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Considering making a reef in my oceanography class

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phantomg23

Next year, my junior year in high school, I will be taking honors oceanography and ap environmental. I was considering building a reef tank in that class out of an old 40 breeder I have drilled and ready to go. I would like to have one there because all of the tanks we have now are terribly under funded and really a poor example of the real tropical oceans for learning.

My only concern is it not being worth it because I will obviously be the one taking care of it and probably spending a decent amount on it too. I have had several tanks now but have taken a break and my parents don't want me to introduce another tank into the house.

So, what do you guys think, will the time and effort be worth it for the class and myself to learn and see what really happens in a tropic reef environment?
 
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phantomg23

I have a lot of stuff already like a sump, test kits, brs 2 part and mag, the tank and a mag drive that I may be able to get another year out of
 
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mnat

Officer Emeritus
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Moderator
Do Xenia, Kenya tree and corals like that. Very simple and hardy fish, you could have some fun with it, but it does not need to be crazy. You could even do a fowlr and keep it real simple.
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Awesome gesture Mark!

As to the OP and his plan, I think it's a good idea and can be done successfully. But I agree with Mike (mnat) that you should keep it simple and only use hardy, more tolerant fish and corals.

From our past experience with installing a tank in a classroom, there are a few uncontrollable things that can affect the outcome... and I think it would be wise to consider them before starting the project:

1. Access to the tank - When it's at a school, you are limited to only being able to do maintenance during normal operating hours (unless you make some other arrangements). This means you will need to make sure you do water changes, testing, glass cleaning, etc. all during your regular school day. Will you have time for that?

2. Temperature - Schools are usually publicly funded and as such have a budget. Utility bills are a concern for them and, when school is not in session, they don't keep the heat or A/C on to save money. This means that you may need at least 2 heaters (for redundancy) in the colder months and probably a chiller of some sort to battle the summer temps.

3. Water Changes - Can be difficult if you don't have access to clean rodi water and/or salt water. You will also need easy access to a drain to dispose of the replaced water.

4. Help - You already mentioned the concern of doing this all by yourself. While some may be highly motivated to help out in the beginning, most volunteers will disappear after the first couple weeks and you will either need to find others or accept the fact that it's now your baby.

5. Limitations on space and what equipment you can use - Ideally, you will want a tank with a sump to put in a skimmer, dosers, heaters, and an ato at a minimum. Make sure you have the room to keep all of that or else you will end up needing a ton of water changes to keep the tank healthy. That could become quite expensive in the long run. Also, with the limited access, you may also want to consider having a controller that can notify you via email or text if something is wrong... of course that would require wifi or internet access.

Anyway, although those seem like big negatives, don't let that discourage you. If you keep the livestock simple and hardy, you can be more lenient with the water changes, etc. and it might not be too hard to maintain. I would be more concerned about the temp issue and limitation on access to the tank more than anything else. If you can work that out, then I think it would be very rewarding for you and your classmates.
 
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phantomg23

Thanks for the offer of the donations, that would be great if I end up doing this. I didn't really think about what I would do for the summer months while nobody is there. That would be something id have to talk to the teacher about.

Maybe it would make life easier to do a nano 15" cube or something like that with a par 30 bulb and a hearer so I can take it home over the summer. Maybe even a bio cube 29. They're fairly affordable also

Clean water wouldn't be a big issue because I'm pretty sure we get distiller water or we have a machine that does it. If not, I could bring in my rodi and just leave it there
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yea, I didn't even mention you might not have access during the summer. It was in my head, just never made it to the post, LOL.

Anyway, my intention was to try to get you to think about all the obstacles that you might not have considered because if you can't, it will be difficult or impossible to pull it off.

A nano cube may be the best option for this. Small, usually have compartments in the back for filter media, heaters, etc. and you could take it home easily over the summer. It would probably require more water changes than a larger tank... but at a lesser volume. Topoff requirements are usually less too. The biggest concern with a nano would be controlling the heat. Those little things can creep up to 85+ pretty easily with lights running all day, especially if the room temp is high.
 
Chrisgarrick

Chrisgarrick

The points brought foward are all important. I am a vp in a school and can tell u we have had issues with fish in our labs. The temp and access are huge. We have also had issue with the lab outlets being tripped in an intense storm. If power goes off for a bit the labs have to be reset with a key. This has caused delays that have resulted in tragedy. Summer. No staff. Frazzled janitors. Best thing you can do is talk with your teacher. The building admin. See what can be done. Plan for everything and then some a schedule of needed access will make it easier to plan. Good luck!
 
kschweer

kschweer

Administrator
Staff member
Officer Emeritus
Moderator
If you decide to do this and work it out with the school let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I can possibly build a stand to cut back on costs or anything else you can think of that would help. Also let me know what kind of equipment you may need and I can see if I have anything used laying around.
 
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phantomg23

kschweer said:
If you decide to do this and work it out with the school let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I can possibly build a stand to cut back on costs or anything else you can think of that would help. Also let me know what kind of equipment you may need and I can see if I have anything used laying around.
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Sweet that would be awesome. I'll let you know
 
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