trip to meet up with a fellow R2R member who donated some frags to our aquarium. I am blown away with the kindness he has shown me. We met up at a Wendy's off the Florida Turnpike. I was only expecting a frogspawn frag and I was presented with a box full of frags. We have a frogspawn, candy cane coral, Devil's Hand, Green Star Polyp, and a few others. I tried dipping for the first time. I did two of the corals. I think it went alright. Nothing came off, I knew I wouldn't find any hitchhikers. The corals were pristine and it was obvious they came from a pristine tank. I just had to practice. As soon as they went into the tank and I turned the circulation pump and powerhead back on they all perked up. The frogspawn extended and opened, these tiny little tentacle things extended out of the candy cane and the mushrooms opened. I had to leave the classroom before the Zoas had a chance to open. I can't believe they survived an hour and a half car ride, not a single sign of stress. Hopefully they're happy tomorrow.

I completed a 4 gallon water change. I had to dose Alk and Ca for the first time in a while. Maybe I didn't let my salt mix long enough (not sure if that would even have an affect on anything). I overdoses Alk just a little, it jumped to 8.9dKH. Not sure if that will have any negative effects. I'll find out tomorrow when I go back in to test again.

My current parameters are:
1.026 SG
NO3 - 5ppm
Mg - 1335ppm
Ca - 445ppm
KH/Alk - 8.9 (whoops!)

I placed some early Black Friday orders. I ordered first from BRS the Hanna Phosphate ULR checker and Chlorine ULR checker along with multiple packs of reagents. I also added in some new RO tubing so I can redo the RODI tubing and hook up the new TDS meter from AutoAqua. I then ordered from SaltwaterAquarium.com, a new box of Fritz RPM Blue Box and the Hanna Phosphate ULR calibration set. The only thing left to order is a new set of filters and DI resin from AquaFX. That should all be 20% off on Friday.

 

[reefiniteasy]

So it's been four full days since we have added our first corals. I tested my parameters on 11/27 and again on 11/29.

11/27
1.026 SG
pH - 8.15
NO3 - 5ppm
Mg - 1350ppm
Ca - 430ppm
KH/Alk - 8.45dKH
PO4 - .1ppm

11/29
Mg - 1320 dosed 10ml = 1365ppm
Ca - 440ppm
KH/Alk - 8.3dKH

Things seem to be holding steady. I moved the frogspawn from the sand up to the "island" rock. The zoas are in the shade and need to be moved down to the sand bed. I might move the trumpet up a level as well.

I picked up a lot of equipment and supplies with all the sales going on. I picked up all new sediment and carbon block filters, DI resin and I purchased a new 100gpd reverse osmosis filter. Now I don't need that much water production, but I can fill my Brute much faster. I also picked up a box of Fritz RPM Blue. Wait, there's more... I picked up a the Hanna phosphate ULR and Chlorine ULR checkers and reagents. Lastly, I am shoping for a controllable wave pump. I think I have decided on the Tunze Nanostream 6040. It seems to be simple enough to control and I can set a varied pulse. It's $111 at saltwateraquarium. I'd say that's a great deal. (Edit: I can't get over the open impeller. It'll dice up my snails. They crawl all over my Koralia. I'm going to give the IceCap Gyre 1K a shot!)

I can't wait to see how everything is going when I return to work tomorrow.

 

[Vinman]

So it's been four full days since we have added our first corals. I tested my parameters on 11/27 and again on 11/29.

11/27
1.026 SG
pH - 8.15
NO3 - 5ppm
Mg - 1350ppm
Ca - 430ppm
KH/Alk - 8.45dKH
PO4 - .1ppm

11/29
Mg - 1320 dosed 10ml = 1365ppm
Ca - 440ppm
KH/Alk - 8.3dKH

Things seem to be holding steady. I moved the frogspawn from the sand up to the "island" rock. The zoas are in the shade and need to be moved down to the sand bed. I might move the trumpet up a level as well.

