terrified teacher

[skabooya]

I have a freshwater 10gal tank set up in my higschool science class at school. Ive been keeping freshwater tanks for 13 years now. 8 of those years have been planted and in the last 3 years its aquascaped. I currently have 4 tanks and a bowl. a 32 gal freshwater amazon theme (not biotope), 20 gal asian theme (not biotope), 4 gal planted nano, 10 gal low light livebearer tank in my classroom and a 1.5 gal bowl for my 1.5 year old betta and his snail friend .

 

School will be over in about 2 weeks, then its exams. Ive been reading up on saltwater tanks for a few years now. I am terrified to start one. I wanted to convert my 20 gal a long time ago and asked questions about it on this forum, then i decided against it (timing). Then i wanted to do it again and changed my mind (cost), then the same thing happened again (fear of toxins). Now i want to do it again but on a smaller scale. The reason being that i will have an empty 10gal ready. I will have an extra filter (although im not sure i would use it), water changes will be easy, 1 gal a week (thats a milk jug). Its supposted to be easier than discus, maintenance wise and, I STILL WANT TO TRY SALT!

I want to keep things very simple. I mean Very simple! I would like it as a long term tank. It will be going into my home office on my bookshelf. (its nice and sturdy so no worries).

Ive read a lot of people using the screw in PC's and having luck although i hear that the only complaint is they are limited to what they can keep. This is the route i am strongly considering going. I cannot in any way afford MH lighting or a $200 fixture for a just in case i want to add different corals.

I know exactly which corals i LOVE and i havent changed my mind in the many years ive been researching.

I can maybe steal another lighting hood off a 10gal from my brothers old turtle tank that he doesnt use any more but i hope i dont have to go in that direction.

Anyway, again 10gal tank. 2x20watt 50/50 screw in PC if i can find it OR maybe 2 10,000 K screw in bulbs and another strip light with 2 actinic bulbs if i can go that route. Really i dont know about this yet but I KNOW that i have one light strip that i can put screw in bulbs into.

Corals i want, zoas, shrooms. It would be cool to have some pulsing xena or anthila or a colt coral, or a sun coral, or a gorgonain but really I want my zoas and shrooms. No candys, brains, hammers, etc.

I am more interested in inverts than in fish but getting ONE really neat active fish would be cool.

Ive read that the corals i want like slightly dirty water and less flow so they can extend.

I would like to get a korila nano for flow but realistically it will probably be a typical powerhead.

 

Any other suggestions, concerns? I need someone to hold my hand this whole way through and tell me im doing this right. Geez am i insecure or what lol.

[akma]

where are you located?

 

I have a freshwater 10gal tank set up in my higschool science class at school. Ive been keeping freshwater tanks for 13 years now. 8 of those years have been planted and in the last 3 years its aquascaped. I currently have 4 tanks and a bowl. a 32 gal freshwater amazon theme (not biotope), 20 gal asian theme (not biotope), 4 gal planted nano, 10 gal low light livebearer tank in my classroom and a 1.5 gal bowl for my 1.5 year old betta and his snail friend .

 

School will be over in about 2 weeks, then its exams. Ive been reading up on saltwater tanks for a few years now. I am terrified to start one. I wanted to convert my 20 gal a long time ago and asked questions about it on this forum, then i decided against it (timing). Then i wanted to do it again and changed my mind (cost), then the same thing happened again (fear of toxins). Now i want to do it again but on a smaller scale. The reason being that i will have an empty 10gal ready. I will have an extra filter (although im not sure i would use it), water changes will be easy, 1 gal a week (thats a milk jug). Its supposted to be easier than discus, maintenance wise and, I STILL WANT TO TRY SALT!

I want to keep things very simple. I mean Very simple! I would like it as a long term tank. It will be going into my home office on my bookshelf. (its nice and sturdy so no worries).

Ive read a lot of people using the screw in PC's and having luck although i hear that the only complaint is they are limited to what they can keep. This is the route i am strongly considering going. I cannot in any way afford MH lighting or a $200 fixture for a just in case i want to add different corals.

I know exactly which corals i LOVE and i havent changed my mind in the many years ive been researching.

I can maybe steal another lighting hood off a 10gal from my brothers old turtle tank that he doesnt use any more but i hope i dont have to go in that direction.

