afautheree

Thanks for updating us!  Tank is coming along nicely!!

Thanks! We're loving it!

Very cool classroom tank! Looks like you have a cyano algae bloom going on, I would use some ChemiClean to take care of it. I get it seasonally and just treated mine last week. Could be a cool experiment for the class!

Thanks for the suggestion....the tank is less than 6 months old and I'm still going through the challenges of a new tank and my in tank water movement isn't what I'd like it to be. I'm hoping to remedy that soon and that will help with that problem too. The ChemiClean may be just what I need to be sure to eliminate it from our tank. Thanks again!

It's looking good, Aubrey.

 

One thing that I am having fun with in my school tank is my seneye monitor. There are daily pH swings that are interesting to interpret.

As an example, the pH goes down when corals are respiring at night but not photosynthesizing. During the day, the pH goes up because the corals are using up the CO2 in the water column. And on weekends, when I am not in my office, the pH goes much higher......because I am not sitting in my office puffing out CO2.

 

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4416+28969&pcatid=28969

 

I doing a lab with my OSU students on ocean acidification, and a question they will get extra credit for is what is responsible for the high pH in my office reef tank on weekends.

 

You can also watch the ammonia level rise in the tank after you feed the fish.

Thanks! It has been a great addition to our classroom. Thanks for the info on the seneye monitor. I'm planning on adding an Apex system to our tank. It's great to hear what you've been able to observe and how you're using the information with your students. I would be interested in hearing what type of activities and labs you use with your classes.

Here are a few shots of our tank at this point. Most everything seems to be happy and thriving. My students are very involved in testing and tank care. We're having fun and learning a lot about corals and the marine habitat. Thanks again for all the support and help that you've given to this project!

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I have 2 mp40wes for $375 they would definitely move the water.

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I'm looking to increase my water flow within my 180 gallon tank and I would like to hear what others are using and what recommendations you have. I would like to have some wave action or alternating flow. What's the best in your opinion? Thanks in advance for your help.

Looked great to me!

Trust me...i have been tempted...staring into the tank late at night wondering what one if those rainbow mushrooms tastes like!

So you really do love tenticles???? I'd rather go to the kitchen and get a bowl of ice cream.......

At first glance I thought you were asking what corals I eat! I was super excited for this thread!

 

I feed light. as in sunlight...does that count? Other than that: phyto, and oyster feast very occasionally. I even more rarely target feed my LPS. Also feed fish urine and #2's.

 

Ok I'll bite..... What corals do YOU eat?!? Thanks for the input and help!

I'm wondering what feeding regiment others use to keep corals healthy. I want to make sure to provide the corals in my tank have everything they need to stay healthy. I would love to hear what those of you with lots of experience do to keep your corals looking great. Thanks in advance for your help!

That's awesome! What a fantastic breakthrough! Hopefully their success can be replicated.

What an awesome tank! A real beauty full of life! Well done!

I thought this would be a great place to give an update on our classroom tank. While our tank isn't as beautiful as many of yours yet I am happy to report that things are ALIVE and seem to be happy. The frags you gave to get us up and running are looking great for the most part! My students in Marine Biology class are testing the water paramaters and are involved in the care of the tank. My lfs had a fire in his store so I was able to pick up a few pieces at his "fire sale" to help get the tank populated. I've appreciated all that each of you have shared with us both in corals and wisdom and I am looking forward to seeing our tank look like some of the beautiful tanks in this thread someday!

Lucky, so glad the disaster was avoided. Thanks for sharing it with us though as it serves as a great reminder not to overlook important safety details. Your story will cause me to look at my setup through more careful eyes.

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

Awesome pics! Thanks for sharing!

It was wonderful to meet everyone yesterday and "talk tanks"!  I REALLY appreciate the warm welcome I received and I'm looking forward to many more fun times and informative discussions. It was great to watch the fragging demonstration....I look forward to the day when I'll have something to share! There has been much excitement in my classroon today as each class comes in and realizes there are new "critters" in the tank. I've attached a few photos of my Marine Biology class making the discoveries. In fact as they were looking in the tank they watched a "battle" between the peppermint shrimp and the arrow crab which ended up with the shrimp loosing one if its tenticles. The pic is blurry but if you look carefully you can see the trimmed tenticle laying behind him. Anyway, thanks again for all the donations to our tank and for everyone's kindness to the new kid on the block!

