Work tank with a catch

[SagittariusAStar]

Hello nano reefers! I have been lurking for awhile and finally decided to post. I have a 10g nano reef that has been running for about 4 months now and doing great (despite some noobish mistakes). Following this success, I asked if I could set up a small tank at work in my cube... and got permission!

 

Heres the catch: pet policy says we can only bring dogs to work, so the tank is going to be all corals (they are plant-y enough to get a pass). Can I get away with running a tank with no clean up crew? If not I might be able to have a few snails.

 

Also, any other general advice or experience on running a tank at work would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to automate it as much as possible so I can avoid coming in on weekends and still take time off.

 

Build list so far:

- Standard 5g tank

- Aqueon 50W heater

- ABI B/W PAR38

- Aquatop 256gph powerhead

- Tunze 3152 Nano ATO

- 5lbs sand

- 5lbs live rock

[jedimasterben]

Well, corals are 110% not plants, so by that policy, snail cleanup crew also qualifies as a plant lol

[SagittariusAStar]

That is true I don't think they know that corals are animals. I may be fine with anything that isn't a fish, as I had to convince them I wasn't setting up a "goldfish bowl".

[FlowerMama]

You'll want to consider some things though in the work environment.

Are lights on at work 24/7?

You'd definitely need a clean up crew of snails.

Will the lack of air flow, stale air be an issue as ph will drop.

Can you prevent nighttime cleaning employees from dusting and using chemicals near the tank?

Will you have a gallon of RO/DI for top off under your desk?

Will you have several gallons of saltwater stashed away under your desk in case of an emergency?

Will you have a heater to heat up that water?

Just make sure to think of all avenues for this fun venture.

[MikeTR]

cerith snails are nocturnal.. hint hint

[ajmckay]

I wish I could get something like this... Here are my thoughts on the matter.

 

- It's easier to just put stuff in... People aren't going to know what most of it is anyways. Well I suppose that depends on where you work - people are allowed to bring their dogs to work with them? That's odd to me.

 

- Keep it clean. The quickest way to have the privilege yanked is to have a disgusting tank. Though again this depends because if there are dogs at work then there's dog shit, dog food, piss, drool, etc.

 

- As mentioned keep lots of supplies at hand but hidden so people don't get annoyed with you taking up too much space.

 

- See if you can recruit a "tank helper" that can be relied on to do simple stuff while you're on vacation. Try to make it someone that's not going to be off at the same time as you

 

- Timers are great for automation as are reef controllers. If you have access to the building on weekends/nights it may be nice to have some simple online controls like temp/salinity.

 

There are plenty of cube tanks here - look them up and read the threads.

 

Finally - this may be a good idea or a horrible one, but it may help to bring in a picture of a similar tank so they know better what you're setting up. It would suck to set it all up and then find out that they misunderstood and you have to immediately take it down. Alternatively you could attract some backers to your cause and IF it ever comes back you just use those people and yourself to make a fuss.

[ndrobey]

I have a tank next to my desk at work. Things to consider:

1. Top off on weekends and vacations. You are going to need an ATO of some kind.

2. The cleaning lady. Do you keep your area clean, or does a cleaning lady/janitor do it? Liberal amounts of ammonia is often their cleaning solution of choice.

3. The building manager is likely to turn off all heating and cooling at night, on weekends, and on holidays. You will need a heater and a chiller.

4. Macroalgae are plants, add color and interest, and help with the filtration.

5. Definitely put some type of waterproof mat under the tank. Management will get all bent out of shape if there are any water marks.

6. Cerith snails are nocturnal, so people won't see them. You would be surprised at the number of people that get bent out of shape over the sight of captive snails.

7. Keep it QUIET. People will complain about much of any noise.

[SagittariusAStar]

Thanks for the advice everybody! There are a lot of things here I haven't considered.

 

- Looks like I will absolutely need snails. Do Cerinth snails clean up algae? I thought they mostly sifted the sandbed.

- I will definitely look into what they do for cleaning. I don't think they actually clean on desks, so I might be ok. (at least they would have to be moving my mess every night to get to it )

- I think the lights are on 24/7 but the tank will be under a shelf and out of direct light (besides the tank light of course) Will this be enough or would ambient office light be enough to cause issues?

- Other environmental stuff like heat and air quality shouldn't be an issue. We keep those consistent due to the nature of the work. We also have an industrial RO/DI that I have permission to get water from, so I should be able to mix up more water quickly if needed.

- I will definitely be taking the other stuff that was mentioned into account.

 

A little off topic, but does anybody have an opinion on the LED I listed?: http://www.amazon.com/ABI-Aquarium-Light-450-470nm-15000K/dp/B00CXTZN2Q

 

Im hoping it will work for low/med light corals and I may upgrade to a better par38 later... but it was just so cheap!

[FlowerMama]

Make sure to check how the water comes out of that unit. Just cuz it's work doesn't mean it's at zero, depending on how often they change their filters.

[ReefGuy77]

I actually used to have a 5 gallon reef at my desk at work. I had it running for 1.5 years and took it home with me when I left. I never had issues with leaving it over the weekend and even had a small fish. I kept a small Rubbermaid bin with supplies under my desk. I kept, and technically still do keep: Duncan coral, Xenia coral, zooanthids, neon candy cane coral, Kenya tree, and an acan coral. I would recommend coming in early or on weekends to do water changes. You get weird looks from people when they see you with a bucket changing water, at least in my experience. I would set up the tank and have it running before you ask about adding a snail or hermit. I use the same technique with my wife, "since the tank is already set up what if I got a..." Good luck!