Anyway, again 10gal tank. 2x20watt 50/50 screw in PC if i can find it OR maybe 2 10,000 K screw in bulbs and another strip light with 2 actinic bulbs if i can go that route. Really i dont know about this yet but I KNOW that i have one light strip that i can put screw in bulbs into.

Corals i want, zoas, shrooms. It would be cool to have some pulsing xena or anthila or a colt coral, or a sun coral, or a gorgonain but really I want my zoas and shrooms. No candys, brains, hammers, etc.

I am more interested in inverts than in fish but getting ONE really neat active fish would be cool.

Ive read that the corals i want like slightly dirty water and less flow so they can extend.

I would like to get a korila nano for flow but realistically it will probably be a typical powerhead.

 

Any other suggestions, concerns? I need someone to hold my hand this whole way through and tell me im doing this right. Geez am i insecure or what lol.

[Pickle010]

You can deffinately do this...

 

Scarey part is getting started - but I'm sure with the dedication you put into those FW tanks that you'd do just fine with salt.

 

Don't over complicate it, it's not that hard - water quality, filtration (Live Rock), flow, temps and light. I'm sure with a little bit of reading here and maybe a good book you will be well on your way.

 

Ask all the questions you need to - do a lot of reading and then do a lot more reading.

 

I'd be glad to donate some frags for the "Class Tank" once you get it up and running.

[Kraylen]

With a 10 gallon tank Metal Halide isn't to expensive...... If you do it yourself you can get away with a 70 watt MH for cheap cheap cheap!!! I built a 400w MH for under 150 bucks a while back, and it was pretty simple.

 

Also, if you can keep up with discus you can have a SW tank IMO..... I know people who spend less time on their SW tanks opposed to the discus tank.

 

Last, Ask for help! People on here are GREAT! I could donate some free stuff when you get ready for your tank as long as you're not in Asia

 

kraylen@gmail.com

[thejrc]

Theres a great gentleman by the name of Ace who goes by the screen name hobogato who has quite an elaborate set up for his students to observe and examine the reef setup. He has several smaller tanks and one large display in a nice system for stability.

 

While his type of setup may be extreme for what your looking to do it's been running for a while and he's definately versed in the problems your wondering about. May want to hit the project DIBS site www.projectdibs.com and drop him a line via PM

 

I must say, the more I see things like this the more I wish I had instructors as dedicated to the learning and interest portion rather than the busy work! I might have made it through high school!

 

Good luck and if you do go with SW keep us all posted. You can probably very easily tackle the cost peice through donations and equipment sponsors!

[Kraylen]

Let me know if you're interested in getting some MH done

[dsoz]

I teach high school also. I keep SW at home (75g). I have been kicking the idea around for a while of keeping SW at school. There is a local SW club near where I live. Once I got in contact with them, and started suggesting that I get a tank in the classroom, they went all out. The club bought me an AquaPod 24 (with PC lights- enough for most soft corals, and some LPS), and people from all over are giving me stuff to put in it. I did need to spend about $100 on rock (from a tank break-down), and a CUC.

 

I can almost justify doing this because I teach science (physics and chemistry). If I did more with the biology end, I could see a lot more application.

 

I say GO FOR IT! Find a local fish club (if there is one), and ask for local help. That way people don't have to ship you stuff to give it to you. I would also say get an all-in-one. They are already put together with OK light, and a filter area that works, and is easy to modify to make better. Also it will look cleaner, and less ghetto than DIY.

 

dsoz

[skabooya]

akma: im from Kitimat British Columbia

Pickle010: thank you for the words of confidence. I really need them. It is scary getting started.

Kraylen: I dont have discus. I wish i did and i was considering it. I am allowed to have 3 tanks in my house at any one time (according to my husband ) . Which means im gonna have to tear down my 4 gal to have the 10gal in my home from school. So i had to choose between buying a 60gal discus tank or doing a 10gal reef tank. I chose to go the salty way because its aparently easier care, the tanks look better AND there is a lot more interesting life to see on the rocks.

dsoz: Yea! another higschool teacher, you know our plight then with student behaviours lol. Because im so low on the senority list and our education system suffering some searious blows in the past few years and especially again this year with another school closure i dont know if i will have a job next year. Subbing sure, but not teaching. Only two continuing positions went up for next year, and they suck!