I picked up a lot of equipment and supplies with all the sales going on. I picked up all new sediment and carbon block filters, DI resin and I purchased a new 100gpd reverse osmosis filter. Now I don't need that much water production, but I can fill my Brute much faster. I also picked up a box of Fritz RPM Blue. Wait, there's more... I picked up a the Hanna phosphate ULR and Chlorine ULR checkers and reagents. Lastly, I am shoping for a controllable wave pump. I think I have decided on the Tunze Nanostream 6040. It seems to be simple enough to control and I can set a varied pulse. It's $111 at saltwateraquarium. I'd say that's a great deal.

I can't wait to see how everything is going when I return to work tomorrow.

Nice build Alex well done! Glad those corals found a good home. They really look great. Wish I was in your class lol. I might not be paying attention though. Too many things to look at.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Nice build Alex well done! Glad those corals found a good home. They really look great. Wish I was in your class lol. I might not be paying attention though. Too many things to look at.

Sometimes it's hard for me to pay attention. Haha!

 

[reefiniteasy]

So a lot has happened in the last week. I started monitoring PO4 with my Hanna Phosphate ULR checker. What an awesome little device. Over the course of a week I found that my PO4 jumped from .11 to .27. I figure this was a combination of a few things. First I feed 3 times a day a piece of LRS and maybe some Hikari pellets here and there. Then I just started using Reef Roids. I was using it everyday for a little while, I know, I know... Too much! I'm cutting back to once a week. Then it also happened to be time to replace my Purigen and ChemiPure Blue, they were both exhausted after being in the media rack for almost 2 months. After the water change this past Monday and the media change PO4 has been sitting at .12. I'm satisfied with that. Hopefully my green algae/diatom growth slows down. I have to say that the 50+ dwarf cerith and Nerite snails do a good job of keeping it at bay. All 10 of my Cerith snails are gone... Those murderous hermits struck again!

I also started testing chlorine in my RODI storage. I tested my storage and found that it contained 17ppb chlorine. I figured my carbon block and sediment block had been in since last March. I changed both and tested my next batch of water and it now tests 2ppb. I have determine that a small amount of chlorine will always get passed the carbon block and into my RO membrane. Although, the tiny amount of chlorine has had no effect on the membrane, as I am getting 1ppm TDS out of my membrane. The small amount of chlorine that is sitting in my storage dissipates over night so by the time I use it, it is "0."

On Black Friday I made a trip to Top Shelf Aquatics. I purchased a ton of stuff including a new 100gpd RO membrane and the matching flow restrictor. I already misplaced the flow restrictor so I'm going to have to take a trip over there to get another. Also, the 100gpd membrane is priced $49.99 and was supposed to be 25% off. When it rang up at the register it rang up at $59.99 so I overpaid by $7. Not a big deal I guess. I think it was either priced wrong on the shelf or wrong in the computer. Also, I have to say that I was happy to see that TopShelf didn't raise their prices to then give a discount. Very cool!

I also purchased a IceCap Gyre 1K. What an awesome pump. I don't like that it turns on at 50% when it's powered up for the first time. I almost blew half the water out of my BioCube. I also had to make it a single sided pump as the full size gyre is way to powerful for my tank. As soon as I got it programmed Mickey and Minnie (our clowns) started swimming around the entire aquarium for the first time. They have always stayed in the back. I think the flow created by the gyre elicited their instinctual behaviors.

I just picked up the Kessil A-Series controller used here on the forum. What a pleasant experience. I cannot wait to get it hooked up and programmed. I have no idea how I want to program it yet, but I'll figure it out. Right now my A80 turns on at 8am at 75% color 75% intensity and it turns off at 5pm. I'm happy that I'll be able to ramp up and down now that I have the controller.

The next project will be to get our Quarantine up and running so I can get another fish. I would like to build a new stand that incorporates the BioCube, 10 gallon quarantine tank, ATO reservoir and wiring organization. I also want a custom lid from OctoAquatics. I take the egg crate off everyday and run the tank topless for maximum light penetration. I know this isn't a good idea so the clear acrylic and mesh of the OctoAquatics top is ideal.

 

[MombasaLionfish]

Following.

