SES School Reef

FisheriesOmen · May 20, 2014

So work will finally be getting underway on my Senior Project, which is to create a reef tank for the Animal Care class at the School of Environmental Studies. This will be using a 90g RR that was generously donated by a hobbyist in Farmington who was tearing down their aquarium. We will probably be using 2 150W Metal Halides to light the tank and LEDs from RapidLEDs(thanks for willing to donate!). There will be a custom-made sump beneath the stand for a fuge(most likely using LEDs) and protein skimmer and for anything else our teacher decides he wants to do with it in the future.

Forgot to take pictures of the tank yesterday when we got it hauled into the school, but I'll have those pictures up by tomorrow.

Big thanks to Mike at WetWorld, RapidLEDs.com and the teacher who was willing to donate their aquarium.

Thanks for looking and I'll try to get pictures running soon!

-Ohmann

revhtree · May 21, 2014

Cool! Looking forward to it!

FisheriesOmen · May 21, 2014

revhtree said:
Cool! Looking forward to it!

Thanks!

So I finally got some pictures. Not much going on right now, as it is just sitting in the Animal care classroom. We will most likely be re-building the stand and canopy as well as going with a more open sump style with a fuge and in-sump protein skimmer.

This is where we plan on having the aquarium so that all classes at school will have access to the reef as an educational tool if need be. The Forum is quite large and have a couple good spots out of any direct sunlight.

Currently our list as far as equipment goes will be:
-RapidLED Lighting
-Pukani Dry Rock
-Fiji Pink + Misc. fine-grade sand(about the same as fiji pink)
-Eheim Jager 250W Heater
-Vertex Omega 130 in-sump protein skimmer

This is a general idea of what we've decided are on the "to-buy" list as of right now. If I'm able to get anymore funding or donations then the list my vary slightly, but so far this is what we have. The main goal of this aquarium is to show-case as many educational opportunities as possible. I've talked with Chemistry teachers, House teachers(houses are how are school is divided and each house has the social studies, science, and literature curriculum), as well as a teacher who formerly was a Marine Biologist and Researcher to see what they would like to get out of this tank as well.

Any suggestions or feedback is greatly appreciated! I am determined to get this thing off on a good foot no matter how long it takes.

Thanks for looking,
Ohmann

FisheriesOmen · May 28, 2014

Well just found out a major hiccup as far as monetary funds go. One of the rabbits at the school had to take an un-expected trip to the Vet so we are down to just about $400-500. There will definitely have to be some temporary cuts until the beginning of next year when he gets another year of funding. On our list we will be skipping the In-Sump skimmer for now as I can lend a HOB skimmer which should be sufficient(it's not like over summer this thing will have hardly any bioload). Hopefully we'll at least be able to get plumbing, hardscape, and lighting complete with the the money we have so that the tank can start cycling over the summer.

Stay tuned!

FisheriesOmen · Jun 1, 2014

Got the back spray painted black and cleaned up the overflow with some distilled vinegar. Will have pictures Monday!

Also, HUGE thanks to ReefBreeders for donating a WP40 powerhead!

FisheriesOmen · Sep 12, 2014

Just a quick update. I finally squeezed in time to make a stand for the aquarium. It will be on hold for a while now while I'm at college, but this is still a work in progress, just going to take a while to get going.