I wanted a simple salty tank with simple hardy corals that wouldnt mind being moved around 2 or 3 times a year. But if i needed to i could just use it at my place and hook up a webcam for my students to view but its not the same. meh Id figure something out anyway.

 

 

Again Thanks to everyone. I know how awsome this forum is as ive been on here for a while, even though i dont reply to a lot of posts. The people here are great and really make the forum what it is. You guys are so cool.

 

I dont know if MH is right for me. It would suck up a lot of power in the house and it runs HOT. Being in a bookshelf im afraid of it harming the bookshelf itself (my father in law made for me) and possibly the books and albums i have in the bookshelf.

With such low light corals i think PC would be alright but Thank you so much for the offer. It would be really cool.

 

I dont know if anyone here could send me any coral because the majority of people here are from the States and im from Canada. They would probably get stuck in customs for a month and then die.

I would have taken people up on those offers though because you guys/gals have such beautiful corals that ive never seen here like blue and pink zoas, eagle eye zoas, electric green shrroms, bright red shrooms, and bluuuuuuuuee shrroms lol. I actually see more anemonies for sale here than anything else. Some tube worms which i like too, and the odd sps. Ive seen softies once and that was a year ago.

 

Right so 2 more weeks of actual teaching then its exam time. Im presenting the science awards on the 10th and then im supervising provincial exams from the 16-2? and then on the 26th im attending the graduation ceremony in support of my grade 12 students. They are so great.

THEN i can start my buying for the tank It will probably be slow going because yes i will be purchasing from other members not only on this forum if i can but a local forum. Im checking out canreef a lot too. I still like this forum the best of all of them for salty info.

[akma]

Oh,

 

I was going to say if you were in the tristate area, there's a guy selling a complete setup for 275$ for a 30 gallon finnex. Great system I was contemplating buying but I just upgraded a few months ago.

 

Good luck with everything.

[Kraylen]

im setting up a 10 gallon right now...

[joel sandoman]

get a 70w sunpod. i love mine

[jm82792]

You could bu some cheap($70-$120) T5 lighting they run cooler and put out good lighting for easier lower light corals. The 10 gallon sounds good,I put more money than I could have I bought the aquapod since it was abit more and I got a more "professional(my mom don't ask ) setup.

[skabooya]

I could just buy dead rock which is cheaper and then just add some LR rubble to seed the dead rock right?

It would take a long time to have a natural filtration system going though but i have patience. I would probably let the tank cycle for 2 months or so before i add anything... unless the cycle goes fast (which it wont) but i could slowly add a cuc crew. Little bit at a time. Right? or no?

[dsoz]

If you are going to set it up, do it now, that way the rock has all summer to build up the right bacteria. You can buy dead base rock and seed it. That should be no problem, just takes time- which you have.

 

Once the rock seems cycled, you should try to add a fish. That will help the bacteria go into production mode. Also fish don't need high lighting, so you can go with no lights until you get a fish, then simple aquarium lights until you get corals, then you should have made up your mind. I agree with a lot of people here that T5 are better than PC, and can be almost as good as MH. I personally have at home a T5HO TEK light. It is very bright, and I am keeping everything, including SPS. I tried an anemone, but I had high phosphates, so it did not make it. It was doing poorly, and then it found an uncovered powerhead... anemone soup. Now I have too many corals to want to risk another anemone wandering around my tank stinging all my expensive frags.

 

Just remember, if your tank at school is covered in hair algae, and the only other thing that lives in there are aptasia and mojano, the kids in the classroom will still think that it is the coolest thing, and won't be able to keep their eyes off of it.

 

dsoz

[skabooya]

tee hee. i ended up tearing down my 20gal today. I was very unhappy with it for quite some time. So my 10 is gonna be a downsized fw tank for my betta which is currently in a bowl and the 20gal will be the salty tank So yea now im looking at T5 lighting. I still want to keep it simple for easier matinance.

Ive been pricing out 4x24w T5 lights 24" long. The best price i could find is $126.99 for a New Wave 24-24" 4 lamp fixture. Bulbs are not included and shipping is somewhere between free and $75. I have to contact the supplier to see where i qualify for my location.

