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Coral Vue Hydros

1st grade classroom reef


Julian

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Hi all, I am helping my mom, who is a teacher in SoCal, set up an aquarium in her classroom. I have some experiance with a FOWLR +2 ricordia in a Eclipse 12, which actualy wasn't all that bad of an experiance, except that the clownfish went crazy and commited suicide after a couple months. Anyway, I was thinking around 30G with tons of softies and a couple fish (EDIT: I am considering a single orchid dottyback) and maby eventualy a clam and some LPS, but I am not sure on lighting/filtration requirements. My mom is a teacher, so we would like to keep the price to a minimum, and we may buy some itms used. So far, I am considering:

 

30G AGA aquarium

150W MH lighting (not sure on brand/style)

HOB magnum 250 canister filter

Iceprobe nano chiller

VIAaqua VIA150 titanium heater (150 watts)

Hydor Koralia 2 Circulation Pump 600 gph

3 inch DSB

 

My dad has a circle glass cutter so I can get a glass plate cover with a hole for the chiller no problem. Any input would be greatly apreciated, especialy concerning lights and filtration. Also I was wondering if anyone has any beach area LFS to recomend.

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i assume this is for a classroom setting. i would strongly suggest against anything larger than a 12g tank because you'll have to remove for the summer.

 

how old are the kids? and how behaved are they?

 

i would also suggest an acrylic tank to be able to take the occasional shock/hit. moreso, if the class is a boisterous group.

 

i'd suggest an AIO setup for a cleaner presentation and the ability to (somewhat) seal off the setup from probing fingers. a definite necessity if they're problem-makers in the class or visitors.

 

consider temperature issues in the warmer months and over the weekends and plan accordingly.

 

i'd also avoid mh lighting for the safety of the kids. they wll likely stare into the light and even if they don't, warning them of the dangers of the intense lighting will likely put your mother in a very awkward position if not scuttle the project entirely.

 

i'd stick with a simply FOWLR or low-light requirement reef, e.g. softies. clownfish may be passe but it's fun for the kids (look, it's Nemo!) and very easy to keep. imho, if you're having/going to have issues with a FOWLR/FO in that classroom setting, going reef will be impossibly dfficult. why 'stack the deck' against yourself from the start?

 

remember, you're going to have to teach/train your mother first. once she's a capable sw'er/reefer, then the class tank is a possible project. otherwise, expect to babysit the tank constantly. hth

 

edit: i thought you had noted it as 1st grade but didn't see it in the body of the post. then i realized it was in the title. definitely go for the AIO, acrylic, and subdued lighting (which will really determine what direction you can go overall). good luck!

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http://www.cadlights.com/product_info.php?...5fafdbd7beb62ce

This would be my choice for your type of reef. Yes the T-5s are not HO but still you can keep zoas, rics, frogspawn, gsp, leathers, ect. Two clown would just work, maybe a goby too. The filter area is in the back, and you could set up a fuge as it has the space to do so. Also the light runs cool, and a glass top is optional.

 

Tinyreef gave great advice but i would NOT suggest using acrylic as it scratches extremely easy. Glass is actually quiet strong as well.

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Yes, this is for a classroom setting, but we live very near school so we will not have to take it home over summer (thank god). The kids will be first grade or kindergarten, I will know for sure after the class is assigned. this means they are short enough that they wont be able to reach the top of the tank. I am debating over glass or acrylic, but I am leaning twoard glass because of the scratch factor. I did not consider the problems HM might cause, so I think I will go CP or T5 in stead. As for the tempurature, It gets pretty hot on some days in summer, but the room has concrete walls, so it usualy stays cool enough in there, which I why I was considering the iceprobe, even though its meant for 20G tanks. If thats not enough, I can always run down to the electronics store and pick up another peltier cooler to wire myself. Thanks for the input!

 

EDIT: I was wondering if there are any teachers here who have tanks in the classroom?

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Hi im a teacher. I currently have a 10gal freshwater tank in my classroom. And its a nightmare for the first month or two. I teach higschool science currently but because of school shutdowns and all that stuff i wont have a job next year so im going back onto the sub list until something else comes up. I have taught grade 1 before as well. And dont underestimate them! yes they may not be able to reach but they are strong enough to get a chair and step up. There are also flying toys and writing utensils on occasion. Some kids are just trouble. One of my students was an ass and decided to sit on the shelf and kick the tank to see if it would break. Nice eh? It was a glass tank and it didnt break but i had water everywhere. I made him clean it up of course but geez! You will also need to have a conversation with the janitors. Twice i caught them cleaning around the tank and they thought they would be nice by spraying whatever it was on my tank to wipe it clean and make it shine. Well they ended up killing my fishies. TWICE!

Make sure you leave a note. Kids no matter what the age will try to stick their hands in the water. Mine had dares to drink the water.