 

[reefiniteasy]

It's been a while since my last update. Things are going very smoothly. My parameters are where I want them, the only thing that fluctuates ever so slightly is Alk. I think it is more so my reading of the Salifert test than the actual level. I know I am supposed to read the results as soon as it turns pink, but if I go one more drop it is a more defined shade of pink. I'm never sure when to stop. I really should pick up the Hanna Alk checker. I did my last water change last Friday and my numbers were really good. Even PO4 came down.
1.025 SG
pH - 8.15
NO3 -5ppm
Mg - 1365ppm
Ca - 425ppm
KH/Alk - 8.6dKH
PO4 - .09ppm

I hooked up the AutoAqua triple TDS meter alongside my current meter on our RO system. It was neat to measure TDS coming from the tap. It was 112-115ppm. The problem was it matched my other meter out of the RO membrane at 2ppm but then dropped to 0ppm. How could it be 0ppm coming out of the RO membrane if my DI resin is being used up. It needs to be calibrated but does not come with directions on how to do so. I will have to contact customer support. Otherwise the backlight is amazing and the components are top notch. The push-connect union "T" appear to have double seals on the inside which is nice. Definitely won't leak. One thing to note, it does not magnetize to the AquaFX frame. So even though it is magnetic, I will have to use velcro.

I also programmed the Kessil spectral controller. Super easy! I have it set as follows:

Time	Color​	Intensity​
7:30am	0%	15%
8:00am	20%	50%
8:30am	20%	75%
4:30pm	20%	75%
5:00pm	20%	50%
5:30pm	0%	0%

The corals are thriving. Everything is growing and expanding. The GSP are expanding their reach. My mushrooms are exploding. The trumpet has expanded and is growing another head. The Frogspawn has grown exponentially and looks like another head is going to form real soon if it hasn't already. It is hard to tell. And 7 zoa polyps are now 10.

I ended up setting the IceCap 1K Gyre to randomize flow speeds and times on a 24 hour schedule with the intensity staying between 10-30% during peak hours and a constant 10% flow at night.

Two things I need to pick up are extra long stainless steel forceps so I can remove the ton of empty snail shells. I don't like putting my hand in the aquarium anymore. My clowns have a nasty little bite. Every time they bite me they pull hairs off my fingers. It's like having your hair plucked out with a tweezer. They are nasty buggers. I also want to get a container of CaribSea Frag Zone. I want to use the small Life Rock pieces on the left side of the aquarium where the Gyre flow comes down the glass. This will help to prevent the sand from eroding.

One neat thing I witnessed today. A leftover piece of frozen food landed on the GSP. Three hermit crabs scaled the rock and crawled across the mat of GSP. The GSP instantly withdrew to where I can just see the mat and no tentacles. Now I know they don't like the hermit crabs crawling on them. Maybe I can use this to my advantage when I need to cut them back. Haha!

I am currently researching protein skimmers as I would like to add one.

Here are the latest photos:

 

[huckjai]

Very nice build. I have a 95 gallon and have fewer cleaner up crew than you do. If the crabs aren't getting enough food, they will eat the snails. Also, not sure if anyone mentioned, the dead crab pieces you see is mostly from the crabs when they molt.

 

[Fishboyz]

I'm so glad to see marine life being represented and taught in the classroom. My fascination for marine Biology happened outside the classroom with aquariums, but I wish I had taken it up sooner. I'm studying marine Biology in college and am more than excited to see all these different types of aquatic specimens displayed in a classroom. I wish I had a class as fun and engaging as this. Good luck!

 

[reefiniteasy]

I have a 95 gallon and have fewer cleaner up crew than you do.

John at ReefCleaners suggested a large CUC to handle the over feeding that will probably happen in a classroom. Right now there are probably 50 dwarf ceriths, 9 Nassarius, about 16 Nerite and 0 Florida Ceriths. The hermits murder them and take their shells. It is quite the thing to watch. It’s the only snail they seem to target. Must taste good. Haha!

Also, not sure if anyone mentioned, the dead crab pieces you see is mostly from the crabs when they molt.