Is that a good price and are these good lights for a 20H ?

http://oceanaquatics.com/store/product/255...--24%22-4-lamp/

[skabooya]

lighting? bump

[jm82792]

It doesn't say the lighting mix like 2 of antiac and 2 10K or daylight(I hope I'm right on this)bulbs,

These are cheaper and will work for softies(and other lower light corals) :

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=13637

Dr foster and smith has pretty cheap shipping and you can get $5 off your first order.

It's NOT T5 but should work fine it is another form(typically used for smaller tanks) of smaller reef lighting"Compact Fluorescent Lighting" It's cheaper and has good intensity for softies,LPS,gsp and so on. You get 2 65 watt bulbs in the CFL fixture thats 130 (like 5 watts a gallon)watts I believe that is a good amount of lighting. People use those lights for smaller tanks. On T5 I have no clue ... Another experienced member should be able to fill you in more than I can.

[BustytheSnowMaam]

I could just buy dead rock which is cheaper and then just add some LR rubble to seed the dead rock right?

It would take a long time to have a natural filtration system going though but i have patience. I would probably let the tank cycle for 2 months or so before i add anything... unless the cycle goes fast (which it wont) but i could slowly add a cuc crew. Little bit at a time. Right? or no?

 

I think you will be much happier in the long run buying some good quality LR with lots of colorful coralline- your students will get a kick out of the "closeup" they get of all the fascinating hitchhikers that come on LR. You can skip buying LS and just let your LR seed it, however IMO it's better to spend the money on the LS too.

 

If you want, you can check out my 10 gallon thread- it's very simple.

[skabooya]

Ive been recommended 130watt PC's before. Ive been doing more research on them and they are not very energy efficient compared to T5's. Also because i am now definitely doing the 20gal instead of the 10 (because i got greedy) I would like to go for 4x24 T5's.

I would like to pick up the lights pretty soon. Is this a good fixture? http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_p..._ID=sl-t5nw2404

[burtbollinger]

my knowledgeable LFS guys swears by sunlight supply...I'd say theyre good enough.

[skabooya]

After much more reading I found the Nova Extreme 4x24 HO T5 with 2 moonlights for a grand total of 209.43 plus shipping and taxes from ocean aquatics.

I know that individual reflectors are what make T5's awsome but ive also been reading that this fixture is equilivant to 130watt PC over my 20gal with the exception that it has the MH shimmer from the T5's and the bulbs last about 2 years instead of about 8months to 1 year with PC. T5's are also more energy efficient, run cooler, and have a greater lighting choice.

 

Im pretty happy with that outcome because if worse came to worse i would have settled for the 130watt PC.

 

What do you think of this light setup over my 20gal salt to be?

Remember it will be mainly softies and maybe a couple lps.

 

Eeeek Im starting to get excited.

[skabooya]

Please i would really like to order this fixture soon.

Nova extreme 4x24 HO T5 over a 20gal (standard tank) will this work or not?

[aquascaper08]

4X24 will be plenty for a 20 gall. It wont be a noticable difference in heat from a PC but will look and preform much better. As far as bulb replacement, I think they will need to replaced much sooner than you think. I think 8 months is the most you can get without loosing serious lighting. JMO but I hope it helps.

[geekreef_05]

Good to see another Canadian Reefer.

 

The plan sounds good.

 

Id recommend sticking with the hydor PH's, eventhough its a little on the pricy side. The flow they deliever is FAR superior to alot of other products - plus they're a small size for a small tank. Additionally Id recommend getting two low power hydors, rather than a single powerful one.

 

Dont underestimate flow - it is very important, even with lower flow corals. It is still very important that your tank has no dead spots - or areas of no flow.

 

Ive been using T5 lights for about ~2 years now, and Id also recommend changing them at the 8 month mark. I have left mine going for about a year... and there if a noticable difference. 8 months is a good figure.. if you can afford every 6 months, thats even better.

[skabooya]

Thank you for the response aquascaper08 and geekreef_05. I will go ahead with that fixture then for my 20.

Should i buy the LR at the same time as well as my sand and salt and set it up all in one day OR should i just do lights, sand and salt in one day and then LR at another time? I see people doing different things.

I want to get the order line all set up so i can order fairly soon. I want to start setting it up once school is over. And then i will let it sit all summer to cycle with maybe a small cuc near the end of the summer.

again thanks to everyone for helping me out.