 

If you can make it through 3 months the kids will START to get used to the tank being there but really its daily reminders.

 

If i was to do it again the tank would be right by my desk or behind it. But realistically in a kindergarten or grade 1 classroom teachers dont really use the desks because you are wandering around from student to student all day. So place it somewhere where the teacher can see it easily and all the time.

 

Also for younger kids what i find really really works is to put a piece of tape on the floor in front of the tank. This is the viewing line. The rule is students can not cross that line or they loose a privilage. I know it sounds lame but it worked when we did experiments with plants or when we have show and tell. Students sat outside the circle and could not cross the line or they had to sit back in their desk. After a few times (it doesnt take that long) they start warning eachother about that rule. So you could try that too.

 

But yes make sure everyone knows about it (that includes all staff). Do it slowly, give the kids time each day to look at the tank (put it in the routine and have them describe what is different or something like that), Keep the tank in view, have easy rules for them to follow, go very low tech such as FO or FOWLR and if you do happen to get lucky and have a well behaved class then go for some shrooms. But again as others mentioned, go low tech.

 

Freshwater is enough of a hassle for me in class, i would like to try salt at some time but it will depend on the individual class. It is to the discresion of the teacher. She knows her class in their ups and downs.

 

Hope that helps a bit, sorry for the super long post. :)

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Thanks for the advice. I am actualy considering getting a BC 29 from nanotuners, the canopy should provide some flying object protection. I will start FOWLR with a single clownfish and maby near the end of the year get a hammerhead for the clown. If my mom manages to get a combo class (Combos always have good kids) then I might set it up to be a full on reef but its definately starting FOWLR.

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Reef Chicks

Hi there. I am a teacher also and I had a reef tank set up in my classroom this year. I have been into reef tanks for a while, and teaching for 10 years now, but this was my first tank in school. I first set up a BC29 fish only with a fake reef that was donated to us by a N-R member. Then I got an awesome deal on a 16 gallon bowfront tank and set that up as a reef.

 

I teach 5th grade and since the kids are older, I had them running the entire show since the second week. They did charting, testing, water changes, everything for both tanks. We did fundraising throughout the entire year to support our addiction and they loved spending the money. They would get so excited when we received something in the mail. But I turned everything into a lesson. Math, Science, Writing, Reading and research. It was pretty cool and they were all into it.

 

The one bad thing I have to say is that the tank was a constant distraction for them. I'd be in the middle of a lesson and a snail would fall off the wall and all heads would turn towards the tank. I am switching to 3rd grade next year and I am debating setting it up again.

 

Tiny suggested you get an all-in-one. I second that. I had a BC29 and that was the easiest to run.

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OK, I am pretty sure I am getting a BC4.36 from nanotuners. It comes with 144 watt PC, fuge lights, and upgraded fans. I really like your idea of a fundraiser because money is tight for teachers in SoCal and that pretty much blows my budget till september. I might also try applying for a grant from exxon, which would pay for almost everything as they go up to $1,500. Also, maby a LFS will give us some good deals if we write them thank you letters that they can hang in a public place.

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Money is tight for teachers period. Lol.

 

 

someone should tell that to my accounting professor, she made 150K last year before book sales.

 

Really though, I think you could get some good stuff asking on a local board for donations. I've donated to a teacher a really nice mini fridge from my dorm days for all the fish tank food. Then a bunch of us donated frags, sand, and rocks. He didn't end up spending that much on initial stuff except for a few things we couldn't find.

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someone should tell that to my accounting professor, she made 150K last year before book sales.

 

Yes but pay depends on your degree and how many years youve been working. In 10 years with my degree the most i will make is $50,000 and thats before taxes and all that junk. With a masters its $60,000 and a PHD etc you obdviously get more. It also depends on your work location.

This year because ive been working for 2 years as a teacher i will make about $10,000 before taxes. So yea not a lot esp when you factor in us teachers need to buy supplies for our classroom ourselves. The school districts are so hard for money they cant really help out.

 

I agree with eddie29 ask for donations. People here are awsome and totally willing to help.

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I suppose I will ask for donations later after school gets out. For now, I pretty much figured out what I want to stock and figured out what equitment I want, so here goes.

 

Equipment

 

nanotuners biocube 29

tunze nano skimmer

2x ICEprobe

korilia 2

stealth 150 watt heater

 

Livestock

 

30 lbs live rock

60 lbs live sand

17 mexican red leg hermits

2x peppermint shrimp

5x nassarius snail

2x trochus snail

false perc clownfish

hammerhead coral for the clownfish if possible

 

How does that sound? I want to do an extremely soft cycle so I can keep as many goodies from the LR as possible. Also I will try to grow some frags, but I dont want to many dollars worth of coral in case some little kid decides the clownfish wants to eat glue.

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