Cheers,

Aubrey

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Thanks so much to everyone willing to help get my tank stocked! The students are super excited as am I! I'm looking forward to meeting everyone on Sunday!

Kindest,

Aubrey

I have a HSA 1000 protein skimmer made by  Marine Technical Concepts that was donated to my school and its way too big for my application. If it could be of use to anyone I'm planning on attending the meeting this Sunday and I'd be glad to bring it down with me. I'm willing to trade or sell or some combination of both to have this monster go to a place where it will be useful. I don't know anything about it but if you want to know anything about it you can check it out on Marine Technical Concepts website. It is still in production by them and retails for $650. So if its something you can use lets make a deal!

I also have a 4 ft  2 bulb metal halid light fixture with 2 fluorescent lights in it along with the ballast. I've never even plugged it in so I know nothing about it....or how old the bulbs are but if you'd like it I'd be excited for you to have it!  I'm not sure this dinosaur is of any use any more but if its something that you're interested in I'd be glad to throw it in and bring it along

Wow, I did not know they were disbanding. What the heck happened? You should come to the September meeting. I'm sure people would be more than happy to donate frags to you! It's this coming Sunday in the Beaverton area. PM me your email and I can send you an evite.

I don't know what happened.....but I'm glad I found this group! I'm looking forward to becoming part of the community! I sent you a PM.

I just looked to see where Burlington is, and you are way up north, about 4 hours from Portland. Is that right? Have you looked around for other clubs are closer to you? I think the Puget Sound has a club. You might consider contacting them as well. You might get some help closer to home in addition to PNWMAS.

I did contact Puget Sound Aquarium Society but they are disbanding as of the end of September. The president recommended that I subscribe to a Facebook page that the members have started. I plan on doing that but I'd like to cultivate friendships and rub shoulders with others who have had success in the hobby. I'm willing to make the drive in order to meet people and have the opportunity to glean knowledge from other's experiences. I would also like at some point in the future to be able to teach my students to make frags so that we can contribute to the club. So while I may not make it down for every function I'm looking forward to being part of your community. ;0)

I love a good fish tank in a class room, great to get kids interested and conscious about the ocean biodiversity, do you have a tank at home? I can bring you a coral or two, do you have coral in there right now?

I don't have a tank at home. I had a tank set up prior to my move last summer but I did a cross country move in the middle of summer and chose not to try and haul everything. My intention was to set up that tank again but opted for a larger reef ready tank so I can expose my Northwest students to a little piece of the tropics. There is not any coral in the tank yet. It has been set up since the first part of August but I only received my lights last week. So the water is ready and now I have the lighting to support corals. I'm using the tank not only for its beauty but also to teach my students the practical applications of the chemistry we're studying in class. It has been a great addition and will hopefully only get better as more life gets added to it. I'm hopful that with help and advice from so many experienced aquarists I can avoid any huge mistakes and crashes! I'm trying to do this "right" and not make any mistakes in the physical set up and water chemistry. I welcome any input or suggestions. Thanks!

That's awesome and welcome to the forum! Yes, there are lots of people on here that are happy to donate frags to you!

Thanks! That's so cool to be part of a group like this! I'm looking forward to a fun time on Sunday!

Welcome, Aubrey! You found the right place. It looks like you have a nice set up, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses. I have a couple of frags I can bring you on Sunday, and I bet you'll get a couple other of us to donate. What school are you from?

Thanks for the warm welcome! That's awesome!!! Thanks for being willing to help us get going! I teach at Skagit Adventist Academy in Burlington Washington. This is my second year here and I'm loving the supportive community I'm finding here. I'm not new to the hobby but I have SO much to learn. This is my first attempt at the LPS and SPS corals. I've had good success with soft corals in the past but never had the lights and equipment to be successful with the hard corals. I appreciate and welcome any input you have to offer. I look forward to Sunday!