This is funny! It never occurred to me that they would molt. We have a 20 gallon crayfish tank. You would think I would have realized that. We started with 8 hermits. We are down to 6. That would explain the extra parts I keep finding.

I wish I had a class as fun and engaging as this. Good luck!

The kids love it. I’m very lucky to have the class that I have. It allows me the opportunity to do all this fun stuff. This summer might be stressful though. I found out from my head custodian that the school might be closed this summer for interior painting. Because I won’t have access it might all have to come home temporarily. Not excited about that. Thank you for the wish of good luck.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Today was a great day! I was able to go on a small shopping spree with some of my classroom funds. I placed an order with Steve over at InTankAquatics.com. Way back when I started the tank InTank gave me a 15% educator discount. I asked if I can use the code again and they turned it back on for me. So cool. I ordered a bulk pack of the ChemiPure Blue 5.5oz. It's a great deal 6 bags for $50. I also ordered a 3 pack of their filter floss. It's great stuff. So with the discount I basically got the filter floss for free. Then I hit up saltwateraquarium.com. I ordered The Hanna Alk (dKH) checker, 4 packs of reagents, a box of Life Rock Frag Zone, a nano Flipper DeepSee Viewer, Purigen, and the Orphek coral lens set. I can't wait for everything to arrive. I also chose the Fritz coral viewing glasses as my freebie.

For aesthetic reasons I want to transfer our trumpet coral to a frag rock. I also need to glue a couple together to make a small island rock for the front left corner of the tank. This will help alleviate the sand erosion caused by the gyre pump. I am also excited to use the Alk Checker. I love my Salifert test kits but I am finding it difficult to pinpoint the correct transition from blue to pink. The checker will help me determine the accuracy of the Salifert kits, enabling me to determine when to stop the titration. I expect I will probably use the Hanna Checker as my primary method of Alk testing.

More to come when my goodies arrive.

 

[Vinman]

Today was a great day! I was able to go on a small shopping spree with some of my classroom funds. I placed an order with Steve over at InTankAquatics.com. Way back when I started the tank InTank gave me a 15% educator discount. I asked if I can use the code again and they turned it back on for me. So cool. I ordered a bulk pack of the ChemiPure Blue 5.5oz. It's a great deal 6 bags for $50. I also ordered a 3 pack of their filter floss. It's great stuff. So with the discount I basically got the filter floss for free. Then I hit up saltwateraquarium.com. I ordered The Hanna Alk (dKH) checker, 4 packs of reagents, a box of Life Rock Frag Zone, a nano Flipper DeepSee Viewer, Purigen, and the Orphek coral lens set. I can't wait for everything to arrive. I also chose the Fritz coral viewing glasses as my freebie.

For aesthetic reasons I want to transfer our trumpet coral to a frag rock. I also need to glue a couple together to make a small island rock for the front left corner of the tank. This will help alleviate the sand erosion caused by the gyre pump. I am also excited to use the Alk Checker. I love my Salifert test kits but I am finding it difficult to pinpoint the correct transition from blue to pink. The checker will help me determine the accuracy of the Salifert kits, enabling me to determine when to stop the titration. I expect I will probably use the Hanna Checker as my primary method of Alk testing.

More to come when my goodies arrive.

Wow you did get a little spending bug! I've seen these bugs last for weeks lol.

 

[Katrina71]

I love what you're doing! All of it!

 

[Katrina71]

Btw, I'll be breaking down my Biocube in a few months. Upgrade anything on your list of needs? Wants?

 

[reefiniteasy]

Wow you did get a little spending bug! I've seen these bugs last for weeks lol.

If it lasts for weeks I’ll end up spending on a divorce. Hahaha! Next purchase is a HOB skimmer. I like the AquaMaxx 1.5. I think it’ll fit great.

I love what you're doing! All of it!

I love it too! Hopefully sometime I can do something bigger. Even maybe a 32 gallon BioCube. But I do like the IM Fusion Pro 30L AIO. I like small tanks but I need more than 16 gallons. 30 sounds about right.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Btw, I'll be breaking down my Biocube in a few months. Upgrade anything on your list of needs? Wants?

