- Joined
- Dec 14, 2017
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Hello!
I am going to be using this thread to document my first reef tank, an old 60-gallon hex tank that I got through my job. I am a full-time, year-round sailing instructor for an educational nonprofit in Connecticut that uses marine adventure sports and marine field expeditions to increase academic engagement and provide experiential learning opportunities in S.T.E.M. and marine science.
This Fall, I began taking care of several brackish tanks in one of our classrooms. The tanks are stocked with wild caught fish and invertebrates from a brackish cove where we bring students for seining, snorkeling, and kayaking. The tanks are then used year-round to teach about water quality, marine biology, and ecosystems. The tanks are mostly run with donated equipment, often undersized and underpowered for the tanks we have but it works and our species are hardy. I will include more of these tanks in subsequent posts.
I got into reefing while researching ways to keep some Northern Pipefish we collected. We were doing daily plankton tows in the cove to feed their tank and I was looking for a less labor-intensive method in the colder shoulder seasons. Researching copepods brought me to Mandarin Dragonets which have captured my interest. The idea to start a reef tank came during a field trip to the Credabel Coral Gallery in New London, CT where the students had a chance to study some corals and frag some colonies.
My goal for this tank will be to have a mix of Soft and LPS corals and eventually a pair of mandarin dragonets. (No small undertaking, I know) I am moving in the next month and I will start the tank then. In the meantime here are some pictures of my tank and dry-scape.
This is the front view of the tank. I ordered 40 lbs. of CaribSea Life Rock and their "Shapes" package which I loved. I also ordered 25 lbs. of Shelf Rock The Shapes package came with several circle pieces that formed the central tower. The central tower is completely hollow and filled with swim throughs and bolt holes. The shelf pieces at various heights are intended provide good locations to display corals and to break up the "verticality" of the rock tower. The challenge as I saw it of scaping a tall hex tank is that you have to build up because of the limited footprint, and you have to do it without making it look like a pile of rocks. This is all free stacked for now but I will bond select pieces with epoxy when it is finalized.
This is the view from the right side of the tank which will be immediately visible as someone enters the condo. I want to create a unique look from each side of the tank. I think I have achieved that with the scape and will try to continue it with my coral selections (Feel free to give suggestions for species and placements/groupings).
This is the left side of the tank, which will be most visible when sitting on the couch in the living room. The island on the bottom will be for some Pulsing Xenia which I love but don't want running away with the whole tank.
The next post will outline my plans for the lighting, circulation, and sumps.
I am going to be using this thread to document my first reef tank, an old 60-gallon hex tank that I got through my job. I am a full-time, year-round sailing instructor for an educational nonprofit in Connecticut that uses marine adventure sports and marine field expeditions to increase academic engagement and provide experiential learning opportunities in S.T.E.M. and marine science.
This Fall, I began taking care of several brackish tanks in one of our classrooms. The tanks are stocked with wild caught fish and invertebrates from a brackish cove where we bring students for seining, snorkeling, and kayaking. The tanks are then used year-round to teach about water quality, marine biology, and ecosystems. The tanks are mostly run with donated equipment, often undersized and underpowered for the tanks we have but it works and our species are hardy. I will include more of these tanks in subsequent posts.
I got into reefing while researching ways to keep some Northern Pipefish we collected. We were doing daily plankton tows in the cove to feed their tank and I was looking for a less labor-intensive method in the colder shoulder seasons. Researching copepods brought me to Mandarin Dragonets which have captured my interest. The idea to start a reef tank came during a field trip to the Credabel Coral Gallery in New London, CT where the students had a chance to study some corals and frag some colonies.
My goal for this tank will be to have a mix of Soft and LPS corals and eventually a pair of mandarin dragonets. (No small undertaking, I know) I am moving in the next month and I will start the tank then. In the meantime here are some pictures of my tank and dry-scape.
This is the front view of the tank. I ordered 40 lbs. of CaribSea Life Rock and their "Shapes" package which I loved. I also ordered 25 lbs. of Shelf Rock The Shapes package came with several circle pieces that formed the central tower. The central tower is completely hollow and filled with swim throughs and bolt holes. The shelf pieces at various heights are intended provide good locations to display corals and to break up the "verticality" of the rock tower. The challenge as I saw it of scaping a tall hex tank is that you have to build up because of the limited footprint, and you have to do it without making it look like a pile of rocks. This is all free stacked for now but I will bond select pieces with epoxy when it is finalized.
This is the view from the right side of the tank which will be immediately visible as someone enters the condo. I want to create a unique look from each side of the tank. I think I have achieved that with the scape and will try to continue it with my coral selections (Feel free to give suggestions for species and placements/groupings).
This is the left side of the tank, which will be most visible when sitting on the couch in the living room. The island on the bottom will be for some Pulsing Xenia which I love but don't want running away with the whole tank.
The next post will outline my plans for the lighting, circulation, and sumps.