 

Oh also, as far as lighting, Ii used this light: http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-LED-Aquarium-Light-11-Inch/dp/B004HSYGFQ?tag=viglink20358-20It's been powerful enough for soft and LPS corals, which are actually growing quite nicely. I added this light just to add blue color http://www.amazon.com/GloFish-29014-Aquarium-Light-8-Inch/dp/B00EF5YQ1U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1403657215&sr=1-1&keywords=glofish%20blue%20led%20aquarium%20light&tag=viglink20358-20

 

I know these aren't typical reef lighting, but I've had my corals all grow and need to be fragged and the tank has been running for over 2 years.

[SagittariusAStar]

FlowerMama: I will make sure to check what I can but unfortunately I don't have any way to test TDS. I think our system is quite good though, we have four stacks with one replaced per week. They are serious about pure water.

 

ReefGuy77: I'm glad to hear from someone who was successful with this Did you have any salinity issues when you left the tank over the weekend?

 

So I started the system today! So far no one had any objections to the tank. I got the live rock from a LFS who said they just got it in from a tank tear-down, so I'm hoping it will cycle quickly. It has a colony of rather unhappy mushrooms on it.

[ReefGuy77]

I never had any salinity issues leaving it over a weekend. I did have a glass top which helped with evaporation. I had also built a wooden canopy and a built in refugium with alternating light cycle. I don't think it is necessary, I just like looking at what critters show up in the refugium. I think a glass canopy would be more than enough to keep evaporation down to a minimum.

[chappy6107]

at night you could put a black pillow case/piece of fabric over the tank to prevent cleaning crew chemicals and light from getting into the tank

[Murphs_Reef]

This really is a WTF thread. So do you need to ensure there are no bristle worms in your rock work lol?

[Scorched]

I've had a tank on my desk or next to it for about 5 years.

 

Since you already got the go ahead cleared you are pretty golden. You could probably still add a fish and get away with it if its a goby or shy fish. I add new corals and fish all the time and even my cubicle neighbors never notice. After a few months they may warm up to a more active fish like a clown.

 

If you don't do fish you can probably get away with not doing the ATO. Its going to add another container of water on top of your desk. You can get by with adding a large glass of water each morning when you come in. Add a little more Friday/Monday.

 

Try to keep all fish things organized and stowed away. Get a drawer thing to hid under your desk to hold all the food, towels, scrapers, hydrometer, water change stuff etc.

 

 

You'll probably need to have 2 jugs of water on hand at all times. 1 RODI and 1 saltwater. You can premix your saltwater at home to save space on storing a bucket of salt. I mix my own at work since I have a larger tank and more room for extra jugs and a bucket of salt.

 

If your building lights really are left on 24/7 that will cause issues. You are going to have quite a bit of algae and some corals might not do well. Every summer when there is a lot of light coming into our building and the AC isn't going during the night my coral don't look their best, they look amazing again every fall and winter but its something to consider.

[FlowerMama]

Amazon, you can get a tds meter for under $30, you will want one in the future anyway.

[Tamberav]

Thanks for the advice everybody! There are a lot of things here I haven't considered.

 

- Looks like I will absolutely need snails. Do Cerinth snails clean up algae? I thought they mostly sifted the sandbed.

- I will definitely look into what they do for cleaning. I don't think they actually clean on desks, so I might be ok. (at least they would have to be moving my mess every night to get to it )

- I think the lights are on 24/7 but the tank will be under a shelf and out of direct light (besides the tank light of course) Will this be enough or would ambient office light be enough to cause issues?

- Other environmental stuff like heat and air quality shouldn't be an issue. We keep those consistent due to the nature of the work. We also have an industrial RO/DI that I have permission to get water from, so I should be able to mix up more water quickly if needed.

- I will definitely be taking the other stuff that was mentioned into account.

 

A little off topic, but does anybody have an opinion on the LED I listed?: http://www.amazon.com/ABI-Aquarium-Light-450-470nm-15000K/dp/B00CXTZN2Q

 

Im hoping it will work for low/med light corals and I may upgrade to a better par38 later... but it was just so cheap!

 

 

Just do it right the first time and get a coral compulsion par30 or par38. The amazon one will probably grow things but will look like windex. Might as well get a proper light so you can see the corals in all their splendor and impress your co-workers.

[HarryPotter]

I don't know why... but I'm wondering if the OP has a refractometer?

[braaap]

I don't know why... but I'm wondering if the OP has a refractometer?

 

He probably sticks his finger in the water and tastes it.

[SagittariusAStar]

I do have a refractometer. I was not aware that a TDS meter was something people typically kept in this hobby; I may just have to pick one up.

 

I have a full set of chemical tests though, and I can always fall back on the taste test if neccessary

[FlowerMama]

Yeah, TDS is for testing the RO/DI cuz many people find that even when they purchase it from their LFS it's not at zero so always

good to be safe.

 

I know they also use meters in brewing as well. And refractometers in blood work. So fun all around.

[billdeluz]

Well, corals are 110% not plants, so by that policy, snail cleanup crew also qualifies as a plant lol

lmfao