Skimmer is the only thing I can think of right now. I’m thinking one might help me push my water changes to every other week in stead of every week. Congrats on the upgrade. That is so exciting.

 

[Katrina71]

You don't need a skimmer for that. We started pushing out our water changes by 1 day until it reached 2 weeks. Nitrates hang around 10 in both Biocubes.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Well we had a partial casualty today. I started my water change as my second graders were being dismissed and I lost focus and accidentally caught the left most head of the frogspawn in the siphon. The entire head retracted completely. The rest of the frogspawn was fine, business as usual, dancing in the current. I then noticed that there were polyps floating around in my bucket. I'm hoping it makes a full recovery. By the time I left school the head was beginning to show some extension, but you can visibly tell that it was damaged. I guess I'm just lucky I didn't do any more damage than that. I'll chalk this up to just another learning experience and I'll make sure it never happens again.

I opened my new box of Fritz RPM. I had a little left in the old box but I felt like mixing up the new salt. The new box tests completely different than the last. After the change my water tested way higher than normal, which means the new salt has to test higher in all areas. I like the test results and have no problem with it.

1.026 SG
pH - 8.15
NO3 - 5ppm
Mg - 1425ppm (old box averaged 1350)
Ca - 440ppm (old box averaged 425)
KH/Alk - 8.7dKH (old box averaged 8.15)
PO4 - .12

All my new goodies arrived today. Once I unpack the box I'll add some pictures. I can't wait to use my new Orphek lenses. I should have some awesome pictures to post tomorrow.

So reached out to Apogee Instruments today. I want to work with my third and fourth grade gifted students to map out the par ratings for the aquarium and have them rearrange the coral for optimum placement. I asked Apogee if they could donate a usb PAR meter and wand to our classroom. They responded right away and said they would love too. I already received shipping confirmation. They sent the SQ-520 full spectrum meter and submersible wand. I'll definitely do an unboxing post of that when it arrives.

 

[reefiniteasy]

Well I have good news... my frogspawn opened back up to full extension. Some of the purple tips are gone. I’m curious to see if they grow back. Also, some of the polyps are fuller, as if they expanded to fill the space of the ones the siphon ripped off. My tank must be very stable because he sure is happy even though I almost killed him.
I took a took a ton of photos using the Orphek lenses. Would have been nice if it came with directions. I have no clue what order to use the lenses. All I know is that the 20K yellow filter looks the best.
The new DeepSee Nano from Flipper is amazing. The size is perfect. I was very worried the magnet would be too large. Not only is it tiny but it is super strong.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I received the package from Apogee Instruments the other day. Super excited to use the PAR meter to map out our tank. They sent me the SQ-520 Full Spectrum USB PAR meter and the waterproof wand that goes with it. I’m going to work with my 4th grade gifted students to map out the BioCube and then I’m going to have them research the corals and decide whether or not any of them need to be moved. I can’t wait. I think it’ll be so much fun!
I also got over to WWC and picked up the frag pack they donated. They gave us a frag of Eagle Eye Zoas, Hollywood stunner Chalice and Neon Turbinaria. With these in the tank I now have the following:
Frogspawn
GSP
Devil’s Hand
Mushrooms
Zoas
Chalice
Turbinaria

Does this mean we have a true mixed reef?

So the Hollywood looks beautiful and seems to be doing great, the Eagle Eyes are open but the polyps on the Turbinaria have not fully extended. I don’t know much about this sps coral. I’ll have to measure my PAR levels and figure out if it’s in the right place. Next purchase is a nano sized frag rack. I glued the whole plug for the Eagle Eyes in the tank. I didn’t have snippers or my Dremel at school to trim the plug. It would have been easier to leave it in a frag rack. Now I have to pop it off the rock, trim the plug and glue it back.

My dipping skills are so-so. However I am proud of my ability to pick tiny organisms off the frags. I used a syringe with a needle like tip to suck them off the frags. I don’t think they were “pests,” probably pods but I wasn’t sure. Here are the new additions in all their glory. Oh, I love the CaribSea Frag Zone rocks. I glued the chalice to one and it looks great.

Here’s the latest FTS