Guest cataphonic Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Hi, I have a 80 gal tank at my school and we've had some fish die off in the summer due to the heat. Now are tank is up and running pretty well again, but we could use some more fish and other things to make it happy. Unfortunatley our funding has run out, so it was recommended that we come check out the tanks for teachers program to see if we could get some help. I don't really know how your program works, but it would be great if there was someone who could come over and check out our tank sometime. We're in SE Portland. Also we got the recommendation to propagate some corals as a way to make a little money for our tank. If you can offer any help/advice with that I'd so appreciate it. I have a group of 6 students 10 - 13 who help care for the fish and are excited to work on growing corals. Our school is pretty unique in that the kids get to chose how and where they spend their time at school. Lots of the kids hang out in the lounge area by the tank and really appreciate it being there. I think if our tank were more beautiful and full of life, more of our 50 kids would get involved in learning from it. thanks so much - Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefer Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Count me in to help...however, we will stand by as we wait to hear from "tft" reps on this board... DrMerle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I would be more than happy to come and check your tank out for you. Then we can see what you need to get rolling in the TFT. Also, get in touch with Roger, he is Mr. S on here. He knows first hand how to get things going for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevman Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 It would make me very happy to help....I dont have much to give other than if there are things that need to be moved from down south to the school, I can help as I travel from Albany to Portland almost everyday and can go as far down as eugene.... Let me know if a transporter is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hey I am here also. PM me if you have any concerns. I am not to the point yet that I have lots of frags to give. My system has only been set up for a month now. (a long story) In your PM let me know about lites and what type of skimmer you have. I would also contact DZOZ. He is the local guy in Portland. I am in Salem but will help any way possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I am in Oregon City, and I have been a collection point for donations to the tanks for teahers program. I have some left that I can give you. It all depends on the quality of your lights and the stability of your system. Give more details about what you have, and I'll start finding some frags for your tank. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undrtkr_00 Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 Dennis, Once you have figured out what is appropriate for the system, let me know and I can throw a frag or two in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefer Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I've got a skimmer I could donate... DrMerle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckie Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 I have a few basics I could donate as well. Let me know Dennis when you have an idea. Gotta love the folks that spend all day with kids. Thanks to those that have the temperment Beckie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Dennis are you going to the Christmas party? Cat, you might also want to attend if possible and meet some of the great people in the club face to face. They represent a wealth of knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cataphonic Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Yay. Thanks for all the responses. I really appreciate what you're offering. Let me see what specs I can come up with. We actually have a really nice setup that we got from SaltwaterFantaseas. The tank itself is about 80 or 90 gals with a black back wall and a rounded front. It has a sump under the tank with a protein skimmer and a filter bag and a heater. There are two lights attached to a big blue ballast. I'll check tomorrow what the lights are specifically. But one's blue and one is yellower. The yellow one makes the tank look kind of dirty, so it would be nice to get another blue one. We have a bunch of rock and an inch or so of sand. There are only 4 fish, 3 damsels and an angelfish, which are all pretty agressive. They've starved anything else we've put in the tank in the past several months. But we also have a star fish (orange like a carrot), a bristle star fish (which might be getting a bit big, but the kids love it,) a decorator crab (which might be a problem with the corals, as it likes to pluck them and wear them), a shrimp, a bunch of hermit crabs and some snails. And then we have two corals, one is an inverted brain and the other one a green zoanthis which is kind of worked over by the crab. But the tank is so huge it really looks quite empty. hope that's not too much info for all of you. Just thought I'd get out what I could remember. I'll follow up with a couple folks individually too. thanks so much - Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Just my thought but if you want to diversify I would do a little bit of thinning the herd. Get rid of your aggressive stuff like all 4 fish and the decorator crab. I know from experience do this slowly so the kids don't notice. Then do a huge water change and then introduce some more colorful and friendlier fish like a yellow tang, lawnmower blenny, a jaw fish. I try to give a good representation of the fish diversity. Talk to Patrick about other fish that are cool but friendly. After that (like at least a month) introduce some soft corals. I like to put something new in my tanks about every month so the kids look forward to seeing new stuff. The key is to not overcrowd your tank all at once or have too much stuff in their in general. PM me if you ever need help. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cataphonic Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 As I'm getting in touch with different people I realize that I don't really understand the protocol and lines of communication for the TFT program. Would one of you be so kind as to walk me through what the steps are that I should be taking and give me a little overview of who's responsible for what. I have read a bunch of the TFT website and set up a login there, but it looks like it hasn't been used much in the past year, so I'm not sure where to go from here. Just don't want to step on anyones toes as I'm just getting to know all you wonderful, helpful people. thanks - Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonH Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Dennis, I've been meaning to get a hold of you, I've got some more frags to offer the TfT. Not sure when I'll have time to drop off, but I'll PM you and coordinate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cataphonic Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I filled out the TFT application from the wiki and sent it to Kris_waters@msn.com I'm just wanting to check that that's the right person, since I haven't seen Kris on this list. Should I send the application to someone else too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Cat, The application was received by Kris and forwarded to the board. It looks good so far. When you get your aggressive fish out of the tank I can donate a couple of clownfish to your tank if you like. I have 4 or 5 species right now and you could pick a couple out. I may also have a few frags of some soft corals I could pull out of the living room tank. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cataphonic Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 update so far Things are looking good in our tank. We did a larger water change and cleared out some of the algae and then the kids said goodbye to the more aggressive creatures including the decorator crab and the bristle starfish. thanks Mr. S for the advice. Calvin came out and helped me catch the fish. He's also working on a little tank that we might be able to keep some of the anti-social critters and algae in connected to our main tank. He told me we have 250W metal hydride bulbs, so we're good to go with the corals. I think we're about ready to introduce a new group of fish. Dave, you offered some clownfish. The kids are really excited about that. When's a good time to come pick them out? where are you? I also started up a page on the TFT wiki. I'm not too good at doing that. I don't know if any of you use that page. But if there's someone who's willing to help me navigate it better. I'd love that. thanks so much to all - Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Cat, good to hear about the tank. I don't know much about the wiki (I am a bit computer challenged) but you can always pm me if you need to. I would suggest that you look over your tank and picture what you want it to end up being filled with. I know it sounds weird but I do the list thing that way I don't impulse buy. Let me know what you come up with. I have been doing this for quite a while in the classroom. 250 watt MH give you quite a bit more flexibility. Also, before you buy, pm me first. I am slowly acquiring frags that I can share. Roger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Cat, I live up in Vancouver right by Vancouver Mall. I believe that we are going to be around most of this weekend if you would like to pick them up then. Are you coming to the meeting on Saturday? If so I would recommend coming up after the meeting to pick them out. Let me know what works best for you and I'll try to work it out. Shoot me a PM and I'll send you my address and phone number. I believe that I have 5 different types of clowns right now you can pick from. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Dave throw some clowns my way!!! I am not picky! And I will be at the meeting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Not a problem... I could put a pair together of clarkii's, ocellaris, maybe a pair of true percs, cinnamons (although a little small). Let me look to see if there are any more ready. What do you want??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr S Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Dude, in my situation there is a saying that beggars can't be choosey. I do know I don't want Tomatoes!!! They are evil. Anything would be great. Will you be at the meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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